Archaeology

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Archaeology
Photo from my work at Mammoth Cave National Park.
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What do archaeologists do?

• What archaeologists dont do
• Study dinosaurs.
• Spend all their time just digging.
• Just look for pretty or valuable objects.
• Just pick up artifacts.
• Buy or sell artifacts.
• Just study prehistoric people.

Photos from my work at Mammoth Cave National Park.
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What Is Archaeology?

• Archaeology is one of four sub-disciplines of
  Anthropology.
• Anthropology is the study of people and their
  culture.
• Anthropology Disciplines
• Archeology
• Cultural Anthropology
• Linguistic Anthropology
• Biological or Physical Anthropology
• Archaeology is the systematic, scientific
  recovery and analysis of artifacts in order to
  answer questions about past human culture and
  behavior.

Archaeolology
Culture
Speech Language
Biology of Man
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Archaeology Terms

• Systematic A consistent way of studying
  anything.
• Science Methods and knowledge of studying
  anything.
• Recovery/ Analysis To collect and study
  artifacts.
• Artifact Any item resulting from human activity.

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Archaeology Terms

• Question-based Archaeologists study artifacts
  in order to answer questions about how humans
  lived.
• Past Archaeologists study human cultures that
  are no longer living.
• Culture Any learned behavior that is shared
  with others.

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History of Archaeology

• The first archaeologists
• Antiquarians or wealthy collector of artifacts
• Early Archeology
• It was a combination of several other sciences
  concerned with the evolution of man.
• 1817
• Danish archaeologist Christian Jurgensen Thomsen
  opened the National Museum Of Antiquities in
  Copenhagen to the public.
• 1859 Origin of Species.
• Darwin publishes his book.
• 1920s
• Archaeology became a fully fledged scientific
  discipline.

Christian Jurgensen Thomsen
Charles Darwin
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Early American Archaeology

• Earliest American settlers
• They debate the origin of American Indians.
• 1880s
• Archaeologists and anthropologists study Pueblo
  Indians as direct descendants of the first people
  in America.
• 1890s
• Cyrus Thomas of the Bureau of American Ethnology
  proves the Moundbuilders were indeed Native
  Americans.

Indian burial mound in Georgia.
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Modern Scientific Archaeology

• 1960s
• The invention of modern scientific excavation
  techniques
• Using a multidisciplinary approach to study
  people.
• Increasing impact of science on archaeology
• Refinement of archaeological theory.

DNA
Botany
Dendrochronology
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Academic Goals of Archeology

• Culture History
• Sequence of events
• How artifacts change over time
• Explain why events happened.
• Lifeways Reconstruction
• Technology, subsistence, exchange, settlement,
  social organization, ideology, etc.
• Culture Process
• Theoretical models on lifeways.

Photo from my work at Mammoth Cave National Park.
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Applied Goals of Archaeology

• Conveying the past through archaeology.
• The proper way to do archeology.
• Archaeology is a profession.
• Public Education
• Museum exhibits
• Television shows
• Documentary films
• Public lectures, digs, or workshops.

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Types of Archaeology

• Prehistoric Archaeology
• Before writing.
• Historical Archaeology
• Document/writing assisted
• Classical Archaeology
• Greek and Roman
• Biblical Archaeology
• Underwater Archaeology
• Shipwrecks or anything else under water.
• Industrial Archaeology
• Industrial Revolution and other modern structures

• Egyptologists, Mayanists, Assyriologists
• Study of specific civilizations or time periods.
• Cultural Resource Management
• Management and assesment of significant cultural
  resources.

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Professional Archaeology Groups

• United States National Associations
• American Anthropological Association (AAA)
• Archaeological Institute of America
• Association of Historical Archaeologists of the
  Pacific Northwest
• Classical Association of the Middle West and
  South
• Classical Association of the Pacific Northwest
• Eastern States Archaeological Federation
• Southeastern Archaeological Conference
• Society for American Archeology
• Source http//archaeologic.com/associations.htm

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References

• Applegate, Darlene. Anth 130 In-class notes.
  Western Kentucky University, Spring 2004.
• Fagan, Brian M. Archeology A Brief
  Introduction. New Jersey Lindbriar Corp., 2003.
  
• Society for American Archeology. 19 September
  2005. lthttp//www.saa.org/gt.