The Goals of Digging HolesThe Goals of Archaeology 1. Reconstruct culture history 2. Reconstruct past life-ways 3. Explain variation and culture change 4. Preserve the pastThe Archaeological Record 1) Archaeological Record – generic name for traces of ancient human behavior, reflected by a more or less continuous distribution of artifacts over the earthʼs surface, in highly variable densities. 2) Artifacts – portable objects whose form is modified or wholly created by human activity. The shape and other traits of artifacts are not altered by their removal from their place of discovery; they retain their form and appearance after the archaeologist removes them from the ground 3) Artifact Assemblage – a collection of artifacts found at a site. 4) Features – nonportable human-made remains that cannot be removed from their place of discovery without altering or destroying their original form. 5) Ecofacts – nonartifactual natural remains that nonetheless have cultural relevance. They contribute to our understanding of the past since they reflect ancient environmental conditions, diets, and resource exploitation 6) Sites – spatial clusters of artifacts, features, and ecofacts – some sites may consist solely of one form of data 7) Regions – largest and most flexible clusters of archaeological data. The region is basically a geographic concept.Deposition and Transformations I. Site Formation Processes: The Archaeological Record Those processes (cultural or natural) affecting the way in which archaeological materials came to be buried, and their subsequent history afterward Human behavior is the first stage in the formation of the archaeological record. Obviously there would be no record without human behaviorThe Archaeological Record Deposition and Transformations I. Site Formation Processes: Two Types of Site Formation Processes Cultural Formation Processes (C-Transforms) Natural Formation Processes (N-Transforms)1. Cultural Formation Processes (C-transforms) Involves the deliberate or accidental activities of humans as they make or use artifacts, build or abandon houses, plow fields, etc. • Original human behavior: acquisition, manufacture, use and discard • Deliberate burial of valuables: hoards (returning to a site, protection) • Human burial: burial of peoples and in many instances artifacts • Human destruction: accidental (e.g., digging a storage pit or burial) or intentional (e.g., destruction of cultural materials associated with a previous ruler by the successor) Deposition and Transformations I. Site Formation Processes (aka “transforms”): The Archaeological Record2. Natural Formation Processes (N-transforms) Natural events that govern both the burial and preservation of the archaeological record (floods, earthquakes, bioturbation, wind blow sediments, volcanism, etc) These processes can disturb or destroy the primary context of the arch. record can also cause decay or preservation of the arch. record; inorganic (e.g., stone, pottery, metals) vs. organic (e.g., bone, plant) remains Preservation of organic remains can occur in extreme conditions: Deposition and Transformations I. Site Formation Processes (aka “transforms”): The Archaeological RecordDry: great aridity or dryness prevents moisture that micro-organisms need to flourish; rapid drying out of materials (desiccation) Puruchucho-Huaquerones, PeruCold: natural refrigeration slows process of decay “Otzi the Ice Man”, European Alpshttp://www.tattoosymbol.com/bodymod/03-otzi.jpghttp://static.blogo.it/cineblog/otzibradpitt.jpg http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/anth1602/images/Brad_Pitt.gifWaterlogged: wet environments (lakes, swamps, bogs, etc) are sealed from air (anaerobic), prevents decomposition Somerset Levels, England Tollund Man, DenamrkSomerset Levels, England Tollund Man, DenmarkNatural disaster: mudslides, volcanic eruptions, floods (Fagan 2005, 244) Ozette, WashingtonThe specific site formation processes (aka transforms) differ from site to site, so each site must be evaluated individually. The archaeologist begins to reconstruct these processes from the circumstances under which the data are recovered: Involves: Deposition and Transformations II. Understanding/Recognizing Site Formation Processes: matrix, provenience, association, and context The Archaeological RecordThe physical medium which surrounds, holds, and supports other archaeological data. Most often it consists of soil, sand, gravel, or rock. The matrix can provide important clues to understanding the artifacts, features, or ecofacts it contains. Deposition and Transformations II. Understanding/Recognizing Site Formation Processes: 1. Matrix The Archaeological Record3-dimensional location of any kind of archaeological data within the matrix. Provenience is recorded both horizontally (X/Y or N/E) and vertically (Z). Provenience allows the archaeologist to record (and later to reconstruct) association and context Deposition and Transformations II. Understanding/Reconstructing Site Formation Processes: 2. Provenience The Archaeological Recordrefers to two or more artifacts (or any other kind of data) occurring together in the same matrix. The associations of various kinds of data are crucial to the interpretation of past events. Deposition and Transformations II. Understanding/Reconstructing Site Formation Processes: 3. Association The Archaeological RecordThe exact location of a site, artifact, or other archaeological find in both time and space. Deposition and Transformations II. Understanding/Reconstructing Site Formation Processes: 4. Context The Archaeological Record4. Context There are 2 basic kinds of archaeological contexts: 1. Primary – conditions in which both matrix and provenience have remained undisturbed since they were deposited into the archaeological record 2. Secondary – situations in which provenience, association, and matrix have been altered by transformational processes (both human related – e.g., pothunting - and natural – e.g., earthquakes) Deposition and Transformations II. Understanding/Reconstructing Site Formation Processes: primary and secondary The Archaeological RecordBy considering provenience, association, and matrix for artifacts and ecofacts, the archaeologist identifies the site formation processes that have acted