Applied Anthropology: What Archaeology Does for Solving Today’s Problems

One of the common misconceptions about anthropology is that it is a solely academic pursuit and that the only jobs anthropologists can get are in academia.  This is quite incorrect because while anthropology is often recognized as having four subfields there is actually an unofficial fifth: applied anthropology.  This is an area of anthropology that focuses on using anthropological method and theory to solve real world problems, and today’s blog post is dedicated to understanding how archaeology can be applied in such a way.  This will be accomplished by examining three unique ways archaeologists are using their archaeological knowledge to assist with modern issues. 

Producing Inexpensive Alternatives to Modern Necessities

Figure 1: Egyptian blue pigment was widely used in ancient Egypt for utilitarian purposes (Picture Credit: Ancient Origins)

Approximately 4600 years ago Ancient Egyptians created the world’s first artificial pigment.  This pigment is called “Egyptian blue” (Figure 1), and it is created by melting sand (with quartz), copper, and natron together.  The color produced through this method mimics that created by lapis lazuli, which is a far more expensive option.  While “Egyptian blue” was popular in the past and used for a variety of utilitarian purposes it eventually fell out of favor and the color and its recipe for creation was almost lost to the ages.  That was until archaeochemists began to study the formula of this once popular color to discover its properties and how it could be created today.  The reason for this investigation is to identify a cheaper but effective means of creating this same dye and using it as a replacement for more expensive dyes used in medical imaging, security inks, and dusty powder for fingerprint detection and analysis.  Ultimately, the scientific value of this archaeological inquiry will save money and the environment as lapis lazuli is a mined mineral, and mining has several environmental and health consequences associated with it.

The Archaeology of Climate Change

A popular area of research within the field of archaeology is climate change.  A total of about 150 years worth of climate change data exists due to archaeological inquiry into this topic, yielding information that can and is used to identify how much human manipulation of the natural world can and does lead to societal and environmental collapse.  Within this research, archaeologists study how past environmental disasters, such as large-scale fires, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and more, affect societies and instigate necessary social changes.  The biggest social changes involve changing subsistence strategies from those no longer viable and/or environmentally harmful to those that enable human populations to not only continue but to thrive.  These studies also assist in identifying the best way to recover information from areas affected by mass disasters today, which can be useful in discovering the source of the issues that led to the widespread loss of property and/or human life as well as identifying who is going to be the most affected when such events occur.

In addition to these types of studies archaeologists are also turning to archaeological inquiry to understand not only the changing landscape but the history of indigenous plants and animals to a given region.  This takes the form of research to determine the historical patterns of the local environment, which can be used to help modern conservationists with endangered species.  Local Missouri research was completed to determine if a specific population of endangered fox was indigenous or invasive.  The goal of this line of inquiry was in part to determine whether the fox was always part of the Missouri environment, and if so this could be used to determine what specific factors are affecting its existence in the region today.

Brewing Up Ancient Ales

 

Figure 2: Midas Touch beer (Picture credit: C. Boston)

While not lifesaving but still quite remarkable archaeologists have gotten in the beer brewing business by sharing ancient brewing knowledge and beer recipes with modern day breweries.  The trend began with a collaboration between Dogfish Head Brewery and a University of Pennsylvania archaeologist, who uses paleobotanical evidence and archaeochemistry to test residues in ancient pottery that once held beer to determine what ingredients were used in antiquity.  Many of the ancient recipes are actually written down and therefore able to be read by archaeologists who are able to translate the ancient script.  A series of ancient ales have been created as a result of this collaboration, including the Midas Touch (Figure 2), a brew believed to have been served at an ancient Mesopotamian ruler’s funeral, and Chateau Jiahu, a Neolithic brew from China (also from burial contexts). 

This archaeological line of inquiry is not just being utilized by the Dogfish Head Brewery, however.  Several other breweries have either announced similar collaborative efforts or are rumored to be doing so.  There is also a university in Germany that is taking these methods and using them to teach future beer brewers so they can capitalize on the knowledge of the past and create “new”, innovative beers.

 

  

Works Cited

Fawcett, Kirstin. Scientists Are Using an Ancient Egyptian Pigment to Create New Technologies. 8 January 2018. http://mentalfloss.com/article/523998/scientists-are-using-ancient-egyptian-pigment-create-new-technologies?utm_content=buffer01e9d&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer&fbclid=IwAR2NQzGrIKqJa3ajqWUE_RBdEyZRcPrW5C8fb8TzTz8p3Wvj0vED. 22 April 2019.

Gibb, Heather.  Personal communication.

Horn, Brad. Aged 9000 Years Ancient Beer Finally Hits Stores. 17 July 2010. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128587208. 22 April 2019.

Kiderra, Inga. Archaeology offers insights into climate change strategies. 31 October 2018. https://news.wsu.edu/2018/10/31/history-offers-insights-into-climate-change-strategies/. 22 April 2019.

Roddick, Andrew. Using archaeology to understand the past, present, future of climate change. 17 December 2018. https://phys.org/news/2018-12-archaeology-future-climate.html. 22 April 2019.

Tucker, Abigail. The Beer Archaeologist. August 2011. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-beer-archaeologist-17016372/. 22 April 2019.