Archaeology
King Nabonidus of Babylon searched for the foundation deposits of temples dedicated to the sun god Šamaš and the warrior goddess Anunitu in Sippar during his reign. He discovered these ancient structures and restored them, marking one of the earliest recorded attempts at archaeological investigation. This ruler also dated an artifact from the Akkadian Empire ruler Naram-Sin, though his estimate was inaccurate by about 1,500 years due to a lack of modern dating technology. In Imperial China, figures like Ouyang Xiu and Zhao Mingcheng established the tradition of Chinese epigraphy by analyzing bronze inscriptions from the Shang and Zhou periods. Shen Kuo published a book in 1088 that criticized scholars who attributed ancient bronze vessels to famous sages rather than common artisans. Cyriacus of Ancona traveled throughout Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean in the fifteenth century to record Greek and Roman antiquities. His diary entries, known as Commentaria, documented findings including the Parthenon and Egyptian pyramids. Edward W. Bodnar later called him the founding father of modern classical archaeology. Flavio Biondo created a systematic guide to the ruins of ancient Rome in the early 15th century. John Leland and William Camden conducted surveys of the English countryside in the 16th century, drawing monuments they encountered. The Oxford English Dictionary first cited the word "archaeologist" in 1824, while the term "archaeology" initially meant ancient history generally before narrowing its meaning in 1837.
John Aubrey recorded numerous megalithic monuments in southern England between 1626 and 1697. He was ahead of his time in analyzing handwriting styles and medieval architecture. Roque Joaquín de Alcubierre began excavations at Pompeii in 1748 and at Herculaneum in 1738 after both towns were covered by ash from Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. Johann Joachim Winckelmann lived in Rome during the mid-18th century and applied categories of style systematically to art history. William Cunnington undertook excavations in Wiltshire from around 1798 funded by Sir Richard Colt Hoare. Thomas Jefferson performed his own excavations on Native American burial mounds in Virginia in 1784 using a trench method. Stratigraphy became a major achievement of 19th-century archaeology as scholars like William Smith and Charles Lyell developed geological concepts. Jacques Boucher de Perthes and Christian Jürgensen Thomsen arranged artifacts chronologically in the third and fourth decades of the 19th century. Augustus Pitt Rivers began excavations on his land in England in the 1880s, arranging artifacts by type and chronology. He insisted that all artifacts be collected regardless of beauty or uniqueness. William Flinders Petrie scientifically investigated the Great Pyramid in Egypt during the 1880s and developed dating systems based on pottery. Heinrich Schliemann, Frank Calvert, and Wilhelm Dörpfeld carried out stratigraphic excavations at Hissarlik, the site of ancient Troy, in the 1870s. Sir Mortimer Wheeler developed the grid system of excavation in the 1920s and 1930s.
Cultural-historical archaeology was the first approach practiced when the discipline developed in the late 19th century. It emphasized historical particularism to explain why cultures changed rather than just highlighting that they did. In the 1960s, American archaeologists Lewis Binford and Kent Flannery led a movement called processual archaeology. They proposed a New Archaeology that used hypothesis testing and the scientific method. This movement rebelled against established cultural-history approaches. The 1980s saw a postmodern movement arise led by British archaeologists Michael Shanks, Christopher Tilley, Daniel Miller, and Ian Hodder. Post-processual archaeology questioned the appeals to scientific positivism made by processualists. It emphasized self-critical theoretical reflexivity instead. Historical processualism emerged later seeking to incorporate both process and post-processual emphasis on history. Modern archaeological theory now borrows from systems theory, neo-evolutionary thought, phenomenology, Marxism, gender-based archaeology, queer theory, and postcolonial thoughts. Ethnoarchaeology gained prominence during the processual movement of the 1960s to study living people for interpretation aid. Experimental archaeology applies controlled observations to develop inferential frameworks for interpreting the record.
Satellite imagery serves as an example of passive remote sensing instruments in modern fieldwork. Lidar uses laser pulses to measure distance traveled between transmission and backscatter. Laser altimeters determine topography by measuring platform height relative to Earth's surface. Drones costing as little as £650 have proven useful for survey work in Peru since at least 2013. In September 2014, drones weighing about one kilogram were used for three-dimensional mapping of Greek ruins at Aphrodisias. Aerial surveys employ ultraviolet, infrared, ground-penetrating radar wavelengths, and thermography to detect buried structures. Magnetometers detect minute deviations in Earth's magnetic field caused by iron artifacts or ditches. Devices measuring electrical resistivity map features like stone walls or organic deposits. Metal detectors are sometimes used formally for musketball distribution analysis on English Civil War battlefields. AI models identified archaeological remains in the Empty Quarter of the Arabian Peninsula. AI technology facilitated the discovery of 303 new geoglyphs in Nazca. Virtual 3D models of sites like Assyrian palaces use computer graphics. Agent-based modeling helps understand past social dynamics and outcomes. Data mining applies to large collections of grey literature.
Looting of archaeological sites is an ancient problem that continues to cause cultural and economic damage today. Smuggling antiquities abroad to private collectors has caused great harm to countries lacking resources to deter it. Indigenous peoples lose access to their cultural resources when looting occurs. W.F. Hodge released a statement in 1937 saying his museum would no longer accept collections from looted contexts. The first conviction under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act occurred in 1992 in Indiana. Kennewick Man illustrates tensions between Native Americans and archaeologists regarding sacred burial sites. American Indians attempted to prevent excavations while archaeologists believed advancing scientific knowledge justified continued study. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act passed in 1990 to limit research institutions' rights to possess human remains. On the 21st of June 2005, elders from Algonquian nations reburied ancestral remains at Kitigan Zibi reservation near Maniwaki, Quebec. Some remains dated back 6,000 years though their relation to modern inhabitants remained uncertain. Michael Blakey initiated protocols for collaborating with African descendant communities during the New York African Burial Ground Project in the 1990s. The Society of Black Archaeologists was created in 2011 by Ayana Omilade Flewellen and Justin Dunnavant. Barbados announced plans for the Newton Enslaved Burial Ground Memorial on the 30th of November 2021.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service operates a volunteer program called Passport in Time since 1999. Volunteers work with professional archaeologists on national forests throughout the United States. Television programs like Time Team and Meet the Ancestors resulted in huge upsurges in public interest within the UK. Webcasting brought live underwater video of Queen Anne's Revenge Shipwreck Project to thousands of children in 2000 and 2001. Nautilus Productions co-produced this educational outreach project that enabled students to talk directly to scientists. The Archaeology Channel website supports efforts to nurture human cultural heritage through media. Community archaeology projects expand local involvement in smaller-scale initiatives across various regions. Local heritage awareness aims to increase civic pride through community excavation programs. The Archaeological Legacy Institute registered as a non-profit corporation in Oregon in 1999. Public appreciation often leads to improved protection from encroaching development or other threats. Archaeologists increasingly realize their work can benefit audiences outside academia. They have a responsibility to educate and inform the public about archaeological methods and findings.
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Common questions
Who was King Nabonidus of Babylon and what did he do in archaeology?
King Nabonidus of Babylon searched for the foundation deposits of temples dedicated to the sun god Šamaš and the warrior goddess Anunitu in Sippar during his reign. He discovered these ancient structures and restored them, marking one of the earliest recorded attempts at archaeological investigation.
When did John Aubrey record megalithic monuments in southern England?
John Aubrey recorded numerous megalithic monuments in southern England between 1626 and 1697. He was ahead of his time in analyzing handwriting styles and medieval architecture.
What year did Roque Joaquín de Alcubierre begin excavations at Pompeii?
Roque Joaquín de Alcubierre began excavations at Pompeii in 1748 and at Herculaneum in 1738 after both towns were covered by ash from Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.
How many new geoglyphs did AI technology discover in Nazca?
AI technology facilitated the discovery of 303 new geoglyphs in Nazca. This finding demonstrates how modern tools identify archaeological remains in remote areas like the Empty Quarter of the Arabian Peninsula.
When did elders from Algonquian nations reburial ancestral remains at Kitigan Zibi reservation?
On the 21st of June 2005, elders from Algonquian nations reburied ancestral remains at Kitigan Zibi reservation near Maniwaki, Quebec. Some remains dated back 6,000 years though their relation to modern inhabitants remained uncertain.