Portrayals Of Archaeology

After rewatching Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark for the second time I view Indiana Jones as less of an archaeologist than I did the first time I watched it. In my first paper I stated that Indiana Jones was a combination of a grave digger and an archaeologist. Now after completing this course I see that he is even less of an archaeologist than I first depicted. The only ethical archaeology being conducted in this movie is done by the Nazi’s; not Indiana Jones. Beyond, getting historical accuracy of the time period correct this movie fails fails to paint a picture of what archaeology truly is. In turn, since my knowledge is far more comprehensive I have come to realize that the movie fails to showcase archaeology even more than I originally

My first article is about forensic radiology and how it determines unexplained head injuries in child mummies. Janet Davey and Olaf H. Drummer explained that the identification of cause of death in ancient Egyptian child mummies have changed since advanced visual workstations have produced more detailed virtual data that allowed more accurate reporting on injuries and cause of death. They elaborated on the fact that virtual images from computerized tomography (CT) data have revolutionized the study of ancient mummified remains. It has also removed the need for destructive procedures linked to unwrapping of bodies and has been used in a number of forensic pathology institutions. Forensic radiology protocols were used in the study of two small child mummies from the human remains collection in a British museum. They have been mummified and wrapped two thousand years ago. They explained that the bodies presented unique problems in interpreting the radiological data due to external linen

In the article, “Ship of Gold,” written by Gary Hanna, it talks about the discovery of The CEntral America, a ship that crashed in 1857 due to a hurricane. Not only did the ship sink, but 21 tons of gold also sank to the bottom. Many treasure hunters have searched for the Central America, but none have prevailed. Until one person, Tommy Thompson, had done the unexpected. After many years and million dollars spent, Thompson had finally found what he had dedicated a large portion of his life to: Finding The Central America. While using a submarine called Nemo, Thompson and his team found the wreckage around 160 miles off the coast of South Carolina. After the amazing discovery, many insurances claimed the treasure, and them and Thompson struck

The following report details the archaeological fieldwork conducted by New South Associates, Inc. for proposed widening and improvements along U.S. 158 in Forsyth and Guilford counties, North Carolina. The purpose of the survey was to identify and evaluate archaeological sites for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), within the proposed project area of potential effects (APE). This project was conducted for the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) (TIP R-2577ABC, State Project No. 37405). This is a state-funded project covered under a United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) individual permit. As such, the USACE serves as the lead federal agency and the work complies with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA), as amended.

Representations are not merely objective truth, but encompass conscious selectivity and emphasis which shape and define the meaning we derive from a text. The importance of the Smithsonian's Bearing Witness to History site as both a historical and American representation causes a divergence in its purpose, between its obligation for factual accuracy and intrinsic support of specific cultural values. Deepa Mehta's film Earth (1996) demonstrates the manipulation of texts to shape the meaning we derive from the past, influenced by our memory of the past, distorted by personal context. Despite delving into different historical events, each text demonstrates the complementary relationship of historical truth and memory, a constructed dynamic

Finding an arrowhead is a dream every child has held at one time or another. The ones who hold that dream the longest become archaeologists. Studying the lithic material from a site can seem tedious and dull, but the information that can be gleaned from it is invaluable. The type of lithic material can provide insight into the lifestyle, tool production, trading habits, and a possible time period of habitation. We aimed to discover some of this information from the items recovered during the two weeks of excavation at the East Carolina University Summer Ventures Archaeological Field Methods class.

Towards the mid 19th century, methods in excavating Pompeii and Herculaneum changed due to the concerns associated with the preservation and conservation of the site. As a result of this, archaeologists such as Giuseppe Fiorelli and Amedeo Maiuri developed new methods and approaches towards the excavation of Pompeii.

This viewpoint is the archaeologists who are siding with the treasure hunters in the debate. An example of one of these people would be an archaeologist who actually once worked with the treasure hunter, Fisher. He states that the treasure hunters have an equal or higher value of knowledge of the subject of maritime archaeology. A solid point he makes in his argument is that he had three labs and more archaeologists on his time than any governmental agency at the time.

One of the earliest evidences of the belief in a higher power comes from deep within the “Lascaux Labyrinth”, a deep cave “decorated by our Paleolithic ancestors in the stone age, seventeen thousand years ago”(Armstrong 2). The great numbers and locations of art within the Lascaux and surrounding region gives evidence that these were sacred places for the purpose of rituals, and some have compared these dwellings to temples (Armstrong 3). Whether art within cave dwellings dating back to the Paleolithic era, to magnificent churches rising to great heights around the world, the wondrous temples of the Mayans, a mountain that appears to seamlessly morph into the city of Machu Picchu, to trailers, tents and fortified compounds, belief in a power higher than one’s self has been deeply ingrained throughout centuries and a multitude of cultures. These different places are what many refer to as a church, a place to record and follow the rituals specific to their belief and to worship. Through the generations of the development of the human psyche, belief in a higher power is taught young and ingrained for many, yet meaningless for some. Furthermore, throughout the evolution of many centuries, it is inevitable that branches of these religions will follow a different path, create new churches to better practice their views of religion, and for some, belief in a higher power can be contorted to the preaching’s and worship of hate. There is a fine line between preaching scriptures and

The Archaeologist in Fiction Archaeology is one of the greatest examples of inaccurate and overdramatized job portrayals in fiction works. This can best be seen through analyzing the 1999 summer classic, The Mummy. From lost cities made visible by sunrise, to the ancient dead rising again to exact revenge, this movie is a huge archaeological trope through and through.

The article, Aliens and Archaeology by Katy Meyers Emery, discusses how some humans are prone to look for the supernatural explanations when faced with human deformities. Despite the availability of perfectly natural, scientifically proven explanations these people are unwilling to accept the facts and sometimes fabricate evidence to support their unusual theories. The article lists two well documented examples of the phenomenon. The first example discussed is that of a necropolis filled with preserved human remains exhibiting elongated skulls in the early nineteenth century by Julio Tello. The process of elongating skulls is one that is widely known to have been practiced in several cultures. Despite this knowledge, there is a group that

Archaeology in the media is portrayed as very high risk and thrilling. Not to diminish the excitement of archeology, but the portrayal of archeology in movies is extremely exaggerated and far from accurate. In Indiana Jones Indy is often plagued by so many forces that try to set him back from his archaeological goals. He faces looters, booby traps, destructive weather, etc…

With news headlines like “Ebola: The ISIS of Biological Agents?” and “Kylie Jenner’s Puma Sneakers Look a Lot Like Rihanna’s,” it’s no wonder why so many Americans are clueless when it comes to the important issues of today (Cavanaugh; Walano). Sensationalized headlines and reports of Justin Bieber’s latest haircut mingled in with the legitimate and concerning issues has muddled up much of what the public perceives while watching the morning and evening news. Even worse, mainstream mass media is often rampant with inaccuracies, bias, and agenda-setting. Compared to the various components of Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave,” the mass media of contemporary society is comparable to the intellectual and psychological confinement of the Cave. The

Recent radar scans in Luxor show evidence of two previously unknown chambers that connect to the tomb of Tutankhamun. The scans suggest this with 90% certainty, and they also suggest that the chambers contain organic matter and metal. While the prospect of fresh tombs that have been untouched for millennia already arouses excitement among anthropologists, archeologists, and many more, there is speculation that Queen Nefertiti's remains may be found in one of the chambers. While Dr. Mamdouh Eldamaty, Egypt’s antiquities minister, suggests that the remains could also be of the young pharaoh’s mother or sister, he says that this could still be the discovery of the century, much like Tutankhamun’s tomb was in the 1900s. Still, there is debate

In many cultures, there seems to be people who get ridiculed in Archaeologist culture such as being armchair archaeologists. They are archaeologists who do not do fieldwork. Universities were saying that this was “real” archaeology as description for Monte Polizzo.