Purpose of Experimental Archaeology
Doing case studies to test the feasibility/experimenting to see how old technologies were used. (poop knife)
NAGPRA - meaning (What it stands for)
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
NAGPRA - year enacted
1990
NAGPRA - what type of people does it protect?
Federally recognized tribes, nations, Alaskan native corporation (villages), Hawaiian natives
NAGPRA/Repatriation - Criteria
- Bodily remains of known/culturally affiliated individuals
- Funeral objects (Associated/unassociated)
- Sacred objects (objects that can’t be taken away by a tribe - deemed holy/sacrosanct by virtue of their ritual/ceremonial associations)
- Objects of cultural patrimony (inheritance of one’s father)
- Objects acquired illegally
NAGPRA/Repatriation - procedure
1) Repatriation request
2) Documentation
NAGPRA/Repatriation - Inventory and Consultations
- Brief descriptions and counts of artifacts
- Enter into database
- Send this data to tribes
- Tribes would request a visit
- Consult with representatives
Number of total federally recognized tribes
574
NAGPRA/Repatriation - Final Steps
1) Write a report of findings and make a recommendation for repatriation
2) if affiliation is found, then disposition arrangement must be made
NAGPRA - Who’s responsible?
Responsibility belongs to the people that has the artifacts (MUSEUMS/ LAB)
CRM - what is it
Cultural Resource Management: Archaeology associated w modern development. (Umbrella term)
- Includes NAGPRA/Repatriation
- National museum of Amerian Indian Act
Archaeology Explanation - what is it
- Why do things change
Archaeology Explanation - reasons to why things change
- migration and diffusion
Archaeology Explanation -migration definition
moving to another location taking their technologies/ideas with them
Archaeology Explanation -diffusion definition
when ideas spread from one population to another
What are the Expectations in the Archaeological for Migration?
- New things arrive suddenly and sometimes replace old things (e.g. artifacts, technology, architecture, etc.)
- New ideas appear suddenly (religion, astronomical observations, burial practices)
- New people arrive suddenly (if burial population is examined
Evidence for migrations
- New styles of artifacts with no evidence of development
-Materials from elsewhere appear suddenly
-Isotope analysis of human remains reveal clear differences - Not just the things, but how they are made are very different
Expectations in the Archaeological Record - Diffusion
- Gradual change in things as ideas slowly move into a society from neighboring areas
- Not replacement of things but can see objects being incorporated over time
- Societies are often slow to accept ideas that come from outside their groups
- No differences in the burial populations prior
Evidence - Diffusion
- Gradual change and acceptance of new objects and ideas over time
= SIMILAR STYLE IN THE APPEARANCE OF OBJECTS
= Long distance trade in items? (exotic materials, luxury goods…) - Asymmetrical acceptance of ideas
- No physical changes in the human remains
State level society
Sedentary society (does not move). Most evolved form of society
Pseudoscience
- skewing historical stuff; alien, stonehedge
Repatriation - idea, goals
Idea : returning artifacts and other related objects to their rightful owners
Goals: To right past wrongs, creating new relationships
National Museum of American Indian Act, when and who?
When: 1989
Who: Memorial to native Americans, figure headed by the Smithsonian Institution
Why is it important to have diverse people in Archaeology?
Better/varying perspectives, people from the cultures dealt with are better able to decipher, respect, and understand artifacts/related items, cultural representation (prevent cultural bias).
