What is historical archaeology?
Archaeology is the sub-field of anthropology that studies the lifeways of past people. Historical archaeology is a specialization within archaeology that has been broadly defined as the study of the spread of European cultures around the globe, and the impact this spread had on both indigenous and European people. In many cases, historical archaeology is understood to be the archaeological investigation of a past people who had their own writing system and forms of documentation, which serve as a line of evidence to be considered in archaeological interpretations of the past. Historic documents can provide valuable insight into the past, but they represent a single and often biased perspective. Through the careful excavation of the material traces of past people’s activities archaeologists provide interpretations and perspectives of the past that may be absent or marginalized in historic documentation. Historical archaeologists, therefore, consider and critically examine historic documents and oral histories as well as material remains in their interpretations of the past.
How Archaeologists Learn :
One of the most important aspects of archaeological research is the idea of context. While much can be learned from the physical form and characteristics of an artifact, the most important and relevant information for archaeological analysis comes from the association between artifacts and features within a site- this is known as archaeological context. The systematic and meticulous nature of archaeological excavations are designed to record and preserve the context of archaeological material as best as possible. Before any artifact is removed or feature is disturbed during an archaeological excavation, extensive notes and multiple photographs, maps, and drawings are taken to illustrate and record the relationship that artifact or feature has to other artifacts and features in the unit and throughout the larger site. The context of an artifact is what allows an archaeologist to go beyond telling you that an excavated bottle was made of clear glass, is 10cm tall, and was likely created between 1880 and 1920 to telling you that the person who disposed of the bottle was participating in an intricate practice of health treatment that combined the use of prescribed medicinal supplements and folk home remedies – an interesting practice that tells us much about daily life in the frontier American West.
Geoarchaeology provides an additional perspective which provides archaeologists with detailed information about the past activities and events which resulted in the modern archaeological remains. Microscale geoarchaeological techniques investigate chemical and physical differences in archaeological sediment (the very dirt we excavate and remove to recover artifacts) to show what actions led to the current locations of the artifacts. For instance, the digging of a pit, or the dumping of a bucket of trash, or landscaping of a yard, all yield distinct physical and chemical signatures in the sediment which can be used to distinguish how the artifacts in the dirt got to be there.
Used together, artifact analysis, geoarchaeological techniques, detailed mapping and recording of archaeological context, and historic documents can provide a more comprehensive window into past lives and experiences. Another key component to this mixture is the oral histories and knowledge of the people how live and have lived in the Fort Davis community now and in the past. Collaboration is key to our project and we invite you to engage with us either in person or through this electronic forum!
UC Berkeley, Fort Davis Archaeological Project 