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Who’s who? The History of Archaeology or the Discovery of the Past

Explore the fascinating journey of archaeology, from its speculative beginnings to modern methodologies. Learn about key figures, significant discoveries, and the evolution of archaeological thought.

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Who’s who? The History of Archaeology or the Discovery of the Past

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  1. Who’s who? The History of Archaeology or the Discovery of the Past Delitias hic Romanorum fuisse praecipuas multa indicant, maxime vero navis quae nostra aetate reperta est in fundo summersa lacus ulnis fere sub aqua duodecim ‘Many things indicate that there have been Roman curiosities here, but above all the ship that has been found in our time, sunk to the bottom of the lake, almost 12 ells under water’ Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini (Pope Pius II), 16th century

  2. E.B. Tylor (1832-1917) Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) Charles Darwin (1809-1882) C.J. Thomsen (1788-1865) Heinrich Schliemann (1822-1891) Sir William Flinders Petrie (1853-1942) Sir Mortimer Wheeler (1890-1976) General Pitt-Rivers (1827-1900)

  3. Modern Archaeology Mid 19th century, three major developments: • Discovery of the antiquity of humankind Ideas that human life on earth went back much further than few thousand years before Christ (Creation): invention of term ‘prehistory’ 2. Three Age System C.J. Thomsen, A Guide to Northern Antiquities (1848): Stone, Bronze and Iron Age 3. Principle of evolution Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species (1859): natural selection, survival of the fittest: principle of evolution Darwin’s influence was felt not only in archaeology (for example, evolution in pottery typology) but also in the political thought of Marx and the anthropological thought of E.B. Tylor (evolution of society from savagery to barbarism to civilization)

  4. 1798-1800: Napoleon in Egypt Description de l’Égypte

  5. Jean-François Champollion (1790-1832), decipherer of hieroglyphics and the father of Egyptology Rosetta Stone

  6. Cuneiform script, deciphered 1850s One of the Amarna letters, 14th century BCE Tablet dating to 24th century BCE

  7. The hill Hissarlik (Turkey) Different layers uncovered at the site of Troy; Schliemann started to excavate in 1871

  8. ‘The Treasure of Priam’, from Troy Some treasures from Troy worn by Schliemann’s 2nd wife Sofia The ‘Mask of Agamemnon’, discovered at Mycenae

  9. Archaeology • Speculative phase (until c. 1850) • Beginnings of modern archaeology (c. 1850-1900) • Classificatory-historical period (c. 1900-1960) • New Archaeology (c. 1960-)

  10. Sir Arthur Evans (1851-1941) ‘The Palace of Minos’ at Knossos, Crete

  11. Evans • Minoan Civilization (c. 3100-1450 BCE) • Linear A (undeciphered, Minoan); Linear B (Mycenean, deciphered by Michael Ventris in 1952) • ‘restoration’ of Palace

  12. Pyramids of Giza, near Cairo

  13. Valley of the Kings, Thebes, West bank of Nile

  14. Tomb of Tutankhamen, Valley of the Kings

  15. Howard Carter (1874-1939) Lord Carnarvon

  16. I inserted the candle and peered in, Lord Carnarvon, Lady Evelyn and Callender standing anxiously beside me to hear the verdict. At first I could see nothing, the hot air escaping from the chamber causing the candle flame to flicker, but presently, as my eyes grew accustomed to the light, details of the room within emerged slowly from the mist, strange animals, statues and gold - everywhere the glint of gold . . . When Lord Carnarvon, the English patron who financed Carter’s work, could no longer stand the suspense, he asked, "Can you see anything?" Carter replied, "Yes, wonderful things."

  17. Gordon Childe (1892-1957) Changes after World War II: • Ecological approach: specialists who look specifically at environment of site • - C-14 dating or radiocarbon dating invented by Libby (1949) • - in general: different scientific methods of dating begin to be designed

  18. 1960’s: Time for Change • Excavation techniques and aids had enhanced archaeology considerably: arriving at date much easier, so opened up opportunity to pose more challenging questions • Traditional archaeological explanation too vague: ‘cultural influences’ etc.; how can we explain cultural processes? (processual archaeology)

  19. Answer: New Archaeology Binford, New Perspectives in Archaeology (1968), influenced by processual archaeology (summary on p. 41): • Explanation vs. description • Cultural process vs. cultural history (so not based on historical explanation) • Deductive vs. inductive (start from model/hypothesis) • Testing vs. authority • Project design vs. data accumulation • Quantitative vs. qualitative (data sampling, significance tests etc.) • Optimism vs. pessimism Lewis Binford Ian Hodder

  20. Post-processualarchaeology • Not somuchnew ‘school’ of thought, but rather all new theories and interpretations since 1960s responding to New Archaeology (Hodder). Main characteristics: • - no objective truth, no one way to explain or interpret archaeological data (‘interpretive archaeology’) • - more emphasis on human side of story • - Context-specific approach • - more pessimistic

  21. Influence on field work • Projects start from specific questions (project design) • Sites explored within their environment (ecological approach) • New techniques: surveys/selective excavations; advanced system of sampling and find recording; GIS-systems etc.

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