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Archaeological Philosophy (Patreon)

Published:
2021-04-03 20:46:17
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Content

Inspired by the book, 'Digging for the Past' by Greek archeologist, Yannis Sakellarakis, Tim and Helen get a little bit philosophical...

Files

Helen Philosophy of Archaeology

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Comments

Steve Mikre

From this day forward I will always double check to make sure my numbers are defined...

UKArtlover

Fascinating, perhaps a better word for proper excavation is " de-constructive" rather than " destructive" , which then automatically describes the act as a useful piece of detective work rather than a violent act :) Just a thought.

Robert Boudreau

Whenever I hear the phrase "All excavation is destructive" I always think "Time is destructive". The longer something is in the ground, the less of it there is. The past is a teacher, if we leave things to time, not only do we lose the chance to learn from the past today, we lose the lessons themselves tomorrow. Geophysics is one of the greatest supplements to archaeology since the trowel, but it's just another tool. It can tell the size, the shape, whether a wall or a ditch, whether something's metal or stone, how deep it is, and more. But it can't tell the artifact's story. It can't tell whether a wall is stone or brick, it can't tell whether a piece of metal is a brooch or a bit off a tractor. For anything to tell it's story, it needs to be seen. You have to be face to face with it.

Don Cook

i do psychological "excavation" ... it is only by discovering, uncovering, and reframing traumatic "mind spasms" that they can unlock, and go back on a timeline....many people think this is horrifying, and destructive. It is not destructive, it is, indeed, constructive, as is is practical archaeology....

Teri Brewer

I am interested in the comments about the role of sketching in site diaries and about Anbrus’s illustrations as well as other kinds of handwritten and hand drawn preliminary recording. My own experience is that the thought processes are different and the level of observation improves. I have also occasionally caught on film something not noticed when we were in the field, but saw later in the edit suite or in review of sketches, hand drawn maps, and diary materials. This would be a good thing to explore at some point.

Melissa Rybb

I would love to see more more more of discussions like this one. In fact, this could have gone twice as long for me. Philosophy of archaeology fascinates me, with or without stories of practical application. Like historiography in history, philosophy of archaeology informs how I would understand an archaeologist's interpretation. More, please. Maybe a discussion or two on schools of archaeology?

Ray Roberts

stop washing every find... material analysis is now capable of amazing revelations with soil/debris/remains that are accreted to various buried objects and we don't know what future science may be able to reveal from the soil attached to various finds

William F. Campbell

Great conversation! Wonderful information! Question: GPS is a technical marvel but it may not be permanent! It takes maintaining satellites, and the technology may change completely with electronics, frequencies, etc. What happens in a hundred years if GPS is no longer there but the records are in "GPS"?

Margo Maloney DVM

Very interesting discussion! Thank you for this video! :)

Robert Wise

This was a fascinating discussion! Thank you both! More discussions like this would be welcome… I am so glad Helen brought up trees! I think of the great forests that existed when eastern America first began to be settled.

Eggs Ackley

I very much agree to your deconstructive term since all archeology, be it a ditch, wall, artifact, etc., is the result of some human constructive effort/process.

Eggs Ackley

I was taken with Helens observation that our Roman (and other societies) ancestors were no more prone to using common sense than we are today. To quote a lyric from the late John Prine’s tune “Common Sense,” “That common sense don’t make no sense no more.” (and never has, so beware!😉)

LM

I'm in a different field, by I agree with Helen that diaries are essential. It would be fascinating to see the site notebooks of past or future Time Team digs. To see the process and not "just" the results is what makes watching Time Team such a fascinating experience.

Alan

Nice discussion. How about one on the ethics of archaeology. Maybe a few issues for Time Team wrestles there.

Conan Mills

Those GPS coordinates can be converted to Latitude/Longitude, Universal Transverse Mercator and Military Grid Reference System if needed.

William F. Campbell

Thanks, there had to be an answer. I remember when we were doing sorting on tape drives and tried to convert to the original DOS using disc drives the size of volkswagens and it took IBM weeks to figure things out. :-)

JUDITH COOKE

Absorbing discussion. I enjoyed being immersed in the fine details of an archaeological project from different views. Thanks Tim and Helen, and Yannis.

Jim Markey

Great stuff, thanks.

Jon Colcord

I truly enjoyed that. It got me thinking about what does it mean to ‘preserve’? You cannot preserve what you do not know. You cannot destroy what has already been destroyed. What is left and buried is mostly destruction. You do not gain knowledge if you do not open the pages of the book. If you’ve forgotten something (our collective past in these instances), then you must excavate. Open that book. I am amazed that there are listed sites, which are listed because of vague recollections or lore. What purpose does it serve to save something for the future by never knowing what it is, or why it truly may be important? I am no archaeologist, but that is what this conversation got me thinking about.

Tamra Prior

My comment's not really relevant but this convo reminds me of a student job with old plant specimens where we used websites to convert Township/Range/Section into Lat/Long. That was fun stuff. Helpful when my mom wanted to find out where old family homesteads were that she had pictures of the old deeds of.

William F. Campbell

That has to be a neat memory, and it is relevant. A connection to history as illuminated by digs is why I am here. Almost every episode of Time Team used maps overlaid with other maps, so it is very relevant.

Lisa Martin

"Common sense is just not the way humans behave". That is very true sometimes. Interesting to view human nature through the lens of archeology.

Artesian

Great thoughts. It takes prosperity to slow things down enough to save history.

Sarah Holloway

Fascinating thoughts, insights and information expressed in this brilliant commentary between Helen and Tim .

Brianna

Does anyone know what book Helen is referring too about conserving your finds? I thought that was the title she mentioned but I can’t find anything