Evolutionary Theory: Strengths And Weaknesses

Archaeology is the study of the ancient past, through the recovery and analysis of material culture. During the development of archaeology, various different kinds of scientific techniques have been established to aid in archaeological investigation. Recent archaeological techniques and processes such as Scanning Electron Microscopy, Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) and Radiocarbon Dating are utilised to help better understand a civilisation, specifically the site of Lindow Man. These modern methods have supported in recognizing Lindow Man’s identity and important information regarding his death such as his appearance, his stomach content, what he had eaten prior death and his age. This information has since helped lead scientists to believe in

The influential Lt. General Pitt Rivers has been called the father of scientific archaeology by many, in fact, there is a publication titled General Pitt Rivers, the father of scientific archaeology (by Mark Bowden, published in 1984 and reprinted in both 1990 and 1995). This title is not granted lightly, and it is made evident by the methodology and works published by Pitt Rivers that he was much more scientifically-oriented and objective than most other archaeologists at the time and before him.

The scientists, archeologists, and historians must use science to reveal all of the answers. If it weren't for science many mysteries would still remain about the findings at the historical sites visited in this book. Written in Bone was an enjoyable read hidden with science sprinkled on every

Modern scientific methods and testing have made it possible for both historians and archaeologists and also

The history of archaeology plays an important role in the controversial issues surrounding the science. Archaeology has only recently become a concrete science. Although mankind has always had an interest in the past, the root of archaeology is believed to have started in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. During this time period, artifacts were mainly sought after for collecting. The upper class of the Renaissance period collected artifacts from places such as Rome and Greece to display in their homes as art. As time went on, the lure of historical art and artifacts increased. “Classical archaeology” is the direct result of this curiosity. The “classical archaeologists” were mainly wealthy men that collected artifacts for their homes and studied where they

Fossil Record are a good way to show the evolution process. They provide scientist with snapshots of the past that, when assembled, illustrate a panorama of

For over the many years anthropologist and archeologist have developed many diverse theories behind the motivations, beliefs, rituals and existence of Paleolithic rock art within the Native American societies. As majority of these intricate forms of art were created by people of the past, they hold clues to ancient societies and help emphasis connection to the social and cultural aspects of aboriginal communities. A compelling relationship between culture and art has been prominent in society as long as mankind has existed; hunter-gathers, in particular Native Americans created different forms of rock art as a universal way to express themselves and their culture. Originally, anthropologist focused on the religious traditions, beliefs and

When professor assigned us to read chapter 2 what is left? As soon I open this chapter, the title of the chapter grab my attention. The deliberation that came to my mind was this chapter is going to be related to past ancestors. Before reading main thought was rolling around my mind was how the archaeologists figure out the past history. The chapter talks about the archaeologists quickly survey the possibility of the enduring substantiation and look at the great variety of ways in which it has been preserved for us. On the main apprehension of the archeology is to study the artifacts, moveable objects which are made by humans, which provide evidence to help get answer questions about the past. Non-movable artifacts such as postholes, floors, ditches, etc. are known as feature.

Unlike the fictional tactics that movies such as Indiana Jones and The Mummy portray, archaeologists utilize meticulous and methodical strategies when studying archaeological sites. Rather than simply stumbling upon a glorious treasure out of the blue, archaeologists tend to have a reason to explore a specific region for historical artifacts. Moreover, the process of digging up these sites is extensively regulated so that the integrity and value of these sites are kept intact. Over time, the methods that archaeologists implement has evolved greatly, as observed by comparing the techniques of Heinrich Schliemann, Howard Carter, and Kenneth Feder. It can be observed that as time has progressed, these archaeologists have become more tentative

Evolution is the process in which organisms descend from ancestors. Evolution is responsible for some of the various similarities seen through biological life, and it also explains all of the diversity in organisms and species. There are various components of evolution: descent, mutation, natural selection, genetic variation, genetic drift and coevolution. All of these components are extremely fundamental to evolution because Darwin's theory of evolution states that all species and organisms have arisen and developed due to material stemming from natural selection of petite inherited variations that can increase the ability for said organism to survive, reproduce, etc. This theory states that the changes that have occurred through mutation is beneficial, harmful, or neutral. If changes in an organisms DNA is harmful then the odds of that organism surviving/reproducing/ etc is unlikely. Some may think of this concept as survival of the fittest. Mutations tend to make the evolution process speed up which means that new genes are added to a species' gene pool. This is beneficial to an extent when it comes to organisms that have many dangerous genes and factors that can cause their offspring to mutate and continue to reproduce organisms with less than mutations. Those who are deemed

Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection is a theory that is and has been widely accepted for many years. The reason for this widespread acceptance is the many strengths that Darwin’s theory has. However, even though this is true, Darwin's theory has a few weaknesses. Darwin, although close, did not paint a full realistic picture of evolution with his theory.

Evolution refers to "change over time". In terms of physical anthropology, evolution is changes over time in living organisms. This means that living things have passed their traits from one generation to the next. There are very little changes that occur with each generation, but over time these changes accumulate in each living organism. It is believed that all life on Earth has common ancestry that lived more than 3.5 billions of years ago (Park, 2008).

Eighty-seven percent of American scientists believe that a series of random chemical and biological events produced mankind. However, the philosophical "theory" of evolution has no solid evidence, whereas creation can be proven. Science is supposed to be based on observation, right? The best theories satisfy the test of experimentation. No one can test if evolution happened. Non one can prove that evolution actually happened. But what evidence can we place against evolution?

There are many specific tools available to help understand evolutionary theory in a biology context, but not for an archaeological context “Applications of evolutionary tools outside biology raise methodological problems which have been largely ignored by philosophers of science.” (Houkes 2010: 3) This has recently changed as archaeologists have started to manipulate these applications for the use in an archaeological context “archaeologists and anthropologists have recently started using phylogenetic analysis to reconstruct tool traditions.” (Houkes 2010: 2) Through phylogenetics anthropologists have been able to take data sets and use them to understand the evolution of certain cultural phenomena “To date, the use of cladistics has centered almost exclusively on organisms, but there is no logical reason that phylogenetic systematics

"Culture is not an exotic notion studied by a select group of anthropologists in the