|
Spring 2008
The final examination will be held on Tuesday, May 20 , in Bus 125
Section 01 (11AM) will have its final at 10:45 AM
Section 02 (2:10 PM) will have its final at 1:30 PM
Please bring a Zeus form (the same one as for the midterm) and a suitable writing instrument.
The exam will be in the same format as the midterm. Late exams will not be scheduled and, as the instructor is not on campus in fall semester, grades of Incomplete will be granted only in cases of dire emergency.
The test is worth 200 points.
The exam will cover topics 4-9 on the syllabus.
Topic 4. Dating techniques in archaeology.
Lectures concerned common relative and absolute dating techniques. In relative dating I began with a critique of seriation, with an example given of the Paracas mummy bundle. I discussedstratigraphy and its problems, cross dating, which can be either an absolute or a relative dating method, depending, and fluorine dating, using the examples of Piltdown and Tepexpan Man for the latter. Absolute dating techniques discussed in lecture include radiocarbon dating, used only on organic materials, the newer method of processing radiocarbon samples: AMS technologies, potassium argon and argon-argon dating, Uranium Series dating as well as archaeomagnetism, thermoluminescence, and obsidian hydration. As an example of the importance of associations to accurate dating of archaeological sites Teotihuacán was discussed. The various uses of TL were also covered, including both checking on calibrated 14C dates and “authenticating” unprovenienced artifacts in museums and art galleries. All methods were presented with the kinds of materials they can be used upon and their time ranges. Finally the archaeological concept of the phase was discussed.
Reading: Sutton and Yohe in chapter 7 discuss the need for control of time in archaeology. They review various absolute and relative dating techniques discussing stratigraphy and the law of superposition, index fossils, temporal types, and seriation for relative chronology with examples of frequency curves on p. 172 and an example of seriation on p. 173.. They then discuss chemical means of getting relative dates. Under absolute dating they discuss cross dating and dendrochronology with an useful chart on p. 176 on dendrochronology and a more useful one on p. 175 which summarizes common absolute dating techniques. They go on to radiometric techniques and discuss radiocarbon dating on pp 177-184, with methods in processing samples and collecting samples and so on. An example of the Shroud of Turin is given for the use of radiocarbon dating in distinguishing frauds, albeit more or less unconscious ones. They go on to talk about potassium argon dating , uranium- thorium dating, fission track dating, Thermoluminescence (TL) dating, electron spin resonance, archaeomagnetism and obsidian hydration (which they like, being California archaeologists). In all of these they give methods and general theory. (KA) .
On-line reader: Colin Renfrew discusses the need for the dendrochronological calibration of radiocarbon dating and how it is done and then what calibrating radiocarbon dates from northern Europe have told us about the origins of the so-called “megalithic” cultures. Michael Brent discusses TL dating and its limitations in the context of a case study of the faking of the prehistory of Mali for the European and US art market.
Topic 5. Bioarchaeology. Topics covered in lecture were proper excavation of osteological remains, sexing and aging human remains with caveats concerning problems in proper aging of non-modern, non-western remains., examplesSpitalfields, England, Palenque, Mexico (burial of Pacal); problems in sexing, example DNA sexing of neonates in Ashkelon, determining kinship structure, example Teotihuacán., bioindicators of stress on the human skeleton, coprolite analysis, example Cowboy Wash and cannibalism, sexing coprolites, bone chemistry, gender studies, US social history and its influence on archaeology, determining a gender based division of labor, stable carbon isotope analysis to show access to specific foods, , examples maize, Teotihuacán, Cahokia, strontium levels in bones which often shows meat/shellfish consumption, DNA studies and problems in excavation, example Otzi’s ultimate origin, problem regarding Mapuche and DNA/linguistic studies, delta 18 O analysis of teeth plus strontium analysis of long bones to show geographic origin Examples: Teotihuacán sacrifices, foreign merchants at Teotihuacán, and the origin of Copan Maya ruler Yax Kuk Mo.
Sutton and Yohe in chapter 8 talk about bioarchaeology discussing preservation of bodies by freezing, deliberate mummification and natural mummification and various types of disposal of the dead and what you can tell from them. They then run through skeletal analysis and talk about ageing and sexing and soft tissue reconstruction. Then they go on to talk about pathologies and nutrition and chemical analysis of the bone. Finally they touch upon ancient DNA.
On-line reader: Theya Molleson discusses osteological analysis as a clue to tasks and their changes through time in the important Syrian site of Abu Hureya; Tim White discusses the archaeological correlates of cannibalism and how you recognize it, with specific reference to the North American Southwest. Powledge and Rose discuss the way DNA analysis is done and some of the things it is used for., including hunts for ethnic origins, support of linguistic inferences, looking at genetic relationships between an ancient group of rulers, etc.
Film: “Return of the Iceman” discusses the further history of Otzi, the Tyrolean Iceman, and what the extraordinary preservation of this man and his gear has shown us, especially through experimental archaeology and related fields.
Topic 6 Making a living began with a brief discussion of why we need to study past environments and economies and of conditions favoring organic preservation (examples given were desert Egypt and Peru, the frozen Scythian tombs, the Iceman, and the Bog People of northern Europe, reference was made to the newly discovered ice mummies of Peru and Argentina); methods through which past environments and economies are modeled and studied; including ethnoarchaeology, ethnology, ethnohistory, methods of model building, froth flotation, palynology, phytolith analysis, art, coprolite analysis and residue analysis. Examples included Cuello in northern Belize (froth flotation, experimental archaeology, chultunes) and studying the prehistoric use of coca through phytolith analysis. Problems in obtaining proper samples for phytolith analysis were discussed with specific reference to the site of Cihuatán and problems in obtaining samples of manioc phytolith. The example given for residue analysis was Maya painted vases and the decipherment of the Primary Standard Sequence. Methods of studying ancient trade, including various types of trace element analysis (especially NAA)and XRF). Examples of Mexican and Maya jade trade. Mexican obsidian trade.
Sutton and Yohe in chapter 9 discuss environment and adaptation, discussing Rapa Nui and going on to methods of reconstructing past landforms, plants and climate and then they talk about human biological adaptation and optimization models and cultural adaptation and manipulation. They then go on to domestication and the so-called agricultural revolution, discussing the major theories concerning why people world wide made this change to a more intensive way of making a living. In chapter 10 they talk about studying how people made a living, covering faunal analysis, coming back to botanical analysis, coprolites, and studying human remains...they talk about ecofacts again, and quantifying remains and then they go on to settlement archaeology, how you study settlements looking at activity areas and things like that. They too talk about catchment zones and talk about the interaction between subsistence and settlement.
On-line reader: Patrick McGovern “Wine for Eternity” talks about the discovery of a funerary wine cellar at Abydos and how it was identified through residue analysis and how NAA was used to locate where the wine came from.
The film “Frozen in Heaven” discussed the Inca culture and its practice of sacrificing people to the mountains to avert disasters with specific reference to the frozen mummies of these sacrifices being found on the highest peaks of Peru and Chile and what we have learned from them.
Topic 7.I n this topic we covered locational analysis with specific reference being made to studies of the ancient Maya site of Lubaantun in southern Belize. Lectures talked about the insights that studies of access to parts of the site have given in terms of being able to identify the functions of various buildings and how distribution studies of the locations of the population around Lubaantun and the distribution of other sites of Belize and Guatemala leads one into a deeper understanding of both economic and the political structure of these 7th to 10th century states. I then discussed the cyclic nature of archaeological theory and the work ofLouis Binford and his “New Archaeology”, now known as processualism, noting that the New Archaeology was a response to reformism in the early 20th century, but went back once more to stage theory, now disguised as social or cultural “evolution”. I discussed the concept of “”deja vu all over again”. We talked about V. Gordon Childe and the laundry list approach to defining civilization and an example was given concerning the use of wheels and wheeled vehicles in the Americas.
Reading. Sutton and Yohe chapter 12 discusses cultural change and numbers of the theories devised to explain how and why cultures change, including systems theory, evolutionary approaches, invention and diffusion, and migration. They give a long example of the Bantu migrations (which we touched upon earlier in the course with reference to Great Zimbabwe) and then they go on to interpreting the evidence of change, including trade and warfare.
In the on-line reader J-P Protzen’s “Inca Stonemasonry” discussed how the Incas managed to build those amazing structures without the help of Outerspacians.
Topic 8. Lectures covered archaeoastronomy and ancient engineering, as looking at these can often give you greater insight into social and political organization, as well as ideology. The beginnings of archaeoastronomy as part of archaeology with Gerald Hawkins’ much publicized theories about Stonehenge was discussed along with the history of this peculiar monument. Then I discussed the True Believer problem in archaeoastronomy and then detailed some examples of ancient knowledge of the heavens, the Temples of Karnak and the Colossi of Memnon in Egypt, the Madrid Codex, and a counter example, the Nazca Desert Lines In engineering ways of studying ancient engineering were discussed, along with some horrible examples of romanticism overtaking common sense (Tiahuanaco). Examples were given of experiment in re-erection of the giant statues of Rapa Nui, of moving ancient Egyptian obelisks around the world, and how you can use the evident input of time, resources, training, etc. manifested in a monument or monuments to gauge ancient social complexity. I then went on to discuss gender in archaeology, noting that it is a relatively new topic and is still contested by the old guard. I discussed then how people learn about deep prehistory, which is not through artifacts and skeletal material, but through artists’ deceptions I talked about the long history these have and how they promote a racist, sexist view of the past which is completely at odds with what we know from archaeology and biology. I discussed two specific artists, whose work makes up the majority of the images one sees, either through originals or unattributed copies or interpretations: Zdnek Burian and Charles Knight
Sutton and Yohe in chapter 11 discuss interpreting past cultural systems and how archaeology can answer anthropological questions, with specific reference to distinct approaches. Then they hit past political systems and cover some of the material I covered in the previous topic. and talk about the problems of looking at ideologies in the past. They finish with a bow to agency theory (already old fashioned and out of favor).
On-line reader Heather Pringle, in “New Women of the Ice Age” discusses finds at Dolni Vestonice and other sites of the last ice ages and what new evidence concerning the fiber arts has shown us concerning hunting patterns and, perhaps, who did the hunting. Anthony Aveni talks about some theories concerning the Nazca Desert Lines and Greg Reeder talks about the current hot topic: gay archaeology, or, more specifically, one instance in which it is possible to discern sexual orientation in a past culture.
Film: “J-P’s Rock Concert” showed reconstruction of Inca stone masonry. It is a companion piece to the article by Dr. Protzen on the same topic.
Topic 9. Modern Problems. Lecture covered problems of archaeology in the modern world. I talked about legal issues in dealing and collecting antiquities and the real problems with rapacious dealers, unscrupulous curators, and greedy collectors, all of whom feel it is their right to destroy the world’s heritage to make money and interior decoration. I also discussed problems in making the past available to the present, all of whom have conflicting needs. I discussed (again) looting, fakery, and some of the other problems inherent in archaeology in the 21st century and showed a series of slides of famous American fakes.
Sutton and Yohe in chapter 13 discuss Cultural Resource Management , which is the major employer of archaeologists today, and issues in stewardship, native peoples, other politics and so on, many of these issues that CRM has raised. In chapter 14 they talk about some of the problems of archaeology in the modern world, covering many of the same problems I discussed and also noting contributions that archaeology can make to rectifying environmental damage, to forensic anthropology, and so on.
On-line reader: Karl Meyer picks up the problem of Priam’s Treasure and other spoils of war issues and discusses this ancient version of winner takes what he damn well wants to and gets to keep it too. Silverman and Gordon discuss one of the greatest Biblical archaeology scandals of the past decade: a fake ossuary purporting to have held the bones of Jesus’ brother and how a lot of people should have known better but accepted it anyway, largely because of religious blinders; the same lot are now accepting a fake ossuary with Jesus’ name unconvincingly inscribed on it. Stoll talks about the bad behavior of the San Francisco Fine Arts Museums in acquiring objects of dubious legality and even more dubious authenticity. They are, of course, at it again, this time with ethnographic art.
The film “Plunder” documents the looting of Sipán or rather what happened after the looting was discovered and the vendors apprehended. All of the people, from antiquities dealers, to looters and smugglers to Nobel laureate collectors (who certainly ought to know better) are interviewed and shown, warts and all.
I will hold an informal review session in Sci 270 on Tuesday, May 15 from 3:45-4:45.
Please note:
The instructor is retiring at the end of the Spring 2008 semester and will not be available for making up incompletes and similar activities. In addition, she will be in the field and out of e-mail contact for most of June and July. Plan accordingly!
Back
|
