Introduction to Archaeology

• Archaeology studies the human past through physical remains such as artifacts.
• An artifact is an object made, used, or modified by humans and left behind by a past civilization.
• Archaeology uses a systematic and scientific approach to collect, classify, and interpret artifacts.
• Archaeology studies all aspects of human activity to reconstruct the past along with history.
• Importantly, it provides a voice for past civilizations without written records in the study of ancient history.
• Additionally, it aids understanding of everyday life and people.

Changes in Archaeology Over Time

• Early archaeology focused on digging up treasures.
• Today, modern archaeologists consider every find a treasure.
• Contemporary archaeology focuses on conserving sites and artifacts.
• Modern archaeologists are cautious when extracting artifacts, previously the search for treasure was haphazard and destructive.
• Science impacts nearly every area of archaeology.
• Physical sciences analyze material remains of the past.
• Social sciences focus on the development of societies and human relationships.

Sources and Evidence

• A source is anything that has survived from the past.
• Evidence is the information gained from studying the sources.
• Primary sources are accounts or artifacts from that time that tell what was happening and can give differing perspectives on an event.
• Secondary sources discuss primary sources and give an overview/interpretation of the past and can give differing information depending on the primary sources used.
• Archaeological sources consist of artifacts, built structures, and organic remains that have survived from the past.
• They provide evidence of everyday life and household activities that written sources do not.
• They also depict ancient customs, religious beliefs, and warfare/daily life while artifacts require interpretation, potentially leading to misinterpretations of history.
• The source's condition also affects how an archaeologist interprets it.
• Written sources include official documents, literary texts, and private documents.
• They contain firsthand accounts, opinions, and details not typically in archaeological sources but texts sometimes being incomplete/damaged.
• Written sources represent the perspectives of a small educated elite and often deal with public life, making examination of the author's purpose and potential biases or propaganda important.

Archaeologists vs. Historians

• Archaeologists deal with physical artifacts and everyday life, covering the entire span of the earth.
• Historians focus on oral and written history, dealing with important people and only researching civilizations that can read and write.
• While different, both disciplines help discover the full picture of the past.
• Archaeology has become technologically advanced while history has been misunderstood.

Finding Sites

• Aerial photography uses aircraft/satellites to create images of the land to be interpreted for archaeological information, picking up on crop, soil, and shadow marks.
• Crop marks: irregularities in crop growth that reveal archaeological features.
• Soil marks: differences in soil color caused by archaeological features.
• Shadow marks: surface shadows that indicate underground features.
• Satellite imaging is more efficient compared to aerial photography.
• LiDAR mapping uses laser light to map the ground surface.
• Geophysical surveys use ground-based physical sensing techniques for imaging or mapping.
• Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is a geophysical method using radar pulses to produce images of the subsurface.
• Resistivity: a survey method measuring the resistance of the soil to electric current.
• Magnetometry: a survey technique identifying areas of human activity.

Excavation

• The grid system allows the study of a site's vertical dimension by revealing the time sequence in layers.
• The site is divided into squares, with each wall providing a vertical record of the sequence of layers.
• The oldest material is tagged with labels to differentiate them and is in the lowest layers with the youngest closest to the surface.
• During excavation, coordinates of finds are used to record the location on a map.
• Open-area excavation focuses on the horizontal dimension with emphasis is placed on understanding the relationships in each layer or stratum completely before succeeding.
• Combination of sites depends on the terrain, research focus, and complexity.

Recording Techniques

• Computers are indispensable tools and have a wide range of uses:
  • maintenance of databases
  • statistical analysis
  • linking data to maps
  • graphic display of surveying
  • reconstructions using computer graphics

DNA Analysis

• DNA can be recovered from skeletons, mummies, and preserved plant remains.
• Human DNA has been extracted from ancient artifacts that were handled by humans.
• Analysis of ancient DNA is often inhibited but can help answer historical, archaeological, or evolutionary questions.

The Archaeological Process

• Finding sites involves aerial photography and geophysical methods.
• Excavation involves using grid and open-area excavation.
• Recording techniques involve using day books and computers.
• Analysis of finds involves stratigraphic dating, carbon-14 dating, dendrochronology, thermoluminescence, typology, fluorine dating, potassium-argon, and palaeontological dating.
• Interpretation involves archaeologists investigating the artifacts and evidence and making conclusions.

Dating Methods

• Absolute dating involves objects with a date marked on them.
• Relative dating provides a general date.
• Stratigraphy sequences deposits over time, creating a layered timeline of history.
• Carbon-14 Dating is a highly scientific method which measures the disintegration of carbon molecules in organic matter. Requires sophisticated equipment and skilled technicians.
• Dendrochronology is tree-ring dating.
• Thermoluminescence is used on inorganic matter, measuring the energy since it was last exposed to heat or sunlight.
• Typology organizes finds in a chronological sequence based and arrange artifacts from earliest to latest types.
• Thomsen's Three-Age System organizes ancient artifacts based on the technology of stone, bronze, and iron.

Digital Reconstruction

• 3D modeling uses software to create a detailed three-dimensional representation of an object to be viewed from various angles.
• Digital Reconstruction displaying the sites saves them and aids in the display and reconstruction of the sites.

Case Study 1: The Legend of Troy

• Homer was the only person to write about the Trojan War.
• The story of the Trojan War was part of oral traditions.
• Homer's Iliad is an epic poem.
• Menelaus, Agamemnon, Odysseus, and Achilles were apart of The Greeks.
• Paris, Priam, and Hecuba/Hector were apart of The Trojans.
• Zeus, Aphrodite, Thetis, Hera, and Athena were apart of The Gods.
• The Iliad occurred between 1270 to 1200 BC.
• However Homer lived between 800-700 BC.

Bronze Age

• The Bronze Age took place between 3500 BC and 1200 BC.
• Early Bronze Age: 3500-2000 BC
• Middle Bronze Age: 2000-1600 BC
• Late Bronze Age: 1600-1200 BC
• Began 5,500 years ago in present-day Turkey, Iran, and Iraq.
• The rise of urbanization started in The Early Bronze age.
• Monumental architecture, settlements being agriculturally-based, and structured society developed.
• The invention of writing marks the start of history in the bronze age.
• Warfare was common during the late Bronze Age..
• Minoan Civilization was based on the island of Crete.
• Minoan Civilization was prosperous and powerful due to trade.
• Knossos Palace is a well-known archaeological site.
• Mycenaean Civilization was based in Peloponnese then conquered outwards.
• They were divided into smaller city-states led by warrior-kings.
• Trojan Civilization was based in northwestern Anatolia.
• It occupied a key position on trade routes.

Finding Troy

• The archaeological site of Troy was not found by Schliemann but by British archaeologist Frank Calvert.
• Heinrich Schliemann was a German ametuer archaeologist and entrepreneur embarked on two archaeological campaigns.
• Schliemann discovered seven cities superimposed on one another upon his excavations.
• Schliemann dug through the upper strata and rushed into excavations without permission.
• A settlement layer that appeared destroyed by fire, he concluded that Troy II was the Homer's Troy.
• Used as sources were Homer's Iliad, the fortifications found, and Thucydides in his History of the Peloponnesian War.

Treatment and Display of Human Remains

• Issues often relate to scientific analysis and display and Preservation and display, reburial, research, religion, education, and tourism.
• Ethical issues includes respecting the dignity, honoring cultural practices, and acknowledging descendants' rights of the deceased.