ANT100Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Human Events, Soil Resistivity, Beach Ridge
29/10/2015
Lecture 1 (Archaeology)
What is Archaeology?
• Archaeology is the study of material remains (physical objects) and their spatial
relationships to interpret past human behaviour
• Highly interdisciplinary
• Anthropology is the study of humankind, a holistic discipline, adds dimension, four sub-
disciplines
ARCHAEOLOGY & HISTORY
• History is based on written documents, archaeology material culture
• History is limited to 5000 years, less than 100 in some regions
• History is limited to literate societies, written records tend to focus on the rich and
powerful
• Historical archaeology uses the aid of historic records, often documents do not give the
oplete piture, ad ol arhaeolog a fill the gaps suh as ho did ooers
live?)
CLASSICAL ARCHAEOLOGY
• Specialized sub-discipline
• Classical civilizations of Greece and Rome from about 700 B.C.-500 A.D.
ARCHAEOLOGY & SCIENCE
• Science is the systemic pursuit of knowledge about natural phenomena
• Archaeology interacts with many different sciences (geology, biology, physics,
chemistry, astronomy)
• Archaeology is a SOCIAL SCIENCE (deals with human behaviour—people are dynamic
and complex. Due to individual personality, culture, and motivators)
FACTORS AFFECTING THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD
• Not all behaviour will leave material traces
• Because of intervening cultural and natural processes, the archaeological record is not
usually a direct reflection of past behaviour
ARTIFACT = any object made or modified by people
ECOFACT = a natural object used or affected by people
FEATURE = non=portable material remains resulting from human activity (such as a house,
fireplace, midden, etc.)
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29/10/2015
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE = a place where evidence of past human activity is preserved
FOUR STAGES (to Artifacts Entering the Archaeological Record)
1. Acquisition (either direct or through trade)
2. Manufacture (modification of raw materials)
3. Use (leaves traces on artifact; can also be interpreted from where the artifact is found)
4. Deposition (entry of the material into the Archaeological record) ***artifacts can enter
the record at any point in this process
PROCESSES THAT TRANSFORM THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD
• Cliate = teperature ad huidit, suh as etree et or dr like Kig Tut’s To!,
or cold preserves organics
• Biological Factors = decay, rodents, carnivores
• Soil Chemistry = can destroy, acid, or preserve, fossilize
• Catastrophic Evens
CULTURAL FACTORS
• Large-scale human events (such as war)
• Looting (encouraged by the antiquities market, disturbance through industrial or
agricultural development), changes the context of materials within the archaeological
site
***As a result of natural and cultural factors, the archaeological record Is highly distorted
CONTEXT = The province and associations of an artifact, feature, or archaeological find in space
and time
PROVENIENCE = Three-dimensional location of an artifact or feature
ASSOCIATION = two or more items occurring together, usually in the same level, feature, etc.
1) PRIMARY CONTEXT = undisturbed since deposition of artifacts by people who made and
used them (such as burials, living floors, houses, middens/garbage heaps)
2) SECONDARY CONTENT = location and association are altered, so less information is
available to the archaeologist
• FIELD WORK = survey and excavation
Before excavation, SURVEY the systematic search for archaeological sites, yields data on site
size, distribution, number form
HOW SITES ARE FOUND
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ANT100Y1 Full Course Notes
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Document Summary
What is archaeology: archaeology is the study of material remains (physical objects) and their spatial relationships to interpret past human behaviour, highly interdisciplinary, anthropology is the study of humankind, a holistic discipline, adds dimension, four sub- disciplines. Classical archaeology : specialized sub-discipline, classical civilizations of greece and rome from about 700 b. c. -500 a. d. Archaeology & science : science is the systemic pursuit of knowledge about natural phenomena, archaeology interacts with many different sciences (geology, biology, physics, chemistry, astronomy, archaeology is a social science (deals with human behaviour people are dynamic and complex. Factors affecting the archaeological record : not all behaviour will leave material traces, because of intervening cultural and natural processes, the archaeological record is not usually a direct reflection of past behaviour. Artifact = any object made or modified by people. Ecofact = a natural object used or affected by people. Feature = non=portable material remains resulting from human activity (such as a house, fireplace, midden, etc. )
