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Methods of Archeological Research :
New Avenues and Scope
Submitted By: Amita Gupta
Pre-Ph.D.
Dept. Of Archeology
H.N.B.G.U.
Chauras Campus,
Srinagar, Garhwal
Uttarakhand
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Archaeology DefinedArchaeology is thestudy of humanculture throughmaterial remains from
humans in the past. Inthe Old World, themethods used inrecovering them and
the theoretical andphilosophicalunderpinnings inachieving the subject'sgoals.
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The main aim of archaeology is to aid in the reconstruction of human past,especially when written records are absent. Even when written records are
available, they rarely deal with the activities of common man and his daily
life. When the written records are totally absent, archaeology is the only
source by which we can know the past human activity. Though mans cultural
past began more than 2 million years ago, when he started using stone
artifacts for the first time, written records are available only for the past
5,000 years or so. To probe the human past beyond this 5,000 years,
archaeology is the only source. It has been aptly said `where ever man has
been on this planet for the last two million years, archaeology can be of use.
Thus archaeologist can best be described as `detective of the past cultures.
SCOPE OF ARCHAEOLOGY
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Finding a site
How do archaeologists find sites to explore?
1. They think about whatpeople need to stayalive. Some of thosethings include access to
clean drinking water, aprotected place to live,and easy access to traderoutes. With this in
mind, archaeologistslook for remains ofcivilizations along thebanks of rivers andstreams.
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2. They check out reports of artifacts that have beendiscovered. Artifacts have been discovered by farmers
and construction companies while working at theirjobs.
3. They check the land from the air, looking for largedepressions that could be the ruins of an ancient living
area.
4. They use scientificinstruments like radar and
sonar to look for ruins.
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Permission to Dig An archaeologist must receive
permission to explore a site. Theowner of the land must grantsometimes permission.Sometimes the government of a
country must issue permits.
Once permission is received,archaeologists work in teams with
other archaeologists. A teambegins to explore the area.They look for evidence that peopleonce lived in the area.Evidence includes fossils
and artifacts.
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Since archaeology isa destructive scienceand non-repeatable,we must accept the
limitations inherentto our currentscientific methodsand our own recordkeeping.
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Before You DigConduct a Survey of the Site
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Put Together the Team
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New avenues of discovery andinvestigation
Sites or landscapes?
Sampling in landscape survey
Field walking
Recording and topographic/earthwork
surveying
Underwater survey
Remote sensing
Airborne prospectionAerial photography Geographical Information systems (GIS) Geophysical and geochemical surveying
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Grids & Labeling
Before they begin digging, archaeologists designa grid on the ground using rope and string.
what was found next to it.
Each square in the grid must be carefully searched. A
record must be kept of anything found, including
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Preparing the Site Once the excavation
plan has been preparedby the Director andsenior staff, the first
step is to clear the siteof the vegetation thathas grown since the lastseason. This procedurefacilitates photography,makes surface featuresstand out, and gets theteam used to workingtogether sometimes in a
difficult climate.
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Excavation Methods
Ten or fifteen metersquares are laid outwith string and sand bags
and initial levels are takenso that the supervisorswill know starting andending points for each
days work and they candetermine the exact depthat which significant findsare made.
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Excavation begins bybreaking the soilwith shovels and picks,but this may quickly
turn to finer work usingbrushes, ice picks, andtrowels when an artifactis discovered or a floor
is found signaling theemergence of a changein stratigraphy.
To be continued.
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When an importantfeature or artifact isdiscovered, a level is
taken to determineexact location withinthe square.
To be continued.
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Excavated soil isscreened to uncoverbones, carbonizedorganic matter, small
pieces of pottery, orother objects that mightotherwise be missed.
Organic remains arelater tested using C14dating methods.
To be continued
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Unusual finds are alsophotographed in situto establish a clear
provenance and provideas much data aspossible for laterinterpretation.
To be continued.
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All tagged buckets and
boxes are taken to thecollection supervisor forwashing or cleaningwith an eye out for
inscriptions or fordiagnostic examplesthat will help establish aceramic chronology ofthe site, indicate
possible tradingactivity, and in the caseof coins a clear date fora particular stratum or
building.
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Recording Data All pottery and otherartifacts areplaced
in tagged buckets orboxes for laterexamination. The tagsindicate which square
and at what level theywere found. Therecording process inthe field will besystematized in laterfield reports by thesquare and areasupervisors.
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Analyzing Data
At the end of theexcavation season, theentire staff completesand submits their field
notebooks and thesenior staff spends thenext several monthsanalyzing this data
while the artifacts aresent to laboratories forscientific tests andclassification.
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Interpreting Artifacts
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Back in the Lab
Once objects are labeled and removed from a site, theyare taken to a lab, relabeled, and placed into a database.Archaeologists use this information to put togetherpieces of the past.
It takes a greatdeal ofeducation,training,patience, andattention todetail to workas anarchaeologist.
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Dating the past
Relative dating Stratigraphy
Typological sequences
Pollen dating
Faunal dating
Varves & tree rings
Geological timescales
Climatostratigraphy Palynostratigraphy
.
Dating the past has been
a central issue inarchaeology throughoutits development andremains fundamentallyimportant.
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Absolute techniques
Radioactive decay
Radiocarbon dating
Potassiumargon(40K/40Ar)and argon
argon dating (40Ar/39Ar Uranium series dating
Fission-track dating
Luminescence dating
Tephrochronology
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Report writing and Publication
A final report of the excavation of the site over aseries of seasons should appear in a timely mannerfor the benefit of the scholarly community.
Senior staff should publish articles and presentpapers on the findings.
Publication and Presentationof the seasonsfindings should follow as quickly as possible.
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Conclusion
Field archaeology is, not surprisingly, what archaeologists doin the field. However, it also has a considerable pre-fieldelement and an even more considerable post-field element.
Sometimes the term field archaeology is used only to referto techniques, other than excavation, used by archaeologistsin the field. Ultimately the precision of dating attainable foreach periods helps determine the kinds of questions we askabout the past- for the Paleolithic, questions are about long-term change; for later periods, the question are more usually
concerned with the shorter-term variations in worldwidehuman development.
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