Application of
Archaeology
Archaeology
is the study of human past through material remains. archaeologists study past humans
and societies primarily through their material remains – the buildings, tools,
and other artifacts that constitute what is known as the material culture left
over from former societies. Archaeology, then, is both a physical activity out
in the field, and an intellectual pursuit in the study or laboratory.
Nevertheless,
one of the most challenging tasks for the archaeologist today is to know how to
interpret material culture in human terms. How were those pots used? Why are
some dwellings round and others square? Here the methods of archaeology and
ethnography overlap. Archaeologists in recent decades have developed
ethnoarchaeology, where like ethnographers they live among contemporary communities,
but with the specific purpose of understanding how such societies use material
culture – how they make their tools and weapons, why they build their settlements
where they do, and so on. Moreover, archaeology has an active role to play in
the field of conservation. Heritage studies constitute a developing field,
where it is realized that the world’s cultural heritage is a diminishing
resource, and one which holds different meanings for different people. The
presentation of the findings of archaeology to the public cannot avoid difficult
political issues, and the museum curator and the popularizer today have
responsibilities which some can be seen to have failed.
Some of
the major areas of application of archaeological knowledge are as follows:
Cultural Resource
Management:
The economic
growth in 1960s in Turley led to the construction of roads and buildings, which
threatened and destroyed many archaeological sites and led to a new emphasison
managing the cultural heritage (Cultural Resource Management, or CRM), either
by preservation, or by recording and excavation prior to destruction.
Cultural
resource management (CRM) is the theory and practice of managing, preserving,
and interpreting cultural resources within a social and legal context. ‘Cultural
resources’ refers to a wide variety of material and nonmaterial expressions of
human social groups and cultures in the environment. The category includes
archaeological remains, buildings and structures, landscapes and places, towns
and neighborhoods, objects, historical documents, folk traditions, and other
things associated with and valued by people.
Here
the role the role of the archaeologist is to locate and record sites before
they are destroyed by new roads, buildings, or dams, or by peatcutting and
drainage in wetlands. In the USA a large number of sites are located and recorded
in inventories every year under Cultural Resource Management (CRM) laws which
were considerably broadened and strengthened in the 1970s. Proper liaison with
the developer should allow archaeological survey to take place in advance along
the projected line of road or in the path of development. Important sites thus
discovered may require excavation, and in some cases can even cause
construction plans to be altered. Certain archaeological remainsunearthed
during the digging of subways in Rome and Mexico City were incorporated into
the station architecture. In Britain, as in the USA, most excavations and
surveys
are
undertaken in the context of cultural resource management – the influence of
the British “National Planning Policy Framework” has meant that expenditure on
archaeology by developers has grown to c. £10 million ($15.4 million) annually.
Most
of the civilised nations now have numerous legislations regarding the preservation
of national heritage and archaeologists are employed to assess apriori on a)
whether the place where construction activities will be undertaken has certain
archaeological values or not, b) if it has then assessment of the nature of the
site, c) if needed the entire site can be preserved, or recorded and then
allowed the construction activities. Where as in countries like North America
it is important for construction workers to seek permission of the
archaeologists, as just been mentioned, in India the Archaeological Survey of
India has the authority to declare a place as heritage and acquire it for
preservation. Different state archaeology departments also actively engage
themselves in declaring certain archaeologically important artefact as
heritage.
Cultural Heritage:
In
order to understand the CRM and the need for it, we also need a clearer perception
of the term cultural heritage. Cultural Heritage (‘‘national heritage’’ or
‘‘heritage’’) refers to the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible
attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained
in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations.
Heritages
are of two kinds, the physical object ranging from tiny beads to pyramids and
non-objects like knowledge, custom, oral traditions, performing arts, social
practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature
and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts.
Tangible Cultural Heritage:
Also
known as Cultural property, the tangible cultural heritage includes the
physical, or "tangible" cultural products. These include anything,
from tiny artefact to large monuments or artworks. They are either movable or immovable
heritage. Immovable heritage includes building so (which themselves may include
installed art such as organs, stained glass windows, and frescos), large
industrial installations, residential projects or other historic places and
monuments. Moveable heritage includes books, documents, moveable artworks,
machines, clothing, and other artifacts, that are considered worthy of
preservation for the future. These include objects significant to the
archaeology, architecture, science or technology of a specified culture. Click
here for more details
Aspects
and disciplines of the preservation and conservation of tangible culture
include:
Museology
Archival
science
Conservation
(cultural heritage)
Art
conservation
Archaeological
conservation
Architectural
conservation
Film
preservation
Phonograph
record preservation
Digital
preservation
Intangible Cultural Heritage:
"Intangible
cultural heritage" consists of non-physical aspects of a particular
culture, more often maintained by social customs during a specific period in
history. The concept includes the ways and means of behavior in a society, and
the often formal rules for operating in a particular cultural climate. These
include social values and traditions, customs and practices, aesthetic and
spiritual beliefs, artistic expression, language and other aspects of human
activity. The significance of physical artifacts can be interpreted as an act
against the backdrop of socioeconomic, political, ethnic, religious and
philosophical values of a particular group of people. Naturally, intangible
cultural heritage is more difficult to preserve than physical objects. Click here
for more details
Aspects
of the preservation and conservation of cultural intangibles include:
folklore
oral
history
language
preservation
Further
reading:
1.
Colin
Renfrew and Paul Bahn (2016) Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practice. New
York: Thames and Hudson
2.
Deborah
M.Pearsall (Ed.) (2008) Encyclopedia of Archaeology. California: Elsevier
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