Archaeology And Archaeology

Archaeology plays a crucial role in the maintenance of cultural heritage and restoration of it to various groups of people around the world. From Native Americans to the Aboriginal people of Australia and the Shona in Zimbabwe, archaeology has strived to maintain and restore heritage that would otherwise be lost to these groups of people. Through archaeology reconstruction and rebuilding of cultural heritage sites can be made, antiquities can provide a gateway to the past, and groups once stripped of their ways of life can begin to learn about what exactly their ancestors left behind. Through organizations like UNESCO and efforts of diligent archaeologist around the globe, it is possible to maintain heritage for many generations to come. There

Upon Zimbabwe’s rediscovery sometime in the 19th century, archaeologist, anthropologist, and geologist simply could not believe that this once powerful civilization was cultivated by the indigenous people. Much of this disbelief was due to the fact that the monuments in this area were crafted from granite stone, something geologist like Carl Mauch and many others like him, were positive the indigenous africans were incapable of. The indigenous africans in Zimbabwe were immediately written off as being unable to construct the beautiful monuments in Great Zimbabwe. To the discoverers, the black africans weren’t complex enough to have such skillfully constructed such monuments which is why Cecil Rhodes, a british colonizer, was able to for a short period of time, wipe away the cultural heritage of the native Zimbabweans. In 1888 Rhodes conquered a large portion of southern Africa which he named after himself. Present day Zimbabwe became a British colony by the name of Rhodesia for the next 100 years. During this time the natives were stripped of their land, their rights, and most importantly their cultural heritage. Rhodes was a strong believer in the same theories as Carl Mauch. Rhodes believed that the Great Zimbabwe monuments were built by foreigners and he was set on proving that this great civilization was not built by

“All along the Mississippi River and northward into Wisconsin, up through Ohio and New York, all the way to Lake Ontario, there are remnants of ancient inhabitants that created many earthworks called mounds. Within the mounds, for which many were graves, were great works of stone, clay, copper, and shell that were considered to be grave goods. In the 1800s, there was a debate that was the interest of every educated person in the United States as to what civilization could have made these mounds. Many thought that an ancient race besides the Native Americans made the mounds.”