Archaeology is the scientific study of past cultures, based on evidence of the way people lived from the material remains they left behind and environmental effects of human behaviour. Culture is the shared ways of life learned by a group of people, including their language, religion, technology, and values. Evidence which can range from buried cities to microscopic organisms and covers all periods from the origins of humans millions of years ago to the remains of 20th and 21st century industry and warfare.The term Archaeology is from the Greek word archaiologia (menaing ancient) and -logia, (meaning discourse or study).
Anthropology is the study of humanity - where people came from, how they live differently in societies across the world and also how they interact with each other and with their environment. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek word anthrōpos, (meaning human) and -logia, (meaning discourse or study) and was first used by François Péron when discussing his encounters with Tasmanian Aborigines. There are two main types of anthropologists:
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Social Anthropologists are interested in people everywhere, how society works, how people live, what are their beliefs, customs, ideas, religions, myths, prejudices and aspirations. What kind of families do they live in, what kinds of work do they do, how are the lives of women different from those of men, or adults from children, or young from old? How do they deal with misfortune or sickness, in what ways do they celebrate when things go right?
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Biological Anthropologists are interested in how humans evolved, in the whole history of human development, and in the more biological aspects of human societies today, for example nutrition, genetic variation, resistance to diseases, and adaptation to the environment.
In the US, Anthropology is often divided into four sub-categories: Biological Anthropology, Social Anthropology, Anthropological Linguistics and Archaeology
I believe the most interesting archaeology period is prehistory; a time before records were kept. The three-age system for prehistory comprises three consecutive periods of time, named for their respective tool-making technologies - the Stone Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. Throughout the Ancientcraft web site, the following colour codes will be used where appropriate, based on British classification:
| BRITISH PERIOD | BROAD DATES | NOTES | CULTURES |
| Lower Paleolithic | 2,500,000 - 300,000 BC |
During this initial period, early members of the Homo genus had primitive tools, which remained dominant for the best part of a million years, from about 2.5 to 1.7 million years ago. Homo habilis is belived to have lived on scavenging, using the tools to cleave meat off carrion or to break bones in order to extract the marrow |
Oldowan Acheulean Clactonian |
| Middle Paleolithic | 300,000 - 40,000 BC |
During this time period Homo neanderthalensis lived in Europe between 300,000 and 30,000 years ago. The earliest anatomically modern humans appeared around 195,000 years ago. |
Mousterian Aterian |
| Upper Paleolithic | 40,000 - 10,000 BC |
This period was a evolutionary change for the human species as neanderthals became extinct, it was the last ice age and Modern humans (i.e. Homo sapiens) are believed to have emerged about 195,000 years ago in Africa. |
Baradostian
Châtelperronian Aurignacian Gravettian Solutrean Magdalenian Hamburg Ahrensberg Swiderian |
| Mesolithic | 10,000 - 7,000 BC |
This was a transition period between nomadic tribesmen and development of agriculture. More sophisticated tools and weapons appear. |
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| Neolithic | 7,000 - 1,500 BC |
The way of life of the Mesolithic Hunter Gatherer carried on virtually unchanged until around 7000 BC, when the first evidence of farming appears in the archaeological record. This technological advance signalled the beginning of the Neolithic or “New Stone Age.” |
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| Bronze Age | 2,500 - 800 BC |
Although not clear, it is thought that the bronze tools and weapons from this period were brought over from main-land Europe. The Mycenaeans created the finest bronze weapons. They came from southern Russia at around 2,000 BC, and settled in the lowlands of Greece. |
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| Iron Age | 800 BC - 100 AD |
The Iron Age introduced many new things, such as coinage and wheel thrown pottery. People had started to live in larger and more settled communities, and the mortuary rites of society had changed. |
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| Roman | 43AD - 410AD |
The Roman general and future dictator, Julius Caesar, made two expeditions to Britain in 55 and 54 BC as an offshoot of his conquest of Gaul, believing the Britons had been helping the Gallic resistance |
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| Early Medieval | 5th - 15th Century |
Sometimes referred to as the Dark Ages, the period when Roman rule declined and settlers from the German regions of Angeln and Saxony emerged as the new leaders. The Anglo-Saxon period lasted for 600 years, from 410 to 1066, and in that time Britain's political landscape underwent many changes |
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NOTE: The time period and associated colour systems relates to British periods only - local classification of time periods may differ.
Archaeologists who have inspired me are include:
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J.D. Hill Dr Hill is the curator of the Iron Age Collections in the Department of Prehistory and Europe at the British Museum. I have met Dr Hill on a couple of occasions and seen him on television many times. |
Chris Stringer Professor Stringer currently works at the National History Museum as a research leader on human origins. I attended one of his lectures on 14th May 2008 at Plinston Hall. |
Mick Aston Professor Aston, well known presentor of Channel 4's Time Team. You can see me (above) with Mick, when he visited Bassingbourn village during their gaden dig weekend on 19th June 2005. |
YACs is a great club for young people (8-16 years old) with an interest in history and archaeology. Started in 1972 and originally called Young Rescue , Tony Robinson is the Club's honorary President.
I used to attend the Cambridge branch of YACs which was nornmally held in the Cambridge Anthropology & Archaeology museum, and I now occasionally help out as an assistant. I have been lucky enough to go on three YACs holidays in Cornwall, I have written articles for the YACs magazine and their website.
In 2007 I won the Young Archaeologist of the Year award for my report called "As the Crow Flies" on the Monuments of Royston and Therfield Heath. The prize was a trip to York, that included a visit to the Jorvik Centre, the Yorkshire Museum and best of all, helping on a dig on an excavation area at Hungate with Time Team's Raksha Dave.
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Collecting my Young Archaeologist of the Year Award (YAYA 2007)
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For the last 2 seasons, I have been invited to join the Cambridge Antiquarian Society taking part in a field walking in locations in Cambridgeshire.
Field walking is a useful non-destructive archaeological technique to systematically sample the upper surface of cultivated or disturbed ground in an effort to locate or map the distribution and extent of archaeological sites and recover artefacts that are generally considered to be out of context.
The location for 2008 was Lode. On my last morning with the group of volunteers, I was pleased to find a flint barbed and tanged arrowhead (one of only two found in that area). The location for 2009 was Reach . The area is believed to be a rich mesolithic site and is at the end of Devil's Dyke - said to be the finest Anglo-Saxon earthwork of its kind in the country. |
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Techniques: Marine Archaeology
Despite popluar beliefs, Marine or Maritime or Underwater Archaeology is not restricted to the study of shipwrecks and is often complementary to archaeological research on land sites because often the two are linked by various elements including geographic, social, political, economic and other considerations. Some specialised techniques and tools are used to overcome the challenges of working near or under water (as was used on the recovery of the Mary Rose in the 1970's-80's), however the archaeological process is essentially the same as in any other context.
Nautical Archaeology Society was founded to spread knowledge and interest in our marine archaeology by improving techniques in excavating, conservation and reporting.
Archa-FACTS
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