What is Archaeology?

Classic

AD250- AD900

Post

AD900-AD1541

1.Remote Sensing Techniques

Aerial photos, high resolution aerial photos

University of Pennsylvania Dep. of Antrho

Chalchuapa Arch. Project, Verapaz Arch. Project, Quirigua Project, El Mirador Project, Mirador Acropolos Project

Excavation continued...

Contribute to a solution for an important research problem

Excavation

Must consider time, money and labor that can be committed to the endeavor. -Shed light on human past:understand cultural and evolutionary processes in general

Arlen and Diane Chase

Original Research at Santa Rita Corozal Belize -26 years at Caracol - Most recently they tested the use of LiDar in archaeology

Experimental Arch.

Recreating the archaeological record -lithics, ceramics, conservation techniques ex. flintnapping

John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood

Rediscovered 44 maya sites -"incidents of travel" 1839-1842 sold 12 copies published 1941

Maya Archaeologist

Refers to scholars who specialize in the research and study of the ancient Maya through fieldwork

Law of Superposition

Stratigraphy (relative) lower layer is oldest etc.

Archaeology is destructive

Therefore we must be careful to document EVERYTHING. (drawings, photos, catalog and analyze artifacts, report findings to whoever is funding you)

Association

archaological items that co-occur together

Clearing excavations

associations and function, areal excavation, stripping excavations

Edward H. Thompson

bought Chichen in 1894, Museum burned in 1920 -"principle of abundance" 1886 -dredged cenote in 1904

Mortuary Archaeology

burial practices

Forensic Archaeology

cause of death

Absolute dating

chronometric dating: dates for materials based on solar years, centuries, or other units of absolute time "BP", Radiocarbon

Mesoamerican "Triumvirate"

consistant staple foods/diet: corn, beans, squash (chile pepper)

Archaeological Concepts

context, law of superposition, law of association, primary contexts vs, "fill", dating: absolute vs. relative, models, sampling/seriation/sequence building

Cultural Resource Management

contract archaeologists make up around 40% of all archaeologist in the U.S. Many regulations are in place based on state

Law of Association

cross dating, relative

Relative dating

designating an even object or fossil as being older or younger than another

Willard Libby

developed radiocarbon dating Said atomic bomb ruined everything, so we can only date things until 1945

3.Natural Agents

drought and soil erosion

Direct history Approach

ethnohistory, historic documents

Ethnography and Linguistics

interviews and contemporary documents

2 Types of Archaeology: Pre-Historical

looking at artifacts where written record DO NOT exist

2.Documentation

maps, folklore, placenames and local lore

Ethno Archaeology

observing contemporary cultures to understand formation processes and past culture life ways. Ethnography for archaeological purposes

4.Accidental Discovery

plowing, strip mining

Mayas Had

pyramids, ballcourts, blood sacrifice, calendars

Mayanist

scholoars who specialize in the research and study of the ancient maya (armchair archaeology)

Penetrating excavatiosn

sequence and time depth: trench, tunnel

Geoarchaeology

soil science and formation

Archaeology Methodologies

survey, mapping, excavation, sampling and testing,

"garbology"

term coined to describe rathje's research in oxford english dictionary -retrieve and analyze fresh and land filled refuse -resource waste, diet, nutrition, and disease vectors -risk of household hazardous wastes -what is really filling up our landfills (DIAPERS) -legacy we leave for future archaeologists

Context

the imputation of "meaning" based on matrix (physical medium surrounding the archaeological materials)

Bioarchaeology

the study of human remains, emphasizing the preservation of cultural and social processes in the skeleton: mummies, burials, sometimes forensic cases

Provenience

three dimensional locations

Variants and combinations

understanding

Mayas didn't have

wheel, pack animals; horses and cattle (introduced by spanish) , wheat

What does archaeology study?

-Material remains in order to describe and explain human behavior. (tools, pottery and other features such as hearths and enclosures that remain as the testimony of earlier cultures)

What do anthropologists do?

-Study of every aspect of human existence in all times and places

Guatemalan Highlands

...

4 Fields of Anthro

1. Cultural 2. Biological Archaeology 3. Archaeology 4. Linguistic

3 Phases of Archaeology

1. Scientific Recovery 2. Analysis 3. Interpretation

Archaeology

1/3 or less of Anthropologists -the study of the past through the use of material culture, human remains, nonhuman remain, written records, architecture and geography

Sylvanus G. Morley

1883-1948 WWI was a spy, womannizer, hieroglyphic records

William Rathje

1973 Garbage Studies wanted to test validity of interview-survey techniques (people to tend to lie)

Pre

BC1200-AD250

Frequency Seriation

Battleship curves (gravestones)

Modern Countries that make up Maya Region

Belize, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador

Picking a site

Ground survey: soil marks, vegetation growth

William Fash

Harvard: studied under Gordon R. Wiley -25 years with Barbra Fash at Copan, honduras -His research efforts are devoted to illuminating all aspects of ancient Maya lifeways and culture history

Sites

Hunting campsites, kill sites, village sites, cemeteries

Somethings to know...

It's Maya not Mayans (mayan only refers to language)

Historic Arch.

Looking at artifacts where written records DO exist

Current Archaeologiests

Robert Sharer: author of our text

Probe.. Strip.. Penetrate

Test pit, or sondage: sample of what is there

Highlands vs. Lowlands

Valley of Mexico (Maya) Valley of oaxaca (olmec)

Arthur Demarest

Vanderbilt University: studies the use of achaeology, paleoecology, and epigraphy to better understand the Maya -A little controversial: Cancuen, Guatemala

Obsidian Hydration

Volcanic ash less than 1% of Water. Maya used nodes to get blades