Willey claims that at the beginning of the twentieth century there was a " Stratigraphic revolution. However, Lyman argues against this, claiming that the shift was in archaeologists view of time and space instead of excavation methods as a whole. Later in the twentieth century another sort of ' revolution ' occurs with the di spute or need for more universal excavation method s.
First, it is important to set a base understanding of archaeological stratigraphy in general.
Every archaeological site, to some degree, is stratified, so the principles and laws that have created the science of stratigraphy are very important and relevant to the practice of archaeology.
Edward C. Harris , in his article , The Laws of Archaeological Stratigraphy, initially
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It's methods and principles rely largely on the four rules of archaeological stratigraphy listed earlier. In a Harris Matrix, the latest contexts are listed first and it goes in succession as the strata go deeper and subsequently get older. The method is used while the excavation is taking place. Drawings and written descriptions and records are checked and kept daily. In urban settings, sites often contain a large number of strata making the detailed recording of each layer very important. Each strata is labeled as a number and placed in a matrix in relation to where it was found stratigraphically.
The Harris method is efficient and leaves far less room for loop holes in data collection. It was a response to the neglect for innovation and improvement of previous methods of archaeological stratigraphy which were insufficient in their recording of stratigraphical context.
Peter R. Clark supports Harris' disapproval of previous archaeological methods regarding stratigraphy. He states in his article, Sites Without Principles; Post-excavation Analysis of 'Pre-matrix' Sites,
" However, like many archaeological institutions int eh United Kingdom , the Trust
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He noticed that some records only contain approximately forty percent of the stratigraphic record. This leaves a considerable amount simply gone from any site context, leaving huge holes, and archaeologists have no way to retrieve that data.
Thirdly, Clark also seems to agree with Harri s on the basis of a need for uniform methodology. The use of recording data on multiple forms of media and using several different methods causes, again, holes in the record . Things can get lost or mis-translated easily. It is difficult for the data to shift hands and to be interpreted by later archaeologists . The adoption of one universal method would be beneficial to the practice. This way at least the data recorded would be clear and intelligible and whatever was recorded could be used and referenced at a later time easily. Clark introduces the "Bus Principle". Stating that, "this is the principle that if the site director is run over by a bus, the site records should be easily comprehensible to another archaeologist with no first-hand experience of the excavation" (Clark, 1993, 277). This princi
The paper talked about the new mud glyph cave art site the was discovered in northern Alabama. It is believe that the artifacts and the images that is located in the cave linked back to the Early and Middle Woodland periods. The cave was named “19th Unnamed Cave” by a naming system that was used be University of Tennessee. Other main points in this paper include the 19th Unnamed Cave, the mud glyph art that it contains, and how the mud glyph contributes to the understanding of mud glyph assemblage preservation, and it helps illuminates the chronological placement of the art form. The cave is located in northern Alabama with a cave mouth of 25 m in diameter and with more than 5 km of underground passageways.
The second question frequently asked regarding Schliemann’s legacy examines his motives and skill as an excavator: was Heinrich Schliemann a good archaeologist? This question has two sides. First, did Schliemann use the best techniques and technology available to him at time of his first excavation? Second, did he have the same values that other archaeologists have?
Moundville has been the focus of a large amount of archaeological interest due to its impressive earthworks. Clarence B. Moore produced well-publicized works. During his time in Moundville in 1905 and 1906, Moore pierced the mounds with “trial holes,” finding numerous burials and related artifacts. Unlike many treasure hunters, Moore donated the majority of his find...
...ts were labelled with the upper case letters which represented the material types and a numeric letter. The artifacts were placed in different boxes. The artifact analysis was then conducted and the characteristics such as tool type and material type of each artifact were recorded on the artifact catalog forms. The material samples of lithic tools, faunal remains, and ceramics remains were compare with existing artifacts to identify their material type. The Vernier scale was used for the measurements of each lithic tools.
...ncyclopedia of Archaeology, Ed. Deborah M. Pearsall. Vol. 3. Oxford, United Kingdom: Academic Press, 2008. p1896-1905. New Britain: Elsevier, Inc.
A plethora of methods exist to analyse soil in order to determine grave location varying from geophysical techniques to lab analysis. These tests rely on testing soil samples to determine their origins, samples can be compared with others to see how closely they match. Each method has advantages and disadvantages, in forensic contexts results need to be accurate so evidence can hold up in court therefore certain tests will be better suited for the task. The main types of soil are clay, silt, and sand the soils formation and properties are determined by the parent material, climate where it originated, topography, the organisms that inhabit it, and time. The type of soil and particle size determines which techniques are appropriate (Pye & Blott, 2004). The value of soil in relation to determining grave location is essential in preventing a lengthy excavation process, statistical testing is conducted to determine if the samples are a match and if they are how significant.
The BBC, n.d. Web. The Web. The Web. 21 Apr. 2014 Clark, G. T. "The Archaeological Journal." The Archaeological Journal.
Turfa, Jean Maclntosh. American Journal of Archaeology. N.p.: Archaeological Institute of America, 1977. JSTOR. Web. 30 Nov. 2013.
Stratum 1 lacks a lot of information. There are no signs of permanent settlement, but there is a burial mound which suggests that the area held some kind of importance. Analysis shows that they consumed plants such as wheat, however, there is no evidence at the site that they practiced agriculture. The faunal remains of eagles and mountain lions suggests that they hunted quite a distance from the plains settlement. Their projectile points had evolved, but there was no evidence that they made them or where they would have been made. Even their knives were made of material foreign to the area. The bronze axe heads imply that they had developed casting methods, although there is no evidence of that either. It is more likely that the people who lived here moved from somewhere else and probably did not stay very long. The bodies in the burial mound being arranged around two of them suggests that those two had a higher social status which is compounded by the fact that the artifacts were associated with them. However, there is no evidence to tell exactly what their status was or how they ended up buried
1st ed. Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP, 2004. A 1. The sandstone of B Plate 2.. C Plate 3..
This week in my science class, Reading and Writing Science, we studied Archeology. Archeology is a field that requires the background information of history and the scientific methods of science. This profession, like most others, is very susceptible to the dangerous of human error. Through my own experience in class after viewing seven, foreign pictures, I have learnt that archeology has to do almost entirely with human observations and perspectives. After a body or an artifact is dug up, it is the job of archeologists to figure out as much as they can about the different objects. Because humans are not omnipotent creatures, sometimes they are wrong in their assumptions and conclusions on the history of these artifacts. After revisiting the pictures and being told the story and professional findings of each one, I too found there were errors in my observations; sometimes I omitted some artifacts and made unknown prejudice or cultural assumptions on the deceased individuals, which in turn caused me to interpret the evidence incorrectly.
Discussions in the 1970’s and 1980’s within both sides of the debate indicate population change, behavior change and natural processes to be the large determining factors (Attenbrow, 2004). Many archaeologists accepted there was a continuing increase over time in the number of archaeological sites established and used, as well as in the number of artefacts accumulated in individual sites, particularly in the past 5000 years (eg. Johnson 1979:39; Bowdler1981; Morwood 1984:371, 1986, 1987; Ross 1984, 1985:87; Beaton 1985: 16-18; Fletcher-Jones 1985: 282, 286; Lourandos 1985a: 393-411, 1985b: 38; White and Habgood 1985; Hiscock 1986) (Attenbrow, 2004). Population change refers to the changes in number of people or size of the population, behavioural changes referring to changes to activities such as tool manufacturing, subsistence practices as well as the use of space within a site (Attenbrow, 2004). Whilst natural processes include geomorphological and biological process that may have affected the archaeological record (At...
These leading anthropologists paved the way for Lewis Binford and his absolutely influential paper titled Archaeology as Anthropology in which Binfo...
...anges which occurred over a period of time and why these changes occurred but who was responsible for them. Archaeological findings are essential especially when there is a lack of written primary sources. The most common findings in this field include; cave art, pottery, and weaponry used for both hunting and fighting. In later cases of archaeological excavations written evidence was well provided and artifacts recovered at the site were used as an aid in studying a particular culture. Moreover, it is quite obvious that all of the following elements pertaining to archaeology have positively contributed to our further understanding of human culture in previous centuries. Discoveries by archeologists not only give us significant insight into our past but they also give us essential information necessary for a comprehensive understanding of our present and our future.
Archaeologists are scattered across the gamut. Considering knowledge of human past is valuable to numerous academic disciplines. Varieties of archaeological application include: cultural resource management, heritage conservation, historic preservation,