Archaeology

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Archaeology

• The Study of Ancient Life
• A mini unit

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Discovering Aspects of Ancient Life through
Artifacts

• The word archaeology comes from the Greek
  language and means to study what is ancient
• All aspects of ancient life are of interest to
  archaeologists, including
• How people lived
• Where people lived and how it affected their
  lives

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Discovering Aspects of Ancient Life through
Artifacts

• Gold, precious metals and jewels are not as
  important to archaelogists.
• Why?
• They do not tell us much about the daily lives
  of the people who owned them.

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Discovering Aspects of Ancient Life through
Artifacts

• By interpreting everyday artifacts
  archaeologists can learn a lot about the
  day-to-day lives of our ancestors.
• The archaeological process is ongoing
• It is like unraveling a mystery or piecing
  together an ancient jigsaw puzzle with many of
  the pieces missing.

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When and where artifacts are found is very
important to archaeologists

• Locus The place where artifacts are found.
• A locus sheet is attached to the artifacts or the
  container in which they are stored. Every locus
  sheet has a complex number on it.
• It reflects the details about when and where the
  artifacts were found.

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Location may reveal the story of the site!

• Ex The excavation site in Jordan The seal
  found there bore the name of an important ruler
  which revealed that the site was the main
  administration center of the region.

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Artifacts Lost or Thrown Away

• In the case of a site in Jordan, the artifacts
  recovered were lost or dropped when the complex
  was attacked and destroyed by fire.
• How do we know?
• A thick layer of charred wood, bricks, and rubble
  were found
• Hundreds of metal tips of lances, spears and
  arrows found

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Artifacts Lost or Thrown Away

• Some of the most productive areas are garbage
  pits or middens.
• We can conclude the food eaten, dishes and
  utensils used, and pastimes (i.e. pipe stems mean
  they smoked, dice means they played games of
  chance etc.)
• By closely analyzing each artifact and where it
  came from, the story of life in the past comes to
  light.

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Whos Who?

• Because archaeologists study ALL aspects of life,
  there are many specialists in the field.
• Each specialist adds a piece to the puzzle

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Whos Who?

• Forensic Archaeologist studies human body
  remains to determine diet, health, age and
  disease.

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Whos Who?

• Paleobotanist studies ancient plant remains and
  fossils.

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Whos Who?

• Paleographer studies ancient inscriptions and
  documents by interpreting ancient languages and
  glyphs (pictures etched or painted onto rocks and
  cliffs).

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Whos Who?

• Numismatist studies coins (and often medals).
  When coins are found at a site they immediately
  date that site as no earlier than the most recent
  coin.

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Whos Who?

• Ceramic Technologist studies potsherds to
  understand the manufacturing techniques of
  ancient pottery.

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Whos Who?

• Dendrochronologist studies tree rings. This
  study is very useful in dating wood remains.

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So, How Do We Know about the Past?

• By way of
• The ancient writings left behind
• Historians Accounts
• Ancient Art
• Sites Frozen In Time
• Material Remains (Metals, Pottery and other
  Preserved Matter - Organic)