human evolution and prehistory link to the canadian archaeological association link to the canadian...
TRANSCRIPT
Human EvolutionHuman Evolutionandand PREHISTORYPREHISTORY
Link to the Canadian Archaeological Association
Chapter Two:Chapter Two:
METHODS OF STUDYINGMETHODS OF STUDYINGTHE HUMAN PASTTHE HUMAN PAST
Chapter PreviewChapter PreviewChapter PreviewChapter Preview
What Are Archaeological Sites And Fossil Localities, What Are Archaeological Sites And Fossil Localities, And How Are They Found?And How Are They Found?
How Are Sites And Localities Investigated?How Are Sites And Localities Investigated?
How Are Archaeological Or Fossil Remains Dated?How Are Archaeological Or Fossil Remains Dated?
Forensic Anthropology in Nova Scotia
Aim Of ArchaeologyAim Of Archaeology
To use archaeological remains to To use archaeological remains to
reconstruct human societies that can no reconstruct human societies that can no
longer be observed firsthand, in order to longer be observed firsthand, in order to
understand and explain human understand and explain human
behaviourbehaviour
Methods of Data RecoveryMethods of Data Recovery
Artifacts any object fashioned or altered by humans,
e.g. pipe, stone tool, house walls
Context of artifacts the way that artifacts were left in the ground
The Nature of FossilsThe Nature of Fossils
Fossil
the remains of a once-living organism, generally having lived more than 10,000 years ago, e.g. bones
FossilizationFossilization
Typically involve the hard parts of an organism:
BonesTeethShellsHornsWoody tissues of plants
FossilsFossils
AlteredRemains of plants and animals that have been altered, as by the replacement of organic material by calcium carbonate or silica
Unaltered
Remains of plants and animals that lived in the past and that have not been altered in any significant way
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITESARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES
A site is a place containing the remains of previous human activity
A feature is a discrete place within a site, e.g. fire hearth, storage pit
Archaeological site…early stages of excavation
Some Types of Archaeology
Paleoanthropological
Historical
Some Types of Archaeology
Underwater
Industrial
Sites…What are they?
Places where past human activity occurred
Some common site types:
Habitation―places where people lived
Procurement―places where people acquired resources
Processing―places where people converted resources to products
Sacred―places where people practiced activities related to their ideology
Specialized―places with unique purposes
Sites are defined by what is found in them.
Habitation Sites
Procurement Sites
Processing
Sacred
Specialized
Matrix, Provenience, and Association…
• Matrix- refers to the physical medium that surrounds, holds, and supports archaeological data. Most frequently it consists of soil, sand, gravel, or rock. The matrix provides important clues to understanding the artifacts, features or ecofacts it contains.
Provenience…
• Provenience – refers to the three dimensional location of any kind of archaeological data within a matrix. Horizontal provenience is usually recorded relative to a geographical grid system using known reference points. Vertical provenience is usually recorded as elevation above or below sea-level. Provenience information allows the archaeologist to record (and later to reconstruct) association and context
Association…
• Association - refers to two or more artifacts occurring in the same matrix. The associations of various kinds of data are crucial to the interpretation of past events. For example, the artifacts found in association with a human burial, such as hunting weapons, may be clues to the individual’s gender, status, and livelihood.
Context…
• Context is an evaluation of archaeological data based on both behavioural and transformational processes. By considering the significance of provenience, association, and matrix for artifacts, the archaeologist identifies the processes that have acted on those items and then reconstructs the original behaviour they represent.
Two kinds of context…
• 1. Primary context – is the original context of the find, undisturbed by any factor, human or natural, since it was deposited by the people involved with it.
• 2. Secondary context – Refers to the context of a find whose primary context has been disturbed by later activity. Very frequently, excavators of a burial ground will find incomplete skeletons whose graves were distrubed by deposition of later buri
FOSSIL LOCALITIESFOSSIL LOCALITIES
In palaeoanthropology, a fossil locality is a place where fossils are found, e.g. rock fissures in South Africa where human ancestor remains were dropped by predators
Site IdentificationSite Identification
Presence of artifacts (most sites)ChanceSurvey, ground or aerial, with test pitsInterviewing local inhabitantsRemote sensing techniques, e.g. magnetometer, ultrasound
Partly determined by the reasons for the search, e.g. CRM work and laws requiring archaeological assessments of construction projects
Site IdentificationSite Identification
Soil marks, geological formationsKind of vegetation growing at the siteDocuments, maps, folkloreNatural agents, e.g. soil erosionBy accident during another human
activity, e.g. widening of Trans-Canada Highway
Soil marks…• This is a Gallo-Roman villa rustica, that was discovered by aerial
survey in 1979. It is located in an area where Gallo-Roman era pottery were located in field surveys conducted in 1977, but the nature and extent of the site was not evident from the ground.
Locality IdentificationLocality Identification
Palaeoanthropologists must identify geological context with conditions right for fossilization
Specific localities with these contexts are then identified in much the same way as archaeological sites
Archaeological ExcavationArchaeological Excavation
Grid systemA system for recording data from an
archaeological excavation, where the site surface is divided into squares
Datum pointThe starting, or reference, point for
constructing a grid
Separate excavation of each square in the grid
Use of shovels, trowels and sifting screens
Familiarity with natural soil around site
Excavation of stratified sites, layer by layer (or use of arbitrary levels)
Flotation for very fine objects
Archaeological ExcavationArchaeological Excavation
Fossil ExcavationFossil Excavation
Use of geological techniques, e.g. knowledge of rock sequence in which fossils lie
Tools to remove fossils from rock beds, e.g. pickaxes, dental picks
Methods in Forensic AnthropologyMethods in Forensic Anthropology
1. Recovery – survey, excavation, photograph/draw remains in situ, transport to laboratory
2. Analysis – inventory, ask questions:
Are the remains bone?
Are the remains human?
Are the remains contemporary (less than 50 yrs.)
Determine sex, age, using qualitative and quantitative techniques
State of Preservation of Archaeological State of Preservation of Archaeological EvidenceEvidence
Inorganic materials (e.g. stone) are more resistant to decay than organic (e.g. bone)
State of preservation is affected by:
Climate, i.e. temperature and humidity
Cultural practices, e.g. mummification
SORTING OUT THE SORTING OUT THE EVIDENCE: EXCAVATIONEVIDENCE: EXCAVATION
Excavation is destruction and the excavation record is all that remains.
Scale mapStratification of each grid squareDescription of artifacts and bonesPhotographsScale drawings
SORTING OUT THE SORTING OUT THE EVIDENCE: LABORATORYEVIDENCE: LABORATORY
Fossils:
Removal from the matrix with specialized tools and possible use of chemicals
Microscopic examination
Preparation of an endocast, a cast of the inside of a skull
SORTING OUT THE SORTING OUT THE EVIDENCE: LABORATORYEVIDENCE: LABORATORY
Artifacts:
Clean and catalogue artifacts
Examination of manufacture and wear patterns for evidence of function
Analysis of plant and animal remains (palaeoethnobotany and archaeozoology) for clues about environment and human economic activities
SORTING OUT THE SORTING OUT THE EVIDENCE: LABORATORYEVIDENCE: LABORATORY
Analysis of human skeletal material – human osteology
A degree in Human Osteology...
Information about people’s diets and health status, including life expectancy and mortality
e.g. palaeopathology -- The study of disease in ancient populations,
usually from evidence in bone
Public ArchaeologyPublic Archaeology
Any archaeological activity that interacts or has potential to interact with the public, e.g. ownership and trade in artifacts and human remains, leading to repatriation legislation (U.S.) and protocol (Canada)
Goals of Public ArchaeologyGoals of Public Archaeology
• To build relationships based on mutual trust• To distribute archaeological knowledge• Local heritage awareness• Participatory programs for First Nations
people• Support of museums• Cultural tourism
Dating The PastDating The Past
Relative DatingDesignating an event, object, or fossil as being older or younger than another
Absolute (Chronometric) DatingDates based on solar years, centuries, or other units of absolute time
Methods of Relative DatingMethods of Relative Dating
1. Stratigraphy
2. Seriation (most reliable)
3. Fluorine test
4. Palynology
5. Faunal analysis
Methods of Chronometric DatingMethods of Chronometric Dating
1. Radiocarbon analysis
2. Dendrochronology3. Potassium-argon
analysis4. Amino acid
racemization5. Electron spin
resonance
• The Human Spark...Episode 1; part 1
• Forensic anthropology
NEXT TIME:
Biology and EvolutionBiology and Evolution