Appreciating Human Diversity Fifteenth Edition Conrad Phillip Kottak University of Michigan A n t h r o p o l o g y McGraw-Hill © 2013 McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights Reserved.

4-2 DOING ARCHAEOLOGY AND PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY C H A P T E R 4-2

4-3 STUDYING THE PAST Research Methods in Archaeology and Physical AnthropologyResearch Methods in Archaeology and Physical Anthropology Kinds of Archaeology Dating the Past Kinds of Physical Anthropology Doing Anthropology Right and Wrong: Ethical IssuesDoing Anthropology Right and Wrong: Ethical Issues

4-4 STUDYING THE PAST How do physical anthropologists and archaeologists study the past? How do anthropologists determine the dates of sites, remains, and evolutionary events? What ethical concerns and issues affect physical anthropology and archaeology?

4-5 RESEARCH METHODS Anthropological archaeology reconstructs human behavior, social patterns, and cultural features Biological anthropologists study living and recent humans and primates Paleoanthropologists study human evolution

4-6 MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES Paleontology: the study of ancient life through fossil records Palynology: the study of ancient plants through pollen samples Bioarchaeology: the study of human skeletons to reconstruct physical traits, health status, and diet

4-7 MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES Archaeologists use visible remains and microscopic evidence Fossil pollen Phytoliths (plant crystals) Starch grains

4-8 MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES Anthropologists also use satellite images to find ancient footpaths, roads, canals, and irrigation systems Remote sensing: the use of aerial photos and satellite images to locate sites Images from NASA satellite used to locate buried footpaths that linked a cemetery to a spring and quarries in Costa Rica

4-9 STUDYING THE PAST Techniques to reconstruct the human past Fossils: remains, traces, or impressions of ancient life forms Preservation Intensive surveying Analysis

4-10 SURVEY AND EXCAVATION Most common local approach is to excavate, or dig, through layers in a site Sites usually not discrete and isolated but parts of larger (regional) social systems Systematic survey: information gathered on patterns of settlement over a large area; provides a regional perspective on the archaeological record

4-11 SURVEY AND EXCAVATION Excavation: digging through layers of deposits that make up an archaeological or fossil site Layers or strata that make up a site help archaeologists establish the relative chronology for the material recovered

4-12 SURVEY AND EXCAVATION Site is mapped and surface data collected so archaeologist can decide where to dig Collection units allow researchers to record exact location of an artifact, fossil, or feature Flotation used to recover such small remains as fish bones and carbonized plant remains

4-13 KINDS OF ARCHAEOLOGY Experimental archaeologists try to replicate ancient techniques and processes under controlled conditions Historical archaeologists use written records as guides and supplements; and work with remains more recent than advent of writing Colonial archaeologists use written records to locate and excavate postcontact sites and to verify or question the written accounts

4-14 KINDS OF ARCHAEOLOGY Classical archaeologists focus on literate civilizations of the Old World, such as Greece, Rome, and Egypt Underwater archaeologists investigate submerged sites like ships Contract archaeologists negotiate specific contracts for cultural resource management (CRM) studies

4-15 DATING THE PAST Taphonomy: the study of processes that affect the remains of dead animals Paleoanthropology: study of ancient humans and their immediate ancestors Paleontology and paleoanthropology have established a time frame, or chronology, for evolution of life

4-16 RELATIVE DATING Relative dating: establishes time frame in relation to other strata or materials, rather than absolute dates in numbers Stratigraphy: examines ways in which earth sediments accumulate in layers known as strata Fluorine analysis: measures amount of fluorine absorbed by fossils from local groundwater

4-17 ABSOLUTE DATING: RADIOMETRIC TECHNIQUES Absolute dating: establishes dates in numbers or ranges of numbers Carbon-14 (14C) dating Potassium argon (K/A) dating Uranium series Thermoluminescence (TL) Electron spin resonance (ESR)

4-18 ABSOLUTE DATING: DENDROCHRONOLOGY Dendrochronology (tree-ring dating): a method of absolute dating based on the study and comparison of patterns of tree-ring growth Crossdating: matching ring patterns among trees and assigning rings to specific calendar years Also provides information about climatic patterns in specific regions

4-19 MOLECULAR ANTHROPOLOGY Molecular anthropology: uses genetic materials to date and to estimate evolutionary distance between species Also reconstructs waves and patterns of migration and settlement Haplogroup: biological lineage defined by a specific cluster of genetic traits

4-20 RECAP 4.1: Absolute Dating Techniques

4-21 KINDS OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY Bone biology Anthropometry Primatology

4-22 BONE BIOLOGY Bone biology: study of bone as a biological tissue Paleopathology: study of disease and injury in skeletons from sites Forensic anthropology: work within legal context to recover, analyze, and identify human remains

4-23 ANTHROPOMETRY Anthropometry: measurement of human body parts and dimensions Body mass and composition

4-24 PRIMATOLOGY Primatology: subfield of biological anthropology; primate studies Primate social systems instructive about human behavior Help to understand social life of ancient hominins

4-25 DOING ANTHROPOLOGY RIGHT AND WRONG: ETHICAL ISSUES Science exists in society and in context of law and ethics Often requires physical anthropologists and archaeologists to work as members of international teams American Anthropological Association (AAA) advises by its Code of Ethics Primary ethical obligations are to the people, species, and materials they study

4-26 DOING ANTHROPOLOGY RIGHT AND WRONG: ETHICAL ISSUES Informed consent: people’s agreement to take part in research after they have been fully informed about its purpose, nature, procedures, and potential impact Anthropologists should not exploit: Individuals Groups Animals Cultural or biological materials

4-27 DOING ANTHROPOLOGY RIGHT AND WRONG: ETHICAL ISSUES North American anthropologists working in other countries should: Include host country colleagues in their research planning and requests for funding Establish truly collaborative relationships Include host country colleagues in the dissemination of research results Ensure that something is given back to host country colleagues

4-28 THE CODE OF ETHICS American Anthropological Association (AAA) Code of Ethics Obligations to their scholarly field, to the wider society and culture, and to the human species, other species, and the environment Should be open about research projects Should pay attention to proper relations between themselves and host nations and communities