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Chapter 2—Putting the Picture Together Chapter 2—Putting the Picture Together CHAPTER OUTLINE Origins of Archaeology Archaeology in the World: Thomas Jefferson, the Archaeologist The Emergence of Archaeology Organizing Time The Establishment of Human Antiquity Imperial Archaeology Developing Method and Theory Stratigraphic Method and Culture History V. Gordon Childe Archaeology as Science Developing Scientific Methods The New Archaeology Systems Theory Cultural Resource Management Toolbox: Faunal Analysis and Taphonomy Alternative Perspectives Postprocessual Archaeology Gender and Agency Toolbox: Archaeoacoustics From the Field: Why Do I “Do” Archaeology? Evolutionary Archaeology Archaeology at the Trowel’s Edge LEARNING OBJECTIVES Delineate the process by which the depth of human antiquity was recognized. Understand the development of an explicitly scientific approach to archaeology by the “New Archaeologists,” also known as processual archaeologists. Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved. 8 Know the questions raised about a scientific approach by postprocessual archaeology. KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS Agency Theory: a theory that emphasizes the interaction between the agency of individuals and social structure. Archaeological Theory: ideas that archaeologists have developed about the past and about the ways we come to know about the past. Deduction: drawing particular inferences from general laws and models. Emic: an approach to archaeological or anthropological analysis that attempts to understand the meanings people attach to their actions and culture. Etic: an approach to archaeological or anthropological analysis that does not attempt to adopt the perspective of the members of the culture that are being studied. Evolutionary Archaeology: a range of approaches that stress the importance of evolutionary theory as a unifying theory for archaeology. Feminist Archaeology: an approach to archaeology that focuses on the way archaeologists study and represent gender and that brings attention to gender inequities in the practice of archaeology. Hermeneutics: a theory of interpretation that stresses the interaction between the presuppositions we bring to a problem and the independent empirical reality of our observations and experiences. Induction: drawing general inferences on the basis of available empirical data. Middle-Range Research: research investigating processes that can be observed in the present and that can serve as a point of reference to test hypotheses about the past. National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), Section 106: The legislation that regulates Cultural Resource Management archaeology. Neolithic: the period in which there are polished stone tools. Also called the New Stone Age. New Archaeology (or Processual Archaeology): an approach to archaeology based firmly on scientific method and supported by a concerted effort aimed at the development of theory. Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved. 9 Paleolithic: the period during which humans lived with now extinct animals. Also called the Old Stone Age. Postprocessual Archaeology: a movement, led by British archaeologist Ian Hodder, that argues archaeologists should emulate historians in interpreting the past. Systems Theory: an archaeological theory which views society as an interconnected network of interacting elements. Three-Age System: a system developed by Danish antiquarian Christian Jürgensen Thomson that catalogues artifacts into relics of three periods—the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age—based on the material of manufacture. Thunderstones: objects such as ground stone axes that people in Medieval Europe believed were formed in spots where lightning struck the earth. CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES AND STUDENT PROJECTS 1. Classroom Activity To teach students the scientific method, lead them through the stages of observation, hypothesis formation, hypothesis testing (via experimentation or data analysis), theory, and law. To do this, borrow a well-known topic from pseudoarchaeology (i.e. Nasca lines are landing strips for aliens, the Myth of the Moundbuilders, the lost continents of Lemuria or Atlantis) and discuss each with students, following the scientific method. In this way you can demonstrate the value of skepticism while showing how proper scientific inquiry is conducted. 2. Student Project Instruct students to research Thor Heyerdahl online to create a biography that describes the man and his work. Tell students to then write an additional section telling whether they think Heyerdahl was an archaeologist or a pseudoarchaeologist, and explain the reason for their conclusion. 3. Classroom Activity Present students with data from a local archaeological site. Divide students into at least two groups (always divide class into group numbers divisible by two) and assign each Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved. 10 group the task of interpreting the site’s data. One group will interpret the data from a processual archaeology perspective while the other will use a postprocessual archaeology approach. Have groups present their interpretations to the class and then discuss with everyone the differences of the two approaches and the advantage and disadvantages of each school of thought. SUGGESTED FILMS Other People’s Garbage (60 minutes; Alexandria, VA: Public Broadcasting Associates, Inc.). This film reviews the findings of archaeologists working at three different sites in the US and explains what their findings reveal about daily life in America’s recent past. Archaeology: Questioning the Past (26 minutes; Berkeley: Marin Community College). Provides students with an introduction to the science of archaeology and shows various archaeological digs involving students from Marin Community College. INTERNET EXPLORATION LINKS Archaeology http://www.cyberpursuits.com/archeo/ This site offers news feeds and links to sites and archaeology projects in specific regions and specific archaeological subdisciplines. It also leads to information about archaeology programs and additional resources. ArchNet http://archnet.asu.edu/ Hosted and maintained by the staff at the Archaeological Research Institute at Arizona State University, ArchNet provides links to archaeology sites by region and topic as well as leads to educational and research resources and archaeological institutions and organizations. Deduction & Induction http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/dedind.php This page instructs the reader on the differences between deductive reasoning and inductive reasoning. Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved. 11 Archaeological Theory http://www.indiana.edu/~arch/saa/matrix/ia/ia03_mod_04.html This page, hosted by Indiana University Bloomington, clarifies the major differences among key archaeological paradigms. SUGGESTED READINGS Lewis Binford. (1983). In Pursuit of the Past. New York: Thames and Hudson. Sally Binford and Lewis Binford. (1968). New Perspectives in Archaeology. New York: Aldine. David Clark. (1978). Analytical Archaeology. New York: Columbia University Press. Joan Gero and Margaret Conkey, eds. (1991). Engendering Archaeology. Oxford, UK: Blackwell. Donald Grayson. (1983). The Establishment of Human Antiquity. New York: Academic Press. Ian Hodder. (1986). Reading the Past. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Ian Hodder. (1999). The Archaeological Process. Oxford, UK: Blackwell. Johannes H. N. Loubser. (2003). Archaeology: The Comic. Oxford, UK: Altamira. Robert Preucel and Ian Hodder, eds. (1996). Contemporary Archaeology in Theory. Oxford, UK: Blackwell. Alain Schnapp. (1996). The Discovery of the Past. New York: Abrams. Bruce Trigger. (1989). A History of Archaeological Thought. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Gordon Willey and Jeremy Sabloff. (1980). A History of American Archaeology. San Francisco: Freeman. Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved. 12 WORLD PREHISTORY and ARCHAEOLOGY: PATHWAYS THROUGH TIME, 3rd EDITION Michael Chazan Chapter 2 PUTTING THE PICTURE TOGETHER Part One: The Past is a Foreign Country: Getting from Here to There Learning Objectives After reading the chapter, you should understand: • The process by which the depth of human antiquity was recognized. • The development of an explicitly scientific approach to archaeology by the New Archaeologists, also known as processual archaeologists. • The questions raised about a scientific approach by postprocessual archaeology. Origins of Archaeology • Early State Societies Interest in ancient objects was neither archaeological nor scientific Nabonidus, king of Babylon, excavated temple ruins to rededicate them to deities Thutmose IV (1412-1402 BC) excavated the Sphinx at Giza because he believed that the sun god would make him Pharaoh if he did so Origins of Archaeology • Emergence of Archaeology Three Age System for organizing time Developed by C.J. Thomsen (Danish antiquarian) Divided prehistory: Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages Establishment of Human Antiquity Irrefutable evidence of human artifacts In 1800s contextually with extinct animal bones Neanderthal skull provides evidence In 1857 of a premodern human Darwin published On The Origin of Species; In 1859 Lyell studied geologic time and humans In 1865 Lubbock defined Neolithic and Paleolithic eras Establishment
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