Introduction
For my research paper I was given the West Berkeley Shellmound. The purpose of this final paper is to explore the issues and concepts covered in the course, Anthropology 2 – Introduction to Archaeology, by considering the limitations and potentials of archaeological research. It is in this paper that I will assess the limitations of data, methods, and theory for the past investigation at the West Berkeley Shellmound and use critical evaluations to construct an alternative research design for the site in the question.
Background
The West Berkeley Shellmound is located at the junction of Second Street and Hearst Avenue in Berkeley, California. The mounds original dimensions could not be accurately determined because most of it had been removed prior to excavation. It was believed to cover an elliptical area, approximately 350 x 600 feet. Even though the land in the immediate vicinity had been altered, it was still possible to identify the natural surroundings. The habitat is widely separated valleys, containing small streams, which cut across the flattish terrain in an east-west direction. These streams normally flow during all seasons. The climate of the …show more content…
. Eight wood charcoal samples and one of oyster shell were collected for radiocarbon analysis and through carbon dioxide they were able to determine that the samples were in a time span of 1300-1500 years. The habitation period covered by the series of C14 dates is approximately 1000 years. Based on this, the archaeologists were able to identify the materials through a comparison of more significant classes of West Berkeley cultural remains, which closely resemble those, left behind by other prehistoric Bay Shore dwellers. They identified that the last people to live on the midden were the cultural and physical descendants of its earliest
For my research paper I was given the West Berkeley Shellmound. The purpose of this final paper is to explore the issues and concepts covered in the course, Anthropology 2 – Introduction to Archaeology, by considering the limitations and potentials of archaeological research. It is in this paper that I will assess the limitations of data, methods, and theory for the past investigation at the West Berkeley Shellmound and use critical evaluations to construct an alternative research design for the site in the question.
Background
The West Berkeley Shellmound is located at the junction of Second Street and Hearst Avenue in Berkeley, California. The mounds original dimensions could not be accurately determined because most of it had been removed prior to excavation. It was believed to cover an elliptical area, approximately 350 x 600 feet. Even though the land in the immediate vicinity had been altered, it was still possible to identify the natural surroundings. The habitat is widely separated valleys, containing small streams, which cut across the flattish terrain in an east-west direction. These streams normally flow during all seasons. The climate of the …show more content…
. Eight wood charcoal samples and one of oyster shell were collected for radiocarbon analysis and through carbon dioxide they were able to determine that the samples were in a time span of 1300-1500 years. The habitation period covered by the series of C14 dates is approximately 1000 years. Based on this, the archaeologists were able to identify the materials through a comparison of more significant classes of West Berkeley cultural remains, which closely resemble those, left behind by other prehistoric Bay Shore dwellers. They identified that the last people to live on the midden were the cultural and physical descendants of its earliest