1. ANT 102: Archaeology: Mysteries and Controversies.
Monday, August 27th
What is Archaeology?
Matt Krebs
Matt Krebs
Matt Krebs

2. ANT 102: Archaeology : Mysteries and Controversies.
Archaeology: Learning about humans in the past through systematic interpretation of the
physical remains of the past and their context.
1. HUMANS IN THE PAST

3. ANT 102: Archaeology : Mysteries and Controversies.
Archaeology: Learning about humans in the past through systematic interpretation of the
physical remains of the past and their context.
1. HUMANS IN THE PAST (Interdisciplinary)
2. SYSTEMATIC
Pyramids of Giza, Egypt

4. ANT 102: Archaeology : Mysteries and Controversies.
Archaeology: Learning about humans in the past through systematic interpretation of the
physical remains of the past and their context.
1. HUMANS IN THE PAST (Interdisciplinary)
2. SYSTEMATIC
3. PHYSICAL REMAINS
a. Artifacts

5. ANT 102: Archaeology : Mysteries and Controversies.
Archaeology: Learning about humans in the past through systematic interpretation of the
physical remains of the past and their context.
1. HUMANS IN THE PAST
2. SYSTEMATIC
3. PHYSICAL REMAINS
a. Artifacts
b. Ecofacts

6. ANT 102: Archaeology : Mysteries and Controversies.
Archaeology: Learning about humans in the past through systematic interpretation of the
physical remains of the past and their context.
1. HUMANS IN THE PAST
2. SYSTEMATIC
3. PHYSICAL REMAINS The Parthenon, Athens, Greece
a. Artifacts
b. Ecofacts
c. Features

7. ANT 102: Archaeology : Mysteries and Controversies.
Archaeology: Learning about humans in the past through systematic interpretation of the
physical remains of the past and their context.
1. HUMANS IN THE PAST
2. SYSTEMATIC
3. PHYSICAL REMAINS
a. Artifacts
b. Ecofacts
c. Features
Can we learn anything about this pot without context?
4. CONTEXT

8. ANT 102: Archaeology : Mysteries and Controversies.
Archaeology: Learning about humans in the past through systematic interpretation of the
physical remains of the past and their context.
1. HUMANS IN THE PAST
2. SYSTEMATIC
3. PHYSICAL REMAINS
a. Artifacts
b. Ecofacts
c. Features
4. CONTEXT
Copan

9. ANT 102: Archaeology : Mysteries and Controversies.
Archaeology: Learning about humans in the past through systematic interpretation of the
physical remains of the past and their context.
1. HUMANS
2. SYSTEMATIC
3. PHYSICAL REMAINS
a. Artifacts
b. Ecofacts
c. Features
4. CONTEXT
a. Provenience
b. Association

10. ANT 102: Archaeology : Mysteries and Controversies.
Archaeology: Learning about humans in the past through systematic interpretation of the
physical remains of the past and their context.
1. HUMANS Layers of ash covering house 1 at Ceren
2. SYSTEMATIC
3. PHYSICAL REMAINS
a. Artifacts
b. Ecofacts
c. Features
4. CONTEXT
a. Provenience
b. Association
c. Matrix

11. ANT 102: Archaeology : Mysteries and Controversies.
Archaeology: Learning about humans in the past through systematic interpretation of the
physical remains of the past and their context.
1. HUMANS
2. SYSTEMATIC
3. PHYSICAL REMAINS
a. Artifacts
b. Ecofacts
c. Features
4. CONTEXT
a. Provenience
b. Association
c. Matrix

12. ANT 102: Archaeology : Mysteries and Controversies.
Archaeology: Learning about humans in the past through systematic interpretation of the
physical remains of the past and their context.
1. HUMANS
2. SYSTEMATIC
Archaeological Record
3. PHYSICAL REMAINS
a. Artifacts
b. Ecofacts
c. Features
4. CONTEXT
a. Provenience
b. Association
c. Matrix

13. Archaeological Record:
Material remains of the past
1) Artifacts – Human-made, generally portable objects
2) Ecofacts – Non-man made items such as plant remains
animal bones, soils, sediments
3) Features --Hearth, burial, oven, pit
Archaeological Record also includes the context:
Matrix: The soils and sediments that surround an artifact, ecofact or feature
Provenience: Specific horizontal and vertical position of an artifact, ecofact,
or feature.
Association: The other artifacts, ecofacts and features that something is
found with.

14. ANT 102: Archaeology : Mysteries and Controversies.
Archaeology: Learning about humans in the past through systematic interpretation of the
physical remains of the past and their context.
1. HUMANS
2. SYSTEMATIC
3. PHYSICAL REMAINS
a. Artifacts
b. Ecofacts
c. Features
4. CONTEXT Why did the owners of this pot
a. Provenience put it in a grave??
b. Association
c. Matrix
5. INTERPRETATION

15. Things that count as archaeology:
Quantifying the number of pollen grains from trees versus grasses
in 12000 year old layers of sediment in a gulch in Arizona.
Environmental
Archaeology
or
Paleo-ecology

16. Things that count as archaeology:
Documenting 1970s graffiti in an
apartment in London.
Sid
Vicious
Johny
Rotten

17. Things that count as archaeology:
Documenting 1970s graffiti in an
apartment in London.
Historical archaeology

18. Things that count as archaeology:
Studying microscopic marks that hyenas and other scavengers leave on bones
Experimental
Archaeology

19. Archaeology: Learning about humans in the past through systematic interpretation of the
physical remains of the past and their context.
1. HUMANS IN THE PAST (Interdisciplinary)
2. SYSTEMATIC
3. ANALYSIS OF PHYSICAL REMAINS
4. IMPORTANT OF CONTEXT
5. INTERPRETATION

20. Ucí-Cansahcab Regional Integration Project
Investigating Ancient Maya Regional Integration in Yucatan, Mexico

23. How can we explain this regional integration? Why was the causeway built?
1) Who’s in charge? What was the regional capital?
2) When was the causeway built and when was it abandoned?
3) Did the political capital heavily regulate other nearby towns?
4) Was this political integration helpful to people living nearby?

30. Systematic: explore far in multiple directions to ensure that you find the boundaries
Interdisciplinary: using technology and methods from surveying and geography (GPS, GIS)

31. How can we explain this regional integration? Why was the causeway built?
1) What was the likely political capital?
Uci (at least during the period from 1 to 550 AD)
2) When was the causeway built and when was it abandoned?

36. The building was built
between about 250 and 500 AD

37. The building was built
between about 250 and 500 AD

39. Sacbe built before the
Early Classic. (pre 250 AD)
Sacbe built during or after
the Late Preclassic (post 100 BC)
100 BC to 250 AD
In the core of the sacbe, we
found Middle Preclassic and
Late Preclassic ceramics
CONTEXT
(provenience and associaton)
CLOSE ANALYSIS OF
REMAINS OF PAST
(CERAMICS)

40. How can we explain this regional integration? Why was the causeway built?
1) What was the likely political capital?
Uci (at least during the period from 1 to 550 AD)
2) When was the causeway built?
100 BC (?) to 250 AD (corresponds pretty well to the rise of Uci)
3) Did the political capital heavily regulate other nearby towns?

42. Ancient Maya ballgame

45. Alley of ballcourt
Santa Teresa
15Q-d(5)

46. Ballcourt

47. Ballcourt
showing
location of
excavations
Number of
50 x 50cm
units: 94
Systematic

50. Interdisciplinary:
Use of soil chemistry

51. Topographic map of ballcourt area,
Santa Teresa site
5 cm

52. In sum, ballcourt was a location both for formal
ballplaying, but also ceremonial meals.
It was built around 700 BC, after the decline of Uci

53. How can we explain this regional integration? Why was the causeway built?
1) What was the likely political capital?
Uci (at least during the period from 1 to 550 AD)
2) When was the causeway built and when was it abandoned?
100 BC (?) to 250 AD (corresponds pretty well to the rise of Uci)
3) Did the political capital heavily regulate other nearby towns?
Possibly: --When Uci is flexing its muscles, other sites are on the wane
--When Uci declines, smaller sites assert a level of independent
political and ritual organization
4) Was this political integration helpful to people living nearby?
One might think that villagers would now get access to the broader trade
connections and other economic benefits of being part of a large center

60. Systematic
--305 mini-pits
--50m3 of excavation (green)

61. So if they weren’t using many pots, what did they use to store water
and cook and serve food?
Baskets and gourds?
INTERPRETIVE:
(which means not fully certain,
but there is at least some data
that makes the interpretation plausible)

62. Baskets as seen in ancient
Baskets depicted on Pots
Maya paintings
K1669
K559 K8461
K1669
K8277
K718
K625 K1392
K6355

63. Pots as baskets

64. Pots as gourds

65. How can we explain this regional integration? Why was the causeway built?
1) What was the likely political capital?
Uci (at least during the period from 1 to 550 AD)
2) When was the causeway built and when was it abandoned?
100 BC (?) to 250 AD (corresponds pretty well to the rise of Uci)
3) Did the political capital heavily regulate other nearby towns?
Possibly:
--Kancab seems to diminish soon after the sacbe was built.
--Smaller sites assert a level of independent political and ritual
organization in Late Classic, when Uci is in decline.
4) Was this political integration helpful to people living nearby?
Apparently not
--People along the causeway did not get exotic goods
--They continued to use cheap perishable tools, such as gourds

66. So, in this example, we see the key aspects of archaeology at work:
Using systematic methods…
…that are often interdisciplinary,
…and that pay close attention to context,
…to acquire physical remains of the past
…that help us make interpretations
…about past human events.