ANTH 024 1st Edition Lecture 6 Outline of Last Lecture I. Methods of Archeological Dating a. Relative Datingb. Absolute Dating Outline of Current Lecture II. Absolute Dating Methods, cont’dA. Potassium-ArgonB. Thermoluminescence III. Archeological Survey and Remote Testing Current LectureI. Potassium-Argona. Similar to radiocarbon dating b. Measure the rate of decay of Potassium-40 to Argon-40c. Can date geological samples high in Potassium that were once exposed to high heati. Lava, ash d. Can be used to date layers of ash or lava that fossils are found between, and thuscome up with a date for the fossils e. Samples need to be over 300,000 years old, but can be up to 1.3 billion years oldII. Thermoluminescence a. Operates based on the fact that crystals found in quartz, obsidian, clay, and othermaterials with a crystalline structure capture electrons and release them if heated b. Before testing, the radiation of the area around the sample has to be measuredc. Calculate how long the sample has been exposed d. Can only really use it on ceramics, stone tools, adobe, and mortare. Measure electrons emitted when heated to see how long it’s been since the object was last exposed to heat—such as when the clay was first firedi. Whenever it is exposed to heat, the sample loses all of its electronsii. Then it begins storing them again iii. By measuring how many are released, you can calculate how long the sample had been storing electrons fore f. Placement matters – if the sample was on top of the ground, it was exposed to lots of radiation and heatThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.i. The best samples are buried inside of pits or ditchesg. There is a large error range h. It’s usually used when there isn’t any good carbon samples, or for samples estimated to date to the time period between when radiocarbon stops being effective and potassium-argon begins being effective III. Old Wood Problema. Wood used to make a fire does not have to have been cut down that dayi. Could already be hundreds of years oldii. This could throw off dates at sites IV. Dating Techniques, Ending Pointsa. Different methods are suited to different materials and time periodsb. It’s best to take multiple samples and use multiple techniquesc. Error ranges are inevitable d. Need to understand archeological stratigraphy in context before you take samples V. Archeological Survey and Remote Testing a. How to Find Sites b. First Way – “Enlightened Discovery” Modeli. Read texts from the ancient world and piece together where the sites mentioned areii. Schiller used this method to find Troy c. “Serendipity Model”i. Wang Zhifa, a Chinese peasant, was digging a well when he pulled up the head of a Terra Cotta Warrior without realizing what it is was at firstd. Local Knowledge i. Ask the locals ii. Used by colonialists iii. Hiram Bingam asked a local man in Peru and was told about Machu Picchue. Tomb-robbery & Lootingi. Locals loot sites in order to make money to survive, or sometimes for drug cartels ii. Walter Alva-stopped looting at the Tomb of the Lord of Sipan f. Cultural Resource Management i. Surveys conducted when construction is going to take placeii. Look to make sure there aren’t any archeological sites in the way g. Downsides to Traditional Site Discovery Methods i. If you only find sites because of reading texts or folk knowledge, then you’ll only find certain kinds of sites1. Only find the biggest and best2. Will only learn about kings, religious figures, and the richa. Won’t learn about everyday peopleii. Only focused on “sites”1. Ignores & misses walls, roads, and surrounding areasiii. Unsystematic Sampling1. Don’t know exactly what you’re looking ata. Can’t quantify it accurately h. New Ways of Looking at Landscapes i. Aerial Photography 1. 1930s 2. Can see landscapes from the top down 3. Can see patterns and layouts 4. Crop marks revealed in Englanda. Plants grow different when they’re growing on top of an archeological siteii. Cultural Ecology 1. Julian Steward2. Argued that humans should study human adaptations and how humans solve problems 3. Archeologists can help by telling how people solved ecological problems throughout historya. Can see where sites were located, and how they moved over history, and figure out why iii. Archeological Survey 1. Walk across surface and record findings 2. What’s found on the surface should represent what’s beneath 3. Where sites are located reflects religious, economic, political, and/or social