Sorting Out the Evidence 111The preservation of archaeological remains is dependent upon the environment. Even before the invention of
mummification technologies, buried bodies were very well preserved in Egypt because they dried so quickly in
the extremely arid environment.© British Museum/Art Resource, NYAt the Maya site of Tikal, these intricately carved figures, originally
made of wood, were recovered from a king’s tomb by pouring plaster
into a cavity in the soil, left when the original organic material decayed.© University of Pennsylvania Museum
can shed light on overall health. Because many sources of
food are available only in certain seasons, it is even pos-
sible to tell the time of year in which the food was eaten.
Certain climates can obliterate all evidence of organic
remains. Maya ruins found in the tropical rainforests
of Mesoamerica (the region encompassing central and
southern Mexico and northern Central America) are of-
ten in a state of collapse—notwithstanding that many aremassive structures of stone—as a result of the pressure ex-
erted upon them by the heavy forest vegetation. The rain
and humidity soon destroy almost all traces of woodwork,
textiles, or basketry. Fortunately, impressions of these ar-
tifacts can sometimes be preserved in plaster, and some
objects made of wood or plant fibers are depicted in stone
carvings and pottery figurines. Thus even in the face of
substantial decay of organic substances, something may
still be learned about them.Sorting Out the Evidence
Excavation records include a scale map of all the features,
the stratification of each excavated square, a description of
the exact location and depth of every artifact or bone un-
earthed, and photographs and scale drawings of the objects.
This is the only way archaeological evidence can later be
pieced together so as to arrive at a plausible reconstruction
of a culture. Although the archaeologist or paleoanthro-
pologist may be interested only in certain kinds of remains,
every aspect of the site must be recorded, whether it is rel-
evant to the particular investigation or not, because such
evidence may be useful to others and would otherwise be
lost forever. In sum, archaeological sites are nonrenewable
resources. The disturbance of the arrangement of artifacts,
even by proper excavation, is permanent.
Sometimes sites are illegally looted, which can result
in loss not only of the artifacts themselves but of the site.
Although looting has long been a threat to the archaeo-
logical record, it has become a high-tech endeavor today.
Avid collectors and fans of archaeological sites unwittingly