Archaeology

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Archaeology is the study of past human societies, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data which they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes. Due to the fact that archaeology employs a wide range of different procedures, it can be considered to be both a science and a humanity,and in the United States it is thought of as a branch of anthropology, although in Europe it is viewed as a separate discipline.

Archaeology studies human history from the development of the first stone tools in eastern Africa 2.5 million years ago up until recent decades. It is of most importance for learning about prehistoric societies, when there are no written records for historians to study, and which makes up over 99% of total human history, from the Palaeolithic until the advent of literacy. Archaeology has various different goals, which range from studying human evolution to cultural evolution and understanding culture history.

The discipline involves surveyance, excavation and eventually analysis of data collected in order to learn more about the past. In broad scope, archaeology relies on cross-disciplinary research. It draws upon anthropology, history, art history, classics, ethnology, geography, geology, linguistics, physics, information sciences, chemistry, statistics, paleoecology, paleontology, paleozoology, paleoethnobotany, and paleobotany.

Archaeology developed out of antiquarianism in Europe during the 19th century, and has since become a discipline practiced across the world. Since its early development, various specific forms of archaeology have developed, including maritime archaeology, feminist archaeology and archaeoastronomy, and numerous different scientific techniques have been developed to aid archaeological investigation. Nonetheless, today, archaeologists face many problems, ranging from dealing with pseudoarchaeology to the looting of artefacts and opposition to the excavation of human remains.

Purpose 

The skull of the Taung child, uncovered in South Africa. The Child was an infant of the Australopithecus africanus species, an early form of hominin. Without archaeology, we would know nothing of human evolution.

The purpose of archaeology is to learn more about past societies and the development of the human race. Over 99% of the history of humanity has occurred within prehistoric cultures, who did not make use of writing, thereby not leaving written records about themselves which we can study today. Without such written sources, the only way to learn about prehistoric societies is to use archaeology. Many important developments in human history occurred during prehistory, including the evolution of humanity during the Palaeolithic period, when the hominins developed from the australopithecines through to the early homos in Africa and finally into modern Homo sapiens. Archaeology also sheds light on many of humanity’s technological advances, for instance the ability to use fire, the development of stone tools, the discovery of metallurgy, the beginnings of religion and the creation of agriculture. Without archaeology, we would know nothing of these evolutionary and technological changes in humanity that pre-date writing.

However it is not only prehistoric, pre-literate cultures which can be studied using archaeology, but historic, literate cultures as well, through the sub-discipline of historical archaeology. For many literate cultures, such as Ancient Greece and Mesopotamia, their surviving records are often incomplete and invariably biased to some extent. In many societies, literacy was restricted to the elite classes, such as the clergy or the bureaucracy of court or temple. The literacy even of aristocrats has sometimes been restricted to deeds and contracts. The interests and world-view of elites are often quite different from the lives and interests of the populace. Writings that were produced by people more representative of the general population were unlikely to find their way into libraries and be preserved there for posterity. Thus, written records tend to reflect the biases, assumptions, cultural values and possibly deceptions of a limited range of individuals, usually a small fraction of the larger population. Hence, written records cannot be trusted as a sole source. The material record is closer to a fair representation of society, though it is subject to its own inaccuracies, such as sampling bias and differential preservation.[citation needed]

 Approaches 

There is no one singular approach to archaeological theory that has been adhered to by all archaeologists. When archaeology developed in the late 19th century, the first approach to archaeological theory to be practiced was that of cultural-history archaeology, which held the goal of explaining why cultures changed and adapted rather than just highlighting the fact that they did, therefore emphasising historical particularism. In the early 20th century many archaeologists who studied past societies with direct continuing links to existing ones (such as those of Native Americans, Siberians, Mesoamericans etc.) followed the direct historical approach, compared the continuity between the past and contemporary ethnic and cultural groups. In the 1960s, an archaeological movement largely led by American archaeologists like Lewis Binford and Kent Flannery arose that rebelled against the established cultural-history archaeology. They proposed a "New Archaeology", which would be more "scientific" and "anthropological", with hypothesis testing and the scientific method very important parts of what became known as processual archaeology.

In the 1980s, a new postmodern movement arose led by the British archaeologists Michael Shanks, Christopher Tilley, Daniel Miller,and Ian Hodder,which has become known as post-processual archaeology. It questioned processualism's appeals to scientific positivism and impartiality, and emphasised the importance of a more self-critical theoretical reflexivity.[citation needed] However, this approach has been criticized by processualists as lacking scientific rigor, and the validity of both processualism and post-processualism is still under debate. Meanwhile, another theory, known as historical processualism has emerged seeking to incorporate a focus on process and post-processual archaeology's emphasis of reflexivity and history.

Archaeological theory now borrows from a wide range of influences, including neo-Darwinian evolutionary thought, phenomenology, postmodernism, agency theory, cognitive science, Functionalism, gender-based and Feminist archaeology, and Systems theory.

  Methods

An archaeological investigation usually involves several distinct phases, each of which employs its own variety of methods. Before any practical work can begin however, a clear objective as to what the archaeologists are looking to achieve must be agreed upon. This done, a site is surveyed to find out as much as possible about it and the surrounding area. Secondly, an excavation may take place to uncover any archaeological features buried under the ground, and thirdly, the data collected from the excavation is studied and evaluated in an attempt to achieve the original research objectives of the archaeologists. It is then considered good practice for the information to be published so that it is available to other archaeologists and historians, although this is sometimes neglected.

 Analysis

Once artifacts and structures have been excavated, or collected from surface surveys, it is necessary to properly study them, to gain as much data as possible. This process is known as post-excavation analysis, and is normally the most time-consuming part of the archaeological investigation. It is not uncommon for the final excavation reports on major sites to take years to be published.

At its most basic, the artifacts found are cleaned, catalogued and compared to published collections, in order to classify them typologically and to identify other sites with similar artifact assemblages. However, a much more comprehensive range of analytical techniques are available through archaeological science, meaning that artifacts can be dated and their compositions examined. The bones, plants and pollen collected from a site can all be analyzed (using the techniques of zooarchaeology, paleoethnobotany, and palynology), while any texts can usually be deciphered.

These techniques frequently provide information that would not otherwise be known and therefore contribute greatly to the understanding of a site.

Academic sub-disciplines

As with most academic disciplines, there are a very large number of archaeological sub-disciplines characterised by a specific method or type of material (e.g. lithic analysis, music, archaeobotany), geographical or chronological focus (e.g. Near Eastern archaeology, Medieval archaeology), other thematic concern (e.g. maritime archaeology, landscape archaeology, battlefield archaeology), or a specific archaeological culture or civilisation (e.g. Egyptology, Indology, Sinology).

Historical archaeology

Historical archaeology is the study of cultures with some form of writing.

In England, archaeologists have uncovered the long-lost layouts of medieval villages abandoned after the crises of the 14th century and the equally lost layouts of 17th century parterre gardens swept away by a change in fashion.[citation needed] In downtown New York City archaeologists have exhumed the 18th century remains of the African burial ground.

 Ethnoarchaeology

Ethnoarchaeology is the archaeological study of living people. The approach gained notoriety during the emphasis on middle range theory that was a feature of the processual movement of the 1960s. Early ethnoarchaeological research focused on hunting and gathering or foraging societies. Ethnoarchaeology continues to be a vibrant component of post-processual and other current archaeological approaches. Ethnoarchaeology is the use of ethnography to increase and improve analogs, which are then used as analogies to interpret the archaeological record. In short, ethnoarchaeology is the application of ethnography to archaeology.

Experimental archaeology

Experimental archaeology represents the application of the experimental method to develop more highly controlled observations of processes that create and impact the archaeological record.In the context of the logical positivism of processualism with its goals of improving the scientific rigor of archaeological epistemologies the experimental method gained importance. Experimental techniques remain a crucial component to improving the inferential frameworks for interpreting the archaeological record.

Archaeometry

Archaeometry is a field of study that aims to systematize archaeological measurement. It emphasizes the application of analytical techniques from physics, chemistry, and engineering. It is a lively field of research that frequently focuses on the definition of the chemical composition of archaeological remains for source analysis.A relatively nascent subfield is that of archaeological materials, designed to enhance understanding of prehistoric and non-industrial culture through scientific analysis of the structure and properties of materials associated with human activity.

CAREER DIRECTIONS

For those of you who are planning on a professional career in archaeology, graduate school, sooner or later, probably is a must. Here is where you will get the chance to not only focus more on archaeology, but also to develop areas of specialization within archaeology. In addition to the specific courses required of all majors (ARC 200, ARC 204, ARC 402, and ARC 499), students who plan to apply to a graduate program in archaeology should try to take the following courses: Physical Anthropology (ANT 102), Bones for the Archaeologist (ARC/ANT 334), Archaeology Lab Methods (ARC 403), History of Archaeology (ARC 433), Cultural Resources Management (ARC 435), and Archaeological Theory (ARC 455). These courses are not a requirement for graduate school but they are extremely beneficial. Graduate schools typically require a strong background in cultural anthropology and a knowledge of linguistics, and an anthropology minor is recommended.

The following courses are strongly recommended for students who plan to pursue one of the following graduate-to-professional career

career Opportunities for Archaeological Studies Majors

There are three main employment areas for archaeologists:

1. Research and government employment. Research archaeologists may be hired by Federal agencies, such as the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the National Park Service, and the Fish and Wildlife Service. State Agencies, such as the Department of Transportation, State Historical Societies, state burial sites preservation programs, and historic preservation programs, typically have one or more archaeologists on staff. Museums and research institutions, such as the Smithsonian, the Field Museum, the Science Museum of Minnesota, and the Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center (UW-La Crosse), have staffs of archaeologists. Some job titles include:

Regional Archaeologist

Research Archaeologist

State Archaeologist

Historic Preservation Officer

Park Ranger

Archaeological Field Technician*

Archaeological Lab Technician*

Museum Technician*

Archaeological Surveyor*

Public Education and Outreach Coordinator

*Entry-level positions that require only a bachelor's degree. Other positions require graduate training.

2. Teaching. Most teaching positions are at colleges or universities and typically require a doctorate (Ph.D.) degree. Teaching specialties include:

Prehistoric Archaeology

Classical Archaeology

Near Eastern or Biblical Archaeology

Historical Archaeology

North American Archaeology

Geoarchaeology

Environmental Archaeology

Egyptology

3. Cultural Resources Management (CRM). State and Federal legislation has created the fastest-growing area for archaeological career opportunities, cultural resources management. CRM archaeologists assist developers and public agencies in meeting the requirements of preservation legislation by contracting their services. These archaeologists locate previously unknown archaeological resources (sites and artifacts), evaluate the importance of the resources, and if necessary conduct rescue excavations if the remains are threatened by development. Job titles include:

Contract Archaeologist

Cultural Resources Specialist

Director of a CRM company

Archaeological Field Director

Archaeological Lab Director

Collections Manager

Archaeological Lab Technician*

Archaeological Field Technician*

Public Education and Outreach Coordinator

*Entry-level positions requiring only an undergraduate degree.

Many professional archaeologists have careers that involve work in more than one of the three major areas mentioned. For example, an archaeologist who is a university or college professor during the academic year is often involved in research or consulting during the summer.

Archaeological Studies: Also a good choice for those planning careers in other fields.

Many undergraduates choose Archaeological Studies as a major not because it is their career choice, but because it is an interesting, broad-based and challenging Liberal Arts major. These students go on to careers in business, teaching, communications, legal, or medical professions.