Exercise 2: Stratigraphy And Site Formation Processes

Having already noted the chalk for both figures are the same and 4 from West is the same as 6 from East, we also notice that 9 and 13 from East are the same silt as 7 and 9 from West. We can assume the same conclusion regarding the “pockets” being ditches that were filled in with silt by erosion. This can be further proven with the antler pick found in layer 13 East, as this tool was used to build the burial mound. On this side of the barrow, there was an excavation of the Priestess’s Barrow in 1744. Knowing that they found bits of bronze metal and a glass Chalice, we can conclude that layer 7 West is back fill from this excavation because I found bronze and glass dating from the first century in this layer. Layer 8 East matches the top layer of soil. This can be accounted for by erosion prior to the excavation in 1744. Along with the back fill from layer 7, layer 10 matches layer 7, so we can conclude that this is also back fill. Due to a penny, dated 1739, found in layer 2, we can conclude that this layer is also back fill from the excavation in 1744. We can assume the penny fell off of one’s

of the effects of plate tectonics acting over geologic time. The story begins with the

Death by Theory, written by Adrian Praetzellis, is an engaging and informational book written in a novelistic way that engages the reader to think critically about archaeology. Compared to other forms of informational text about archaeology, Death by Theory teaches archaeological theory by telling a story that incorporates the different theories of archaeology in a realistic setting. While standard textbooks about the theory of archaeology can come off a bit dry, Death by Theory skips the standard definitions and applies this in a way that aids the reader in understanding how these theories and terms can be applied in an actual archaeological setting. This text illustrates the adventure of plucky archaeologist Dr. Hannah Green and her nephew Sean Doyle as they seek to explain an unusual archaeological site while dealing with real life archaeological struggles. The protagonists deal with an egotistical colleague of Dr. Green who sought her out as a consult on a particularly strange archaeological case. All the while dealing with cults, the media, and incompatible data.

Archaeologists and historians are yet to determine what it was used/built for, however there are multiple interpretations. Some of these interpretations include but are not limited too:

Monk’s Mound is the largest earthwork in the United States, but the reason for why this one Mississippian mound stands out from all others has been a point of confusion for archaeologists. In the 1960s, researches started to investigate the mound to understand the mound’s relation to the Mississippian mound building culture. During this initial research, there were nine cores samples taken that showed that Monk’s Mound was constructed in 14 stages in the span of 250 years (De Pastino 2015). It was initially thought that the mound was built like many other Mississippian mounds, through loading baskets from a nearby source with dirt, then stacking them up, and flattening the top of the mound. However, this idea was contested in 2005 when a part of the mound collapsed (De Pastino 2015). Archaeologists, Schilling and Lopino, took twenty-two samples from the mound interior that became exposed due to the collapse; these researches studied the soil to understand the construction of the mound. What they found was that the soil that comprised the mound was relatively fresh and contained undisturbed plant material, there was little carbonized material, this is a sign that the soil did not sit at the surface long and was buried quickly (De Pastino

The largest mound discovered in North America is Monks Mound in Cahokia, located outside of present day St. Louis and covers more than eighteen acres and is over one hundred feet tall (3). Made with locally quarried soils and built in stages over the course of a century or more, these mounds served as platforms for building, stages for religious and social activities and some were even used as cemeteries (1). It is believed that natives often occupied pre-existing settlements where the previous chiefdom had died out and the site had been abandoned; the reoccupying of these sites lead to the buildup of the earth mounds. Mounds were formed in the shape similar to a pyramid with the top cut off leaving a platform on the summit. Mounds were used to define the public space of the settlements plaza. The chief’s house was always on the largest mound in the settlement. If the mound was large enough a temple could be added or even a mortuary house so natives could prepare their dead. If the chief’s mound was not big enough then the temple mound would be adjacent to the chief’s mound in the plaza so that they would face each other (2).

Description/Source: The ruins from the temple show religion in Mayan culture because this is where the Mayans went as a place of worship.

This site began its occupation during the Developed Periphrastic Period due to the pottery found in strata 25, 24, 23, and 22. The site was continually used until the Early Pleonastic which is found in strata 18, 17, and 16. The site was abandoned sometime between 1500 BC-800 BC because in stratum 16 there is Early Pleonastic pottery then in stratum 14 there is Late Chiastic pottery. Stratum 14 has Late Chiastic pottery, indicating the site has a population again. However, the stratum is clearly a hole that cuts through strata 15, 16, 17, and 18. In the stratum, burnt animal bones, seeds, broken pottery, and broken groundstones are found, possibly indicating nomadic people travelling through. The C-14 dates on the seeds are 720 ± 30 BC and

This shows that civilization started in Africa. As much as Europeans try and take everything from us Africans and rewrite our history as far as the Christopher Columbus era, it does not matter because artifacts shows that everything was started in Africa. We use ways of knowing to prove that between the bones found in Africa there was civilization in ancient Africa. “Experiential Kin is when you grow up with someone, even though your not blood family that’s your cousin. You don’t have aunts or uncles like in America. You have the nucleus family then the extended family.” This is the reason villages were so important in the uprising of Africa.

Serpent Mound is the largest prehistoric effigy mound documented, in the world. The human- made earthwork has fascinated people for years, especially archaeologists who wanted to know who built the earthwork and when. Frederick Putnam did some of the earliest archaeological excavations and reconstructions at Serpent Mound in the 1880s (Putnam 1890). Since the 1880s, several researchers have worked at the site trying to unravel Serpent Mound’s history. Researchers have proposed two primary hypotheses that the mound was either created by Adena culture (~2,300 years ago) or Fort Ancient culture (~900 years ago) (Herrmann 2014, p. 119). The most recent work done shows strong evidence for the mound being build ~2,300 years ago by Adena people (Romain

The progression of buildings has progressed momentously over the years. As cultures advanced, their beliefs and ideas strengthened. As a result, structures were created that still leave many people in amazement today. Buddhist stupas and Greek temples are structures that have this sort of impact. These two constructions have similar functions yet different appearances.

Other historic and archeological facts can be disturbed by this as well so it is a major issue. An example of those who would be blamed for the buildings of the mounds in the eighteenth century would be the Vikings, people from the Lost City of Atlantis, Hindus, or the Lost Tribes of Israel when it actually turned out to be the Adena Native Americans who did this (O’Riley 315).Due to none of the other Native Americans in the area doing this type of work, it was always thought that an outside group had done this. However, in the nineteenth century, it became clear that the Native Americans had done this. An example of a piece that was hard for architects to determine who the piece was made by was the human effigy pipe (O’Riley 315-316). This pipe was dug up out of the mounds before they had realized that the Native Americans had built the mounds and it led architects to believing that one of the other groups had made the piece. They were eventually able to figure out that the Native Americans had made the piece

Merriam-Webster defines the word artifact as something created by human usually for a practical purpose: an object remaining from a particular period. In my family, there aren’t a lot of artifacts, but we do have a special artifact that means a lot to my mom’s side of the family. Similar to the way Brazilians celebrate Brazilian Carnival, in New Orleans, we celebrate Mardi Gras. Celebrating Mardi Gras is my family tradition. But my mom and I haven’t been in years due to school complications and other commitments. Every year when my mom and I miss Mardi Gras we go to the basement and find different Mardi Gras beads, and where them all day.

An unscrupulous archaeologist by the name of Henirich Hochstetter excavated the Shoen-Tell site in Turkey in the late 1920s. Hochstetter was interested more in antiquities than in data, so he provided little substantive information tot eh professional community about his dig or his findings. However, a conscientious assistant of Hochstetter’s, Roxanne Browne, managed to collect detailed information on fifty of the burials Hochstetter plundered. Her data is

needed to collect an artifact or body part, such as bones, replicas could be created. It would not be the real thing, but they could be used to express the same message or show the purpose of the original object.