Evolution And History

120 CHAPTER 5 | Field Methods in Archaeology and Paleoanthropology

Similarly, paleoanthropologists no longer simply catalogue

fossils; they interpret data about our ancestors in order to

reconstruct the biological processes responsible for who

we are today. The challenge of reconstructing our past will

be met by a continual process of reexamination and modi-

fication as anthropologists discover new evidence in the

earth, among living people, and in the laboratory leading

to new understanding of human origins.

Ancient cultural processes have also shaped the archae-
ological and fossil record. We know more about the past
due to the cultural practice of deliberate burial. We know
more about the elite segments of past societies because
they have left more material culture behind. However,
as archaeologists have shifted their focus from gathering
treasures to the reconstruction of human behavior, they
have gained a more complete picture of ancient societies.

Questions for Reflection

1. How would you decide who owns the past? Have
   there been any examples of contested ownership in your
   community?


2. The cultural practice of burial of the dead altered the
   fossil record and provided valuable insight into the beliefs
   and practices of past cultures. The same is true today. What
   beliefs are reflected in the traditions for treatment of the dead
   in your culture?


3. Controversy has surrounded Kennewick Man since this
   skeleton was discovered on the banks of the Columbia River
   in Washington in 1996. Scientists and American Indians

both feel they have a right to these remains. What kinds of

evidence support these differing perspectives? How should

this controversy be resolved?

4. Why is dating so important for paleoanthropologists
   and archaeologists? Would an interpretation of physical or
   cultural remains change depending upon the date assigned
   to the remains?


5. How have random events as well as deliberate cultural
   practices shaped both the fossil and archaeological records?
   Why do we know more about some places and peoples than
   others?

Suggested Readings

Fagan, B. M., Beck, C., & Silberman, N. A. (1998). The Oxford
companion to archaeology. New York: Oxford University Press.

This encyclopedia of archaeology and prehistory contains
700 entries written in an engaging style by over 300 experts
in the field. Topics range from fossils to historic sites, con-
veying the field’s critical transition from an amateur to a sci-
entific discipline.

Feder, K. L. (2008). Frauds, myths, and mysteries: Science and
pseudoscience in archaeology (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

This very readable book enlightens readers about the many
pseudoscientific and even crackpot theories about past cul-
tures that all too often have been presented to the public as
solid archaeology.

Joukowsky, M. (1980). A complete field manual of archae-
ology: Tools and techniques of fieldwork for archaeologists.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

This book, encyclopedic in its coverage, explains for the nov-
ice and professional alike all of the methods and techniques
used by archaeologists in the field.

Loubser, J. H. N. (2003). Archaeology: The comic. Lanham,
MD: Altamira.

Taking advantage of the graphic novel format (a story line
and constant illustrations), this book conveys complex

technical aspects of archaeology and provides an excellent

introduction to the field.

Sharer, R. J., & Ashmore, W. (2007). Archaeology: Discover-

ing our past (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

One of the best presentations of the methods, techniques,

and theories that most archaeologists accept as fundamen-

tal to their discipline. The authors confine themselves to the

operational modes, guiding strategies, and theoretical orien-

tations of anthropological archaeology in a manner well de-

signed to lead the beginner into the field.

Shipman, P. (1993). Life history of a fossil: An introduction to

taphonomy and paleoecology. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Uni-

versity Press.

In order to understand what a fossil has to tell us, one must

know how it came to be where the paleoanthropologist found

it (taphonomy). In this book, anthropologist-turned-science

writer Pat Shipman explains how animal remains are acted

upon and altered from death to fossilization.