Article: Archaeology
The WordWeb dictionary defines Archaeology as: "The branch of anthropology that studies prehistoric people and their cultures through their material remains".
And what is Anthropology?
"It's the social science that studies the origins and social relationships of human beings".
There is yet another important science that co-exists with the first two and that is: Paleontology, "the earth science that studies fossil organisms and related remains".
Archaeology, Anthropology and Paleontology are complex subjects of discovery science with their own research and methodology of field-work. Can be considered as inter-dependent, though separately they each play a paramount role in uncovering the mysterious past of our planet Earth and all of its inhabitants.
The work of Archaeology may diversify to include specialized activities such as Underwater & Urban exploration and Forensic investigation. Not all famous discoveries have been made by professional archaeologists. There have been quite a few geologists, biologists, geographers, linguists and historians who have either helped or worked on their own.
Generally, Archaeology (Greek word to mean, "study of old things.") is broadly meant to excavate favorable sites to uncover information about a particular society at some specific period of time - to determine its material culture, religion and rituals, economics, politics, warfare and the type of settlement and landscape.
From the distant prehistoric past that the last dinosaurs became extinct about 65 million years ago to the first arrival of our modern human ancestor, the Homo Sapiens Sapiens around 40,000 years, and from the advent of earliest known civilizations such as the Sumerian, Egyptian, Indus Valley, Chinese, Persian, Greek and Roman, and not the least, the Mayan, Aztec and Inca. The wealth of cultural information that we have uncovered so far is mainly due to the dedicated and relentless pursuit, resulting from the combined effort of successive Archaeologists, Anthropologists, Paleontologists and whatever available information/records, to uncover our rich ancient heritage.
To keep it simple, we shall limit our articles to the science of Archaeology and briefly its study of the past civilizations - fieldwork in collecting information on history, culture (social & religious) of ancient societies.
An Archaeologist begins his fieldwork at the designated site, searching and excavating human fossils - bones, teeth, skulls, skeletons, shells, even traces of footprints, man-made artifacts like tools, pottery, and then trying to restore them at the dig site or in a museum or laboratory, to determine their original-like look, form or shape. From the information thus obtained, the Archaeologist can link to establish the type of society - the history of the people, their customs - eating-habit, dress, religion, laws etc. - that existed there at a particular period of time. Most of the sites are very large, the size of a village or even a city. Considering the expense and time involved, excavation is generally undertaken in parts.
Archaeology developed itself as a science near the end of the 19th century, as careful documentation of any site and its findings or discoveries came to be maintained. A few examples of the earliest famous sites successfully excavated by eminent pioneer individuals, not all of whom were professional Archaeologists:
1. Excavation of the Roman city of Pompeii in 1748 by Carlo di
Borbone.
2. Mayan country exploration by John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood in 1839.
3. Excavation of Nimrud, the ancient Assyrian city in 1845 by Austen Henry Layard.
4. Discovery of Neanderthal (human prototype) fossils in 1856.
5. Search for the ancient fable Greek City of Troy by Heinrich Schliemann in 1870.
6. Discovery of the Great Zimbabwe stone ruins in 1871 by the German geologist, Carl Mauch.
7. Discovery of early African Homo Erectus fossils in 1891 by Dutch anatomist Eugène Dubois.
8. The ancient Incan settlement of Machu Picchu city is discovered in 1911 by Archaeologist Hiram Bingham.
Identifying the method for surveying a dig site is done in various ways and depends upon the geographical condition of the terrain. We normally begin these activities through aerial survey including ordinance surveys, via satellites, metal detectors, quarrying,.dredging. For an example, in Peru, which is mostly an isolated region and has dry climate, surface survey is the alternative because of the many clues already available on surface of the ground. Aerial survey from a plane or hill-top are preferable for spotting rock patterns and discoloration of plants because of some wall or construction ruins buried beneath. Ordinance surveys also accomplish one such process.
As a result, many new sites are located every year.Many other sites are found from researching historical records, books, written & oral accounts, legends, diaries and travelogues, museum records, records available of monuments, archives, survey & geological maps, blueprints, artworks etc.
Research is also carried out from social and economics records available of the site proposed and the existing archaeological evidence, if any, being careful to sieve any bias accounts providing the information. Discovered and existing monumental sites such as the Pyramids, Stonehenge and Machu Picchu are revisited often, sometimes leading to surrounding newer sites and newer discoveries.
During the actual work of excavation, the Archaeologist and co-workers take great care to analyze the soil-layers, then shifting the soil around the fossils and artifacts before undertaking careful removal to preserve all the evidence, simultaneously recording the details of the findings.
Assembling of the fragmented fossils and artifacts is also a part of the process of reconstructing the anticipated shape or form. Moreover, the newly discovered objects are minutely analyzed for fakery and forgery. Only after thorough examination and to the satisfaction of those involved, news is released to the public about the chronological, historical, cultural context and the value of the relevant findings.
There are two important factors that involve examining
the ground at the dig site. One is the examination of inorganic remains - artifacts of ceramic, iron, of other metals, tools, clay-fired pottery,statues, masonry, plaster,etc.
The other is the organic materials such as the soil, organic artifacts, human fossils (whole, partial or just body-parts), like bones, teeth, skulls, skeletons, etc. and also animal remains, plant fossils and plant micro-fossils.
Other artifacts include stone sculpture, tombs, paintings, ivory images, figurines, wall drawings, ancient parchments and so on.
Modern scientific methods of exploration, such as DNA testing, sonar and GPS inventions have made archaeological approach possible to many difficult, unreachable terrain and once thought to be non-existing and whole lost cities have been discovered in unexpected locations, enriching our knowledge of our ancient universal heritage. With newer techniques such as the use of remote sensing, it is possible to trace and identify deep underwater ancient shipwrecks, documenting the historicity and sometimes salvaging for gold and other artifacts
Archaeological research and the subsequent excavation work is tedious - time, effort and money consuming. The outcome is not always successful or financially rewarding. Moreover, financing a dig, can be difficult, as it depends on many factors. Official permissions are required from the government conerned, the local Archaeological Society or such institutions.
Now-a-days, many Universities, private individuals and groups offer grants both for scholarships, research and excavation work. Archaeologists write grant proposals specifying the research needed, also specifying the financial budget for the excavation. National Geographic's Committee for Research and Exploration, for example, accepts online applications for exploring Archaeological sites worldwide.
Good news is that there have been many successful explorations where the value of the findings and the discoveries of artifacts, have paid for the funding.
Your comments would be appreciated,
Paul Rodricks, Author.
Contact: paulrodericks@gmail.com
Blog: paulswritersdig7.blogspot.com
Uncovering our Ancient Past
The WordWeb dictionary defines Archaeology as: "The branch of anthropology that studies prehistoric people and their cultures through their material remains".
And what is Anthropology?
"It's the social science that studies the origins and social relationships of human beings".
There is yet another important science that co-exists with the first two and that is: Paleontology, "the earth science that studies fossil organisms and related remains".
Archaeology, Anthropology and Paleontology are complex subjects of discovery science with their own research and methodology of field-work. Can be considered as inter-dependent, though separately they each play a paramount role in uncovering the mysterious past of our planet Earth and all of its inhabitants.
The work of Archaeology may diversify to include specialized activities such as Underwater & Urban exploration and Forensic investigation. Not all famous discoveries have been made by professional archaeologists. There have been quite a few geologists, biologists, geographers, linguists and historians who have either helped or worked on their own.
Generally, Archaeology (Greek word to mean, "study of old things.") is broadly meant to excavate favorable sites to uncover information about a particular society at some specific period of time - to determine its material culture, religion and rituals, economics, politics, warfare and the type of settlement and landscape.
From the distant prehistoric past that the last dinosaurs became extinct about 65 million years ago to the first arrival of our modern human ancestor, the Homo Sapiens Sapiens around 40,000 years, and from the advent of earliest known civilizations such as the Sumerian, Egyptian, Indus Valley, Chinese, Persian, Greek and Roman, and not the least, the Mayan, Aztec and Inca. The wealth of cultural information that we have uncovered so far is mainly due to the dedicated and relentless pursuit, resulting from the combined effort of successive Archaeologists, Anthropologists, Paleontologists and whatever available information/records, to uncover our rich ancient heritage.
To keep it simple, we shall limit our articles to the science of Archaeology and briefly its study of the past civilizations - fieldwork in collecting information on history, culture (social & religious) of ancient societies.
An Archaeologist begins his fieldwork at the designated site, searching and excavating human fossils - bones, teeth, skulls, skeletons, shells, even traces of footprints, man-made artifacts like tools, pottery, and then trying to restore them at the dig site or in a museum or laboratory, to determine their original-like look, form or shape. From the information thus obtained, the Archaeologist can link to establish the type of society - the history of the people, their customs - eating-habit, dress, religion, laws etc. - that existed there at a particular period of time. Most of the sites are very large, the size of a village or even a city. Considering the expense and time involved, excavation is generally undertaken in parts.
Archaeology developed itself as a science near the end of the 19th century, as careful documentation of any site and its findings or discoveries came to be maintained. A few examples of the earliest famous sites successfully excavated by eminent pioneer individuals, not all of whom were professional Archaeologists:
1. Excavation of the Roman city of Pompeii in 1748 by Carlo di
Borbone.
2. Mayan country exploration by John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood in 1839.
3. Excavation of Nimrud, the ancient Assyrian city in 1845 by Austen Henry Layard.
4. Discovery of Neanderthal (human prototype) fossils in 1856.
5. Search for the ancient fable Greek City of Troy by Heinrich Schliemann in 1870.
6. Discovery of the Great Zimbabwe stone ruins in 1871 by the German geologist, Carl Mauch.
7. Discovery of early African Homo Erectus fossils in 1891 by Dutch anatomist Eugène Dubois.
8. The ancient Incan settlement of Machu Picchu city is discovered in 1911 by Archaeologist Hiram Bingham.
Identifying the method for surveying a dig site is done in various ways and depends upon the geographical condition of the terrain. We normally begin these activities through aerial survey including ordinance surveys, via satellites, metal detectors, quarrying,.dredging. For an example, in Peru, which is mostly an isolated region and has dry climate, surface survey is the alternative because of the many clues already available on surface of the ground. Aerial survey from a plane or hill-top are preferable for spotting rock patterns and discoloration of plants because of some wall or construction ruins buried beneath. Ordinance surveys also accomplish one such process.
As a result, many new sites are located every year.Many other sites are found from researching historical records, books, written & oral accounts, legends, diaries and travelogues, museum records, records available of monuments, archives, survey & geological maps, blueprints, artworks etc.
Research is also carried out from social and economics records available of the site proposed and the existing archaeological evidence, if any, being careful to sieve any bias accounts providing the information. Discovered and existing monumental sites such as the Pyramids, Stonehenge and Machu Picchu are revisited often, sometimes leading to surrounding newer sites and newer discoveries.
During the actual work of excavation, the Archaeologist and co-workers take great care to analyze the soil-layers, then shifting the soil around the fossils and artifacts before undertaking careful removal to preserve all the evidence, simultaneously recording the details of the findings.
Assembling of the fragmented fossils and artifacts is also a part of the process of reconstructing the anticipated shape or form. Moreover, the newly discovered objects are minutely analyzed for fakery and forgery. Only after thorough examination and to the satisfaction of those involved, news is released to the public about the chronological, historical, cultural context and the value of the relevant findings.
There are two important factors that involve examining
the ground at the dig site. One is the examination of inorganic remains - artifacts of ceramic, iron, of other metals, tools, clay-fired pottery,statues, masonry, plaster,etc.
The other is the organic materials such as the soil, organic artifacts, human fossils (whole, partial or just body-parts), like bones, teeth, skulls, skeletons, etc. and also animal remains, plant fossils and plant micro-fossils.
Other artifacts include stone sculpture, tombs, paintings, ivory images, figurines, wall drawings, ancient parchments and so on.
Modern scientific methods of exploration, such as DNA testing, sonar and GPS inventions have made archaeological approach possible to many difficult, unreachable terrain and once thought to be non-existing and whole lost cities have been discovered in unexpected locations, enriching our knowledge of our ancient universal heritage. With newer techniques such as the use of remote sensing, it is possible to trace and identify deep underwater ancient shipwrecks, documenting the historicity and sometimes salvaging for gold and other artifacts
Archaeological research and the subsequent excavation work is tedious - time, effort and money consuming. The outcome is not always successful or financially rewarding. Moreover, financing a dig, can be difficult, as it depends on many factors. Official permissions are required from the government conerned, the local Archaeological Society or such institutions.
Now-a-days, many Universities, private individuals and groups offer grants both for scholarships, research and excavation work. Archaeologists write grant proposals specifying the research needed, also specifying the financial budget for the excavation. National Geographic's Committee for Research and Exploration, for example, accepts online applications for exploring Archaeological sites worldwide.
Good news is that there have been many successful explorations where the value of the findings and the discoveries of artifacts, have paid for the funding.
Your comments would be appreciated,
Paul Rodricks, Author.
Contact: paulrodericks@gmail.com
Blog: paulswritersdig7.blogspot.com