Regional Archeology - Essay Example

Regional Archeology Introduction Culture is a man’s way of life that can be described by infering to the living pattern of a group of people, the eating habit, social habits such as dressing and the manner with which they held their ceremonies. Understanding of the modern culture and living pattern demands diagnosis of the past cultures as a means of understanding various ways through which culture has undergone an evolutionary process. However, understanding of the past culture a time meets obstacles as past settlements have been destroyed and their places replaced with modern structures or natural vegetation. This is the point where archeology comes in to investigate the remains of the man’s past life in ensuring substantial claims are made, which can give a lead in understanding the past way of life and environmental characteristics of the past populations. In understanding settlement patterns in relation to regional archeology, this paper is purposed to analyze two scientific journals, Liu (2004) and Kvamme (2009). This will be conducted with the aim of identifying techniques through which archeologists use to determine regional settlement pattern; how the archeologists determine the sites; which were occupied during a particular historical time; and what the archeologists are able to conclude about changes in the organization of ancient societies. The aim of the paper will be achieved through a comparison of the two articles to make a definitive conclusion in relation to the role of archeologists in determination and evaluation of various aspects of settlement patterns. Background of the articles Liu (2004) examines some of the ancient settlements in northern China. According to the article, the emergent of states in China is a crucial research topic in the archeological world, with significant recent archeological findings contributing to the growing interest in the topic. The survey area presented in the article is called Gongyi, which is located in the eastern part of the Yiluo River valley. The goal of the settlement pattern in the research was to comprehend the factors that determined the arrangement of settlement sites in the region. The study compares social transformation in the core area with the surrounding regions to obtain a more complex picture of the developmental process of early states. This is based on the fact that there is a positive correlation between population growth and social complexity. The research method used in the article, (Liu, 2004), included a systematic study of the settlement pattern, a preliminary analysis of lithics, geoarchaeology investigations as well as paleoethnobotanical analysis of the region. The settlement pattern presented here involved a study of a period from the first Neolithic settlement to the full development of the site. When conducting the fieldwork, a topographical map of a scale 1:10,000 was used. According to the results of the survey, Peilligang culture, a culture that developed around 7000 BC was the earliest Neolithic culture in the region, characterized by well-published stone tools. The article makes inferences to several periods and correlational findings; this is through comparison to other regions. According to Kvamme (2009), the primary objective of the study was to discuss and present performance of archeological predictive modeling. The predictive modeling has been long engraved in the traditional American archeology. This is because the American archeologists are allowed to conduct archeological excavations and surveys only on the state or federal owned land. In this regard, the application of predictive modeling used in Europe is very limited and often over-simplistic. The study uses data from Brac Island, which is in Central Dalmatia, Croatia. The island is the largest of all the islands in the region with a total surface of 395 Km2. The survey technique used here involved the collection of surface artifact and the known archeological sites revisited and properly recorded. For the analysis and predictive model generation, archeological work presented in the paper needed extensive social and natural environment data, which would have influenced the settlement pattern in the island. Identification of regional settlement pattern According to Liu (2004), archeologists use several techniques in identifying regional settlement patterns. Methods such as systematic dating and recording ceramic remains and comparison of the characteristics of the archeological site to previously excavated and studied sites, archeologists are able to determine the settlement pattern. Kvamme (2009) also infer on the use of approaches like collection and analysis of surface artifact to determine regional settlement pattern. This approach is based on a fact that, where certain artifacts are concentrated indicates a concentration of the settlement in the area and vice-visa. Moreover, Kvamme (2009) indicates that the use of natural resources likes hills, cliffs and valleys help in determining settlement pattern. This is based on the thought that people would naturally avoid settlement in certain areas due to their geographical unsuitability and settle on other due to their suitability. Determination of the sites occupied during specific historic time Both articles, Liu (2004) and Kvamme (2009), agree on the use of specialized archeological methodologies in the determination of the sites occupied during specific historic time. Approaches like geoarchaeological investigation are very significant in this regard. Analysis of rock characteristics would tell the age of specific rocks and the ages when these rocks were used as tools. This is then related to cultures of the specific period and would help in concluding that a specific type of people must have lived in a specific type of settlement being that tools corresponding to their culture and historical recordings have been excavated in the area. Archeologists’ conclusion about changes in the organization of ancient societies According to Kvamme (2009), archeologists link environmental changes to the shift in the organization of the ancient society. Environmental factors such as floods, depletion of natural resources and droughts necessitate the ancient societies to change their lifestyles, which equally affected their settlement patterns. In response to these environmental changes, some people developed sedentary lifestyle while others clustered in areas where there was an abundance of natural resources like near the large water bodies. In comparison to Liu (2004) however, cultures developed independently; thus one society was naturally distinct from the other, resulting in notable archeological changes in the organization of the ancient societies. Conclusion Understanding archeological methods of location, analysis and presentation of findings is a significant step in understanding culture and characteristics of settlements in ancient societies. This has been effectively demonstrated through analysis and comparison of Liu (2004) and Kvamme (2009), which give insight into the methods for location of the archeological sited, description of the sites and archeological ways of analyzing cultural changes. Information from such articles helps archeologists to analyze accurately and present future archeological findings. References Kvamme K. 2009. Settlement patterns modelling through Boolean overlays of social and environmental variables. Center for scientific research of Slovene academy of science and arts. 1-19. Liu L., Chen X., Lee Y., & Rosen A. 2004. Settlement pattern and development of social complexities in the Yiluo region, North China. Journal of field archeology 29, 75-100. Read More