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Archaeology: The Telltale Art

The British monarch Richard III died in battle in 1485, but, for centuries, no
one knew where his body ended up. In 2012, a team of archaeologists finally
found it—under a parking lot. Analysis of his remains revealed details
(including his scoliosis) that otherwise would have been lost to history. We
are constantly unearthing artifacts that teach us more about the past; in
2022, researchers unearthed an ancient Buddhist temple in Pakistan, and, a
few years before that, possibly the fastest human in history. Discuss with
your team: what do we gain from knowing these smaller details about the
past? If we had discovered from Richard III's DNA that he was actually of
Mongol descent, or that he was a woman in disguise, would that change our
view of history in a meaningful way?

Under a Parking Lot - This is about Richard III, who is assumed to be the last
English monarch to die in battle. After comparing maps of 1485 and present day,
they found that the church that he had been buried at, was now located under a
parking lot. The church had been destroyed during the reign of Henry VIII. They
found that Richard III had a common form of scoliosis but still retained well
balanced curve.

Ancient Buddhist Temple - This temple was unearthed in 2022 by the dig lead,
Luca Maria Olivieri. The temple is believed to be dated from the 2nd Century BCE.
There was another temple it was built on top of from the third century BCE close
to the death of the founder, Siddhartha Gautama, between 563 and 483 B.C.E.

Fastest human in history - An aboriginal hunter group’s footprints as found in New

South Wales (Australia). The footprints and stride lengths show how the child
walked, paused, turned and ran away from the group they were with, before
walking briskly back towards them. Another person in this group is thought to hold

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 the record for the fastest runner in history. It said the man was running 37 km/h
which is less than Usain Bolt’s 37.6km/h but this man was running in the mud. We
will never know if he was the fastest runner in history.

The remains of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii have given us insights
into ancient Roman life that may not have been recorded in any surviving
texts—but that's only because Mount Vesuvius happened to erupt in 79 CE,
effectively freezing it in time. Sadly, countless other cities from other
civilizations have come and gone; they weren't lucky enough to get
embalmed by volcanoes. Discuss with your team: if a freak accident (or a
higher-budget Covid sequel) wiped out all life on Earth but left all our
structures, what would an alien anthropologist conclude about how we lived
our lives?

By studying the wear on stone curbs made as carts brushed against them, Poehler
determined that the city was made up of one-way streets.

Vats of fish sauce were found, but they were filled before the eruption. Historians
tell us that Pompeii's small-scale fish sauce suppliers were put out of business by
globalization. Large-scale manufacturers from Spain flooded into Italy with their
sauces, produced in large quantities for a lower price.

By studying the latrines and trash, scientists have learned that Pompeii's people
had a rich and varied diet. They ate songbirds, fish, sea urchins, shellfish and pork
— a staple of the Roman diet. By breaking the meat into its molecular components,
scientists made another shocking discovery. Some pigs were fed meat while other
were fed grains, indicating the Pompeiians raised their livestock to make their food
taste certain ways, much like we do today.

Pompeii is literally falling down. The ancient city was never built to last two
centuries nor was it meant to host millions of tourists a year. So to preserve it
forever, archaeologists are creating a digital Pompeii using laser scanners which
detail every inch of the city's surface.

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 How much does it matter that we try to reconstruct what the world looked
like hundreds of millions of years ago? If it doesn't, at what point in the
timeline should we start trying to reconstruct history?

From ChatGPT:

While the precise details of what the world looked like hundreds of millions of
years ago may not directly impact our daily lives, the information gleaned from
such reconstructions has broad implications for fields like geology, paleontology,
evolutionary biology, climate science, resource management, and conservation. It
deepens our understanding of the Earth's history, illuminates our place in the
natural world, and helps inform decisions regarding the preservation of
ecosystems and sustainable development practices.

Investigate the following major archaeological and paleontological

discoveries. What strategies helped uncover them, and how did they
enhance our understanding of history? What circumstances allowed for
these discoveries to be preserved well enough for us to find them so many
years later?

Rosetta Stone | Dead Sea Scrolls | Borobudur | Terracotta Army

Lucy (fossil) | Sue (fossil) | Machu Picchu | Petra | Sutton Hoo

Rosetta Stone - It was discovered in 1799, played a crucial role in deciphering

ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. It was inscribed with the same text in three scripts:
ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, Demotic script, and Greek. The key strategy that
aided its interpretation was the comparative analysis of the Greek text, which
scholars could read, with the hieroglyphic and Demotic inscriptions. Jean-
François Champollion deciphered the hieroglyphs, opening up the world of
ancient Egyptian history, culture, and language.
The Rosetta Stone was well-preserved because it was discovered in the ruins of
Fort Julien, a fortification built by the French during their occupation of Egypt.

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 Dead Sea Scrolls - The scrolls, found between 1947 and 1956 in the vicinity of the
Dead Sea, consisted of Hebrew and Aramaic texts, including biblical manuscripts,
sectarian texts, and other writings. The primary strategy used to uncover these
scrolls was systematic archaeological excavation in caves near the Dead Sea.

The low humidity and lack of light in the caves protected the scrolls from
deterioration. The placement of the scrolls in jars also helped with this.

Borobudur - This is a massive Buddhist temple complex in Indonesia, that was

rediscovered in the 19th century after being buried and forgotten for centuries.
Excavation strategies, along with extensive research and conservation work, were
employed to uncover and restore Borobudur. The discoveries at Borobudur
significantly enhanced our understanding of Mahayana Buddhism, Buddhist
architecture, and the cultural history of ancient Java.

Terracotta Army - Near Xi'an, China, thousands of life-sized clay soldiers, horses,
and chariots were unearthed in 1974 alongside the first emperor of China, Qin Shi
Huang. It was first discovered by farmers digging a well. Later, archeologist
excavated the area carefully to preserve these statues.

The burial site of the Terracotta Army was well-preserved due to the deliberate
efforts of Emperor Qin Shi Huang to create an elaborate underground tomb. The
army was buried with the emperor to serve and protect him in the afterlife.

Lucy (fossil) - she is an australopithecus afaresis found on 24th November 1974. A

song, Lucy in the sky, inspired her name. Found using systematic excavation. She
lived 3.2 million years ago.

Sue (fossil) - Found in South dakota in August 1990. One of the most complete
fossils 90% found.

Machu Picchu - built by Inca civilisation in 5th century. Rediscovered in 1911 by

Hiram Bingham

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 Petra - Also known as the pink city. In South Jordan in the 4th century.

Sutton Hoo - It was a buried Anglo-Saxon ship, Sufflux England in 1931.

Jurassic Park, Godzilla, and The Land Before Time depict dinosaurs as giant
scaly lizards—and with good reason, as paleontologists used to picture
them that way. But more recent research has suggested otherwise; it's
possible that Spielberg's T. rex should have been a thing with
animatronic feathers. That's what the field of paleoart aims to visualize,
even if the evidence is incomplete. If a future paleoartist tried to reconstruct
our world using incomplete information, what would they get right? What
would they get wrong? Do you think they'd be stumped by fossil evidence of
dogs wearing sweaters?

In China, there was a volcanic eruption that preserved some of the soft tissue of
some dinosaurs. These dinosaurs, called Yutyrannus and Dilong, were ancestors
of the T-rex so it is believed that the T-rex also had feathers.

From ChatGPT:

If a future paleoartist attempted to reconstruct our world based on incomplete

information, they would likely face several challenges and make both accurate and
erroneous assumptions. Here's a general overview:

What they might get right:

1. Physical Environment: Paleogeography and geological formations would

provide insights into the landforms and landscapes of our time. They could
make reasonable assumptions about continents, mountains, and major water
bodies based on existing geological data.

2. Animal Diversity: Fossil records of various animal species, including mammals,

birds, reptiles, and insects, would give an accurate representation of the

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 diverse fauna that existed during our time. They could identify major groups
and infer general body structures and ecological roles based on skeletal
remains.

3. Plant Kingdom: Fossilized plant remains would provide clues about the types
of vegetation and flora that existed. They could infer the presence of forests,
grasslands, and other ecosystems based on plant fossils and pollen records.

What they might get wrong:

1. Cultural Artifacts: Without proper context or complete information, paleoartists

may struggle to accurately reconstruct human culture and technological
advancements. They might lack knowledge of our architecture, tools, clothing
styles, or other aspects of human civilization.

2. Species Interactions: Understanding the complex ecological relationships and

interactions between species would be challenging based solely on fossil
evidence. They might not have a complete picture of predator-prey dynamics,
symbiotic relationships, or species behaviors.

3. Technology and Artifacts: Modern technology, such as electronic devices or

complex machinery, would likely be beyond the scope of paleontological
evidence alone. Without additional knowledge, they might have limited
understanding of our technological advancements and the artifacts associated
with them.

Regarding the fossil evidence of dogs wearing sweaters or similar clothing, it

would indeed be a puzzling discovery for future paleoartists. Given that the
concept of clothing is a cultural practice tied to human civilization, they might
struggle to comprehend the purpose and context of such artifacts. It would
require additional historical and cultural information to understand the
domestication of dogs, the development of clothing, and their significance in our
society.

Overall, while paleoartists could make reasonable assumptions about the physical
environment, animal diversity, and some aspects of our world based on fossil
evidence, they would likely encounter limitations in reconstructing our culture,
technology, and more nuanced aspects of our society.

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 Terms and techniques

excavation | remote sensing | zooarchaeology & archaeobotany

carbon dating | dendrochronology | pseudoarchaeology

Excavation - This is the systematic process of uncovering, documenting, and

recovering archaeological or paleontological remains from the ground. It involves
carefully removing layers of soil, sediment, or rock to reveal artifacts, structures,
fossils, or other material evidence of past human activity or ancient life forms.

Remote Sensing - Satellites have scanners and cameras that scan the Earth’s
surface from far away and relays data back to the Earth. A process of
measurement of information of some property of some object or phenomena by a
recoding device that is not in physical contact with the object under study.

Zooarchaeology & Archaeobotany - Zooarchaeology is the study of the remains of

fauna (animals). It involves the analysis of animal bones, teeth, shells, and other
animal remains to understand their use for food, tools, clothing, rituals, and
symbolic purposes. Arcaeobotany is the study of the remains of flora (plants). It
involves the analysis of seeds, fruits, pollen, wood, and other botanical remains to
understand their use in cultivation, trade, and ecological relationships.

Carbon dating - It measures the decays of carbon-14 atoms. Carbon-14 atom

atoms are radioactive and they decay. Scientists use the half life of the carbon-14
atom and compare it with the steady decay of the carbon-12 atoms.
Half life - Amount of time it takes for radioactive particles to reduce by half,
carbon-14 = 5730.

Dendrochronology - This is the scientific method of dating and studying past

events by analyzing tree rings. It involves examining the growth patterns and
characteristics of tree rings in order to determine the age of wood or timber,
establish chronologies, and gain insights into past climates, environmental
changes, and human activities.

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 Pseudoarchaeology - This involves ideas that often rely on subjective
interpretations, selective use of evidence, or cultural bias, and they typically lack
rigorous scientific investigation and peer review.

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