ANTH 2302 - HCC Learning Web

9/25/11!
Being Indiana Jones
Archaeology as science
Ötzi the Iceman
Week 5!
Vila Nova de São Pedro (Portugal)!
Chalcolithic!
1!
9/25/11!
Portable art!
copper
arrowheads!
Indiana Jones
 What
looks
accurate?
 What looks
inaccurate?
 Who is a better
archaeologist –
Indiana Jones or
his adversary?
2!
9/25/11!
 Pretty
artifacts are interesting (and exciting to
find) but only a small part of the picture
Archaeological Context and
Provenience
"   MATRIX – the material around artifacts (e.g. dirt)
"   PROVENIENCE: the horizontal and vertical position
of artifacts in the matrix
"   CONTEXT: the total spatial relationship of
artifacts in a site to all other artifacts (includes matrix,
provenience, and association) Goals of Processual Archaeology
  Create
a chronology of the
past
  Reconstruction
of behavior
using material culture
  Study
of culture and cultural
change
  Explanation
of past behavior
3!
9/25/11!
Archaeology as Science
 
 
 
Archaeological objects say
nothing in and of themselves
So, archaeologists must collect
data following the scientific
method
Science involves rigorous
analysis of a fair test of
alternative explanations using
specific criteria; explanations
are confirmed by multiple lines
of evidence.
Key terms
ThIS VASE IS MADE OF CLAY
 FACTS: are
things
we know to be true
because we can
sense them, measure
them, manipulate
them, and show them
to someone else.
KEY TERMS
 THEORIES:
are possible
explanations for why things
are the way they are. You
can test a scientific theory
by gathering evidence that
either disproves or supports
it.
 Some scientific theories are
so well supported that we
think of them as fact. The
best example of this would
be our notion of gravity.
Mastabas  pyramids
4!
9/25/11!
Mastaba (3000 B.C.)
Step Pyramid (2700 B.C.)
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Bent Pyramid (2600 B.C.)
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5!
9/25/11!
Great Pyramid (2500 B.C.)
Even more terms
 BIAS:
is a slant on
something guiding the
rationale for inquiry or
favoring certain evidence
over others because it
proves the point that was
desired. Science is a
human endeavor and
therefore will always
involve some form of
bias. Recognition of
sources is bias is critical.
PUBLIC
SCIENTISTS
% who are
%
%
Republican
23
6
Democrat
35
55
Independent
34
32
2009 Pew Research Poll
 !SPECULATION:!is!a!guess!
about!something!that!is!
unknown.!It's!different!from!a!
theory!in!two!important!ways:!
!
 (1)!it!does!not!have!enough!
evidence!to!support!it,!and!!
 (2)!it!cannot!be!tested!
scienKfically.!!
6!
9/25/11!
19!
The Iceman Cometh
 Frozen
mummy found in the
Ötzal Alps on September 19,
1991 by German tourists;
thought to be a deceased hiker
 Two
weeks before, the bodies
of a couple from 1934 were
found in the same place
 Cold
and dry are ideal
conditions for preserving human
remains
Ötzi
found
here!
7!
9/25/11!
 Comparison:
•  George Mallory
attempts to climb Mt.
Everest in 1924
•  Body found in 1999
Ötzi
•  Back at the morgue, scientists
observed that his clothes and
other items weren t similar to
modern materials
•  Ötzi was sent to the University of
Innsbruck for study
  Radiocarbon dating reveals that…
  Ötzi died around 3,300 B.C.
Word of the day: PRESERVATION
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9/25/11!
My First Archaeological Site
 Otzi
–
•  Site includes the remains of
equipment, food, herbs, and
clothing of a single middleaged man
•  Question: how did he die?
Otzi Revealed
 Who
was Otzi?
did he die?
 Why did he die?
 What evidence would
you want to have to help
you get your answer?
 How
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Otzi
 What we know
•  Age
 Bone growth, degeneration
•  Height
•  Home location
 Tooth isotopes, grains
•  Diseases
 Arthritis, digestive parasites
•  What he wore
•  Medicine
•  Fire-starting equipment
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11!
9/25/11!
Otzi Curse
 Similar
to the curse of King
Tut
 Seven people associated
with Otzi have died since
the discovery
 The 6th, the leading
archaeologist named
Konrad Spindler, said of
the first 5 deaths: I think it s
a load of rubbish…the next
thing you will be saying is
that I am next
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What can Otzi tell us about
Chalcolithic Culture?
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12!