Radiocarbon dating

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…

The anthropologist Jared Diamond uses the theory of geographic determinism to answer why some societies are more materially successful than others, in his book. According to him geographical causes are mainly responsible for societal development and responsible for different human civilizations developed in different ways. He provides evidence and reasoning that geography, immunity to germs, food production, the domestication of animals, and use of steel are main drivers for societal success.…

The death of Kaakutja: a case of perimortem weapon trauma in an Aboriginal man from north-western New South Wales, Australia, published by Cambridge University Press, delves into how biological anthropology was used to date the remains of an Aboriginal man and discover how he may of have died. The article first introduces the problem by explaining that a skeleton has been found in New South Wales that exhibits fatal trauma evidence. At first glance it would seem the fatal trauma is indicative…

scratches and footprints left by cave bears (Curtis 38). The dates of the paintings and artifacts can be placed into two groups, one spanning from 27,000—26,000BP and the other from 32,000—30,000BP. These dates were discovered by the use of radiocarbon dating methods, with over 80 samples taken from throughout the cave system (Clottes). The documentation and analysis of the caves allowed for archeologists to document not only the dates of the artworks, but also the animals portrayed and the…

StoneHenge- History Mystery Task Key questions Description Location - Where is the site? The StoneHenge is located in Amesbury, Salisbury in the UK. Time period - When was it built? The construction was believed to have started in 3100 BC. Purpose - Do historians know exactly what the site was used for? If yes, how do they know? If not, why don’t they know? The historians don’t know what the site was used for and how it was built. Some theories about that giants made the Stonehenge…

The theory of relativity suggests that before the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago, space and time did not exist and matter was packed together in a tiny ball. ( DWall, Michael). Since time is measured by motion in space, there was no time without moving cosmos. Time is a thing human invented to have a chronology of events and phases of day and night, it is said that time travel is impossible.Time travel has been proven to exist in artifacts and humans as incredible as it sounds.Time travel has…

The film, Noah, directed by Darren Aronofsky, written by Ari Handel was released recently in March 2014 and is based on the biblical event of Noah’s ark. Several historical books contain the story of Noah and early civilizations have flood stories recorded at around the same time period. It is hard to pin down what actually happened in the flood account because it happened in a very early time period and there are several different versions of the story. The film portrays the story of Noah in a…

The Origin of Corn and its use and Progression Over Time History of Corn The staple ingredient in almost all food, what feeds livestock, and what fuels the economy, the answer is corn. Corn has played a significant role in the daily lives of people all over the world since ancient times. No matter what part of the globe you look at, or culture you study, corn has had a significant impact in one way shape or form. The origin of corn is still a question of much debate and new research is being…

When we think of the ancient classical civilization of the Romans, what comes to mind? Perhaps it’s the amazing architectural feats, or rather the advanced forms of government that we still use to this very day? I submit that neither is as spectacular as the ancient underground catacombs that hold the mass graves of around 2000 skeletons. After watching the NOVA program (titled Roman Catacomb Mystery) on this specific catacomb, I found several interesting aspects of the graves that include, the…