Purpose

    Archaeology is the study of human material remains.  From simple stone tools to enormous pyramids, archaeology covers the vast array of physical evidence, whether intentionally left behind or merely discarded.  But more specifically, the task of an archaeologist can be divided into two major areas.  To most people, the most visible and more interesting part is the actual excavation, in which the archaeologist goes out into the field in order to collect data.  This consists not only of recovering artifacts, but of careful and detailed excavation and note-taking, in an attempt to record both what is found and where it is, in terms of both space and time.  From this evidence comes the more important work: creating a theory for the context of the data.  The archaeologist takes a question or hypothesis and attempts to prove or disprove it with the data.  A picture of the site is built: who lived here first?  what did they do?  how complex was the society?  These are only a very few of the many question an archaeologist might attempt to answer in his or her work.

    This virtual archaeological site/website is based on Chapter Seven of Thomas C. Patterson's The Theory and Practice of Archaeology (pp. 69-82).  The sites and archaeological remains listed here are entirely fictional, but useful nevertheless.  By examining this simplified evidence, it is possible to show how archaeologists reconstruct past societies through physical remains.  The sites page, complete with a map showing the spatial relationships between the sites, lists the data that was recovered in the course of survey and excavation.  All sites are assumed to be contemporary--while they may not be from the same generation, all generally depict the same society in the same general time period (Patterson himself is not specific about temporal relationships).  Following up on the factual details is the analysis, drawing much of its interpretation from Patterson.  In the conclusion, Patterson's presentation of the data and analysis is called into question.  Criticism of Patterson’s choice of information and his conclusions based on that information is discussed.

Navigation

    The following pages are arranged in four sections: The Sites, which contains a list of the details uncovered at each area of excavation; Analysis, an attempt to explain the social divisions and class structures of the society that these sites represent, using the evidence of The Sites; Conclusion, a critical look at the explanations in the Analysis and the project as a whole; and References.  At any time, clicking on Introduction will call up this page.  Click here to return to the cover page.