Anthropology 105 Introduction to Archaeology

Dr. Jason Lewis TA: Sarah Hlubik

18 January 2012

Nasura 1, West Turkana, Kenya

Gobaad Basin, Djibouti

Weyto, Southern Ethiopia

Orgnac 3, Ardche, France

Le Grand Abri aux Puces, Vaucluse, France

Introduction to Archaeology
M, W 1 3:55 - 5:15 PM HSB 201 DC 26 lectures

Required Text Fagan, B. M. People of the Earth: An Introduction to World Prehistory. Thirteenth edition. Prentice Hall.

RU Sakai Website https://sakai.rutgers.edu

Course Requirements
Lecture Readings Quizzes (10%) Exams (20, 20, 30%) Laboratory (20%)

Laboratory Sessions
TA: Sarah Hlubik
Section 01: Thursday 1 Section 02: Thursday 2 Section 03: Thursday 4 9:15 - 10:35 10:55 - 12:15 2:15 - 3:35

-all labs meet in Bio 206 -labs begin 26 January

Archaeology
archaeo- Greek: ancient, the beginning palaeo- Greek: ancient Palaeontology Archaeology

Archaeology
the study of ancient human behavior based on material finds - Fagan

Archaeology
reconstructing the human past discovery hypotheses testing

Approach
Prehistoric archaeology Science, basic concepts and facts People, places, history Sites, Finds, Context

What youll need to learn

some vocabulary some basic concepts and facts examples principles

Science is Based on Cumulative Knowledge

If I have seen farther, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants - Isaac Newton

Science is Testable
Easy to disprove Almost impossible to prove Hence hypotheses and theories If x is true, then y should also be true... Science builds on acceptance of demonstrable facts but these can be changed and/or modified with time

observations / discoveries interpretations theories laws

Themes:
Archaeology has a history

L. S. B. and Mary Leakey

Themes:

Deep Time 4.6 Ga (billion years) Time Scales 2.6 Ma (million years) 10 Ka (thousand years)

Messinian

Themes:
Archaeology consists of: finds context

Themes:
Global Phenomenon

Hot Topics

Early traces at 3.3 Ma

McPherron et al., 2010 Nature

oldest bone arrowhead ca. 61 Ka Sibudu Cave, South Africa

Drs. Chris Lepre and Craig Feibel: Oldest Acheulian handaxes at 1.76 Million years ago

Next Time
Archaeological Frameworks
Reading: Fagan Chapters 1 & 2

Web Links: www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/help/timeform.html http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/podcasts/ archaeology/ First Quiz: 30 January: Time Scales