They just opened a 3,year-old sarcophagus — and cameras were there to capture what they found inside. As the 50th anniversary of Woodstock nears, archaeologists are digging up the farmland in Bethel, New York, where the music festival took place to see what treasures the hippies left behind in the desert of mud. Experts from Egypt and Germany have found an ancient necropolis, containing more than 1, statues and eight tombs.
It's the fourth major discovery in a year, and could eventually prove a much-needed boon to tourism. Visit the new DW website Take a look at the beta version of dw. Go to the new dw. More info OK. Wrong language? Change it here DW. COM has chosen English as your language setting. COM in 30 languages. Deutsche Welle.
Audiotrainer Deutschtrainer Die Bienenretter. Culture A crown or a bucket? When archaeologists make mistakes Archaeology explores the history of mankind. Read more: 'Restless times' exhibition features Germany's latest archaeological finds What was believed to be a crown The secrets of the Luxor mummies revealed Archaeologists in Egypt have made one sensational discovery after another in recent months. Archaeologists today collaborate with descendants to better understand the cultural traditions of their pasts.
Archaeologists working on the 19th-century Levi Jordan Plantation in Texas interviewed descendants. They included both descendants of the plantation owners and of the enslaved plantation workers as part of their research. These archaeologists wanted to include the voices and perspectives of all the past peoples who lived and worked there. At Castle Rock Pueblo in southwestern Colorado, archaeologists used oral history.
Through the oral traditions of modern Puebloan people, they learned about the past culture of their Anasazi ancestors. While historians and archaeologists both use written documents to learn about the past, only archaeologists interpret archaeological sites. That involves unique field work. Archaeologists use trowels to scrape away thin layers of soil from test units, or holes in the ground.
Of course, archaeologists use many other tools in the field and lab. They need equipment to dig, sift, measure, and analyze artifacts. Others, like tape measures, toothbrushes, and dustpans, are everyday objects! Archaeologists use different methods to find sites—surveying the ground, using satellites, or sometimes by accident!
An observant beach walker discovered the prehistoric burials at Low Hauxley on the coast of England. A stone box had been sticking out of a sand dune after a storm. Construction workers discovered a burial ground with remains of more than 17th and 18th-century Africans during construction in New York City. An archaeological predictive model is a tool that indicates the probability that an archaeological site exists in a certain area. It helps determine where archaeologists look for sites based on factors like distance from water, ground steepness, soil type, and other factors that influence where people settle or perform certain tasks.
The methods used to find sites will depend on the kind of research questions that the archaeologist is trying to answer. If there are plans for highway or housing construction, archaeologists may need to know of any archaeological sites on the property. First they will check if there were any previous surveys in the area and, if so, what the results were.
If there are no previously recorded sites, the archaeologist will conduct an archaeological survey. If there are sites, the archaeologist will want to know how many, their locations, and how the sites relate to each other. Usually, to save time and money, the archaeologists only test a sample of the area. A surface survey is a systematic examination of the land. A team of archaeologists will walk in straight lines back and forth across the study area. As they walk, they look for evidence of past human activity, including walls or foundations, artifacts, or color changes in the soil that may indicate features.
They will use a compass and long tape measure to make sure they walk in a straight line and will record the exact location of all evidence they find. They collect any artifacts and put them in bags with a label of their exact location. Features on the surface, which they cannot remove, are photographed and drawn. Shovel test pits or STPs are a series of narrow holes dug in an area that archaeologists believe to be a potential site, revealing artifacts or features.
Archaeologists usually dig test pits where the ground has not been farmed or plowed and it contains a lot of surface vegetation. They may screen sift the soil to recover small artifacts and often draw profiles of the test pits to record what the soil looks like in each hole. There are non-invasive techniques archaeologists can use to find sites without digging. Examples of geophysical surveys that do not disturb the soil include magnetometry, resistivity, and ground-penetrating radar.
After conducting a survey, archaeologists will have enough information to determine if any significant archaeological sites are in the study area. They may or may not find a site. Or, the sites may or may not be "significant" as defined by the law in the National Historic Preservation Act. Regardless, the archaeologist will write and file a site report with the State Historic Preservation Office, which describes their research. If they found significant sites, they might plan further excavations.
Believe it or not archaeologists rarely excavate dig entire sites! Archaeology is a destructive science—meaning that once a site is excavated, it is gone forever. The artifacts and information gathered remain, but the site itself can never be recreated. Excavating sites is also costly and time-consuming. Once the dig is done, archaeologists have a professional responsibility to analyze all the artifacts and information obtained, to report on their research, and to curate the collections.
For these reasons, archaeologists generally excavate only when there is a threat of destruction or when they may reveal vital information about past cultures. And they usually excavate only a small part of any site. Although archaeologists work on all kinds of environments around the world, they follow the same basic process when planning an excavation. Before an excavation begins, archaeologists write a research design. This outlines the "who, what, where, when, how, and why" of the fieldwork.
Archaeologists must submit this important document for review before gaining permission to excavate a site.
In the U. If an American archaeologist wants to work in a foreign country, permission must be granted by the appropriate agency in that government. Tribal American Indian lands in the U. Once a research design receives approval and permits, a team gathers the necessary people and tools. Radar and sonar technologies often use radio wave s, electrical current s, and laser s.
Archaeologists send these signals into the earth. As the signals hit something solid, they bounce back up to the surface. Scientists study the time and paths the signals take to familiarize themselves with the underground landscape. Accidental finds can also lead archaeologists to dig sites. For instance, farmers plowing their fields might come across sherd s of pottery. A construction crew might discover ruins beneath a building site.
Another monumental discovery was made by accident. In , agricultural workers in Xian, China, were digging a well. The complex includes 8, life-sized clay soldiers, horses, chariot s, and artillery , popularly known as the Terra Cotta Warriors. The archaeological research surrounding the Terra Cotta Warriors has provided insight on the organization and leadership style of Qin Shi Huangdi and the development of Chinese culture.
Once a site is chosen, archaeologists must get permission to dig from the landowner. If it is public land, they must obtain the proper permit s from the local, state, or federal government. Before moving a single grain of dirt, archaeologists make maps of the area and take detailed photographs. Once they begin digging, they will destroy the original landscape, so it is important to record how things looked beforehand.
The last step before digging is to divide the site into a grid to keep track of the location of each find. Then archaeologists choose sample squares from the grid to dig. This allows the archaeological team to form a complete study of the area. They also leave some plots on the grid untouched. Archaeologists like to preserve portions of their dig sites for future scientists to study—scientists who may have better tools and techniques than are available today.
For example, during the Great Depression in the s, programs to create jobs led to many archaeological digs around the United States. Some scientists on these digs removed artifacts, such as pottery, but threw away charcoal and animal bones. These items were considered junk. Today, scientists are able to carbon-date the charcoal and analyze the bones to see what kinds of animals people were domesticating and eating at the time. It is important that archaeologists today keep some parts of each site pristine.
Not all archaeology involves digging in the earth. Archaeologists and engineer s work with sophisticated technology to probe the earth below without disturbing the ground. National Geographic Emerging Explorer Dr. Albert Yu-Min Lin leads an innovative archaeological project centered in Mongolia. The Valley of the Khans project is using digital imaging , aerial photograph y, radar, and digital surveying to locate the tomb of Genghis Khan. Using satellite technology, Lin and his team can access information about the project without disturbing the land or even going to Mongolia.
The Big Dig The process of researching and securing a dig site can take years. Digging is the field work of archaeology. On occasion, archaeologists might need to move earth with bulldozer s and backhoe s. Usually, however, archaeologists use tools such as brushes, hand shovels, and even toothbrushes to scrape away the earth around artifacts.
The most common tool that archaeologists use to dig is a flat trowel. A trowel is a hand-held shovel used for smoothing as well as digging.
Archaeologists use trowels to slowly scrape away soil. For very small or delicate remains, archaeologists might also dig with dental pick s, spoons, or very fine blades. Often, they will sift dirt through a fine mesh screen. Tiny remains, such as beads, can often be found this way. Archaeologists take lots of notes and photographs along each step of the process. Sometimes they include audio and video recordings.
Global positioning system GPS units and data from geographic information systems GIS help them map the location of various features with a high level of precision. When archaeologists find remains, they are often broken or damaged after hundreds or even thousands of years underground.
Sunlight, rain, soil, animals, bacteria , and other natural processes can cause artifacts to erode , rust , rot , break, and warp.
Sometimes, however, natural processes can help preserve materials. For example, sediments from floods or volcanic eruptions can encase materials and preserve them. In one case, the chill of an Alpine glacier preserved the body of a man for more than 5, years! Forensic archaeologists studying his body were surprised to learn that he was a murder victim—the crime just took place more than 5, years ago. Uncovered Artifacts As artifacts are uncovered, the archaeological team records every step of the process through photos, drawings, and notes.
Once the artifacts have been completely removed, they are cleaned, labeled, and classified. Particularly fragile or damaged artifacts are sent to a conservator. Conservators have special training in preserving and restoring artifacts so they are not destroyed when exposed to air and light.
Textile s, including clothing and bedding, are especially threatened by exposure. Textile conservators must be familiar with climate , as well as the chemical composition of the cloth and dye s, in order to preserve the artifacts. In , Swedish archaeologists recovered the ship Vasa , which sank in Conservators protected the delicate oak structure of Vasa by spraying it with polyethylene glycol PEG. The ship was sprayed with PEG for 17 years, and allowed to dry for nine.
Today, Vasa sits in its own enormous museum, a hallmark of Swedish heritage. Then the artifacts are sent to a lab for analysis. This is usually the most time-consuming part of archaeology. For every day spent digging, archaeologists spend several weeks processing their finds in the lab.
All of this analysis—counting, weighing, categorizing—is necessary. Archaeologists use the information they find and combine it with what other scientists have discovered.
When did people develop tools, and how did they use them? What did they use to make clothing? Did their clothing styles indicate their social ranks and roles? What did they eat? Did they live in large groups or smaller family units? Did they trade with people from other regions? Were they warlike or peaceful? What were their religious practices? Archaeologists ask all of these questions and more. The scientists write up their findings and publish them in scientific journal s. Other scientists can look at the data and debate the interpretations, helping us get the most accurate story.
Publication also lets the public know what scientists are learning about our history. Sherds and Shards Many archaeologists study broken bits of pottery.
These fragments are called potsherds, and sometimes just sherds. Sherds can be anything from bits of a broken water jug to a piece of a clay tablet to the components of China's "Terra Cotta Warriors. Shards include fragments of ancient windows, wine bottles, and jewelry. Trashy Science Most archaeologists study the past, but some study people who are still alive. For example, Dr.
William Rathje uses his archaeological skills to dig through present-day garbage bins and landfills to learn about what Americans consume, discard, and waste. Ancient Cannibals Some ancient humans may have indulged in cannibalism on a regular basis. Archaeologists discovered ,year-old remains from an early human species, Homo antecessor , in a Spanish cave. Among the remains were human bones with marks on them that appear to come from stone tools used to prepare meals. What is the difference?
BC stands for Before Christ, and it is used to date events that happened before the birth of Jesus, whom Christians consider the son of God. In the late 20th century, scientists realized they were basing the entire history of the world around the birth of one religious figure. The dates are still the same, only the letters have changed.
Also called radiocarbon dating. Also called Llano. Also called a CAT scanner. Also called the Parthenon Marbles. Also called the Hebrew Scriptures. A hypothesis is tested to determine if it is accurate. Nicknamed "Otzi. Navy during the Civil War. RAdio Detection And Ranging method of determining the presence and location of an object using radio waves. Also called carbon-dating.
The decree is carved in three languages: Greek, demotic, and hieroglyphic. The current sea level rise is 1. Also called Troia and Ilion. The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit.
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Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives. Egypt was a vast kingdom of the ancient world. It was unified around B. Today Egyptologists, archaeologists who focus on this ancient civilization, have learned a great deal about the rulers, artifacts, and customs of ancient Egypt. Use these resources to teach your students about the ancient Egyptians.
Others say that Aeneas and some of his followers escaped the fall of Troy and established the town. Regardless of which of the many myths one prefers, no one can doubt the impact of ancient Rome on western civilization. A people known for their military, political, and social institutions, the ancient Romans conquered vast amounts of land in Europe and northern Africa, built roads and aqueducts, and spread Latin, their language, far and wide.
Use these classroom resources to teach middle schoolers about the empire of ancient Rome.
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