Archaeology and Responsible Artefact Collecting

Archaeological Record (Historic Cornwall) 

Archaeology and Responsible Artefact Collecting


Paul Barford





First draft 1.1 23rd June 2020 

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2.1: What is archaeology?

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Archaeological research   as a process There are many possible ways to define the subject and object of study. This is the definition of archaeology used here: Archaeology is the study of aspects the human past through the documentation and analysis of physical remains and traces, their associations and contexts, by the methodology of archaeology and dissemination of the results and conclusions. 1) " The study of aspects of the human past ", The past might be very remote, from the Lower Palaeolithic, where it may intercalate with palaeontology (but archaeologists don't do dinosaurs), to almost the present day (periods when other but not all aspects of the past are amply documented by other sources), 2)  " aspects of the human past ", many areas of the human past are arguably beyond the reach of even the most creative of archaeological thought, 3) " through the documentation ", the archaeological evidence does not exist in a vacuum, curran...
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3.3: Archaeological layers

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In talking about archaeological context we tend to think of it in terms of being composed of individual layers. These are discrete units of sediment, debris, rock, and other materials that form or accumulate as the result of natural processes, human activity, or both. In order to describe them and indicate their position on a site and in its sequence, these layers are generally numbered sequentially (with the lowest number being that removed first). An individual layer or deposit may be termed (following geological nomenclature) a stratum, and multiple layers are called strata. Therefore the study of their sequence is called stratigraphy (description of what we call the stratification). One of the simplest ways to depict layers is to depict them as a vertical sequence and this is frequently done in the form of a section (or 'profile') through them. Here is an explanation from Michigan State University 'Campus Archaeology' page "Archaeology 101: Reading strati...
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6.9: A Surface Survey Reading List

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It may be helpful to provide a reading list to explore the aspects of surface survey not covered in this brief guide. These books and articles are at  different levels, from popular to more specialist, some old classics, some newer. Aston, M. and Rowley, T. 1974, ' Landscape Archaeology: An Introduction to Fieldwork Techniques on Post-Roman Landscapes ', David & Charles ISBN-13: 978-0715366707) O/P Aston M. 1985. Interpreting the Landscape: Landscape Archaeology and Local History . London and New York: Routledge. Banning, E.B. 2002, ' Archaeological Survey ', (Kluwer Academic / Plenum - ). Brown A.E. 1988, ' Fieldwork for Archaeologists and Local Historians '  (Batsford, ISBN 13: 978071344842) O/P Collins, J.M., Molyneaux B.L. 2003, ' Archaeological Survey (Archaeologist's Toolkit)  ' (AltaMira Press ISBN-13: 978-0759100213) English Heritage 2007 ' Understanding the archaeology of landscapes: a guide to good r...
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