Producing Archaeological Data

Archaeology as four-fold hermeneutic

• temporal and possible spatial difference/ distance

• cultural difference/distance• the problem of being an archaeologist in the

contemporary world – being an interpreter

• the problem of archaeology itself – a distinct set of practices which needs to be

learned in order to be archaeology

Levels of Archaeological Theory

• High or General theory: – propositions about human culture, guiding

ideas for archaeological projects

• Middle-level: – determining the specific human actions that

produced the archaeological record

• Low-level: – observations that turn objects into

archaeological data– Always data for something

Attributes

What is it?• Artifacts: all objects that have been used, modified,

or manufactured by humans

• Features: non-portable artifacts such as foundations, postholes, hearths, burials, pits that cannot be excavated without being disassembled or destroyed

• Ecofacts: objects not made or modified by humans, but which are useful for understanding human behavior (seeds, animal bones, pollen, landscapes)

Where is it?

Context: the precise location where an object was found

• What site? what part of a site?

In situ: the location where an object was lost or discarded by its last user

Association: the artifacts, features, and ecofacts found together as a group: the components of an archaeological culture

Knowing artifact 20.2/4683

MATERIAL DESCRIPTION

Obsidian

GLEY 1 2.5/1 Greenish Black

21.3 mm long

2.1 Grams

CONTEXT

Unit B-5

56 cm BGS

WHAT?

Projectile Point

Excavation and Classification

Excavation is the actual recovery of archaeological

remains

Three-stage process• Establish site grid-system• Establish vertical control• Establish horizontal control

Step 1.Site grid

Datum point

Provenience

3-dimensional control

Excavation tools and techniques

Recording forms

Field photography

Field photographs

Step 2. vertical control

stratigraphy

the sequence of layers, or strata, that have accumulated at a site through natural and/or human

activities

Site formation processes

Stratigraphy at Gatecliff Shelter

Step 3. horizontal control: block excavation

Dating Archaeological Finds

Relative dating methods express dates through relativistic relationships

such as “earlier.” “later,” “more recent,” “prehistoric,”

 Absolute dating methods

express dates in specific units of measurement, such as days, years, centuries, or millennia;

absolute determinations attempt to pinpoint a discrete known interval of time

Dating Methods

Dating with StratigraphyLaw of Superposition

Stratigraphic association

TAQ – terminus ante quemTPQ – terminus post quem

X

X = 1910 p e nny

Brick foundation built in 1850

TAQ

TPQ