1. Archaeology Photo from my work at Mammoth Cave National Park.

2. What is archeology? Archeology According to the Movies

3. Archaeology IS NOT: Studying dinosaurs. Looking for pretty or valuable objects. Picking up artifacts. Buying, selling, or putting a price on artifacts.

4. What Is Archaeology? Archaeology is one of four sub-disciplines of Anthropology. Archaeology is the study of human behavior and culture through the systematic, scientific recovery and analysis of material culture and remains.

5. Archaeology and History Share an interest in the human past. Prehistoric archaeology studies societies and spans of time for which there are no written records. Historic archaeology studies societies for which written records exist, but looks beyond documents to examine the material conditions of people’s lives. Interactions between European colonists and Native Americans African-American slaves

6. Archaeology and Anthropology Share an interest in human culture. Culture is behavior (what people do). System of meaning (what people believe). Learned, shared, and dynamic.

7. Archaeology Terms Material remains – physical traces of human action in the world Artifacts – any item made by humans. Features – human modifications in landscape (hearths, pits, houses, fields) Eco-facts – objects of non- cultural origin (seeds, pollen, shells, bone)

8. Archaeology Terms Sites – locations of past human activities where material remains are found

9. History of Archaeology The first archaeologists Gentlemen antiquarians or wealthy collectors of artifacts Early Archaeology It was a combination of several other sciences concerned with the evolution of man. 1817 Danish archaeologist Christian Jurgensen Thomsen opened the National Museum of Antiquities in Copenhagen to the public. 1859 Origin of Species. 1870 Heinrich Schlieman excavates Troy 1920’s Archaeology became a fully fledged scientific discipline. Christian Jurgensen Thomsen Charles Darwin

10. Early American Archaeology Earliest American settlers They debate the origin of American Indians. 1880’s Archaeologists and anthropologists study Pueblo Indians as direct descendants of the first people in America. 1890’s Cyrus Thomas of the Bureau of American Ethnology proves the “Moundbuilders” were indeed Native Americans. Indian burial mound in Georgia.

11. Modern Scientific Archaeology 1960’s The invention of modern scientific excavation techniques Using a multidisciplinary approach to study people. Increasing impact of science on archaeology Refinement of archaeological theory. Dendrochronology Botany DNA

12. Academic Goals of Archeology Culture History Sequence of events How artifacts change over time Explain why events happened. Lifeways Reconstruction Technology, subsistence, exchange, settlement, social organization, ideology, etc. Culture Process Theoretical models on lifeways. Photo from my work at Mammoth Cave National Park.

13. Applied Goals of Archaeology Conveying the past as it’s known through archaeology. The proper way to do archaeology. Archaeology is a profession. Public Education Museum exhibits Television shows Documentary films Public lectures, digs, or workshops.

14. Archaeology Specialties Prehistoric Archaeology Before writing. Historical Archaeology Document/writing assisted Classical Archaeology Greek and Roman Biblical Archaeology Underwater Archaeology Shipwrecks or anything else under water. Industrial Archaeology Industrial Revolution and other modern structures Egyptologists, Mayanists, Assyriologists Study of specific civilizations or time periods. Cultural Resource Management Management and assesment of significant cultural resources. PowerPoint created by Amy J McCray, 2005, updated 2007.