#new archaeology

[chanakakamal]

What happened in archaeology during the 20th century? - Part 2

As mentioned in the previous article, during the time before 1960 in the 20th century, the focus was on methodological improvements in archaeology. From 1960 on, the focus was on theoretical improvements in archaeology. This does not mean that the 1960s marked a clear line between methodological and theoretical development in archaeology. This means the majority of events and concerns in the discipline were slightly different before and after 1960.

What happened in archaeology after 1960s?

From 1960 on, archaeology transformed into a new version of itself. We refer to it as “New Archaeology”. So, the birth of new archaeology is the main thing that happened in archaeology after 1960.

What is New Archaeology?

In new archaeology, the main focus is on studying the cultural processes of past human societies. As you may remember, in the background era of archaeology, the focus was to discover the legendary cities of the past. In the Renaissance era, the focus was to collect antiquities and study the history of antiquity. Then, in the 19th century, the focus was on studying the history of humans and their culture. Again, in the 20th century before 1960, the focus was the same. Then, only after 1960, scholars started to study how human cultures were born, evolved, and changed.

In simple words, before this new archaeology, what archaeologists studied were random and independent events in the past related to humans. But with new archaeology, they studied how those events in history connected with each other. They studied how both intentional and accidental acts of human ancestors have shaped their culture. How did the things that past humans did as well as the things that happened to past humans shape the cultures of past humans? They examined. So, as archaeologists focused on this process of birth and evolution of cultures, we call this processual archaeology.

Read full article on New Archaeology: Processual Archaeology at kamalsjournal.com

Other than the birth of New Archaeology, there were a few important events and trends that occurred after the 1960s, as listed below:

Scholars like Lewis Binford introduced new theories that resulted the emergence of new archaeology

Gordon Childe had introduced his theory of the Neolithic Revolution, explaining how human ancestors domesticated animals and plants. He said that after the domestication of animals and plants, establishing settlements and making pottery took place in order. Archaeology became the scientific discipline to test these theories.

The extensive use of technology to analyse and interpret data

Studies transformed into problem-oriented studies. Scholars began to conduct studies to find answers to research questions.

The studies focused on providing more rational conclusions than ever.

Archaeologists introduced Rescue archaeology, or salvage archaeology, to save archaeological monuments and sites as warfare and development projects were causing huge destruction to them Soon, Archaeological Impact assessments became a necessity before development projects.

In 1970, scholars introduced cultural resource management to protect valuable archaeological sites and monuments. Then, they introduced archaeological heritage management and cultural heritage management too.

So, the new archaeology is an upgrade of archaeology that emerged in the 1960s with better theories and methods, focusing on studying the cultural processes of the human past through material data.

What Happened in Archaeology After 1980?

After 1980, the new archaeology was questioned, and a new version emerged, named post-processual archaeology. Scholars like Ian Hodder introduced new theories for archaeology. This age was literally a period of theoretical reform in archaeology. In order to understand archaeology in this age, the characteristics of new archaeology and post-processual archaeology can be compared.

The new archaeology focused on quantitative results. Post-processual archaeology focused on qualitative results.

The new archaeology was pessimistic. Post-processual archaeology was optimistic. In new archaeology, it was believed that past human cultures were never able to be reconstructed with the limited data found in archaeology. In post-processual archaeology, the approach was optimistic regarding the matter.

New archaeology focused on the processes that were behind creating antiquities. Post-processual archaeology focuses on the culture behind antiquities.

The new archaeology focused on explaining past landscapes as cultural processes. Post-processual archaeology focuses on cultural or cognitive aspects of past human beings.

New archaeology considered that past incidents happened that way because of external factors such as environmental conditions, and things only changed when the environment changed. But post-processual archaeology considers the choices made by humans in the formation of history.

New archaeology looked into the past from the same point of view as we look into the present. But post-processual archaeology looked at the past from different perspectives.

New archaeology tried to understand the past as patterns of social, economic, and political anomalies, but post-processual archaeology tries to understand the past as a collection of individual anomalies. As an example, in new archaeology, it will be said that the Stone Age is followed by the Bronze Age, and the Bronze Age is followed by the Iron Age as a pattern, with some minor exceptions, due to the nature of the impact from the environment. But, in post-processual archaeology, it will be specific with the place and time where and when the Stone Age was followed by which, either bronze, copper, or iron, considering the individuality of incidents and trends that occurred in the history of mankind due to the cognition of mankind, not the environment.

Read full article on Post-Processual Archaeology at kamalsjournal.com

Summary

As discussed above, the discipline of archaeology, which had already emerged in the 19th century, was developed further as a science in the 20th century. In the first six decades of the 20th century, the use of technology extensively developed archaeology as a science in practical ways, such as chemical dating methods.

Then, in the 1960s, the theoretical evolution of archaeology took place. Rather than explaining the story behind antiquities, the past human cultural process was studied with the use of antiquities, marking the first origin of the form of archaeology we have today, which is ‘studying through material data’. And also, archaeological heritage management was introduced to have standards for dealing with archaeologically important heritage.

Then, in the 1980s, with post-processual archaeology, the approach to archaeological studies changed. Earlier, mankind’s cognition was neglected when recreating the past through material remains. There, the environment was considered the force of evolution. Simply put, it said that human culture had changed due to environmental changes. But, in post-processual archaeology, it was said that human culture changed mainly due to the intelligence humans had. As humans, we could choose whatever we wanted with our intelligence. Further, it emphasised that the past is not a pattern but a collection of various occurrences that happened at various times and in various places individually.

As of today, the archaeology we refer to is this post-processual archaeology. So, this is the long process of the origin of archaeology. However, there is an ongoing, never-ending debate about processual archaeology vs. post-processual archaeology.

At this point, if you read all seven articles, I am sure you probably get the same image in your head as I do when I hear “History of Archaeology”. And now, most probably, you have your own idea of the origin of archaeology too.

[reasonsforhope]

This is kind of a weird reason for hope, honestly, but it genuinely changed how I think about catastrophe.

Historical fact that you probably do not know:

At least 30-50% of the population of Pompeii survived.

Maybe even the majority of the people of Pompeii survived.

(The numbers 30-50% there are according Professor J. Theodore Peña, a professor of ancient Roman archeology who studies Pompeii, whom I took a class on Pompeii with in 2018. The numbers of "maybe even the majority" are from articles linked below.)

Yes, that Pompeii, the one where the entire city was swallowed by a volcanic eruption.

And no, I'm not kidding. x, x, x, x, x, x

So how this is possible, that anyone could survive, when the entire city was literally buried in volcanic ash? And the answer is that the eruption actually took place over the course of almost 24 hours, as the earthquakes and clouds of smoke emitting from Pompeii gradually got worse and worse, followed by the ejection of ash and giant stones that gradually escalated, until the fifth pyroclastic flow (aka giant wave of searing hot ash) hit the city.

So, people had a bit less than 24 hours to flee the city. And many of them did, whether by boat or cart or horse or foot. And many of them made it.

Pompeii is the iconic, ultimate example we have, culturally, for a natural disaster that causes complete annihilation.

But it never caused complete annihilation at all. Not of the people who lived there.

I think climate change, ultimately, is going to be like Pompeii. Yes, there will be natural disasters. Yes, it will keep getting worse for a while.

Yes, people will die, and yes, we do need to act fast, and we need to do all that we can to save every single living being that we can.

But unlike the people of Pompeii, we have the ability to fix most of the effects of climate change. We have the ability to cool the planet down from whatever temperature it ultimately hits. (Masterpost on this here.)

Natural disasters fucking suck. But as the true story of Pompeii exemplifies, they are often a lot more survivable than we think. And we have benefits and resources and technology and knowledge above all communication that the people of Pompeii never did - in fact, we're getting so good at building for and detecting and warning for natural disasters that the number of people dying from natural disasters has been plummeting, even as natural disasters are getting worse and worse (x).

We are going to survive climate change (x). We are going to fix as much of it as we can (x). And we are going to rebuild afterward.

Because as the many survivors of Pompeii show, that's what humans do.

[toyastales]

Gold swivel ring featuring an amethyst frog, from the New Kingdom period of Egypt, dating between 1550-1229 BC.

[hurricanek8art]

HELLO HI YES I AM CURRENTLY GOING INSANE OVER THE NYCC SW BOOKS PANEL BECAUSE LOOK AT PRETTY JEDI ARMOR

THE IMPLICATIONS THAT THE JEDI TEMPLE GUARD ARMOR ARE SOME OF THE LAST LIVING STYLISTIC REMNANTS OF THE HIGH REPUBLIC. THE (fully my assumptions ahead) POSSIBILITY THAT THE ARMOR IS PASSED DOWN FROM THE ERA OF FIGHTING AGAINST THE SITH. I WILL BE CHEWING ON THE WALLS UNTIL WE GET CONTEXT AND BACKSTORY FOR THIS.

[blueiscoool]

‘Incredible’ Mosaics Were Found in an Ancient Luxury Home in Rome

Italy’s Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano has called the works “an authentic treasure.”

Researchers working in the Archaeological Park of the Colosseum in Rome have shared their discovery of luxurious mosaic-tiled rooms found in an ancient home on the site, which they believe may have belonged to a Roman senator. Created from shells, glass, white marble, and Egyptian blue tiles, the mosaics have been described by Italy’s Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano as “an authentic treasure”.

The “rustic” mosaics, found on the grounds surrounding the Colosseum in the heart of the city, date to the late Republican Age, in the last decades of the second century B.C.E., and show a series of figurative scenes. They once decorated a townhouse, or domus, owned by an upper class citizen. Italy’s Ministry of Culture have said that “due to the complexity of the scenes depicted” and their age, the mosaics are “without comparison.”

One mosaic depicts a coastal city with towers and porticos, with three large ships floating by on the ocean waves. The culture ministry believes this could be a reference to naval victories achieved by the owner of the home, which is believed to have been a Roman senator. This is supported by historical sources describing the area as having been occupied by such high-ranking members of society.

The decorated walls were likely located in the home’s dining rooms, where luxurious banquets would be hosted, and guests at these events were likely wowed with “spectacular water games,” according to the culture ministry, based on the presence of lead pipes set into the walls.

In the reception room, an extremely well preserved decorated stucco featuring landscapes and figures was also discovered. Other designs include vines and lotus leaves flowing from vases, musical instruments, and tridents.

The mosaic walls were first discovered near the Colosseum in 2018, but excavation at the site will continue into 2024, and more rooms could be discovered. Alfonsina Russo, the Director of the Archaeological Park of the Colosseum, has said that once the domus is full uncovered, “we will work intensely to make this place, among the most evocative of ancient Rome, accessible to the public as soon as possible.”

By Verity Babbs.

[tarantula-hawk-wasp]

Indiana Jones and the academic beef

[theancientwayoflife]

~ Woman Mummy.

Date: 1550-332 B.C.

Period: New Kingdom, Late Period

Medium: Organic; Secondary Medium: Resin, linen (?)

[english-history-trip]

An Anglo-Saxon beaver tooth amulet discovered at the Wigber Low burial site in Derbyshire.

A 6th-century Anglo-Saxon riddle describes the beaver:

I am a dweller on the edge of steep stream banks, and not lazy at all, but warlike with the weapons of my mouth.

I sustain my life with hard labour, laying low huge trees with my hooked axes.

I dive into water, where the fish swim, and immerse my own head, wetting it in the watery surge.

The wounds of sinews and limbs foul of gore I can cure. I destroy pestilence and the deadly plague. I eat the bitter and well-gnawed bark of trees.

The Eurasian Beaver was hunted to extinction in Britain by the 16th century; since 2009, there has been an ongoing project to reintroduce them in Scotland.

[ltwilliammowett]

On 2 May 2024, the remains of an unidentified ship were uncovered on the north beach of Sable Island off the east coast of Canada. As the archaeologists have not yet finished their investigations, we do not yet know who this lady is or how old she is, but hopefully that will change soon.

Video by Zoe Lucas

[artthatgivesmefeelings]

Bust of a Pharaoh Dating: Amenhotep IV / Akhenaten (18th Dynasty -> New Kingdom -> Egypt) Neues Museum, Berlin, Germany

[archaeoart]

Taos Pueblo, New Mexico, circa 1880.

[skylarkspinner]

fiber art adventures in egypt

I recently got back from a trip to Egypt & finally got around to organizing some pictures to share. One of the things I was most excited about was seeing what I could find on fiber arts and textiles.

Dropping everything under a read more, 'cause this will be a long post haha

first visit: the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC)

At the time of visiting, they had a special textiles exhibit. It covered Pharonic Egypt all the way up to modern times, although I only had time to check out the dynastic & a bit of the Coptic portion of the exhibit (which was what I was really hoping to see anyways)

Was super excited to see this diorama in person. I knew about it but had never seen good pictures of it. From the little I've seen of ancient Egyptian spinning, spinning with two spindles seems to be the norm rather than a master technique? It also shows up in tomb art, which the exhibit also shared:

They also used a different fiber preparation (splicing to create a rove of fiber, no traditional drafting to my understanding) so that probably made a difference? Regardless I really want to see if I can replicate the technique, especially because their spindles look so similar to modern spindles??

I took so many pictures of spindles, guys, and I fully intend to either have a few replicas made or to learn to make some myself. Also, although they were unlabeled... I'm pretty sure those are beaters for weaving? That was a bit of a trend with this trip, so much stuff was unlabeled :( I would've killed to at least get some date estimates for some of the stuff they had on display. I was nerding out in here though, and my family took a few pictures of how excited I was getting. A bit embarrassing, but eh haha

The exhibit also had a section on natural dyes used with a fun visual;

There was several diagrams specifically describing each dye source, but in the interest of not overloading on pictures I'll just list them out. For blues; woad, Yellows; turmeric, safflower, saffron, or yellow ochre; reds; madder, henna, pomegranate, and kermes. I originally thought kermes was another way to say cochineal, but it only seems to be distantly related.

next visit: Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Center

A small art center dedicated to hand-weaving wool and cotton tapestries. All of their work was museum quality & awe inspiring!!

Was even invited to their back rooms to watch a few of their weavers working; no I don't have room to put a room-sized loom anywhere but heck do I want one now

Our guide that took us through talked a bit about the natural dyes they use (all of their dyes are dyed in house with what they grow in their dye garden!!!) and got excited to hear I was also interested in natural dyes! He seemed a bit disappointed I'd never worked with indigo and. while indigo scares me, I'll take it as a sign that maybe I should try some time this year haha.

final visit; the Egyptian Museum

we really had to rush through this one which was a huge shame because it's packed full of artifacts. Also, the lighting in there is atrocious, so apologies for the not great pictures ahead.

They had a fascinating display of textile tools, more than what the NMEC had;

(Hand for size reference) I want all of these spindles! So badly! But a few of them look so much like a few of the spindles I own already?? A few of them had a spiraling notch, that's so cool? But also, what's going on with the one with two whorls? I have no idea. I'm fascinated.

Look at these whorls!! Although again, I'm a bit confused; the lack of labeling strikes again. Unsure why some of these "whorls" have two holes, or what the metal object with the wooden handle is. The display implies sewing needles, and some of them do look like it, but others.... really don't look like sewing needles. I'm absolutely enchanted by this little whorl though. I think it has birds on it?

More objects that I'm baffled by- the signage doesn't really indicate what some of this stuff is, if it's even known. Also confused by the object wrapped in white string in the right pic; it looks like a distaff but to the best of my knowledge the (ancient at least) Egyptians didn't use distaffs. It probably popped up in later times and was put in this display since it was still relevant, but I'm still not sure.

I have so many more pictures & thoughts but I'll save those for more specific future projects. I've been doing research outside this trip on ancient Egyptian spinning techniques and desperately want to go deeper into that, this trip just solidified how excited it makes me. If you made it all the way through this, many thanks for reading!

Bonus; look at this ancient linen 🥺

[beautiful-basque-country]

Science Association Aranzadi has made a discovery that can be a landmark for the history of Basque language. In an Iron Age Vascon town of Irulegi, in the region of Aranguren (Nafarroa), an inscripted bronze hand from the 1st century BCE has surfaced. It’s the longest and oldest Basque text until now. It’s written in a variation of the Iberian alphabet, adapted by Vascons to our language. According to experts, the hand could have been a lucky charm to bring good luck and shoo bad luck away. 

The first word reads sorioneku - please compare to nowadays Basque word zorioneko (for good luck, luckily).

THIS. IS. HUGE.

It’s the first Vasconic text - not single words - that has been found so omg, we’re super excited!!!

Sources: 1 & 2

[thomaswaynewolf]

[blueiscoool]

Archaeologists Discover Ancient Roman Mosaic in Sea off Italy

Researchers studying an underwater city in Italy say they have found an ancient mosaic floor that was once the base of a Roman villa, a discovery that the local mayor called "stupendous."

The discovery was made in Bay Sommersa, a marine-protected area and UNESCO World Heritage Site off the northern coast of the Gulf of Naples. The area was once the Roman city of Baia, but it has become submerged over the centuries thanks to volcanic activity in the area. The underwater structures remain somewhat intact, allowing researchers to make discoveries like the mosaic floor

The Campi Flegrei Archaeological Park announced the latest discovery, which includes "thousands of marble slabs" in "hundreds of different shapes," on social media.

"This marble floor has been at the center of the largest underwater restoration work," the park said, calling the research "a new challenge" and made "very complicated due to the extreme fragment of the remains and their large expansion."

The marble floor is made of recovered, second-hand marble that had previously been used to decorate other floors or walls, the park said. Each piece of marble was sharpened into a square and inscribed with circles. The floor is likely from the third century A.D., the park said in another post, citing the style of the room and the repurposing of the materials as practices that were common during that time.

Researchers are working carefully to extract the marble pieces from the site, the park said. The recovery work will require careful digging around collapsed walls and other fragmented slabs, but researchers hope to "be able to save some of the geometries."

Once recovered, the slabs are being brought to land and cleaned in freshwater tanks. The marble pieces are then being studied "slab by slab" to try to recreate the former mosaic, the park said.

"The work is still long and complex, but we are sure that it will offer many prompts and great satisfactions," the park said.

By Kerry Breen