The History of Archaeology: An Introduction

280 Pages·2014·21.78 MB·English

by  Paul Bahn

THE HISTORY OF ARCHAEOLOGY
The History of Archaeology: An Introductionprovides global coverage of the history of archaeology
with chapters devoted to particular regions of the world. This approach allows readers to
understand the similarities in the history of and approach to archaeology across the world,
but also shows the distinct differences in certain aspects. Each chapter is written by a specialist
scholar with experience of the region concerned. Thus the book focuses on the earliest
beginnings of archaeology in different areas of the globe, and how it developed from being
a pastime for antiquarians and collectors to a serious attempt to obtain information about past
societies.
Woven into the text are various boxes that explore key archaeologists, sites and important
discoveries in the history of archaeology enriching the story of the discipline’s development.
With such far-ranging coverage, including an exploration of the little-covered development
of Russian and Chinese archaeology, The History of Archaeologyis the perfect introduction to
the history of archaeology for the interested reader and student alike.
Paul Bahn studied archaeology at the University of Cambridge and did his PhD thesis (1979)
on the prehistory of the French Pyrenees. Then he held post-doctoral fellowships at Liverpool
and London, plus a J. Paul Getty postdoctoral fellowship in the History of Art and the
Humanities. He went freelance in the mid-’80s, and since then has devoted himself to writing,
editing and translating books on archaeology, plus occasional journalism and as much travel
as possible. His main research interest is prehistoric art, especially rock art of the world, and
most notably Palaeolithic art, as well as the archaeology of Easter Island. Among his many
books are Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practice, sixth edition(with Colin Renfrew, 2012),
Archaeology: The Key Concepts (with Colin Renfrew; Routledge, 2004) and The Cambridge
World Prehistory (edited with Colin Renfrew, 2013).
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THE HISTORY OF
ARCHAEOLOGY
An introduction
Edited by Paul Bahn
First published 2014
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2014 Paul Bahn for selection and editorial matter; individual contributions, the contributors.
The right of Paul Bahn to be identified as the author of the editorial material, and of the authors
for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying
and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification
and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
The history of archaeology: an introduction/edited by Paul Bahn.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Archaeology –History. 2. Excavations (Archaeology) –History.
I. Bahn, Paul G.
CC100.H58 2013
930.1 –dc23
2013025672
ISBN: 978-0-415-84170-2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-84172-6 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-87934-5 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo and Stone Sans
by Florence Production Ltd, Stoodleigh, Devon, UK
CONTENTS
List of figures vii
List of key archaeologist boxes x
List of key developments boxes xii
List of contributors xiii
Preface xvii
Paul Bahn
1 The archaeology of archaeology: Pre-modern views of
the past 1
Paul Bahn
2 Ancient Europe: The discovery of antiquity 15
Peter Bogucki
3 The Aegean world 39
Georgina Muskett
4 The Classical world: Antiquarian pursuits 57
David Gill
5 Egypt 73
Joyce Tyldesley
6 Western and Southern Asia 90
Jane McIntosh
7 Africa 119
Anne Solomon
vi Contents
8 The Far East 137
Margarete Prüch
9 Russia 155
Igor Tikhonov
10 North America 177
Philip Duke
11 Mesoamerica 194
Ann Cyphers
12 South America 210
Enrique López-Hurtado
13 Australasia 228
Caroline Bird
Conclusion: The future of archaeology 239
Colin Renfrew
Index 247
LIST OF FIGURES
2.1 A bison drawn in outline in the cave of La Pasiega, Cantabria,
northern Spain 17
2.2 Henri Breuil 18
2.3 Johann Georg Ramsauer 21
2.4 A sample of the striking watercolour drawings of both skeletal and
cremation burials at Hallstatt 22
2.5 Childe’s classic 1929 schematic depiction of the relationships among
the Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures of central Europe that comprised
his Danubian sequence 26
2.6 Skeletons of children from the Neolithic site of Osłonki in Poland 37
3.1 The ‘Treasury of Atreus’ 40
3.2 Heinrich Schleimann 41
3.3 Sofia Schleimann wearing ‘Priam’s Treasure’ 42
3.4 Bust of Arthur Evans at Knossos 45
3.5 The palace at Knossos 46
3.6 The throne room at Knossos 47
3.7 ‘Grave circle A’ at Mycenae 48
3.8 Underwater archaeologist at Pavlopetri examining the spread of storage
vessels 54
4.1 The Akropolis 61
4.2 The ruins at Olympia 63
4.3 Roman ruins at Corbridge (Corstopitum) 64
4.4 The Agora 66
4.5 The first aerial photograph of Stonehenge 69
4.6 The ruins at Masada 71
5.1 Statue of Jean-François Champollion, by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi,
(marble, 1875) 75
5.2 Drawings of pottery finds from Kahun 80
5.3 Howard Carter 83
viii List of figures
5.4 The temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahri, Egypt 83
5.5 The step pyramid at Sakkara 84
5.6 The mummy of Ramesses II 88
6.1 Brahmi script on Ashokan edict 91
6.2 Trilingual inscription of Xerxes on a pillar in the south portico
of Darius’ palace, Persepolis 93
6.3 The Ishtar Gate and throne room frieze from Babylon 96
6.4 The reconstructed remains of the ziggurat of Ur 98
6.5 The massive stone tower built by the people of Jericho in the
Pre-Pottery Neolithic period 103
6.6 Detail of a relief on the eastern staircase of the Apadana at Persepolis, Iran 107
6.7 The ‘Great Bath’, Mohenjo-daro 111
6.8 Mural from Cave 285 at the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas,
Dunhuang 113
7.1 Later Stone artefacts 121
7.2 The Conical Tower at Great Zimbabwe 122
7.3 Olduvai Gorge landscape 125
7.4 Harald Pager at work 128
7.5 Winged creatures imaged in the art of the Drakensberg-Ukhahlamba
of eastern South Africa 129
7.6 Pager’s tracing 130
7.7 Petroglyphs at Qurta, Egypt 132
8.1 Pei Wenzhong with An Zhimin at the Peiligang site, 1977 139
8.2 The funeral suit of Princess Dou Wan 142
8.3 An Zhimin, 1981 145
8.4 Golden Hall and Five-storied Pagoda of Hōryū-ji, in Ikaruga,
Nara prefecture 149
8.5 Aerial view of Nintôku-tennô-ryô, the so-called ‘Daisen kofun’,
in Sekai, Osaka prefecture 150
9.1 Artifacts found by N. Veselovsky in the Kuban region in 1897 157
9.2 Count Aleksey Sergeevich Uvarov 159
9.3 F. Volkov and his students during classes on anthropology c. 1910 161
9.4 Founding members of the Russian Academy of the History of
Material Culture, 1919 162
9.5 Arthemy Vladimirovich Artsikhovsky 164
9.6 Troicky (Trinity) pit (excavation area) in Novgorod, 2005 165
9.7 Sergey Ivanovich Rudenko 167
9.8 Mikhail Illarionovich Artamonov 170
9.9 Boris Borisovich Piotrovskiy 172
9.10 The burial chamber of the Arzhan-2 barrow, 2001 175
9.11 Pins with deer and a spoon found in the Arzhan-2 barrow 175
10.1 Monks Mound, Cahokia 178
10.2 ‘Great Mound at Marietta, Ohio’ 178
10.3 The ‘Cliff Palace’ at the Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado 181
10.4 An example of archaeological stratigraphy from the excavations at
Goosehill Camp in West Sussex 183
List of figures ix
10.5 Temple mound at Ocmulgee 186
11.1 Drawing of the ‘Stone of the Sun’ 196
11.2 Stone idol from Copán (Stele D) 198
11.3 Temple at Monte Albán, Oaxaca 201
11.4 Alfonso Caso and Martin Bazan exploring the west side of Tomb 7
at Monte Albán 203
11.5 William T. Sanders, (1962) 207
12.1 The so-called ‘Raimondi Stela’, depicting Chavín’s main deity,
the staff god 213
12.2 One of the most important monoliths found at Tiwanaku named
after American archaeologist Wendell Bennett 214
12.3 Chavín stone sculpture 217
12.4 Juan Schobinger 224
12.5 The mummy of Cerro El Toro 225
13.1 Professor John Mulvaney excavating at Fromm's Landing, South Australia 231
13.2 William Mulloy at Ahu Akivi in 1961 234
13.3 The seven restored moai at Ahu Akivi 235
13.4 Representatives of Aboriginal communities in western Victoria, Australia 238