Archeology Essentials

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Cognitive archeology

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The study of past ways of thought from material remains . analyzing concepts people had and the way they thought

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What most clearly distinguishes the human species from other life forms?

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Our ability to use symbols

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All intelligent thought and coherent speeches are based on ?

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speeches

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(T/F) Very few symbols have a universal meaning cross-culturally ?

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True

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What matters when using artifacts to decipher cognitive ability ?

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assemblage of artifacts rather than individual objects

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Who has limited cognitive behaviors

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Homo habilis

Homo erectus

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Early human symbolizing faculties include

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-Development of language and self -consciousness

-Evidence of design in tool manufacture

- procurement of materials and planning

-Deliberate burial of human and remains

-Representations and "art"

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Archeologists believe that a full language capability developed ....

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recently, with the emergence of Homo sapiens

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Human cognitive ability is assessed by examining ...

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the way stone tools are made and other artifacts were made. Planning and design in tool manufacture is relevant to cognitive abilities

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Cognitive map

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Some enduring notion of what an end-product should be. When people can see a raw material and can envision the end result, one stage to the next.

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Procurement of materials and planning

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The time between the planning of an act and its execution, a longer distance from raw material and the execution suggests enduring intention by the person who transported the raw material.

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Evidence is emerging from earlier period in regards to burials

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The act of burial itself implies some kind of respect of feeling for the deceased individual , and notion of afterlife.

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Formation processes of burials

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what happened to the burial after it was made

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Symbol (Representation)

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Any object or drawing on a surface that can be recognized as a depiction- an object in the real world- is a symbol.

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Two issues of prime importance for symbols found in the Paleolithic era.

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Evaluating the date and confirming the status as a depiction

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Earliest well dated product found

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is a piece of red ocher with an incised network pattern.

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5 different uses of symbols

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1) Establishment of place -marking territory

2) Use as measurement- units of time, length, weight

3) Planning - helps define our intentions clearer. plans for towns and cities

4) Organize relations btwn humans- Money , badges

5) Regulate human relations with the other world - religion &cult

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Establishing Place

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Burial places, community, temples.

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Landscape archeology

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Has cognitive dimension. landscape has social and spiritual meaning as well as utility.

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Measuring the world

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Calendars, measuring materials

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symbols of organization and power

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Conveys info from one person to another. Sometimes they are a symbol of power, commanding obedience and conformity.

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Power relations are commonly inferred from...

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the association of prestigious artifacts made with exotic materials and beautiful craftsmanship

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How can they conclude that gold is of great worth

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1) Use for artifacts with evidently symbolic status

2) Use for ornaments on sig parts of the body

3) Use in simulation (sheet gold used to cover a stone axe)

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religious rituals

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Involves the performance of expressive acts of worship toward the deity or transcendent being

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What is emphasized in the boundary zone between this world and the next

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ritual washing and cleanliness

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presence of the deity

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for rituals to be effective, the deity or supernatural force must be present in some way

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Participation and offering ( Recognition of cult)

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the offering of material things to deity, by gift and sacrifice (active participation)

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Where is the world's oldest sanctuary?

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The site of Gobekli Tepe, near the town of Urfa in southeast Turkey

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iconography

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finely carved stone sculptures in temples

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Role of writing in classical greek daily life ?

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Wiriting touched nearly every aspect of classicla Greek life.Important role within the democratic gov of Greek states

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The past ________years people have had the same capacity of thought regardless of time and place

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60,000

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What did the abstract art of the fertility figurines tell us ?

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Tells us that they could project hypothetical situations into the future.

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Hand print art shows that people had what quality?

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shows that people were self-aware, capable of expression

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What people thought in the past is largely guided by the culture in which they lived, what are some of the influences?

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A large portion of how people think and how info is interpreted is influenced by parents, peers, those in power

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Cognitive abilities of modern humans include:

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-ability to think about past, present, and future.

-to be self-aware (place yourself in context with others)

-plan and execute plans effectively over time

-concept of consequences

-Be able to think abstractly

-ability to speak, using combinations of sounds.

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How do we assess early human cognitive ability?

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One way to learn about how early modern humans thought is to look at the tools they left behind.

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As cognitive abilities improved, tools began to be made from?

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raw materials that need modification.

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Earliest stone tools were made how?

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Simply broken rocks picked up and used.

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As cognitive abilities get better, process from one stage to another gets

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-more complicated, more stages.

-more standardized(predictable)

-End result should be the same each time

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How do we assess early human cognitive ability?

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By considering planning time and procurement of raw materials. Both of these show signs that humans are fully aware of past, present, and future showing concept of property or possessions

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Deliberate burial of human beings is a sign of...

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modern cognitive abilities

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when looking at deliberate burials,we look at what 3 things?

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1) positioning of the body in the ground

2) selection of a special place for burial

3) Addition of burial goods such as tools, food, or portable art.

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Deliberate burials are signs that :

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-humans cared for each other

- Could think abstractly about the future

-can conceptualize an afterlife and have notions of the supernatural .

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Human burial patterns

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Trends that are popular dictates how you bury someone 'the right way'

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How were people buried in

earliest burials

later burials?

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Flexed position

extended position

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How do archaeologists infer patterns of human thought

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using symbols that are left in the archeological record.

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symbols represent?

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Represent something else by association, resemblance, or convention esp a material object used to represent something intangible like concept or thought.

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Are symbols specific? do they reflect a time and place?

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yes, context is important

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Who can use wide ranges of symbols?

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only recent hominids (homo)

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are non-human primates capable of learning symbols?

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yes, but they can't acquire them the way we do, and their ability is limited .

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How archeologists work with symbols

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They are concerned with how symbols were used, by studying the context.

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Why might archaeologists never know the full meaning of symbols in many cultures?

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B/c symbols used by individuals within the same cultures have diff meanings.

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5 basic ways in which symbols are used .

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1) establishment of place

2) Development of measure

3) used to plan future events

4) used to regulate & organize

5) used to regulate human relations with the

other world

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establishment of place (symbols)

ex?

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past cultures marked and delimited the territory of a community or culture with symbolic markers. EX: totem pole

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Development of measure

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helps people organize their relationship with the natural world

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used to plan future events (symbols)

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plans for the building of towns or cities through the use of symbols show how people defined their intentions.

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used to regulate&organize (symbols)

ex?

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organized relations btwn human beings

badges of rank, money

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religion is defined as

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action or conduct indicating a belief in or reverence for and a desire to please a divine ruling power.

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Is it hard or easy to identify religion in archeological record? why?

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hard, b/c a lot of what people believe in terms of religion doesn't end up in material culture.

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Archeology of Religion (4 things)

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1) focusing of attention

2) boundary zone

3) presence of deity

4) participation and offering

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focusing of attention in religion

ex:

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ritual activity usually involves focusing the attention of those participating to one location or direction

altars, temples, platforms, designed to focus attention

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Boundary zones in religion

ex?

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boundaries btwn this world and the next. Tehe sacred and the profane are usually clearly defined in one way or another, with people participating in ritual activity.

Fountain of holy water. removal of shoes

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presence of deity in religion

ex?

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for rituals to be effective, the deity being worshipped has to be present in some form

A cross, statue

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participation and offering in religion

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worshipping requires participation. Dancing, moving, bringing items to the deity, and places for these items to be presented may be visible archeology .

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what's the most complex systems of symbolic communication devised by humans ?

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written language.

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what does written language allow people to do?

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to described the world around them. Communicate with and control people and pass on the

accumulated knowledge of society.

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(T/F) A tiny segment of population is incapable of reading and writing

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true

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Ability to read and write has traditionally been confined to ?

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higher social and economic status.

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Written records tend to be biased towards who?

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the people who did the writing and reading or someone who controls the person reading and writing

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written records tend to leave out ?

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large segments of past cultures

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Archeologists tend to look for grounded truth / what is that ?

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culture material should match written records.

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assessing identity in the archeological record

how do archeologists see how people viewed other people ?

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who you:

-trade/exchange with

-wage war with

-form alliances with

shed light on how people viewed others

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how people viewed themselves on the group level (by material possessions)

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iconography

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iconography

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shared by large numbers of people or trends in style that differentiate one group from another. Shows collective political, ideological, or social identities

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why is it harder to identify identity on the individual level is much harder to do ?

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most people are muted in archeological record. cannot use material possessions to see identity on the individual level

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how might an archeologist recognize perspectives, identities, and values of marginalized groups or individuals >

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hard to do . clothes and grave goods possibly.