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Anthropology 002:

Introduction to Archaeology

Andrew Kindon, Ph.D.

What is Archaeology?
The explanation of
past human behavior
through the study of
physical remains

Why study the past?

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Why study the past?
To understand the developmental histories
of specific societies

Why study the past?


To understand the general processes of
human cultural change and adaptation

Why study the past?


To clarify and dispel
romantic / erroneous
notions about the past

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Why study the past?
By understanding the
past, we can better
understand the
present and the
future…

Why study the past?


…and ultimately we
can better understand
ourselves

How will we proceed?


Part 1: The history of Archaeology and our changing
understanding of the past

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How will we proceed?
Part 2: Archaeological methods and practices

How will we proceed?


Part 3: Survey of world prehistory

How will we proceed?


Part 4: Current Issues in Archaeology

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Andrew Kindon, Ph.D.
Office: LA/SS 1A
Office Hours: Monday & Wednesday 12:30-2:00
E-mail: andrew_kindon@westvalley.edu
Phone: 408-741-2554
Website: http://wvmccd.angellearning.com

Required Textbook:
The Past in Perspective, 4th edition, by Kenneth L.
Feder, 2007

Recommended Textbook:
Lessons from the Past, edited by Kenneth L. Feder,
1999

BOTH Texts are on reserve in the West Valley library


BOOKS FOR FOOD PROGRAM

How you will be evaluated for this class:


Attendance & Participation = 45 points (9%)
Quizzes (4 total) = 80 points (16%)
Written Project (8-10 pp.) = 100 points (20%)
Midterm Exam = 125 points (25%)
Final Exam (cumulative) = 150 points (30%)

TOTAL POINTS FOR FINAL GRADE = 500

All students are responsible for obtaining Scantron forms and Blue Books
from the bookstore for the quizzes & exams.

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Extra Credit:
Any recent (less than one week old) news story relevant
to Archaeology
Must be dated and from a legitimate source
Must be first to give it to me
May only submit one per week
May only submit five total during the semester

YOU WILL RECEIVE TWO EXTRA CREDIT


POINTS PER NEWS STORY

Foothill-West Valley Archaeological


Survey at Wilder Ranch

Anthropology 2:
Introduction to Archaeology
Week 1:
What is Archaeology?

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The History of Archaeology:
The Age of the Earth
James Ussher
Creationism

How did the


Creationists interpret
fossils?

The History of Archaeology:


The Age of the Earth
Catastrophism

How did the


Catastrophists interpret
fossils?

The History of Archaeology:


The Age of the Earth
James Hutton & Theory
of the Earth (late 1700s)
Uniformitarianism

How did Hutton interpret


fossils?

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The History of Archaeology:
The Age of the Earth
Charles Lyell &
“Principles of Geology”
(1830)

“all past changes on the


globe [have] been
brought about by the slow
agency of existing
causes”

The History of Archaeology:


The Age of the Earth
Charles Darwin & the
theory of Natural
Selection (1838)

The History of Archaeology:


The Antiquity of Humans
Lewis Henry Morgan

Unilineal Cultural
Evolution

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The History of Archaeology:
The Antiquity of Humans
Unilineal Cultural
Evolution

Savagery
Barbarism
Civilization

The History of Archaeology:


The Modern View of the Past
Culture is an adaptation
Cultures change over time (evolve), but not in
any specific direction

“Cultures survive not because they become better but


because they become better adapted to their world.” –
textbook, pg. 24

The Science of Archaeology

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The Science of Archaeology
Archaeologists use systematic methods to gather
empirical evidence (patterns in material remains)

The Science of Archaeology


This evidence is used to build hypotheses or
models about the human behavior that produced
the patterns (Middle Range Theory)

The Science of Archaeology


These hypotheses are tested against other
empirical evidence to see if they hold up

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The Science of Archaeology
Archaeology differs from laboratory sciences
Archaeological record is not a controlled environment
The evidence is often incomplete and open to different
interpretations
Interpretations are often open to the archaeologist’s
individual viewpoints and biases

Archaeological Methods:
How do archaeologists study the past?
Empirical evidence of past human behavior:
Sites
Features
Structures
Artifacts
Ecofacts

THE MATERIAL RECORD

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