Archaeology Matters: Action Archaeology in the Modern World

152 Pages·2008·12.5 MB·English

by  Jeremy A. Sabloff

Archaeology Matters
Key Questions in Anthropology: Little Books on Big Ideas
Series Editor: H. Russell Bernard
Key Questions in Anthropology publishes small books on large topics.
Each of the distinguished authors summarizes one of the key debates
in the field briefly, comprehensively, and in a style accessible to college
undergraduates. Anthropology’s enduring questions and perennial
debates are addressed here in a fashion that is both authoritative and
conducive to fostering class debate, research, and writing. Proposals
for books in the series should be addressed to [email protected]
Series Editor H. Russell Bernard (emeritus, University of Florida), has
been editor of the journals American Anthropologist, Human Orga-
nization, and Field Methods, and of the series Frontiers of Anthropol-
ogy. He is author of the leading textbook on field methods and has
published extensively in cultural, applied, and linguistic anthropology.
He is recipient of the prestigious AAA Franz Boas Award.
Series Titles
Archaeology Matters: Action Archaeology in the Modern World
Jeremy A. Sabloff
The Origin of Cultures: How Individual Choices Make
Cultures Change
W. Penn Handwerker
AIDS, Behavior, and Culture: Understanding Evidence-
Based Prevention
Edward C. Green and Allison Herling Ruark
Archaeology Matters
Action Archaeology in the Modern World
Jeremy A. Sabloff
University of Pennsylvania
First published 2008 by Left Coast Press, Inc.
Published 2016 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Copyright © 2008 Taylor & Francis
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
Notice:
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and
are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Sabloff, Jeremy A.
Archaeology matters : action archaeology in the modern world / Jeremy A.
Sabloff.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-1-59874-089-9 (pbk. : alk. paper)
isbn 978-1-59874-088-2 (hardback : alk. paper)
1. Archaeology. 2. Antiquities. 3. Archaeology--Methodology.
4. Archaeology—Social aspects. I. Title.
CC165.S23 2008
930.1—dc22 2008000916
ISBN 978-1-59874-088-2 hardcover
ISBN 978-1-59874-089-9 paperback
Text design by Detta Penna
Index by Erica Hill
For Paula
Again, and always
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
List of Illustrations 8
Preface 11
Acknowledgments 12
chapter
one The Importance of the Past for the Present 15
chapter
Lessons from the Past? 33
two
How Can the Prospects for
chapter
three
a Sustainable World Be Improved? 47
chapter
four Is Warfare Inevitable? 59
chapter
five Why Cities? 69
What Can Be Done to Preserve
chapter
six
the World’s Historical Heritage? 79
chapter
Future Directions 93
seven
chapter
Epilogue 103
eight
Following Up the Book’s Themes:
appendix
An Introductory Guide 111
Notes 119
References 127
Index 145
About the Author 151
List of Illustrations
Cover. Oliberto Us May and George J. Bey, III guiding the local residents of
Yaxhachen on a tour of the ancient Maya archaeological site of Kiuic in Yucatan,
Mexico.
Figure 1. Construction of experimental raised fields in the Community of Bermeo,
Bolivia (1992).
Figure 2. Members of the Community of Bermeo and their experimental raised
fields (1992). The community later harvested a bumper crop of manioc and
peanuts. Sadly, these fields are now abandoned.
Figure 3. Cochiti Mesa, New Mexico, where historic Kotyiti Pueblo is located.
Figure 4. Students and archaeologists of the Archaeology of the Colorado Coal
Field War Project in front of the United Mine Workers of America Ludlow
Massacre monument (2001).
Figure 5. Map of the Maya Lowlands.
Figure 6. Excavations in front of Temple 1 at the great Maya site of Tikal,
Guatemala.
Figure 7. The remains of a perishable wood and thatch peasant’s house with a
single row stone foundation (and doorway at the center), ca. A.D. 800, at the site of
Sayil, Mexico.
Figure 8. Tropical forest environment in the Southern Maya Lowlands.
Figure 9. Cuneiform tablet from about 1500 B.C. showing a plan of an estate with
its agricultural fields (waterways are drawn as they pass through fields, while circles
indicate villages [width: 11cm]).
Figure 10. Excavation at site CA-SMI-232 on San Miguel Island revealed a
concentrated “bone bed” (see inset) with fish, shellfish, and sea mammal remains.
Figure 11. Defensive wall of the fortress of Sacsayhuaman, Peru. A horse stands in
front of three tiers of massive stone fortifications with typical, intricately cut and
fitted Inca stonework.
Figure 12. The Valley of Oaxaca near the great Zapotec capital of Monte Alban.
Figure 13. A sculpture of a conquered figure at Monte Alban.
Figure 14. The ancient city of Ur, Iraq from the air (1930).
Figure 15. A looted cemetery at the El Brujo Archaeological Complex in the
Chicama Valley, Peru.
Figure 16. One of the most famous examples of archaeological preservation in
recent times: the saving of the giant sculptures at Abu Simbel, Egypt from the
waters of Lake Nasser.
Figure 17. Aleut elders visiting with Herbert Maschner to discuss the
archaeological project at King Cove, Alaska.
In the Middle Ages, wise men used to say ‘History is the school of
princes’. Today it ought to be the school of democracy. Americans,
fortunate in their power and prosperity, have many unavoidable
responsibilities in the world, and in discharging them should study
the past, even the remote past, to find any guidance it has to offer.
PAUL JOHNSON
Archaeology is perhaps the best tool we have for looking
ahead, because it provides a deep reading of the direction and
momentum of our course through time: what we are, what we have
come from, and therefore where we are most likely to be going.
RONALD WRIGHT