1. Archaeology

2. What is Archaeology?  One of 4 sub-fields Anthropology  Study of ancient cultures through material remains Artifacts  Aims to explain origins & development of human culture  “Speak to the earth and it shall teach thee”

3. Why is Archaeology Important?  “History is to society as memory is to the individual.”memory  Importance: Provides a means to learn about our past ○ True for cultures with and without any written history “History will be kind to me because I intend to write it” ~Winston Churchill

19. How Archaeologists Conduct Research  1) Survey Site  2) Excavation Step 1: Remove top soil Step 2: Site plan Step 3: Study artifacts

20. Dating Methods: Absolute vs. Relative

21. Relative Dating: Determining the Order of Events  Law of Horizontality Layers form horizontally  Law of Superposition Oldest on bottom; Youngest on top  Law of Association Objects in same layer = same age

22. Absolute Dating  Dendrochronology  Carbon 14  Potassium-argon  Thermoluminescence

23. The Search for Richard III: The Archaeology Dig

24. Real vs. Media Archaeology

25. Questions to Consider  What are some of the major misconceptions with the portrayal of archaeologists?  Why do you think that the media glorifies archaeology?  Is it possible to consider “real” or “media” archaeology more valuable than the other?

26. Lost Ark of the Covenant

27. Ethiopia, home of the Ark?

28. Sankara Stones

29. Shiva Lingam Stone

30. The Holy Grail

31. The Crystal Skulls