ANTHROP 1AA3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Egyptian Pyramids, Tutankhamun, Remote Sensing
27 Apr 2015
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Why study the past: most societies have an interest in the past. Want to understand history, ancestors, where they came from: reconstruct and explain life ways in the past from material evidence. Things that human beings have left behind: goal - study our changing biological & cultural diversity, do this by exploring sites. How are sites found: some are obvious, e. g. egyptian pyramids, archaeological survey. Walking through ground, looking for evidence: ariel photography, remote sensing. Radar that can detect things under the soil: historical documents. May indicate where people used to live: chance. Archaeology (vs. treasure hunting) digging (or any kind of excavation) is destruction. Big moments in human prehistory (see text pp. ~4. 5 mya - earliest evidence of bipedal hominids: bipedal = walking on two feet (vs. four) ~200,000 ya - origins and spread of modern humans. Led human population to settle down and live in communities and domesticate animals & plants.
