AR101 Lecture notes 2

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Wilfrid Laurier University *

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AR101

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Geology

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Oct 30, 2023

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docx

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The geologist: uniformitarianism concept  Relates to geological processes and formation of layers of the earth  James Hutton was the first to argue for continuous processes: soil erosion, sedimentation and volcanism  Significance = interpreting stratigraphic context The Biologist- Concept: Evolution and Nature  Evolution: biological process that leads to gradual change in organisms  Natural selection: those best adapted will pass on traits to next generation “survival of the fittest”  18 th Century belief in “divine creation and the great chain of being”  19 th century Charles Darwin theorizes about how humans came to be in their present form  Significance = can be applied to human cultures The Museum Director – concept: Three Age System  A system in which history is divided into 3 ages based on technological advances  Spurred by increase in museum collections size that was lacking organization  19th Century Christian Jurgensen Thomsen proposes: Stone, Bronze, Iron Ages basis for Old World chronology  significance = trends in cultural change could be discerned through objects, building chronology Evidence for Early Man in Europe – Stone tools and Bones  19 th Century Jacques Boucher de Perthes finds stone hand axe in gravel pit at Abbeville in the Somme Valley associated with bones of extinct animals  Not known at the time but likely made by early humans Evidence for Early Humans in Egypt – concept: stratigraphic context  Observation of layered materials (strata) deposited over time  19 th C General Augustus Henry Lane-Fox Pitt-Rivers observes exposed layers of a wall carved into a hillside  Deduces that humankind is older than 4-5000 years based on stone tools of an earlier date found embedded in walls for which the Contruction date was known  Also recognized for his approach to detailed record keeping Evidence for Early Humans –Experimental Archaeology  Testing of hypothesis through replication

 19th C Sir John William Dawson Canadian geologist investigated whether stone tools were man made or natural processes Discovery of the World’s Ancient Civilizations  1822, Frenchman Jean-Francois Champollion deciphers Egyptian hieroglyphics using Rosetta stone  1840’s, American John Lloyd Stephens and artist Frederick Catherwood map Mayan ruins and surmise they were built by ancient Indigenous peoples  1873, German Henrich Schliemann discovers ancient cities of Troy and Mycenae  1902-31 Englishman Sir John Marshall, Director General of the Indian Archaeological Survey undertook systematic excavations that revealed Harappa and Mohenjo Daro, cities of the Indus Valley civilization Archaeological Practice and Thought – Paradigm Culture- historical  description of culture groups, development of timelines documenting events and change based on material remains  prevalent in the early half of the 20th C  Australian V. Gordon Childe a leading thinker and writer about European prehistory  concerned with the identification of cultures, their age, how and why they changed through time Archaeological Practice and Thought – Paradigm: New Archaeology  spurred by ecological anthropology (Franz Boas, Julian Steward, Grahame Clark) , specialists other than archaeologists, and new scientific aids  1950’s rise of ‘New Archaeology’ and ecological approach = concerned with cultural and biological adaptations to the environment  field and laboratory support originating from physical and life sciences, natural history  linked with advances in technology following WWI Archaeological Practice and Thought – Paradigm: Processualism  popular in 1960’s, lead by American Lewis Binford, realization archaeology shares with anthropology goal of understanding human behavior and culture  embraces scientific method, formulation and testing of hypotheses to learn about humans  analyses are ecological, regional, used to investigate ‘origins’ i.e. agriculture, humankind Archaeological Practice and Thought – Paradigm: Post- processualism  post-modern thought of 1980’s and 1990’s, subjectivity cannot be overcome  Lead by British archaeologist Ian Hodder, interpretations of the archaeological record are shaped by the viewpoint of the archaeologist

 encourages diversity in approaches, multivocality  i.e. feminist archaeology, Indigenous archaeology QUIZ:  35 multiple choice  10 true false  8 matching  2 short answer  Covers stuff from unit 1 ex: lectures, readings, videos  Spelling for names The archaeological record  Any evidence of past human preserved in the crust of the earth  Living population: o Social/ cultural behavior dictates what enters into the records  Culturally based sample: o Physical environment influences what is and isn't preserved in the record  Enviromental based sample o Archaeological methods, sampling determines what is excavated  Analyzable sample  Considered a non-renewable recourse, can't put back what you took out  Can be harmful to the environment  Essential to record artifacts because once you dig something up context is destroyed Material Remains Artifact:  Portable objects made or modified, used, discarded by people Eco fact:  Organic or biological remains used but not made or modified by people

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