Classical Studies 2904A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Kerameikos, Neutron Activation Analysis, Dimini
24 Feb 2017
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Document Summary
How we know what we know about ancient greece - the stages of greek archaeology. Methods for absolute dating - carbon 14, dendrochronology, textual sources, etc. Sourcing - ceramic petrography, obsidian composition, copper alloy composition. Written sources: inscribed stones, written documents, clay tablets, literature, etc. Tombs: human remains, funeral goods, location of burials. Seeds, pollen and other small organic materials are collected through a sieving process called flotation. This process makes microscopic organisms available for scientific investigation to determine several aspects of life in antiquity such as food sources, plant resources and processes of deforestation and landscape change. Animal remains tell us about food sources, domestication of animals and pets in antiquity. Human remains are even more helpful to understand the lives and deaths of pas human groups. The levels that build up one on top of another to create an archaeological site. Each stratum represents a period or an event in the history of the site.
