Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
T r a d i t i o n a l l y, h i s t o r i a n s h a v e r e l i e d p r i m a r i l y o n
written docu ments to investigate the past.
Their methodology involves: collection, analysis,
interpretation of written sources, and reaching a
conclusion which proves or disproves a hypothesis.
Historians will collect as man y documents as possible
on the period of their h ypothesis to provide relevant
infor mation. Th ese source s will then be carefull y
anal ysed to deter mine how reliable and useful they are
in relation to the hypothesis.
Historians investigating the same topic often respond
to the argu ments presented in the published wor ks of
other historians, and may publish their own
conclusions.
Such debate is central to the nature of historical
inquiry and underlines the fact that history is a
d ynamic discipline .
Tod a y, h i s t o r i a n s u s e a r a n g e o f s o u r c e s , f r o m
archaeological excavation to written sources.
E.g. a historian researching the experiences of
s o l d i e r s i n t h e F i r s t Wor l d War w i l l u s e b o t h w r i t t e n
sources (like diaries, letters, newspapers), as well as
evidence rom an archaeological excavation of battle
sites, which include the trenches and artefacts found in
them.
Finding a Site
A m u c h y o u n g e r d i s c i p l i n e t h a n h i s t o r y.
History is approximately two and a half thousand years
old, whereas archaeology is barely 200 years old.
The word archaeology comes from a Gr eek word
meaning the discussion of ancient things.
Archaeology is the examination of the physical
remains of the past in order to reconstruct mo ments in
history as co mpletely as possible.
These physical remains are called artefacts , and
include things that have been made or altered by
humans.
i n c l u d e t h e r e m a i n s o f b u i l d i n g s , t o m b s , j e w e l l e r y,
p o t t e r y, w e a p o n s a n d h o u s e h o l d o b j e c t s .
The earliest archaeologists were often little more than
treasure hunter fossicking for valuable artefacts to sell
to museu ms.
More scientific methods were introduced by pioneers
of archaeology such as Sir Flinders Petrie, Sir
Morti mer Wheeler and Giuseppe Fiorelli.
Tod a y a n i n c r e a s i n g n u m b e r o f s c i e n t i f i c d i s c i p l i n e s ,
i n c l u d i n g p h y s i c s , c o m p u t i n g , g e o l o g y a n d b i o l o g y, a r e
used by archaeologists to investigate the past.
Soil mar ks
Soil marks can be seen from the air after a field has
been ploughed.
Where a ditch, pit or mound once existed, the soil that
has been turned over may be darker in colour than the
soil of the rest of the field.
This can expose the outline of buried fe atures such
as walls, buildings or even entire settlements.
Shadow marks
Satellite photography
Archaeologists
Ploughing
Land reclamation
Archaeology
Geographical survey
Resistivity surveying
What ki nd of ex cavation?
M agnetic surveying
Tab l e s u m m a r i s i n g t h e m a i n d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n t h e
d i scip l i n es of hi st o ry an d a rcha eo lo g y .
History
Focuses on written
sources
Written so u rces are
restricted to the last 5500
years
Written so u rces are
limited to literate
societies
Written so u rces fro m
ancient societies were
mostly written b y men
reflecting a male bias
Archaeology
Focuses on physical
sources
Ph ysical sources extend
as far back as the
beginnings of human
history into prehistory
Ph ysical artefacts
provide information
about all human activity
Archaeologists usually
study the lives of all
members of society
T h e s t u d y o f t h e s e s t r a t a i s c a l l e d s t r a t i g r a p h y, w h i c h
is based on the principle that the oldest material is in
the lowest layers and the youngest is closest to the
surface.
When artefacts and other features are unearthed during
excavation, archaeologists use the co-ordinates of each grid
to record the location of the finds on a map, or plan of the
site.
3.
I n i t i a l l y, h e a v y e a r t h - m o v i n g m a c h i n e r y c a n b e u s e d t o c l e a r
the surface and remove topsoil that contains nothing of
archaeological significance.
The directors skill is needed to decide when to begin using
smaller hand tools.
The real work of excavation is carried out using picks,
shovels and buckets, then tro wels like the ones used b y
bricklayers.
On ce fin d s ap p ear, fin er too ls lik e p ain tb ru sh es,
toothbrushes and even dental picks are employed to
carefully expose remains without mo ving them or causing
damage.
Typ e s o f s o u r c e s
5.
Bi as
Gender Bias
4.
E x a mi n i n g a n d i n v e s t i g a t i n g t h e f i n d s
Computers in archaeology
Over time, both the natural environ ment and the actions of
human beings are responsible for the destruction and
preservation of sources of evidence of the past.
Ver y c o l d c l i m a t e s c a n p r o v i d e p e r f e c t c o n d i t i o n s f o r
the preservation of organic material, including human
remains. E.g. Oetzi the Iceman.
Geological conditions
Destruction
The natural environment
War f a r e :
War f a r e a n d c o n f l i c t i n t h e i r m a n y f o r m s h a v e
always been the worst examples of hu man
destructiveness.
Tou r i s t s w a l k , t o u c h , p h o t o g r a p h , t a k e s o u v e n i r s
and breathe, all of which danger the sites they
visit.
Modern development:
Tod a y, h o w e v e r , g r e a t e r e f f o r t s a r e b e i n g m a d e t o
minimise the extent of the destruction.
Ver y d r y c l i m a t e s i n d e s e r t r e g i o n s o f t h e w o r l d
preserve normally perishable objects.
The heat of the desert and the absence of moisture
p r e v e n t d e c a y.
In more temperate regions, organic material nor mall y
decays but archaeological evidence may be preserved
in lakes and rivers under layers of silt, and in wat erlogged peat bogs and marshes.
Climate
G r o u p s o f a r t e f a c t s s u c h a s p o t t e r y, t o o l s o r w e a p o n s c a n b e
arranged in a sequence fro m the earliest to the latest t ypes
based on the follo wing two important principles:
1.
All artefacts belonging to a particular period have
distinctive features based on the materials from which
they are made and on their shape and decoration.
2.
Over a long period of time, these artefacts will sho w
gr adual changes, or evolution, in st yle or decoration.
The materials from which they are made and their
p r o d u c t i o n t e c h n i q u e s m a y a l s o v a r y. As a g e n e r a l
rule, the earliest samples in the sequence tend to be
simple, whilst the latest samples will be more
elaborate.
Absolute dating
Radiocarbon dating
Pollen
Bone
Hair
Bird eggshell
Leather
Peat
Blood residues
Application
Bone, teeth, shell
Fireplaces, areas of burnt
earth
Vol c a n i c g l a s s , t o o l s , e t c .
Palaeolithic sites
Human or animal bone up
to 100 000 years old
Rock carvings and
engraving
Bone, teeth, antlers, ivor y