Modern archaeology

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Mortimer Wheeler pioneered a system of excavation in the early 20th century. Pictured are his excavations at Maiden Castle, Dorset, in October 1937. Aerial photograph of Maiden Castle from the west, 1937.jpg
Mortimer Wheeler pioneered a system of excavation in the early 20th century. Pictured are his excavations at Maiden Castle, Dorset, in October 1937.

Modern archaeology is the discipline of archaeology which contributes to excavations. [1] [ clarification needed ]

Contents

Johann Joachim Winckelmann was one of the founders of scientific archaeology and first applied the categories of style on a large, systematic basis to the history of art. [2] He was "the prophet and founding hero of modern archaeology". [3] The next major figure in the development of archaeology was Mortimer Wheeler, whose highly disciplined approach to excavation and systematic coverage in the 1920s and 1930s brought the science into the modern era. [4] Wheeler developed the grid system of excavation, which was further improved on by his student Kathleen Kenyon. [5] [6] The two constant themes in their attempts to improve archaeological excavation were first, to maintain strict stratigraphic control while excavating (for this purpose, the baulks between trenches served to retain a record of the strata that had been dug through), and second, to publish a record of the excavation promptly and in a form that would tell the story of the site to the intelligent reader.

Bomb damage during the Second World War and subsequent rebuilding gave archaeologists the opportunity to meaningfully examine inhabited cities for the first time. [7] Bombed sites provided windows onto the development of European cities whose pasts had been buried beneath working buildings. [8] Urban archaeology necessitated a new approach as centuries of human occupation had created deep layers of stratigraphy that could often only be seen through the keyholes of individual building plots. In Britain, post-war archaeologists such as W. F. Grimes and Martin Biddle took the initiative in studying this previously unexamined area and developed the archaeological methods now employed in much cultural resource management and rescue archaeology. [9]

Archaeology increasingly became a professional activity during the first half of the 20th century. Although the bulk of an excavation's workforce would still consist of volunteers, it would normally be led by a professional. It was now possible to study archaeology as a subject in universities and other schools, and by the end of the 20th century nearly all professional archaeologists, at least in developed countries, were graduates of such programs.

New technology

Undoubtedly the major technological development in 20th century archaeology was the introduction of radiocarbon dating, based on a theory first developed by American scientist Willard Libby in 1949. Despite its many limitations (compared to later methods it is inaccurate; it can only be used on organic matter; it is reliant on a dataset to calibrate it; and it only works with remains from the last 10,000 years), the technique brought about a revolution in archaeological understanding. For the first time, it was possible to put reasonably accurate dates on discoveries such as bones. This in some cases led to a complete reassessment of the significance of past finds. Classic cases included the Red Lady of Paviland. It was not until 1989 that the Catholic Church allowed the technique to be used on the Turin Shroud, indicating that the linen fibres were of medieval origin. [10]

Other developments, often spin-offs from wartime technology, led to other scientific advances. For field archaeologists, the most significant of these was the use of the geophysical survey. This encompasses a number of remote sensing techniques, such as aerial photography and satellite imagery. Also used is light detection and ranging (LIDAR), a technology that measures the height of the ground surface and other features in large areas of landscape with resolution and accuracy that was not previously available. Subsurface remote sensing techniques such as magnetometry and ground-penetrating radar enable an advanced picture to be built up of what lies beneath the soil before excavation even commences. The entire Roman town of Viroconium, modern day Wroxeter, has been surveyed by these methods, though only a small portion has actually been excavated. The application of physical sciences to archaeology, known as archaeometry or archaeological science, is now a major part of archaeology.

Archaeology has also come to use geographic information systems, designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and visualize all types of geospatial data.

The discovery in 1991 in the Ötztaler Alps of the prehistorical mummy dubbed Ötzi resulted in the techniques of genetics being brought to bear on archaeological science. With the help of DNA analysis, scholars were able to ascertain that Ötzi does not belong to any known human population. In the subsequent years, genetics has helped us reconstruct human migrations that occurred during prehistory.

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Colin Renfrew British archaeologist

Andrew Colin Renfrew, Baron Renfrew of Kaimsthorn, FBA, FSA, Hon FSA Scot is a British archaeologist, paleolinguist and Conservative peer noted for his work on radiocarbon dating, the prehistory of languages, archaeogenetics, neuroarchaeology, and the prevention of looting at archaeological sites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mortimer Wheeler</span> British archaeologist

Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler CH CIE MC TD was a British archaeologist and officer in the British Army. Over the course of his career, he served as Director of both the National Museum of Wales and London Museum, Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India, and the founder and Honorary Director of the Institute of Archaeology in London, in addition to writing twenty-four books on archaeological subjects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacquetta Hawkes</span> British archaeologist and writer

Jacquetta Hawkes was an English archaeologist and writer. She was the first woman to study the Archaeology & Anthropology degree course at the University of Cambridge. A specialist in prehistoric archaeology, she excavated Neanderthal remains at the Palaeolithic site of Mount Carmel with Yusra and Dorothy Garrod. She was a representative for the UK at UNESCO, and was curator of the 'People of Britain' pavilion at the Festival of Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">W. F. Grimes</span>

William Francis Grimes was a Welsh archaeologist. He devoted his career to the archaeology of London and the prehistory of Wales. He was appointed a CBE in 1955.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart Piggott</span> British archaeologist

Stuart Ernest Piggott,, FRSE FSA Scot was a British archaeologist, best known for his work on prehistoric Wessex.

Archaeological science, also known as archaeometry, consists of the application of scientific techniques to the analysis of archaeological materials and sites. It is related to methodologies of archaeology. Martinón-Torres and Killick distinguish ‘scientific archaeology’ from ‘archaeological science’. Martinón-Torres and Killick claim that ‘archaeological science’ has promoted the development of high-level theory in archaeology. However, Smith rejects both concepts of archaeological science because neither emphasize falsification or a search for causality.

Archaeology is the study of human activity in the past, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes.

Grahame Clark British archaeologist

Sir John Grahame Douglas Clark, who often published as J. G. D. Clark, was a British archaeologist who specialised in the study of Mesolithic Europe and palaeoeconomics. He spent most of his career working at the University of Cambridge, where he was appointed Disney Professor of Archaeology from 1952 to 1974 and Master of Peterhouse from 1973 to 1980.

Christopher Hawkes

Charles Francis Christopher Hawkes, FBA, FSA was an English archaeologist specialising in European prehistory. He was Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1946 to 1972.

The year 1951 in archaeology involved some significant events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Cotte de St Brelade</span> Cave and archaeological site on the coast of Jersey in the Channel Islands

La Cotte de St Brelade is a Paleolithic site of early habitation in Saint Brélade, Jersey. Cotte means "cave" in Jèrriais. The cave is also known as Lé Creux ès Fées.

In the field of archaeology, a spit is a unit of archaeological excavation with an arbitrarily assigned measurement of depth and extent. It is a method of excavation employed without regard to the archaeological stratigraphy that may be identifiable at the archaeological site under investigation. The method of excavating in arbitrary spits is most frequently encountered at site excavations which lack any visible or reconstructable stratigraphy in the archaeological context, or when excavating through intrusive or fill deposits.

Mumba Cave, located near the highly alkaline Lake Eyasi in Karatu District, Arusha Region, Tanzania. The cave is a rich archaeological site noted for deposits spanning the transition between the Middle Stone Age and Late Stone Age in Eastern Africa. The transitional nature of the site has been attributed to the large presence of its large assemblage of ostrich eggshell beads and more importantly, the abundance of microlith technology. Because these type artifacts were found within the site it has led archaeologists to believe that the site could provide insight into the origins of modern human behavior. The cave was originally tested by Ludwig Kohl-Larsen and his wife Margit in their 1934 to 1936 expedition. They found abundant artifacts, rock art, and burials. However, only brief descriptions of these findings were ever published. That being said, work of the Kohl-Larsens has been seen as very accomplished due to their attention to detail, especially when one considers that neither was versed in proper archaeological techniques at the time of excavation. The site has since been reexamined in an effort to reanalyze and complement the work that has already been done, but the ramifications of improper excavations of the past are still being felt today, specifically in the unreliable collection of C-14 data and confusing stratigraphy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archaeology</span> Study of the past via material culture

Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology can be considered both a social science and a branch of the humanities. In Europe it is often viewed as either a discipline in its own right or a sub-field of other disciplines, while in North America archaeology is a sub-field of anthropology.

Dr Mary Aylwin Marshall, known as Molly Cotton, OBE, FSA, Hon FBA was a British archaeologist and former doctor, noted for her work in Iron Age Britain - particularly hill forts - and Roman Italy. She also trained archaeology students at the British School at Rome.

Cecily Margaret Guido,, also known as Peggy Piggott, was an English archaeologist, prehistorian, and finds specialist. Her career in British archaeology spanned sixty years, and she is recognised for her field methods, her field-leading research into prehistoric settlements, burial traditions, and artefact studies, as well as her high-quality and rapid publication, contributing more than 50 articles and books to her field between the 1930s and 1990s.

Margaret Collingridge Wheeler, Lady Wheeler (1916–1990) was an Australian archaeologist who worked at Maiden Castle, Dorset with Mortimer Wheeler in the 1930s and at Jericho with Kathleen Kenyon in the 1950s. She authored books about archaeology for a general audience.

This page is a glossary of archaeology, the study of the human past from material remains.

Yusra was a Palestinian woman who worked with British archaeologist Dorothy Garrod in her excavations at Mount Carmel. Although little is known of Yusra's life before or after, or even her full name, she was a prominent member of the excavation team between 1929 and 1935. Most notably, she is credited with the discovery of Tabun 1, a 120,000-year-old Neanderthal skull from Tabun Cave.

Margot Eates was a British art historian and curator who led the London Museum through the second world war.

References

  1. ↑ CNA News Service (3 October 2018). "Modern archaeology 'much more than excavations'". Cyprus Mail . Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  2. ↑ Robinson, Walter (February 1995). "Introduction" . Instant Art History. Random House Publishing Group. p.  240. ISBN   0-449-90698-1. The father of official art history was a German named Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717–68).
  3. ↑ Boorstin, Daniel J. (1983). The Discoverers. New York: Random House. p. 584. ISBN   978-0-394-72625-0.
  4. ↑ Stout, Adam (2008). Creating Prehistory: Druids, Ley Hunters and Archaeologists in Pre-War Britain . Malden and Oxford: Blackwell. p.  208. ISBN   978-1-4051-5505-2.
  5. ↑ Hawkes, Jacquetta (1982). Mortimer Wheeler: Adventurer in Archaeology. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. pp. 149–151, 158–159. ISBN   978-0-297-78056-4.
  6. ↑ Carr, Lydia C. (2012). Tessa Verney Wheeler: Women and Archaeology Before World War Two. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 172–175. ISBN   978-0-19-964022-5.
  7. ↑ Piggott, Stuart (1977). "Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. The Royal Society. 23: 635. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1977.0023. JSTOR   769628. S2CID   73835587.
  8. ↑ Hawkes, Jacquetta (1982). Mortimer Wheeler: Adventurer in Archaeology. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. pp. 192–194. ISBN   978-0-297-78056-4.
  9. ↑ Biddle, Martin; Hudson, Daphne M (1 April 1973). Future of London's Past.
  10. ↑ Damon, P. E.; Donahue, D. J.; Gore, B. H.; Hatheway, A. L.; Jull, A. J. T.; Linick, T. W.; Sercel, P. J.; Toolin, L. J.; Bronk, C. R.; Hall, E. T.; Hedges, R. E. M.; Housley, R.; Law, I. A.; Perry, C.; Bonani, G.; Trumbore, S.; Woelfli, W.; Ambers, J. C.; Bowman, S. G. E.; Leese, M. N.; Tite, M. S. (16 February 1989). "Radiocarbon dating of the Shroud of Turin". Nature. 337 (6208): 611–615. doi:10.1038/337611a0. S2CID   27686437.

Bibliography

Attribution: text copied from Old revision of History of archaeology , see there for edit history.

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