Introduction to Archaeology
Edition: 1
Copyright: 2019
Pages: 164
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This text introduces the student to the practice of archaeology (it's multidisciplinary nature, history) with an emphasis on how archaeologists think, and methods of analysis and scientific techniques used by archaeologists.
The goals of the text are to familiarize students with what constitutes physical evidence of the human past, the research process and current technologies used by archaeologists, inform students on the ethical issues involved in studying the past, and provide students with an overview of select specialized subfields of archaeology.
Special consideration is given to bioarchaeology and the analysis of human remains, cognitive archaeology and the evolution of human cognition, as well as Public and Sustainable archaeologies.
Also, space is devoted to highlighting how archaeology informs our understanding of the past, present, and future.
UNIT 1 What is Archaeology?
Unit 1 check-list
Case Study—Secrets of the Dead: Vampire Legend
What is Archaeology?
Why Study the Past?
Level 1—Mass Media, Public Knowledge, and Popular Imagination
Level 2—Personalities of Archaeology
Level 3—The Archaeological Record and Recognition of Evidence
Basic Definitions and Concepts
Formation of the Archaeological Record
Geomorphology, Soils, and Stratigraphy
Some Basic Principles of Stratigraphy
Preservation
Level 4—Applied Archaeology
Test Your Knowledge
Additional Required Resources
References
Glossary of Keywords
UNIT 2 The Research Process and Basic Field Methods
Unit 2 check-list
Case Study—Pompeii’s People
Archaeological Fieldwork
The Research Process—How Is an Archaeological Investigation Initiated?
Level 1—Collecting Information, Forming Hypotheses, Sampling Strategies
Level 2—Data Collection: Evidence on the Surface
Case Study—WARP
Surveying and Mapping Methods
Level 3—Evidence Hidden Below the Surface
Case Study—Old Fort Erie
Surveying and Mapping Methods
Excavation Methods
Recording Remains
Level 4—Examination and Explanation
Level 5—Applied Archaeology
Test Your Knowledge
Additional Required Resources
References
Glossary of Keywords
UNIT 3 Life after Death: Bioarchaeology
Unit 3 check-list
Case Study—Warriors of the Clouds: The Chachapoyas of Peru
Bioarchaeology
Why Study Human Skeletal Remains?
Level 1—Know Your Skeleton
Level 2—Individual Lives: Osteobiography
Animal versus Human
How Many Individuals?
Biological Sex
Age-at-death
Race
Living Stature
Disease, Disability, and Illness from the Skeleton
Level 3—Population Studies
Level 4—Applied Archaeology
Test Your Knowledge
Additional Required Resources
References
Glossary of Keywords
UNIT 4 Becoming and Being Human: Cognitive Archaeology
Unit 4 check-list
Case Study—Egyptian Secrets of the Afterlife
Cognitive Archaeology
Level 1—Cognition
Working with Concepts and Symbols in Archaeology
Case Study—The Sacred Landscape of Nebo
Level 2—Primer on Human Biological Evolution
Level 3—The Archaeology of Human Cognitive Evolution
Level 4—Applied Archaeology
Test Your Knowledge
Additional Required Resources
References
Glossary of Keywords
UNIT 5 Who Owns the Past?
Unit 5 check-list
Case Study—New York City African Burial Ground
Who Owns the Past?
Level 1—Public Archaeology
Level 2—Community Consultation, Collaboration, and Change
Case Study—Indigenous Archaeology
Level 3—Sustainable Archaeology
Level 4—Applied Archaeology
Test Your Knowledge
Additional Required Resources
References
Glossary of Keywords