The topic of archaeology programs in museums and the role that popular culture plays in the public’s misconceptions is not easily covered in a limited timeframe nor a single document. The author considers this thesis a possible introduction to a much larger study. There is always more that can be learned, more comparisons made, and new programs evaluated. With an unlimited timeframe, the ability and funds to travel, and perhaps surveying assistance, more programs and museum educators could be surveyed for comparison. A deeper analysis of the “Anthropologists in the Making” summer camp could also be done, looking at the camp throughout multiple years. Should the resources be available, the author suggests undertaking an evaluation of archaeology camps and programs in museums across the country. This would provide a wider data set and allow for comparisons to be made. This might also eliminate any possible quirks that are attributed solely to the campers and counselors of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Although there are…
During the invasive stage of an archaeological investigation, both professions apply archaeological theories and techniques, which includes anything from understanding depositional relationships to stratigraphy. What can set forensic archaeology apart in this stage of work though is the necessity of flexibility in applying archaeological techniques to body recovery. One example in which flexibility becomes more pertinent in a forensic investigation is in the case where a girl’s body had to be…
Archaeology is not just ‘digging’, although the excavation of artefacts is important, there are many more aspects involved that are all as significant. Archaeology can best be described as the study of extinct human cultures (Woodbury, 2008). There are 3 different fields of archaeologist, these being Field archaeologist, university archaeologist and museum archaeologist. A field archaeologist main point of concentration is on the excavation of sites and documenting records of their work. A…
Many people commonly associate archaeology with Indiana Jones, a risk taking adventurer who seeks distant lands to gather treasure. Booby traps and aggressive natives also concord with this instinctive fantasy. This is often not at all the case. Archaeologists are attributed to have curiosity, passion, determination and critical thinking skills. They take an unknown area of history and think to ask questions that no one has ever attempted to answer. How an archaeologist excavates an…
specialties. Archaeology is one of the several branches of anthropology (Smith, 2009, p. 35). It is the study of the past human activity through critical analysis and recovery of the materials the human used. This paper will focus more on the archaeology with a specific reference to the Waikiki Beach. Background of the Archaeological Site Waikiki Beach is natural beach found in Hawaii. It has a rich history concerning activities and people who visited in the area. However, little is known…
There are many definitions of Indigenous archaeology. George P. Nicholas’s definition of Indigenous archaeology is “Indigenous archaeology is an expression of archaeological theory and practice in which the discipline intersects with Indigenous values, knowledge, practices, ethics, and sensibilities, and through collaborative and community-originated or –directed projects, and related critical perspectives. Indigenous archaeology seeks to (1) make archaeology more representative of,…
Michael Nalley ATH 102 – Midterm Essay: Processual and Post-Processual Archaeology: The basic and primary purpose of archaeology is to help us understand humans. To move toward that end, most archaeologists pursue three basic goals, each building on the other. As in all science, archaeology begins with the discovery of new information, which then must be described. Ultimately, archaeology seeks to contribute to the development of a comprehensive understanding of human behavior. At any step along…
Renfrew and bahn chapter one: The main focus and summary of this chapter is about the history of archaeology, as well as its present form. Archaeology has gone from discovering and finding archaeological material, to developing/applying methods to answer questions about our human past. Thomas Jefferson was the first to have a recorded excavation in 1784. By using methods such as stratigraphy and deductive reasoning, archaeologists of this time were able to touch on the deeper questions of our…
Question 4: The Importance of Analogy Analogy is a key aspect of archaeology because it is an important method to gaining a wide range of information about the past that is not always present in the archaeological or written record and it informs us on the nature of the archaeological record (Johnson 2010:50). Archaeologists use analogy for even the most basic of interpretation such as the identification of types of artifacts. For example, how do we know an arrowhead is an arrowhead? Or a bowl…
Agency Theory in Archaeology Contemporary archaeological inquiry has situated itself under the umbrella of anthropology, an open marriage to many different ways of analyzing material culture; as it gives insight to both the physical world, as well as the social-cultural world. In this paper, I will discuss some of the beginnings to this union, and specifically the theory of agency as it relates to archaeological analysis. I enter into the debate among archaeology scholars by proposing that the…