Anth 321W Intellectual Background of Archaeology

1. Anth 321WIntellectual Background of Archaeology MWF 9:00-9:55AM 008 Life Sciences Bldg

2. Some additional resources • http://www.diigo.com/list/ncraig/History-of-Archaeology • http://groups.diigo.com/group/history-of-archaeology • http://www.archaeologybulletin.org/

3. Referencing • Reference when… • Making a fact claim • Borrowing an idea from someone else • Why reference? • Provide the reader with a service • Acknowledge inspiration • How to reference in the text? • Seventeenth century antiquarianism focused on genre rather than provenience (Trigger 2006:58). • According to Trigger (2006:58), seventeenth century antiquarianism focused on genre rather than provenience.

4. Referencing Style:American Antiquity http://www.saa.org/Portals/0/SAA/Publications/StyleGuide/styleguide.pdf

5. Referencing Style:American Antiquity http://www.saa.org/Portals/0/SAA/Publications/StyleGuide/styleguide.pdf

6. Reims Cathedral, France Cathedral of Lisbon Temple of Vesta, Rome, 205 AD. It became the model for Bramante's Tempietto Tempietto di San Pietro in Montorio, Rome, 1502, by Bramante

7. Features "VicusTuscus,“ home of the Etruscans whom Annio(1432-1502) and claimed as his ancestors.

8. BartolomeoMarliani (1544) VrbisRomaetopographia

9. OnofrioPanvinio (1681) De lvdiscircensibvs, libri II

10. Up to AD 1400, “antiquitates” referred to compilations of written texts. • “Antiquary” or antiquarian was used by 1500. • By 1600 • Increasing interest in the study of material evidence. • Antiquarian was an official appointment.

11. EzechielSpanheim (AD 1629-1710) ancient inscriptions more reliable than texts. • Francesco Bianchini (1662-1729) compared inscriptions against texts. • French aristocrat Caylus (1692-1765) compared artifacts and with texts and emphasized of cultural differences in material culture. • German antiquarian Johann Winckelmann (1717-1768) dated Greek sculpture based on references in classical texts. • Old or primitive • High style • Refined style • Imitation and Decay (Associated with Romans) • Key interest in Genre not Provenience

12. 1700’s saw the development of systematic archaeological excavation • Herculaneum and Pompeii

13. Early excavations for the King of Naples • Charles III (of Spain) conquered Naples • Enlightened Absolutist—supported enlightenment ideas. • Sponsored work at Herculaneum and Pompeii

14. 1689, a peasant found remains at the bottom of a well. This became a marble quarry. • In 1710, Prince Elboeuf purchased stone to use as terrace steps. The backs of these stones were carved. Elboeuf purchased the land. • Early excavations out from the well shaft produced sculpture. • These included the Vestal Virgins found in 1711 and smuggled to Vienna and given to Prince Eugene of Savoy. • After 1713, excavations in the well shaft stopped. • In 1736, the Vestal Virgins were purchased by Agustus III the King of Poland.

15. The daughter of Agustus married Charles III. The queen knew of Elboeuf’s discoveries and encouraged Charles III to explore them further. • Charles III purchased the land and in 1738 began excavations.

16. No major new finds of antique sculpture outside Herculaneum since the middle of the 1600s. • All the major collections of classic sculpture established by 1650. • The material produced from Herculaneum made Charles III a success. • Charles III encouraged his subjects to study and publish the unknown objects. • Helped his reputation as an “enlightened” and benevolent ruler. • Access to the site tightly controlled • Excavations highly secret • Visitors not allowed to use pencils • Guards followed those on tour

17. Rocque Joaquín de Alcubierre (1702 - 1780) • Began excavations with the backing of Charles III • Karl Weber (1712-1764) and Francesco La Vega (from 1764) began studying public architecture and private residences. • La Vega continued with excavations at Pompeii until 1797. • Was one of the fist to encourage public visits to archaeological work.

18. Karl Weber plan of the central complex at Herculaneum.

19. In 1860, Giuseppe Fiorelli took over excavations at Pompeii. • Focused on excavation of buildings to learn how they were constructed and to determine function. • To recover ruined upper stories required careful excavation. • Emphasized functional classification of artifacts. • Fiorelliestablished a school at Pompeii.

20. 1873 and 1875, Alexander Conze campaign to Samothrace • Report contained plans prepared by architects • Photographic documentation of the work in progress

21. Daniels, P. T. 1988 "Shewing of Hard Sentences and Dissolving of Doubts": The First Decipherment. Journal of the American Oriental Society 108(3):419-436. http://www.jstor.org/stable/603863 1754 Jean Jacques Barthelemy deciphered Palmyrene text

22. Systematic study of ancient Egypt began with Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt in 1789-1799. • 1809 began the publication of a multi-volume Description de l’Egypte. • Accidental discovery of the Rosetta Stone • Bilingual inscription that by 1822 permitted decipherment of Egyptian scripts. • Decipherment of Egyptian script stimulated new excavations • 1858, greater control placed on excavation.

24. In 1880, Flinders Petrie began excavations in Egypt. • Outstanding mapping • Little attention to stratigraphic sections. • In 1899, George Reisner introduced the recording of sections as routine practice in Egyptian archaeology.

28. Possibilism and Determinism • Trigger describes how geographic possibilism helped him avoid the trap of environmental determinism that plagued early processualism. Environment sets limits and offers possibilities for personal and cultural development. Yet, humans can selectively respond to any factor in a number of ways. How a people react and develop is a function of the choices they make in response to their environment. Paul Vidal de La Blache(1903) Tableau de la Geographie de la France

29. Comparison and cross-cultural research • Early comparisons focused on a search for regularities between cultures. • Kingship • Irregular aspects of culture were essentially ignored. • Variation in the nature of rulership

30. Trigger’s Conclusion • No theoretical formulation involving a narrow range of causal factors will likely account for the totality of human behavior or material expressions • Comparative approach required consideration of idiosyncrasies and similarities • Theoretical conclusion: processual and postprocessual approaches based on antithetical positions, but they are complementary

31. Classical and Other Text-based Archaeologies • Where to place the beginnings of archaeology? • Interest in material remains • Deliberate use of material culture to learn about the past • All human groups seem interested in their own past. • Yet different cultures perceive of time in distinct ways. • Even different archaeologists exhibit distinct conceptualizations of time. • British place older periods on top • US place older period on bottom • We cannot assume that all cultures conceive of time in the same way. • Perhaps we also need to consider other conceptualizations of time when making interpretations?

32. Objects “out of time” • Projectile points, stone pipes, and native copper tools found in 15th and 16th C eastern North America. • Medieval European peasants collected stone celts and projectile points discovered while farming. • Maya kept jade heirlooms recovered from old tombs. • Aztecs kept Olmec figurines.

33. People seek to explain their landscapes • This includes monuments • Medieval Europe: Burial mounds associated with supernaturals, giants, and historical people • Aztecs: performed rituals at Teotihuacan. Where the gods established cosmic order. • Inca: large stones were deities and ancestors transformed into stones. • Egyptian priests: interpreted a fossilized forest as charred bones of a giant serpent. • While there is a common recognition and explanation of “objects out of time” there is not a consistent interest in attempting to learn from these things.