archaeological anthropology

Archaeological Anthropology

Author: Benny

Archaeology or ‘archaeological anthropology' reconstructs, describes past human behavior, cultural (social, economic, religious, political) patterns by studying material remains, usually of prehistoric populations.

• At sites where people live or have lived, archaeologists find "artifacts, material items" that humans have made or modified, such as tools, weapons, camp sites, and buildings.
• Plant and animal remains and ancient garbage6 tell stories about "consumption and activities". Wild and domesticated grains have different characteristics, which allow archaeologists to distinguish between ‘gathering and cultivation'.
• Examination of animal bones reveals the ages of slaughtered animals and provides other information useful in determining whether species were ‘wild or domesticated'.
• The pottery types at a site can suggest its "technological complexity", and the quantity of pottery fragments allows estimates of population size and density.
• The discovery that potters used materials that were not locally available suggests systems of trade. Similarities in manufacture and decoration at different sites may be proof of "cultural connections" – perhaps they shared common cultural ancestors, traded with each other, or belonged to the same political system.
• Many archaeologists examine "Paleoecology" that looks at the ecosystems (interrelations among living things in an environment) of the past.
• Archaeologists may infer "cultural transformations", for example, by observing changes in the size and type of sites and the distance between them. Archaeologists also reconstruct behavior patterns and life styles of the past by excavating (digging out or unearthing through a succession of levels at a particular site). In a given area, through time, settlements may change in form and purpose, as may the connections between settlements.

Although archaeologists are best known for studying prehistory, that is, the period before the invention of writing, they also study cultures of historical and even living peoples to be able to verify.
Field Work in Archaeological Anthropology: Archaeological anthropologists work in team and across time and space. Typically, archaeologists combine both local (excavation – by recovering remains by digging through the cultural and natural stratigraphy – the layers of deposits, differentiated by color and texture that make up an archaeological site – which is much more labor-intensive. This is done when anthropologist address ‘specific' research interests or they are in present danger of being destroyed) and regional (systematic survey – that provides a regional perspective on the archaeological record by gathering information on patterns of settlement or ‘distribution of sites within a given region' over a large area. Settlement pattern information are used to make population estimates and to assess level of social complexity) perspectives. Like modern ethnographers, they recognize that sites are not discrete and isolated, but part of larger social systems. Archaeology encompasses a wide variety of analytical and experimental methods and techniques which draw on both the natural and social sciences.
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