Introduction to Archaeology (Agl 110)

INTRODUCTION TO ARCHAEOLOGY (agl 110)

department of anthropology and archaeology

UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA

First Semester, 2006

Study Guide

Lecturer: Innocent Pikirayi, PhD, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology, Humanities Building, Office 8-5, Tel. (012) 420 4661; Office Hours: Monday-Friday 07:30 am-04.30 pm or by appointment

General Overview

This module is packaged in a format intended for students interested in the basics of archaeology. It is for an introductory archaeology class offered at the University of Pretoria, Department of Anthropology and Archaeology. It is aimed at university undergraduates in the social sciences, physical-chemical and biological sciences, and humanities. It can also be read as part of an archaeology and anthropology major and non-major alike. Occasional students with an interest in the subject are also welcome.

The teaching of the module is structured to include one major area of archaeological knowledge: its history, methods, theories, philosophies, its management and social and political context. Students interested in the prehistory and archaeology of Southern Africa, which emphasises the region’s famous sites and important human systems and processes, such as the origins of culture, food production, and origins of complex societies, should read Southern African Archaeology offered during the second semester.

One standard primary source is used for this module: Renfrew, C. and Bahn, P. ((2004)) Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practice (London: Thames and Hudson). Students are also advised to consult Ashmore, W. and Sharer, R. J. (1988) Discovering Our Past: A brief introduction to archaeology (Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company). These cover the general practical and methodological aspects of the discipline. Students are advised to explore resources on line such as Kevin Greene’s Archaeology: an introduction (London: BT Batsford) ( A detailed reading list is hereby provided to give an opportunity to those students who might want to explore further some of the topics listed in the study guide. Examples of sites from Southern African covered in the module may be read in sufficient detail in Peter Mitchell (2002)'s Archaeology of Southern Africa. David Phillipson (2004)’s African Archaeology covers more examples from the rest of the continent. A global perspective may also be gleaned from Brian Fagan (1990), The Oxford Companion to Archaeology (New York: Oxford University Press), whose notes accompany this module.

Module aims and objectives

This module introduces archaeology to undergraduate students in their first year level. It explores the nature and practice of archaeology as a basis for understanding subsequent modules in archaeological methods and theory, and for the reconstruction of the prehistoric past. Although archaeology primarily uses scientific methodology, students will discover how closely related archaeology is to a number of disciplines in the social sciences and the arts, including anthropology and history. To enhance understanding of archaeology, use will be made of South African, southern African and African examples in particular, and examples from other parts of the world in general. At the end of the semester, the student is expected to:

1. Acquire archaeological skills such as locating, recording, investigating, analyzing, and interpreting archaeological sites.

2. Understand and tell the story of human development during the past in a creative manner.

3. Understand the ethics and values of archaeology, and how archaeology contributes to the study of the sciences and humanities.

4. Understand why there is such diverse interests in the past among scholars, the general public, politicians, other professionals, etc.

5. Appreciate that archaeological evidence is a non-renewable cultural resource that requires the protection of the law, public awareness through education and action, and private effort.

6. Appreciate and understand the social relevance of archaeology to the modern world, particularly on issues connected with social/cultural identity, environments and ecosystems, and even technology.

7. Apply or use of archaeology in the contemporary world.

Assumptions, Requirements and Expectations

It is assumed that more than half the students enrolled for the module do not know what archaeology involves. Some would think it means digging or exposing graves, while others would expect television programmes such as those shown in "National Geographic" or "The Discovery Channel" or documentaries on Ancient Egypt, Israel or other countries in the Near East. African archaeology is different, and certainly not an adventure. It may be fun, but not is not that easy. Understanding archaeology in the African context requires a serious pursuit of historical and scientific enquiry. However, this module will only be covered through a series of lectures, discussions and demonstrations. Students will be expected to write essays on topics assigned to them, as well as tests based on material covered during lectures and class discussions. Students are expected to make their own notes from the lectures delivered and the discussions sessions. The lecturer will bring to their attention additional reading for their assignments as well as semester tests.

The principle of incorporating good communications skills is operational in all course activities, exams, and papers, as well as written and oral exercises and assignments. The lecturer expects clear writing, good organization, logical presentation, and no grammatical or spelling errors. Proofreading or review of written assignments is expected. Students should be aware of the dangers of plagiarism, and must check the university website ( on the full implications of the penalties involved.

Lecture Topics

WEEK 1: Introduction

1. Definitions, aims, and nature of archaeology

2. Archaeology and other disciplines

Reading: Renfrew and Bahn (2004), Chapter 1;

WEEK 2: History of archaeological research

1. Antiquarianism and the development of field techniques

2. The New Archaeology, New Approaches, Post-processual Archaeology

Reading: Renfrew and Bahn (2004), Chapter 1

WEEK 3: The variety of evidence and its preservation

1. The nature of evidence– ecofacts, artifacts, features, structures, sites and landscapes; context, stratigraphy and association

2. Formation of sites- natural and cultural transformation processes and the preservation of archaeological remains

Reading: Renfrew and Bahn (2004), Chapter 2

WEEK 3: Locating and recording archaeological sites

1. Locating, recording and mapping archaeological sites

2. Kinds of archaeological excavations

Readings: Renfrew and Bahn (2004), Chapter 3

WEEK 4: Dating methods and chronology in archaeology

1. Relative and absolute dating methods

2. The chronological framework of Africa’s past

Readings: Renfrew and Bahn (2004), Chapter 4, Mitchell (2002), Chapter 2

WEEK 5: First assessment

1. Submission of first written assignment

2. Semester test on topics covered during weeks 1-4

WEEK 6: Reconstructing and interpreting the past I

1.Social organisation; past environments

2. Subsistence and diet; technology

Readings: Renfrew and Bahn (2004), Chapters 5-7

WEEK 7: Reconstruction and interpreting the past II

1. Trade and exchange; ritual, art and religion

2. The archaeology of death

Readings: Renfrew and Bahn (2004), Chapters 9-11

WEEK 8: Explanation in archaeology

1. Traditional versus Processual explanations

2. Post-processual and Modernist explanation

Readings: Renfrew and Bahn (2004), Chapters 12

WEEK 9: Cultural heritage resources management

1. Managing archaeological sites

2. Managing archaeological collections

Readings:

WEEK 10: Second assessment

1. Submission of second written assignment

2. Semester test on topics covered during weeks 5-9

WEEK 11: Archaeology in the world today

1. The ownership, uses and interpretation of the past

2. Fighting for the past, destroying the past

Readings: Renfrew and Bahn (2004), Chapters 14

WEEK 12: Archaeology in southern Africa today

1. The alienated and threatened pasts

2. The challenges of the past: presentation, preservation and conservation

Readings: Mitchell 2002, Chapters 14

WEEKS 13 & 14: Revision and general discussion on topics of interest; preparation for end of semester examinations

First Written Assignment

[Due Date, Monday 28 February 2006, before 11.55 am]

Answer One Question

Credit will be given for the use of relevant sketch maps and diagrams, where appropriate.

1. Trace the history of the development of archaeology in southern Africa with particular references to South Africa andeither Botswana or Zimbabwe.
2. Attempt a classification of some of the archaeological sites. Give as many examples from the African continent as possible.
3. Discuss the factors governing the preservation and survival of archaeological remains. Give as many examples from the African continent as possible.
4. Discuss the methods used by archaeologists to locate and map archaeological sites. Mention some of the constraints and problems which archaeologists face in locating sites in various parts of Africa.
5. Explain the following terms: stratigraphy, stratification, context, provenance, matrix and association. Give examples of at least two well-stratified sites in South Africa, and comment on the context of the artifacts recovered from these sites.
6. Discuss some of the relative dating methods used by archaeologists in Africa, and comment on their limitations.
7. Present at least threeabsolute dating methods that have been used to date archaeological (and palaeontological) sites in Africa. Assess the usefulness of these methods in providing a prehistoric chronology of the African past.
8. How do archaeologists know where to dig? In your answer attempt to give as many examples from Africa as possible.
9. Discuss some of the methods of excavation and statistical sampling used by archaeologists since the last century? How have these methods and procedures transformed the discipline?
10. Explain some of the methods used by archaeologists to analyze their data, and how they use archaeological data to develop their interpretations.
11. Discuss some of the recent trends in archaeological approaches to interpretation of data. Briefly assess the relevance of some of these approaches to Africa.

Does archaeology have a future in Africa? Give your answer with particular references to any one country in southern Africa.

Second Written Assignment

[Due Date: TBA]

Introduction to Archaeology

Brian Fagan

I.INTRODUCTION

Archaeology is the scientific study of past human culture and behaviour, from the origins of humans to the present. Archaeology studies past human behaviour through the examination of material remains of previous human societies. These remains include the fossils (preserved bones) of humans, food remains, the ruins of buildings, and human artifacts—items such as tools, pottery, and jewellery. From their studies, archaeologists attempt to reconstruct past ways of life. Archaeology is an important field of anthropology, which is the broad study of human culture and biology. Archaeologists concentrate their studies on past societies and changes in those societies over extremely long periods of time.

With its focus on the ancient past, archaeology somewhat resembles palaeontology—the study of fossils of long-extinct animals, such as dinosaurs. However, archaeology is distinct from palaeontology and studies only past human life. Archaeology also examines many of the same topics explored by historians. But unlike history—the study of written records such as government archives, personal correspondence, and business documents—most of the information gathered in archaeology comes from the study of objects lying on or under the ground (see History and Historiography).

Archaeologists refer to the vast store of information about the human past as the archaeological record. The archaeological record encompasses every area of the world that has ever been occupied by humans, as well as all of the material remains contained in those areas. Archaeologists study the archaeological record through field surveys and excavations and through the laboratory study of collected materials.

Many of the objects left behind by past human societies are not present in the archaeological record because they have disintegrated over time. The material remains that still exist after hundreds, thousands, or millions of years have survived because of favourable preservation conditions in the soil or atmosphere. For the most part, the only things that survive are durable items such as potsherds (small fragments of pottery), tools or buildings of stone, bones, and teeth (which survive because they are covered with hard enamel). Because many items disintegrate over time, archaeologists get an incomplete view of the past that they must fill in with other kinds of information and educated reasoning. On rare occasions, however, delicate objects have been preserved. For example, fabrics and flowers were found in the celebrated tomb of Tutankhamun, an Egyptian pharaoh who was buried in 1323 bc.

Archaeology became established as a formal discipline in the 19th and early 20th centuries. At that time, most archaeological work was confined to Europe, to the so-called cradle of civilization in south-western Asia, and to a few areas of the Americas. Today, archaeologists study the great cultural diversity of humanity in every corner of the world.

II.THE SCOPE OF ARCHAEOLOGY

Archaeological study covers an extremely long span of time and a great variety of subjects. The earliest subjects of archaeological study date from the origins of humanity. These include fossil remains believed to be of human ancestors who lived 3.5 million to 4.5 million years ago. The earliest archaeological sites include those at Hadar, Ethiopia; Olduvai Gorge and Laetoli, Tanzania; East Turkana, Kenya; and elsewhere in East Africa. These sites contain evidence of the first appearance of bipedal (upright-walking), apelike early humans. Laetoli even reveals footprints of humans from 3.6 million years ago. Some sites also contain evidence of the earliest use of simple tools. Archaeologists have also recorded how primitive forms of humans spread out of Africa into Asia about 1.8 million years ago, then into Europe about 900,000 years ago.

The first physically modern humans, Homo sapiens, appeared in tropical Africa between 200,000 and 150,000 years ago—dates determined by molecular biologists and archaeologists working together. Dozens of archaeological sites throughout Asia and Europe show how people migrated from Africa and settled these two continents during the last Ice Age (100,000 to 15,000 years ago). Archaeological studies have also provided much information about the people who first arrived in the Americas over 12,000 years ago.

Archaeologists have documented that the development of agriculture took place about 10,000 years ago. Early domestication—the planting and harvesting of plants and the breeding and herding of animals—is evident in such places as the ancient settlement of Jericho in Jordan and in Tehuacán Valley in Mexico. Archaeology plays a major role in the study of early civilizations, such as those of the Sumerians of Mesopotamia, who built the city of Ur, and the ancient Egyptians, who are famous for the pyramids near the city of Giza and the royal sepulchres (tombs) of the Valley of the Kings at Thebes. Other sites that represent great human achievement are as varied as the cliff dwellings of the ancient Anasazi (a group of early Native Americans of North America) at Mesa Verde, Colorado (see Mesa Verde National Park); the Inca city of Machu Picchu high in the Andes Mountains of Peru; and the mysterious, massive stone portrait heads of remote Easter Island in the Pacific.

Archaeological research spans the entire development of phenomena that are unique to humans. For instance, archaeology tells the story of when people learned to bury their dead and developed beliefs in an afterlife. Sites containing signs of the first simple but purposeful burials in graves date to as early as 40,000 years ago in Europe and Southwest Asia. By the time people lived in civilizations, burials and funeral ceremonies had become extremely important and elaborate rituals. For example, the Moche lords of Sipán in coastal Peru were buried in about ad 400 in fine cotton dress and with exquisite ornaments of bead, gold, and silver. Few burials rival their lavish sepulchres. Being able to trace the development of such rituals over thousands of years has added to our understanding of the development of human intellect and spirit.

Archaeology also examines more recent historical periods. Some archaeologists work with historians to study American colonial life, for example. They have learned such diverse information as how the earliest colonial settlers in Jamestown, Virginia, traded glass beads for food with native Algonquian peoples; how the lives of slaves on plantations reflected their roots in Africa; and how the first major cities in the United States developed. One research project involves the study of garbage in present-day cities across the United States. This garbage is the modern equivalent of the remains found in the archaeological record. In the future, archaeologists will continue to move into new realms of study.

III.FIELDS OF ARCHAEOLOGY

Archaeology covers such an enormous span of time that archaeologists specialize in different time periods and different cultures. They also specialize in particular methods of study. Some archaeologists study human biological and cultural evolution up to the emergence of modern humans. Others focus on more recent periods of major cultural development, such as the rise of civilizations. Some study only the ancient or classical civilizations of the Middle East or Europe. Others research later historical subjects and time periods, using both written and archaeological evidence. Many archaeologists have expertise in other fields that are important to archaeological study, including physical anthropology (the study of human biology and anatomy), geology, ecology, and climatology (the science of weather patterns).