What is archeology? Ancient Studies

Real archeologists take notes

Before Indy there was Henry  In the 1870s, German archeologist Heinrich Schliemann dug for Troy. His methods were crude (and sometimes destructive), and his goals were to find treasure (and to find evidence that proved Homer’s stories to be historical).

Heinrich Schliemann: controversial of the 19 th century

Where was Troy/Ilios?

Hissarlik  Hissarlik was the location of Troy, famous city of Greek legend, on the northwestern corner of Asia Minor, in present-day Turkey. The legendary founder of the city was Ilus, the son of Tros, from whom the name Troy was derived. The son and successor of Ilus was Laomedon, who was slain by the hero Hercules, when Hercules captured the city. The Trojan War occurred during the reign of Laomedon's son Priam, which resulted in the capture and destruction of the city.

 The Troy that appears in the Homeric poems was long regarded as a purely legendary city. In 1870 the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann began excavations but due to lack of permission from the government, was forced to postpone his digging until That year, he unearthed the actual stone walls and battlements of an ancient city on the mound called Hissarlik, about 4 miles from the plain of the Scamander River, separating it from the Aegean Sea, and equidistant from the Dardanelles.

 At least nine levels have been excavated at Troy, dating from around 3000 BC down to c. 500 CE (AD).  “We still cannot prove that the Trojan War took place. However, all circumstantial evidence points to armed conflicts around 1200 B.C. [at the site]” (Latacz).

Troy today

Definition  archeology (also spelled archaeology) noun 1 : the scientific study of material remains (as fossil relics, artifacts, and monuments) of past human life and activities 2 : remains of the culture of a people : ANTIQUITIES ANTIQUITIES  

Hey, a side road... WORD FUN:  Think of other words that end in -logy (the study of, from Gk logos=speech, word, reason):

To name a few...  astrology  biology  cardiology  dermatology  ecology  genealogy  ichthyology  meteorology  numerology  ophthalmology  paleontology  radiology  seismology  technology  zoology

Now back to archaeology:  Archaeology is the only means available to get at the 99% of the human story that took place before the invention of written documents.  The goal of archaeology is to interpret the past--in short, to explain change. --Dr. John Olsen, University of Arizona Anthropology Department

Curious minds want to know … Archaeologists ask questions such as:  How old is it?  What did they eat?  How did they make and use tools?  How did they organize their society?  Who were they and what were they like?

Or simply, What is it?!?!?

Do you like to date?  Two types of dating: absolute and relative

Absolutely  Absolute dating “provides an absolute or fixed age for an artefact, site, etc.” (Dictionary of Archaeology)  Methods for absolute dating vary: Calendars, Dendrochronology (the dating of tree rings), Radiocarbon dating (for establishing dates within the last 50,000 years), Uranium-series, Potassium- Argon, Thermoluminescence, etc.

You wouldn’t date a relative, would you?!  Relative dating puts “artefacts... in order relative to each other” and often involves the study of stratification (layers of remains or material deposits) and typology (for example, grouping similar types of pottery or tools together).

What kinds of things do archeologists dig up?  Bones  Homes  Cities  Temples  Trash  Pottery  Gold!

What techniques do archeologists use?  Digging  Brushing  Sifting  Washing  Photographing  Documenting

Restoration and recovery are also part of an archaeologist’s job

Howard Carter Arthur Evans Heinrich Schliemann

Sources Dictionary of Archaeology. London: Brockhampton Press, Haag, Michael. The Rough Guide to Tutankhamun. London: Rough Guide, An Introduction to Archaeology. London: Quantum,

More sources  Amos, H.D. and A.G.P. Lang. These Were The Greeks. Chester Springs, PA: Dufour, Page 18.  Constable, Nick. The World Atlas of Archeology. NY: The Lyons Press, Pages  Fiero, Gloria K. The Humanistic Tradition, Volume 1. Fourth Edition. New York: McGraw Hill, Page 69.  Jones, Peter. Classics in Translation. London: Duckworth, Pages  Kennedy, Maev. The History of Archaeology. NY: Barnes & Noble, Pages  Korfmann, Manfred. "Was There a Trojan War?" Archaeology May/June 2004, pp  Latacz, Joachim. “Evidence from Homer.” Archaeology May/June 2004, page 39.