Midterm 1 Flashcards
Archaeology
Plus root words
Archaeology is the study of all aspects of past human experience through material culture
- arkaios =ancient
- logos = “word”, study of
What is the difference between archaeology and paleontology ?
- archaeology focuses on human experience; they only study animals and plants that have been impacted by or impact human development
- if it doesn’t have to do with humans; than it is palaeontology (ie study of dinosaurs)
Archaeology and science
- aims to understand human behaviour, so in his respect it is part of humanities
- uses hypothesis testing and experimentation as a science
- uses scientific methods, and adapts others from geology, biology, chemistry, and physics to analyze artifacts and soils
- different from other scientists as you cannot excavate the same pit twice
Prehistoric archaeology
Study of human past prior to written documents
Historic archaeology
- study human past through material remains in conjunction with written records
Ethnoarchaeology
- study ethnographic cultures and indigenous customs for archaeology analogy (study modern to differ things about ancient cultures)
Pseudoarchaeology
Claims that appear to be based on fact but are actually fictitious
- use of highly selective data without considering the full range of evidence
- use of data out of context
- may be used to support nationalistic or racist agendas (ex 21st century India with Hindu nationalists trying to assert dominance, Nazi germany)
How to spot fake news
- Pay attention to domain and URL
- Read about us section
- Is it from a joke website/ satirical website?
- Look for science based reasoning and citations of professional and peer reviews research
- Do a reverse image search
Society for American Archaeology (SAA) ethics 9 principles
- Stewardship
- Accountability
- Commercialization
- Public education and outreach
- Intellectual property
- Public reporting and publication
- Records and preservation
- Training and resources
- Safe educational and workplace environments
Stewardship
The responsibility to ensure the conservation and survival of artifacts and sites for posterity
Public accountability
Consult in good faith with all affected groups and make research beneficial to all parties involved
Commercialization
Do not enhance the commercial value of arky objects, especially those not in public institutions or readily available to archaeologists (can’t sell artifacts)
Public education and outreach
- explain and promote the use of arky methods and techniques, and interpretations of the past
Intellectual property
After a limited and reasonable time, make materials and documents available to others
Public reporting and publication
Publish findings to as wise a range of interested publics as possible (including local communities)
Records and preservation
- preserve long term access to arky collections, records, and reports (have data indefinitely)
Training and resources
- archaeologists must have adequate training and facilities to conduct any research they initiate
Canadian Archaeological association ethics
- Stewardship
- Aboriginal relationships
- Professional responsibilities
- Public education and outreach
Kennewick man
- 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) stated that if you find Native American remains you must consult the tribe, and offer repatriation
- human skeletal remains recovered in a overbred in Washington state, USA
- originally thought to be modern, turned over to forensic anthropologists who found spearhead in pelvis indicating older than thought
- forensic anthropologists claimed he looked more European and not native
American - legal battle ensued
Ethical issues of the Kennewick man case
- stewardship of a unique skeleton vs respect for Native American religious beliefs
- how do we determine race and affiliation from human skeletal materials?
- can we allow the destruction of sites/ materials/ knowledge given the historical surrounding arky and indigenous populations? Science vs religions?
- who decides?
Kennewick man: new findings
- osteological study by Smithsonian institute
- brainiac features - Ainu
- spear hunter, knapper
- survived 5 broken ribs, 2 blows to the head, a broken shoulder, and spear in his pelvis
- marine diet
- spent time easing and swimming in cold water
- drank glacial melt water from Alaska
Kennewick man DNA
- new study by Dr. Wake Willersley from university of Copenhagen
- lee wick man is not related to Ainu of Japan or Polynesians
- close genetic affinity with members of the confederated tribes of the colville reservation (Native American)
- however, in general, there is very little genetic information about modern native Americans to make comparisons
Kwaday Dan Ts’inchi
- a Canadian model for cooperation?
- mummified body found on a glacier in Tatsheshini - Alden park BC
- hunters found body report it to Beringia centre and turned in artifacts
- the centre notified the Aishihik First Nations
- archaeologists and First Nations developed plans for excavation and analysis together
- remains returned to the First Nations for cremation and burial after investigation
- 300-550 years old
- 18-18 years old at fear
- travel 100km from coast to mountains in the south before death (based on stomach contents)
Artifacts found with kwaday dan ts’inchi
- a rope of gopher/ squirrel skins
- a woven hat
- a walking stick
- a knife
- a hand tool
- an Atlanta and dart
- shellfish and salmon
Clovis - first hypothesis (Bering Land- bridge hypothesis)
- Clovis = large spear points made out of chipped stones
- hypothesis = glaciers and large warming incidents have coincided with dates of Clovis points
- ice free corridor between cordillera corridor and lausteride ice sheet?
Coastal hypothesis
- boats/ walking along the coast
Polynesian hypothesis
- world populated by Polynesia
Canadian vs USA patrimony laws
- compared to the US, Canada has very little national legislation to protect arky sites
- signatory to international treaties prohibiting antiquities trafficking
- Canada regulation is mostly at provincial level, and varies considerably by province
- depending on the province, First Nations may have a greater role in regulating cultural heritage
Historic resources act f Alberta
- passed in 1973
- protects all historic resources in the province
- includes all resources buried or partially buried in land, or submerged in any body of water
- includes arky and paleontology resources with prehistoric, historic, cultural or scientific significance
- imposes fines and sanctions
- gives regulatory power to minister or culture and tourism
- grants official permits (mitigating = consulting archaeologists, research considering academic archaeologists)
- supervise historic resource impact assessments
- supervises museums and other educational use of historic resources
Saskatchewan heritage property act
- burials. It found in a recognized cemetery are property of the crown
- royal Saskatchewan museum developed a protocol with the federation of Saskatchewan Indian nations
- human remains are scientifically studied then repatriated to the tribes for reburial
Ontario cemeteries act
- scientific studies of human remains is prohibited without permission of a representative of the deceased
- the owner of the land negotiators what will happen to the remains with the descendants of the deceased
- archaeologists have no say in what happens
Historic sites and monuments act of 1985
- provides for the administration , preservation, and maintenance of designated sites
Canada shipping act of 2001
- established jurisdiction over the preservation of shipwrecks
- no protection for sites along coastlines and ocean beds
Canada environmental assessment act
- required governed by departments to assess the impact of construction projects on the environment (including arky and paleontology)
Cultural property export act of 1985
- prohibits the illicit import, export, or transport of ownership of cultural property that is of importance to arky, prehistory, history, literature, art, or science
*** UNESCO 1970 convention on the means of prohibiting and preventing the illicit import, export, and transfer of ownership of cultural property
- prohibits the international trafficking of cultural objects
- Canada became a signatory in 1978
National heritage sites in Alberta
- designates national historic of sites are protected under jurisdiction of parks Canada
- ## UNESCO
Ancient collectors
- new kingdom Egypt - Pharos restored and conserved old kingdom monuments
- Aztec emperors excavated sculptures and artifacts at teotihucan and placed them in their own temples
- king nabobidus of Babylon
King Nabonidus of Babylon
- 6th century Bc
- excavated the temples of his predecessors
Archbishop James Ussher (1581/1656)
Use of biblical texts to calculate an age for human history of approximately 6,000 years (Oct. 22, 4004 BC)
Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778)
- systems naturae of classification
Jean Baptiste Lamarack (1744/-1829)
- Lamarckian evolution (giraffe neck)
Georges Cuvier (1769-1829)
Catastrophism - now extinct species had been wiped out by periodic catastrophic flooding events (Noah’s flood)
Sir Charles Lyell
Uniformitarian - same principle of science throughout time (physics, geology, etc.)
Charles Darwin (1809-1859)
- natural selection
- on the origins of species
John Lyon Stephens and Frederick Catherwood (Maya)
1830s-1840s
- when first got there a huge effort to convert people to Catholicism and wipe out old culture
- found arky sites in travels and documented them
- universities began to fund these adventures
Herbert spencer
- unilinear cultural evolution
- progress is not an accident, but a necessity, it is a fact of nature
Sir Edward b Tylor and Lewis Henry Morgan
- unilinear cultural evolution
- established stages through which all human societies progressed (savage, barbarian, civilized)
The three Age system
- Christian Thomsen
- three age system: Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age
- sequence extrapolated to all of Europe
Christian Thomsen (1788-1865)
- curator of national museum of Copenhagen Denmark
- three age system
Revolutions
V. Gordon Childe
- heavily influenced by the Marxist idea that society progresses through revolutions source of innovation and change
- Neolithic revolution
- urban revolution
V. Gordon Childe
- revolutions
Neolithic revolution
V. Gordon Childe defined the change for this revolution, he noticed the change between hunter gatherers to domestication and agriculture
Urban revolution
V Gordon Childe
- cities and towns : people started living in cities instead of towns and villages
- the development of writing and classes
Culture history
- the description and chronological and spatial ordering of arky data, became the sole objective of arky research and remained so until the 1950s
- interpretation consisted primarily of description of the diet, technology, migrations and lifeways of past society
Culture history and change
- Invention
- Diffusion
- Migration
Invention
- a new idea either modified an old idea or replaced it
- may occur by accident or research
Diffusion
- new ideas or cultural traits spread from one person to another or from one group to another, often over long distances
- mechanisms: trade, warfare, visitation between communities or migration
Migration
- the actual movement of populations
- example lost tribes f Israel, Vikings settling in minessota
Franz Boas
- detailed ethnographic data were collected and used to draw conclusions about ancient indigenous peoples
- father of anthropology
Culture areas
- defined based on territorial extent and similar to ethnographically documented groups
- may also include sub areas
Gordon Willey
- divided American southwest into Anasazi, Hohkam, and Mongolian subareas
Tradition (culture history)
Artifact types, assemblages of tools, architectural styles, economic practiced or art styles that distinguish an area for a long period of time