Archaeology

Few schools of thought have had such an impact on the discipline of archaeology as processualism did in the mid twentieth century (Trigger 2006). Processualism, or the new archaeology, revolutionised the way archaeologists thought and worked with its effects lasting until today both directly and indirectly. Even in modern archaeological settings, processual approaches define the discipline with archaeologists generally describing themselves as processual or post-processual. Although this…

This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land: A Paper on Conflicts and Conversations Between Communities and Experts An apparent complication with the anthropological study and resource management of certain sites is the impact research has on the narrative it affects, and vice versa. While anthropologists may place value for scientific reasons, other groups may have more personal connections and consequently see values differently; not only that, but groups may have personal knowledge of places…

Isabel Drews: How much time has to pass before it’s considered archaeology instead of grave robbing? In a society obsessed with continuously looking forward to the future, artifacts of historical significance still manage to escalate in popularity and entire their audiences. This high demand for artworks created by early humans has been capitalized on by large museums and historical societies, not only to continue to expand the public’s knowledge and interest in history, but for fiscal profit as…

Cahokia: A Book Critique The book Cahokia by Timothy R. Pauketat answers a question that most didn’t even know was questionable: What did early North American cities look like? The answer lies in the mounds and relics of the magnificent city of Cahokia. Pauketat explains through extensive detail, the experiences of others, and by presenting questions to the reader just how this city came to be and how it faded out. Pauketat portrays information in a clear and precise way by using exact…

The English Contact period in the New World is an established focus among historians as well as archaeologists. Jon Bernard Marcoux takes a step further with his innovative approach to explore how Cherokee households transformed during the English Contact period and if change was a direct result of European contact. Marcoux also questions why the Cherokee even settled in the southern Appalachian region only to abandon it in the 1700s. The origins of the Cherokee settling in the area can only be…

This gave rise to the Coastal route theory to which Simon Fraser University Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology states, “The coastal route hypothesis is based on the idea that the first people to inhabit North America traveled by boat down the Pacific coast, living in areas of ice-free land, called refugia, along the way. They may have hunted…

Chapter 4: Review of Archaeological Literature The history of the Redemptora as a shipwreck starts at an unknown date. Until now, little had been found about its abandonment, reflecting a common practice of disposing of vessels without fanfare. However, in the museum files (WA Maritime Museum file MA File No: 10/78-1) a very interesting article in the U.E.C (Underwater Explorers’ Club) News of October 1962 was unveiled, signed by the ‘Beach Master’. It reports on page six that the author had…

Ain Ghazal’s unique culture centered around its burial procedure, plaster statues, and everyday items. At its peak, Ain Ghazal was inhabited by around 3,000 people. The people of Ain Ghazal buried some of their dead friends and family underneath the floors of their houses, while others were put outside in the surrounding terrain. “Of those who were buried inside, the head was later retrieved and the skull buried in a separate pit below the house’s floor.” In addition to these discoveries,…

The following archaeological analysis, describes the examination of material remains inside a large plastic bag. The plastic bag was discovered in the old downtown district of Seattle, Washington on April 16, 2116. The remains were located in an old abandoned apartment building complex 30 feet underneath the ground in the old downtown district of the city. Several construction workers discovered the plastic bag while working on a renovation project for their construction company. The company…

were still human beings, with their own beliefs, tastes, and culture. Unfortunately, most historical records do not document the daily lives and cultural practices of enslaved Africans due to their inherent biases (Young et al. 1998:168). Luckily, archaeology can be used to fill in the blanks of historical records to show that enslaved Africans are multifaceted individuals whose identity cannot be summed up with the term “slave”. Through the investigation of their diet and foodways, a more…