dig it?. what is project archaeology?
Post on 02-Jan-2016
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Dig It?
• http://www.projectarchaeology.org
What is Project Archaeology?
What are the indications ofan archaeological site?
• Artifacts
• Features
Artifacts
• Chipped stone
• Clay
• Bone
• Shell
• Wood
• Fibers
• Metal
These artifacts may have been used in relation to a number of activities including architecture; food procurement, preparationand consumption; defense; tool making; clothing; personal use; recreation; household activities; ceremonies and rituals; and transportation.
Prehistoric Artifacts• Spear points• Arrowheads• Knives• Chipped or broken debris• Ground stone axes• Grinding stones• Mortars and pestles• Awls• Adzes• Gouges• Pottery• Clothing and ornamental pins• Decorative items and ornaments• Scraping tools• Hammer stones• Bone fishhooks• Stone drills• Beads
Historic Artifacts• Glass• Iron and other metal items like nails and coins• Ceramics or china• Metal utensils• Clothing items such as buttons, buckles, leather items• Worked wood• Horse equipage• Gun parts• Household items such as pins, scissors, and thimbles• Furniture hardware• Copper/brass and iron kettle fragments• Beads and ornaments• Farm equipment
Features:
• Soil stains
• Burned earth
• Foundations
• Clusters of artifacts
• Pits
• Earthworks or embankments
• Ash and charcoal lenses and pits
Prehistoric Features• Fire pits and hearths• Burned earth and clay• Trash and garbage pits• Postholes• Evidence of house floors or basins• Storage pits• Chipped and broken stones• Caches of projectile points• Ceramics or pottery sherds• Human and animal burials• Pictographs and petroglyphs• Middens
Historic Features• Evidence of fires and fire pits• Ash and charcoal lenses and stains• Trash and garbage pits• Dumps• Middens• Postholes• House foundations• Cisterns• Fence lines• Ditches• Canals• Landscapes• Mill races• Dams• Old trails and roads• Cemeteries• Human burials• Clusters of historic artifacts• Old parks and cultural landscapes
The presence or occurrence of one or more
artifacts or features indicates an
archaeological site.
Once the site is determined, archaeologists do a lot of
research and planning because after a site has been
excavated, it is no longer there.
They must carefully sift through the site, make detailed
notes, sketch objects, map sites, and take many
photographs.
Digging the site
Sifting for artifacts
Discussion Questions
• Is it legal to disturb the ground for the purpose of obtaining artifacts or human remains?
• Is it legal to surface collect artifacts? • If I surface collect artifacts, who do they belong
to?• If I see or know of looting of an archaeological
site, whom should I contact?• What should I do if I discover remains or know of
disturbance to a human burial site?
Your assignment• Each group will be a team of archaeologists trained in
the skills of culture, context, observation-inference, classification, chronology, scientific inquiry, and hypothesizing.
• Each group will be given a bag of garbage (middens) to learn about the people who threw them away.
• Study the garbage very carefully.• Determine what culture this garbage is from?• What can you infer about the behavior of the owners of
this garbage and the origin of the garbage based on your observations?
• Classify the garbage.• Be ready to tell the complete story of the garbage
owners.
Resources:• Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of
Historic Preservation and Archaeology 402 West Washington Street, Room W274
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204• Bureau of Land Management
National Park ServiceU.S. Forest ServiceThe State of Utah
• Angel Mounds State Historic Site8215 Pollack Avenue
Evansville, Indiana 47715
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