Post-processualism and Biblical Archaeology

In the last 20 years or so, there has been increasing awareness within the archaeological community that our cultural lens has a considerable affect on how we ask archaeological questions. Archaeological remains are now conceptualized by many workers in the fields as vehicles for how we construct our modern identities; for example, French national pride played a large role in the way that monuments to the ancient Gauls were constructed at sites like Alesia, where Vercingetorix made his last stand against Julius Caesar in the 1st century BCE. This ancient Gallic general is really much more than just a figure from history, now - he symbolizes French resistance to a foreign invader.

In this respect, the past becomes part of our modern cultural capital, and so has value not merely in the abstract, as part of some ostensibly objective history lesson, but instead as part of our subjective, constant creation of identity. This is no small thing in an increasingly globalized world where preservation versus progress creates a near-constant tension. In archaeology, this reflexive awareness that we create our past by how we frame our historical and archaeological questions has a name: Post-Processualism. Not only do Post-Processualists see the past as a cultural resource of the present, they also insist that due to our own inherent cultural lenses that we can never be fully certain that we have accurately re-constructed the past through archaeological remains. Their logic is as follows: if a researcher's cultural lens causes her to make certain choices about what questions to research, then other questions will remain unanswered, that might have provided a different picture. Further, the interpretation of a site is going to filtered through her cultural lens.

Another example of how these issues play out in archaeology can be found in the Middle East today. There is perhaps no topic that inspires more impassioned debate in the West than Biblical Archaeology. We appear to be (pardon the pun) hell-bent on tying concrete archaeological remains to the histories recounted in the Bible. Furthermore, the conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis adds another, often acid-coated - layer to this debate. For a good look at how the fur can fly, follow the jump to an very interesting look at the New Biblical Archaeology of today, framed by the conflict in the Middle East.

Pre-Clovis Site in Texas

In class we talked about Clovis tools and how they represent the lithic technology used by early inhabitants in the Americas.

Of course, new archaeological sites are always being discovered, and recently a site just north of Austin, Texas - called the Buttermilk Creek Complex- revealed a cache of pre-Clovis tools dated 13,200 - 15,500 years old.

Clovis tools (on the left) are recognizable for their distinct laurel-leaf shape and fluting on both sides. The pre-Clovis tools from Buttermilk Creek (on the right) are a demonstrably different style.

Pre-Clovis sites are rare and difficult to confirm. We can imagine that early inhabitants of the Americas were nomadic, and weren't building houses or other features that would impact the landscape and survive in the archaeological record. Many archaeologists and specialists in related fields are still resistant to the idea of pre-Clovis cultures existing at all, since they complicate the long-standing Bering Land Bridge hypothesis for the peopling of the Americas. There is only a brief window of time when the Land Bridge was exposed and not covered in glaciers, so pre-Clovis people must have traveled by an alternative route earlier than ~12,000 years ago, perhaps by boat.

Some people suggest that sites like Monte Verde, Chile are contaminated with organic materials that falsify dating techniques. However, pre-Clovis culture may soon become an archaeological fact rather than theory as the number of sites grows. (LINK TO ARTICLE)

A Bump in the Silk Road?

Here is an article from the Washington Post about an archaeological find that has implications for current ethnic and racial tensions in western China. Because of Chinese national security concerns about the Uighurs in Xinjiang province, this mummy may have been pulled from an exhibit on Silk Road artifacts.

... hundreds of mummies that have been discovered in China's Xinjiang province have long caused controversy, because their Caucasian features point to European origin - a simple archaeological fact that has had political and potentially explosive ramifications since they were discovered in this region of occasionally violent ethnic clashes.

The mummy that was supposed to go on display this weekend has Caucasoid features that are almost perfectly preserved - fair skin, auburn hair and round eyes. The woman's body, dubbed the Beauty of Xiaohe, is so intact that many have described her as looking as though she is simply taking a nap.

To read the article, please click here.

An Earlier Departure Out Of Africa?

In the news there is always something new being discovered about human origins. This article describes the latest artifact evidence on human expansion out of Africa. A cache of stone tools found in the United Arab Emirates suggests humans may have left Africa earlier and from a different route than previously thought. (See Here)

An Earlier Departure Out Of Africa?

Hand axe pre-form.

Gompotheres in Mexico

In Mexico, archaeologists discovered gompothere bones together with Clovis era tools. We will discuss Clovis tools when we discuss human evolution, but this finding is the first time that we have evidence of humans hunting gompotheres in this part of the Americas. Prior to this discovery, it was believed that these creatures became extinct 30,000 years ago. Since these findings are from only 12,000 years ago, it indicates that humans and gompotheres lived together for a very long time.

To read the article Click Here