Archaeology

What is Archaeology?
Archaeology is the study of past humans based upon their material remains. I'm only going to say this once, so listen closely:

Archaeologists DO NOT STUDY DINOSAURS. Paleontologists study dinosaurs. Archaeologists STUDY ANCIENT PEOPLE.

Now that that's cleared up, let's proceed. Using the things people buried or left behind, archaeologists attempt to recreate the lives of ancient peoples, and the conditions in which they lived. They use everything from geological soil samples, to ground-penetrating-radar, to DNA samples, to climatological reports in their quest  to recreate the past.

Archaeology is a subfield of anthropology, "the study of man." If that sounds a bit all-inclusive, that's because it is. To an anthropologist (including archaeologists), nothing is off-limits. Well, nothing that occurs after about 6 million years ago when our primate ancestors were still scavenging in Africa. From the hard sciences to fashion, to theology, anthropologists cover it all.

Subfields of Anthropology

• Primatology studies man and his closest relatives, the other primates
• Paleoanthropology covers human evolution from early hominoids to modern Homo sapiens sapiens.
• Archaeology covers humanity during the past 250,000 years or so, until the recent present
• Social Anthropology studies human culture - both past and present

Of course there are more subfields, such as Linguistic Anthropology and Medical Anthropology, but these are the big players. All archaeologists have some training (at least undergraduate level) in all of these sub-disciplines.

Why Care about Archaeology?

That's an excellent question. Other than the fact that the Egyptians built really fancy tombs, and that the Spartans were serious badasses, why should we care about archaeology?

Today's archaeologists aren't looking for loot; they're looking for answers.

Early archaeologists were less concerned with how people lived than they were with what cool stuff they had. In fact "tomb raider" is probably a better term for these early "archaeologists". When the Valley of the Kings was first discovered and excavated, gold-laden riches were carted back to Oxford for display, while hundreds of mummies were sold off as cheap fuel for steam powered trains.

Today's archaeologists are less concerned with the stuff we find, than what it tells us. Most of today's most  important archaeological finds are conceptual rather than physical. An archaeologist would be much more excited about finding clearly-defined ancient farm works than a marble bust or golden brooch.

Here are some of the questions archaeologists are trying to answer today:

• How have human agricultural practices altered local ecologies? The world's first and oldest civilizations, Sumer and Babylon, fell to their knees in part because of soil salinization caused by their massive irrigation system. Can we learn not to make the same mistakes?
• How have people with contradicting cultures interacted in the past? History (and prehistory) are full of examples of warring groups finding peace and cooperating. And many more than just kept fighting. Can we learn from those examples to reduce war and find peace in the future?
• How have past events, migrations, and cultural diffusions created the world we live in today? Understanding past events from an objective, but still sensitive, angle will help find common ground in age-old conflicts. If you don't think it's important to understand ancient human migration and settlement patterns, take a trip to Israel's West Bank and get back to me.

These are just a few examples. Archaeological discoveries are continuously adding to our knowledge of botany, pharmacology, medicine, science, religion, law, linguistics and more.

Why ArchaeoWitch?
I'm a humanistic neoPagan. That means I follow a spiritual path that is based on pre-Christian values of nature worship, ancestor veneration, honor, and wisdom. Like most neoPagans I consider myself polytheistic, though I don't worship deities as actual beings. Instead, I see the Gods and Goddesses of ancient pantheons as cultural archetypes that embody concepts and conditions common to all humanity. On a more metaphysical level, I remain open to all sorts of possibilities regarding the nature of the Gods. One idea is that they are anthropomorphic representations of natural energies existing in space-time, of which we have little or no current understanding. This idea, and those like it, may be improbable. But a true scientist must admit they are still possible!

I'm under no illusion that my brand of spirituality may not even resemble that of my ancient ancestors. But worldviews and religious ideas have never been, and never will be, static. They change, adapt, and evolve like everything else or they would have died out years ago.

Today's Paganism involves ancient ideals that are reinterpreted for life in a modern context.