History 8 Archaeology Concepts

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Concepts

• Geographical Imagination: What is and why is it important?

Geographic imagination is the way we view the rest of the world based on our culture, religion, and place of living. It is important because it helps us understand the views, beliefs, and cultures of different ares. [1]

Explain the four essential rules for an explanation to be considered scientific.

• Maximum Observations with Minimum Assumptions

• Compatible with Well-Established Body of Knowledge

• Tested

• Cannot explain all related observations

Read More: Criteria For Judging Interpretations

• Why can there be exceptions to the essential rules? Explain.
  • These are some of the reasons (but are not limited to) why the essential rules can have certain exceptions:
  • Laws can be contradicted by other laws and still be true.
• An example of this would be:

The law of density says that objects will sink down towards earth when dropped in water. If you put a ship in the water (Even if it is made of metal which is more dense than water), the ship will float.

• • It is possible to make errors in measurement,human or mechanical, that can affect the outcome.
    • An example of this would be :

a scientist is measuring a plank of wood. He uses the "inches" side of the yard stick. Unfortunately, when he puts the numbers into his computer, the measurements were in cm.

• • People may disagree about the outcome because of differing points of view.
  • An example of this would be:

An old bone is found in an earthquake-prone area. The strata layers are also mixed. When one archeologist looks at the bone, he thinks that it is about 600,000 years old while when a geologist looks at it, he thinks that the bone is 1,000,000 years old because of the strata layer.

• Know the funnel of certainty and be able to explain it.

The Funnel of Certainty is a process used to rate explanations, reach probable theories, and finally, determine laws.

• Give and define the characteristics of a good theory

Good theories are simple, powerful, and predictable.

• Define catastrophism

Catastrophism is the opposite of Uniformitarionism (what is excepted now today) and says that big catastrophes cause changes in the earth. It is based the biblical Noah's Flood and supported by actual recorded history. Earths sedimentary layers have fossils that suggest a maritime catastrophe on all of the continents except Antarctica. The moving water laid down layers of the sedimentary rock and the fossils found in these rocks seem to be from animals caught up in the water. Catastophism was used up until the nineteenth century when they then discovered otherwise and switched to Uniformitarionism. Catastrophism can't stand alone as its own theory today because it does not pass the powerful test, but it can work in conjunction with other theories. Catastophism is no longer its own theory because change can occur with out catastrophes.

http://www.catastrophism.net/*

• James Hutton
  • James Hutton (1726-1797) was a Scottish farmer who is known for his work on the theory of uniformitarianism.

• Charles Lyell

Charles Lyell (1797-1875), also known as the father of modern geology, searched for principles that would help scientists unravel the geological history of the world. In the 1830s, Charles Lyell turned to the ideas of James Hutton, which stated that the Earth was not changed by unimaginable catastrophes, but by imperceptibly slow transformations, which we can see today. These ideas formulated the theory known as "uniformitarianism," named this because of Lyell's fierce insistence that the processes that alter the Earth are uniform through time. Using these ideas, he created and developed the "Law of Superposition," which says that, over time, new rock layers were deposited on top of older ones. Therefore, the deepest rock layer of the Earth's crust would be the oldest. The Law of Superposition and uniformitarianism also lead to the understanding of the "rock cycle" as we know it today. Charles Lyell was an influence on mathematicians and scientists alike, namely Charles Darwin. He influenced Darwin so deeply that Charles Darwin himself referred to his "Theory of Evolution," as a sort of biological uniformitarianism.

Sources:

-The Manual For Cultural Foundations of Ancient Civilizations (compiled by Rosie Beniretto and Clay Elliot),

-Uniformitarianism: Charles Lyell

• Define, explain and give an example of each.
  • Uniformitariansim-
    • Once upon a time, there was a man named James Hutton. He was a Scottish farmer, who lived from 1726 to 1797. in the early 18th century, he thought up a theory that all processes occurring today have always been occurring and always will occurr. this theory is called "Uniformitarianism". It says that the present is the key to the past and that nothing has changed. This is emphasized by the the belief that all forces occurring today, like plate tectonics, was also occurring 1,000,000 years ago. The theory is actually correct because plate tectonics has been going on for a long time.

• • Superposition

Lower is older. The order of which layers of sediments are deposited above one another. The law of superposition is that the order of sediments is directly related to how old the sediment is. The bottom layer is the oldest, and the top layer would be the youngest. An example would be if you made a PB&J sandwich the slice of bread you placed on top would also be the most recent, therefore youngest, ingredient in the sandwich. Developed by Charles Lyell. (pg. 4 Manual)

• • Three Age Theory

Developed in 1816 by Christian Thomsen, the Three Age Theory groups artifacts of stone together, artifacts of bronze together, and artifacts of iron together. It also states that every human civilization has gone through three ages: The Stone Age, The Bronze Age, and the Iron Age.

• • Plutarch: Great Men and their Character

Plutarch's Theory of Great Men and their Character was that the actual character of great men drives history. Remember that in this context, by great, it is meant powerful, not necessarily benevolent. For instance, Ivan the Terrible was great, but definitely not good.

**Toynbee:Challenge and Response

Definition: Toynbee's theory is that all civilizations are faced with challenges they must respond to, and the way they respond to these challenges determines whether or not they survive.

Toynbee's theory states that if a new a idea or technology enters a civilization, it must adapt to the idea or reject it. How the civilization reacts to this challenge of their ways determines if it will have to adapt, move, die, or if the idea or technology will be rejected and not effect it at all. One example of this theory is Houston's current drought which has caused people to worry about Houston's water supply. The city has passed water conservation regulations, but some people have been avoiding them. If these people continue on the path of not paying attention to these water restrictions, the water supply could get more scarce, and the water regulations could have the possibility of becoming tighter. Houston must adapt to or reject the current challenge. If Houston changes its current route of response to this crisis, then things might get better as Houston will have adapted. If they reject this idea, however, the water supply could get more scarce and potentially make the drought more severe.

To read more about Toynbee's theory of Challenge and Response click here! and here!

• • Malthus: Theory of Population

Definition: Malthus' theory that population increase would outpace increases in the means of subsistence

Malthus's theory stated that the population of humans and animals would always outstrip the amount of natural resources available. This would lead to widespread famine and poverty, which could only be checked by natural calamities (earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanic explosions), war, famine, or birth control. He said the problems were caused by the poor, and instead should use the resources we have on upper class families instead of the lower class.

• • Darwin: Survival of the Fittest

Definition: Only those who can adapt or relocate can survive Darwin's theory says that only the smartest, strongest, and overall most fit to adapt will survive. It is a form of natural selection that states that the longer a species exists, the more refined it gets because those who are not able to adapt will die out, leaving only the smartest and strongest left to live.

• • Marx: Material Dialectic

Marx's theory is that there is perpetual struggle between classes and that all conflicts arise from the attempts to resolve these conflicts for more on Marxisim, visit Marx and the Material Dialectic

• • Turner: Geography and the Frontier

Turner’s theory says that the geography determines the character of the people who live there due to the situation giving them certain advantages and disadvantages (gods, lifestyle, and actions). For example, pioneer people are a lot more adventurous because they don’t know what’s out there, were as city people know what’s around every corner. Also people who live by the water would mainly catch, sale, and eat fish. They would also have an advantage in sea trade. [[2]] [[3]]

• • Radicals: History is the Story of Who Won

History is the history of winners. Basically, whoever wins a way of battle ends up being the one who writes the history books. The losers are disregarded as unimportant. History is determined by who has the political power to write the books.

http://www2.sjs.org/Beniretto/Archaeology/Chapter%201.pdf

**Boorstin: The Unexpected Daniel J. Boorstin's theory of the unexpected states that the future cannot be predicted. That is, ideas and practices simply come together in various places. Change cannot be managed, one can only remain open to change. An example is when Henry Ford created the automobile. He created it to be a more efficient way for people to travel from one place to another. Ford could not have predicted that his invention would trigger a new era of automobiles, and that the fossil fuels used to power them would become a major factor for climate change. To read more on Boorstin and his theories, go to http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/01/national/01BOOR.html.

**Cultural Relativism

Culture relativism means that each culture/civilization is only understandable in its own terms. Meaning that you can't understand another society unless you are born into it. Cultural relativism is the idea that all cultures are equally worthy of respect, and that in studying another culture we need to suspend judgement, empathize, and try to understand the ways that the other particular culture sees the world. For example, when the countries in Europe moved and expanded into Africa they didn't understand the other cultures, and they were more technically advanced, so they thought they should run the small places they conquered in Africa, and have everybody switch to Christianity. At this point in time, the theory for Cultural relativism developed.

To learn more go to: http://www.cultural-relativism.com/

*Why is history considered to be an interpretation of facts and events?

History is considered important because it explains -without the moral teachings- how or why things turned out as they did. By studying the past, people could learn what mistakes to avoid and what good examples to follow. According to historian Edwin Fenton, this is not an easy task for 6 basic reasons:

• Incomplete Knowledge-We probably know only a fraction of one percent of the past. We have few accurate statistics on population, trade, and government income. We know nothing about the lives of the poor.
• Lost Records-At best history can be a record of events recorded in a form that has come down to us. for example the Great Library of Alexandria was lost and some of Aristotle's writings are missing as well. Weather, fire, water, and time have erased most of the past.
• Bias- There are four main causes of bias.

Intentional Bias:You can recognize where a source is deliberately falsified by extreme language and see whether it has a negative or positive connotation.

Limited Access to Information:A source based on part of evidence available or a one-sided account.

Purpose Behind a Source: People don't create records for the benefit of historians they are produced for other reasons.

Beliefs of the Producer of Source:Reports that aren't accurate because beliefs blind them from a reasonable view.

• Expertise- A historian cannot learn everything about an event or period. No one person could read and see everything in one lifetime. Even Dr. Zahi Hawass, renowned Egyptologist, relies on experts in various fields when working on an excavation.

• Selection- A historian must select from available material. She already has in mind an interpretation of history in order to make this decision. Whether the historian is correct is beside the point. What is significant to us is that she has interpreted in the very process of taking notes. If she selects, she does so with some principles in mind. As soon as she established principles of what is important, she interprets.

• Presentation- A historian interprets not only by selecting certain material, but also by presenting it in a certain way. History is really a way of reading and writing about events in the past. If we are to study history intelligently, we must learn the theories historians follow when they interpret.

Intelligent Design The Theory of Intelligent Design infers that the universe is too complex to have come about naturally: at some point there had to have been an insertion of intelligent design. The theory does not attempt to explain who/what the Designer was, only that there was one. Intelligent Design is sometimes used as middle ground between Darwinism and Creationism, as it does not credit or discredit either of them.