Processual archaeology

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…

as to what constitutes an artefact and what archaeologists do with artefacts. The common mix-up between paleontology and archaeology was evident. When the campers were asked at the beginning of the week to write down what they knew about archaeology, there were four that mentioned dinosaurs. One camper also mentioned having gone to a “Dinosaurs Alive” exhibition as an archaeology program they had previously attended. The equating of film archaeologists with real archaeologists…

Narrative Title of instructional program: Archaeology Field School Subject matter: Archaeology Brief Program Outline The first portion of the program the instructor will explain archaeology, directions, definitions and tools to the participants. Gridding will be briefly discussed as the site will already be gridded beforehand. A brief description of site area will be given to the students along with ideas of what might have lived here (Native American, colonists). Lastly, the instructor will…

Two college students stumbled across a skull by the Columbia River in July of 1996. They contacted the local authorities and once they arrived additional bones were discovered. The local authorities reached out to an archaeologist who found a stone spear that was lodged into one of the bones. After further study, the bones were dated to be approximately 9,300 years old and was named the Kennewick Man. The discovery had caused controversy on who should own the bones. The Army Corps of Engineers…

Reading through Jodi Magness’ The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, I could not help but think how different our knowledge would be had she actually worked directly with Roland De Vaux and how valuable he might have found her thinking as they were unearthing Qumran. Magness takes the stuffiness and statistics out of the equation and gives us a look at the community at Qumran with fresh eyes. In her description of how archaeologists actually work, it was such a shame to learn how…

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,…

eleven-metre hole was dug and methodically excavated by archaeology students from the University of Saskatchewan. This report will highlight the seventh and final year of exaction at Wolf Willow FbNp-26, focusing in on the finds of unit 26S 16E. The summer field school from the department of Anthropology and Archaeology at the University of Saskatchewan runs for six weeks through May and June and is a primary source of excavators for archaeology at Wanuskewin. Lead by Dr. Ernie Walker, with the…

I believe that when we research history it’s very important to start with the paleo-Neo era because they are the most important parts of human life. The Paleolithic era is the stone age when we had begun using stone tools. The people of the old stone age era left no written records, they only left physical remains. While the Neolithic began at the end of the last ice age this era brought out the continuation of the social and technological evolution. The people of this era began to make weapons…

Centuries later, Earth was forgotten. Its people hadn’t known what their early ancestors had gone through. The Smirx was supposed to stay hidden, but was recovered by local archaeologists mining for ancient artifacts. The archeologist was Brett Herman, a graduate at Harvard University who recovered other ancient artifacts around the Earth. Brett revealed it to the world; everyone was astounded. Since he was so rich, he lived in a huge mansion in Italy that even the president couldn’t afford…

Question 1 The Native American in our group argued that because NAGPRA applies and that the location of the bones indicates Kennewick man could be of Native American ancestry, his bones should be returned to the tribe and reburied after DNA testing is completed in order to show respect to the tribe and their culture. On the other hand, the scientist in our group reasoned that Kennewick man does not actually belong to the tribes because he is not necessarily a part of their heritage as he is more…