Archaeology

1st Yr

Archaeologists

• Historians study written sources

• Archaeologists study artefacts

• Archaeology is the study of the remains…

• …left by people in the past

• They study skeletons, tools, jewelry, weapons.

Sites

• Site – the place where artefacts are discovered

• Could be anywhere• Midden – an ancient rubbish heap• Contains many valuable artefacts• Not valuable in money, but in

information• Food eaten; pottery and weapons

used; clothes worn

What is prehistory?

• Period in time before writing was invented

• We have no written sources

• ..so we must study artefacts from this time

• …if we want to find out about their lives

Choosing archaeological sites

1. Rescue archaeology – when land is being cleared for building or roads

2. Research archaeology – evidence that objects might be there – could come from old documents or maps

3. some artefacts are just found by accident

Famous sites

• Wood Quay in Dublin (Vikings)

• Ceide Fields in Mayo (Stone Age farm)

• Pompeii in Italy (Ancient Rome)

• The Pyramids in Egypt

Dating artefacts

• Digging in the ground looking for artefacts• Called a ‘dig’• Steps:1. Preparation – a survey is carried out2. Aerial photos taken3. A plan or detailed map is made out4. The site is divided into squares or grids5. Each grid is numbered6. The site is cordoned off with rope

The Dig

• Topsoil removed by JCB or spades

• Then layers of earth scraped away

• A trowel is used• Hand-pick loosens soil• Must be very careful• Sieves used to find small

objects in the soil

Artefact

• Toothbrushes used to clean earth from it

• Photo taken of the artefact

• The artefact is labeled and the grid number noted

• Then put in a plastic bag

• Brought to lab

Dating artefacts• Try to find out how old the object is• A number of ways:1. Stratigraphy – The position of the object in the soil – the

deeper it is the older it is2. Carbon Dating – all living things (plants and animals)

contain carbon dioxide – after death the carbon leaks out – by measuring how much carbon is left we can discover how long ago it died

3. Dendrocronology – Can only be used to date wooden objects – each year a tree grows a new ring – age of the wood = number of rings

Soil

• Even if no artefact is found the soil contains info

• Dark round patches = post-holes

• Timber posts used in houses

• Square dark patch = fireplace

Revision: Sources

• An eyewitness account• The film ‘Michael Collins’• A modern biography of Julius Caesar• An autobiography• A school history book• A photograph• A census• The novel ‘The boy in the striped pyjamas’

A Dig

• Write down 8 things that an archaeologist must do at a dig

• Survey, pictures, cordon off, make grid

• Remove topsoil, dig with trowels, toothbrush soil away

• Catalogue the artefact

• Date it

Q. What problemts might we have in analysing a written source?

• Bias

• Prejudice

• Wrong Information

• Lies

Dating artefacts

• Pick one way of dating an artefact and explain it.