Difference between revisions of "History 8 Archaeology Manual Assignments"

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1. What is geographic imagination? Why is important?

Geographical imagination: We carry a lot of geography in the mind. We may not know it but subconsciously we take mental images of the world the country that we live in. Geographical imagination is the map of the world that we keep in our heads. Every one of us has geographical imagination. It may not be the same, there may be conflict between two different peoples idea of what a certain landscape looks like but we all have it. It is important to go deep into thought to see it and think about it. An importance in geographical imagination is how you see a third world area compared to a first world area an how to contrast and compare them. A big issue with geographical imagination is when geographers have to completely different ideas about a third world as a victim, for instance, if two people see something two different ways then there is conflict between the two of them and they come to a dead end on what to do about it. Geographical imagination is important, because, it is important to see clearly a way of imagining geographical space.

3.== Explain the Four Essential Rules for an Explanation to be Considered Scientific ==

Rule #1: The interpretration has to be a simple idea that doesn't include anything unnecessary, but has a maximum number of observations, for example, gravity on earth. we can see that it always makes things fall back to the earth always, unless there is a different force being applied.

Rule #2: The interpretation has to be logically consistent, or cannot confict with a well- established body of principle.

Rule #3: The interpretation must be tested one or more times before it can be accepted as useful and reasonably certain, or else it would be considered an assumption, or ""truth" without proof".

Rule #4: No matter how thorough an interpretation or explanation is, it can never cover everything, because there will always be at least one, if not more, exceptions or flaws in it.

Links: [6] Our lecture in class on 8/28/12 history manual

-Emma Boehme

4. Why can there be exceptions to the essential rules? Explain.

• • There can be exceptions to the essential rules because many errors can occur in measurements, observations, and differences in perception. Errors can occur in measurements because humans can make a mistake, and machines can make a mistake. More than one principle can effect an observation so exceptions are bound to appear. Two different types of perception exist: honest and intellectual. Differences in perception happen because people do not always have the same expectations of what should occur. Also, frames of reference and points of view can make a difference. If there were no exceptions to rules then there would be no rules.

Sources: CF Manual page 3 Camila Chabayta

5. Know the funnel of certainity and be able to explain it.

• • The funnel of certainty is a process that we use to rate explanations, find probable theories, and determine laws. The funnel is separated into different levels. At the bottom (lowest rank), there is uncertainty, then, there is speculation, probable theory, and at the top (highest rank), there is reality. A good example of how we use the funnel of certainty are the pyramids in Egypt. For uncertainty, one example is that aliens built the pyramids. Moving onto speculation, we could assume that the Egyptians built the pyramids and were just skilled people. The probable theory in this case would be that the Egyptian people built the pyramids because we have no evidence of aliens.

Sources: History 8 Manual pp. 3-4

• • • • Class Notes on History Homepage

6. Give and define the characteristics of a good theory.

• • A good theory is predictive, powerful, and parsimonious. To be predictive, a theory’s hypothesis must accurately predict the outcomes of an observation. A powerful theory is one that has generality and scope and applies to many different circumstances. Finally, a theory is parsimonious when it is relatively simple. This way, it is much easier to understand, and there is a more likely chance that it is correct.

Sources:

History 8 Manual pp. 4-5

Criteria for Communication Theory:

http://www.ic.arizona.edu/~comm300/mary/general/criteria.html

Helen Dodd

7. Define catastrophism

• Catastrophism is a theory of evolution proposed by French scientist George Cuvier. His theory explained that many different natural disasters such as floods, over time created large changes of the life on Earth, while also changing the Earth's crust. These catastrophies caused the sudden death in large species like dinosaurs, as well as killing of different types of plants. The extinction of some animals and plants made room for new species to live. His theory explained why there were sudden changes of species in the fossil record. This theory strongly opposes the Theory of Evolution, which Cuvier himself did not believe in. Scientists did not take this theory very well, but religious groups seemed to believe and accept the idea more.

Sources:

http://anthro.palomar.edu/evolve/evolve_1.htm

http://evolution.about.com/od/scientists/p/Georges-Cuvier.htm

History 8 Manual pg

-Julia Giordano

8. ID James Hutton

9. ID Charles Lyell : John Kennedy

Charles Lyell was a 19th century geologist, known for his primary work, Principles of Geology, and is dubbed the "Father of Modern Geology". Lyell was born to Scottish parents, and his father was a working naturalist, which could have sparked Lyell's interest in the subject. He studied both geology and law at Oxford, and became a geologist after a brief stint as a lawyer. As his career as a geologist went on, Lyell formed his key beliefs that would form the kernel of Principles of Geology. He believed that the world was ancient, and agreed with James Hutton that everyday events, taken place over a long period of time, formed the features of our Earth. His masterpiece, Principles of Geography, was a three-volume work that created a foundation for modern geology to be based upon. In the first volume, Lyell reintroduced the concept of uniformitarianism, James Hutton's concept that the basic motions of creating the earth are still in action today. In the second volume, Lyell stated his observations on igneous and metamorphic rocks, and in the third, Lyell discussed stratigraphy and paleontology. Also in the third volume, Lyell became the first to arrange more recent rocks in a more logical and consistent order. The legacy of Principles still lives on. Darwin carried the book on his voyages to South America, and for it Lyell was knighted at the age of 51. Charles Lyell, the "Father of Modern Geology", formed revolutionary ideas in his Principles of Geography that are still in use today.

Source: + - "Charles Lyell." Science and Its Times. Ed. Neil Schlager and Josh Lauer. Vol. 5. Detroit: Gale, 2000. Gale World History In Context. Web. 4 Sep. 2012.v

10. Uniformitarianism: Nina Lahoti

Uniformitarianism says that previous events in the world's history must be able to be explained by methods and actions still being processed in the modern world. It was sought out by James Hutton, and this theory states that, "The present is the key to the past." An example of uniformitarianism is that meteor strikes in the past could have been possible as meteor strikes still happen today.

11. Superposition: Abigail Moorhead

The law of superposition is everything that a law should be; it is predictive, parsimonious, and powerful. There is some controversy whether or not Nicholas Steno or Charles Lyell hypothesized this law. Simply stated, superposition says that the lower the layer of rock is the older it is and the further up the rock layer is the younger it is. Superposition can be easily described by comparing it to a cake. The bottom layer cannot be put down before the top layers so therefore the bottom must be older. This law is reliable because it is very simple and there are not many exceptions. This law helps archeologists figure out the relative age of artifacts found in the rocks and it can tell them what type of things were used in the time period that the rocks were found in. Sources: CF Manual page 6 http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/steno.html

12. Three Age Theory

13. Plutarch: Great Men and their Character

14. Toynbee: Challenge and Response -Arisa Sadeghpour

Arnold J. Toynbee's (1889-1975) theory of Challenge and Response says that all civilizations have crises. The crises can either be of technology or ideas, and the way the civilizations respond determines wether or not they will be able to survive. If a society faces either new technology or ideas, they must either adjust or decline to it. It explains the rise and fall of societies. The challenge is the crises given to the society while the response is the way they react to it. An example could be climate changes in an area, new technology being made. The society can adapt to it, or reject it.

Sources: CF Manual page 9

            [7] http://assets.cambridge.org/97805216/53053/excerpt/9780521653053_excerpt.pdf

            [8] http://www.cooperativeindividualism.org/toynbee_challenge_and_response.html

15. Malthus: Theory of Population

• Thomas Malthus was a British economist, who proposed the Theory of Population. His theory discussed the dangers of overpopulation. The theory states that if the human population was allowed increase at an unbridled rate, then there would be more people then there would be food supply. Eventually the food supply would reach a limit and the whole of human society would come crashing down due to famine and disease. He believed that human society could never be perfect and that humans, in general, were lazy. But, as soon as the human population began to grow more and more, and as the food supply became more limited, humans would work hard to increase agricultural productivity and produce more food in order to make the food supply become stable again. However, after the supply became stable, humans would go back to being lazy. Malthus believed that this would occur in a periodic cycle. Finally, he believed that in order for humans to work hard, they would have to endure suffering, such as famine.

Sources:

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/thomas-malthus-theory-of-population.html

Thomas Malthus and the decrease of the food supply.

16. Darwin: Survival of the Fittest

17. Marx: Material Dialectic

18. Turner: Geography and the Frontier

• In 1893 Frederick Jackson Turner proposed his frontier thesis at the Colombian Exposition in Chicago. Turner argued that Europeans had been transformed by the settlement of North America, a process that produced a distinct American mentality and culture far different from European precedents. He saw the frontier as the source of American democracy, individualism, and nationalism. The frontier provided to the American people certain advantages that no longer existed in Europe, where land was expensive and population was high. The frontier was the place where European immigrants were Americanized and assimilated.Turner explained that as settlers moved more westward and came across dangerous frontier wilderness, they were transformed by that environment and its inhabitants. Turner once read in one of his famous essays, "The wilderness masters the colonist. It finds him a European in dress, industries, tools, modes of travel, and thought. It takes him from the railroad car and puts him in the birch canoe. It strips off the garments of civilization and arrays him in the hunting shirt and the moccasin." He stated that there were benefits to the frontier process, such as it accounted for every benign aspect of the American character and every positive feature of American political institutions. However, there were a few negative influences to the frontier. Too much frontier individualism could be selfish and lead to political corruption. There was also much criticism towards Turner's thesis. Many historians questioned the validity of the thesis. Some described it as Euro-centric, male-centric, anti-environmental, anti-Indian propaganda. Although Turner's frontier thesis has been attacked many times, it seems to have held on the imaginations of many Americans.

The American Frontier

Frederick Jackson Turner

Sources:

• ^[1] Gale U.S. History in Context Frontier Thesis, Turner's

• ^[2] Library of Congress Meeting of Frontiers

• ^[3] PBS Frederick Jackson Turner

Picture References:

• ^[4] The Daily Omnivore The American Frontier

• ^[5] Chapter 17 Frederick Jackson Turner

1. ↑ [1].
2. ↑ [2].
3. ↑ [3].
4. ↑ [4].
5. ↑ [5].

• By Jeffrey Wang

19. Radicals: History is the Story of Who Won

Radicalism is the idea that history is the history of winners. In wars, the winning side writes the history and the losing side gets demonized and excluded. After World War II many Germans and Japanese were demonized, even though many were innocent. Those who have the political power to write books determine history. The people in upper class and have the education to write they write history according to them. In China when a new dynasty takes power their first duty is to rewrite the entire history of the old dynasty to show why the old dynasty did not have the right to rule or govern. In many ancient civilizations the inhabitants would chip in stone a certain point of view about an event, so that history would be kept forever. The idea that winners write our history is the idea of radicalism. [9]

Reference: History Manuel Pg 10. Picture:

Sophie Worscheh

20. Boorstin: The Unexpected

21. Cultural Relativism

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

23. Define types of artifacts

• • technic
  • ideotechnic
  • sociotechnic

24. ecofacts

Ecofacts are ecological items that become associated with a site through natural processes. The difference between ecofacts and artifacts is that artifacts are changed by humans, while ecofacts are not. An example of an ecofact is a piece of petrified wood that is found near an archaeological site. There are four types of ecofacts. The first type, faunal, is an ecofact that comes from animals and can be further divided into human and animal ecofacts. An example of this would be a pig bone, like the one that was found in A Bone from a Dry Sea. A floral ecofact, the second type, is an ecofact that comes from plants and is divided by size into micro specimens and macro specimens. Pollen would be an example of a micro specimen. The third type of ecofact is inorganic, which come from nonliving things. An example of an inorganic ecofact would be a mineral. The final type of ecofact is organic, which come from living things. An example of this would be a mosquito found in fossilized tree sap. Ecofacts are important in history because they give us a lot of information about the past, including the climate and ecology near the archaeological site.

Sources: History Manual Page 7 http://www.archaeologywordsmith.com/lookup.php?category=&where=headword&terms=ecofact http://www.sciencephoto.com/media/171729/enlarge

Cam Cook

25. features

A feature is part of an archaeological site that cannot be taken back to a laboratory for analysis because they are part of the earth or because moving will alter or destroy them. A basic example of a feature is the floor of an ancient house. Features can be found by a very slight change of color or texture to a layer of the earth, so it would be easy to miss them in a survey of the land. One of the reasons that a feature can look very similar to the ground is that it might very well be made of the same type of material. An example of this is that the floor of an ancient building would most likely be made out of the earth. Because of this, it is very important to excavate and log features in your notes so that you do not lose track of them. Features are made by humans, which would make them sort of like an artifact. The only difference between an artifact and a feature is that features cannot be moved from the place that they are found. A feature is anything at a dig that is not a layer, a find, or a structure. Features are important in history because they suggest human activity, which helps scientists find information about a certain area such as the age at which humans inhabited it.

Sources: History Manual Page 7 http://www.archaeologywordsmith.com/lookup.php?terms=feature http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/occaneechi-archaeology-primer/1725

Cam Cook

26. relics

27. records

28. source

• • Define primary sources and the types of things that might be a primary source.
  • Define a secondary source.

29. bias Define and give the criteria to identify it.