Intro. to Archaeologyand

AnthropologyCHW-3M1

Some cartoons..

Intro to Archaeology

Examine the following slides. From the images extrapolate as much information about the artefact(s) just by looking at them superficially.

What else could you do to find out more about these artefacts?

Find the Site walk around and look carefully plowed fields (after rainstorms) have artifacts on the

surface important to note the location of surface artifacts because

their distribution may be related to artifacts underneath grid, carefully labeled collection bags can reveal sites relative age, length of time it was

occupied (campsite, village, cemetery, or other type of occupation)

subject to damage from erosion or looting good timing – erosion – luck?

Survey the site record location relative to

landscape surveying usually followed

by mapping – sketch maps used limited in size and little accuracy of topography

proton magnetometer reads magnetic materials in the subsurface (iron, fired clay, trenches, pits, tombs etc) – show up as magnetic a nomalies

help place archaeological units where high chance of features to be found

Excavation hesitant to disturb integrity of an in tact

archaeological site all excavation requires destruction – only

small amount of information can be recovered

grid drawn over the area using stakes and cord

use drafting equipment to record grid onto site map

take notes on every aspect of the operation

drawings, field diaries, forms, maps drawn and recorded before moving

Equipment

shovels towels knives dental picks (depending on level of care required) Brushes of different sizes and textures Tape measures, cords, and line levels Screens made of wire mesh and wooden frames

used to sift through everything leaving the dig site

Stratigraphy

relation of artifacts, buried features etc, to each layer the sequence in which successive layers of soil were

built up over the archaeological deposit age of item relative to materials higher or lower in the

ground also illustrate geological processes that have affected

the site over time can stretch over a few hundred or a few thousand

years draw profiles of the walls of their excavations

Artefacts

any object that was manufactures or altered by human activity

transported from site to laboratory – analyzed using a variety of techniques

stone, bone, fiber, wood, clay, metal and other materials

Lithics – made of stone Pottery – clay is very durable once it has been fired –

reveal technological and artistic developments Precious artifacts – made of gold – an extremely rare

occurrence in archaeology – existence of these treasures has led to the destruction of countless archaeological sites

Examples of Archaelogical Digs

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=witOlhzl31Q

Famous “finds”

Studying Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of HUMANITY. There are many subfields including, cultural, forensic, physical and social anthropology.

.....the most fundamental question in the study of anthropology is...who are the ancestors of modern human beings?

Some basic terms and concepts to know in this unit.

Hominid

Australopithecene

Natural Selection

Bi-pedalism

Relative and Absolute Dating

The Human Family Tree

Agricultural Revolution (Also known as the Neolithic Revolution)