Spotlight on Students: Thinking Like an Archaeologist

 Thinking like an archaeologist is one of the most challenging exercises a novice or inexperienced person can do, including beginner archaeologists.  For one of the SA 202: Introduction to Anthropology assignments students were tasked with doing just that.  By viewing the familiar as the unfamiliar they gained important insights into the challenges archaeologists face, and several of them did exceptionally well in the exercise.  Here is a student's piece that was eligible for and agreed to be published.

 

Figure 1: Site Map (Created by Tyler Roe)

By: Tyler Roe

 

            Recently a new room has been explored in the Roe Home Archaeological Site. This room was first discovered by Tyler Roe, a leading investigator with Lincoln University. While the main purpose of this room is
still unknown, some inferences can be made based on the contents of this room. Further exploration is needed to determine more about the inhabitants of the room within the archaeological site.

            The room is located on the left at the end of a long hallway. The entrance to the room is a white door that swings open to the left when twisting the round silver handle. On the door is a hanging sign in the shape of a dinosaur print. This sign contains writing in the English language that states “Boys Only.” Upon entrance into the room, the layout of the room can be appreciated. The room is rectangular in shape with the door along the north wall in the northeast corner. The dimensions are 12 feet by 10 feet with 8-foot ceilings. The walls are smooth and painted light blue, while the ceiling is a white textured surface. Along the wall containing the door, there is a walled-off section that is 5-foot by 2-foot in size. This appears to be a garment storage area. The long, east wall contains several hanging wooden structures. Four of these structures are in the shape of dinosaur prints and are painted green with metal hooks attached. They are staggered up the wall near the door. Each hook contains an outer garment of varying sizes. There are then three additional structures further down the same wall. Each wooden structure is a silhouette of a dinosaur. A world-renown paleontologist, Eli Roe, confirmed that one silhouette is a green brachiosaurus, one is an orange triceratops, and the third is a blue stegosaurus.  The south and west wall, which are furthest from the door, each contains a single glass window. Hanging in front of each window are two sheets of fabric. These sheets are hung from a silver rod just above the window and stretch down to the floor. The sheets appear to block light from entering the room, keeping a dark space. Multiple other signs are hanging on the walls. Each sign has references to dinosaurs.

            Within the room, there are several larger structures or furniture. The two largest pieces of furniture are very similar to each other with slight differences. The first large piece of furniture is along the east wall. This wooden structure is rectangular in shape and cherry oak in color. It is 54 inches wide, 44 inches high, 34 inches deep, and weighs approximately 63 pounds. The back against the wall is slightly higher than the parallel side and is solid. The other three sides have horizontal slats of wood. Contained within the bottom of this large piece of furniture is a thicker padded structure with a thin blue fabric that is fitted over top. There is no additional fabric or articles within this piece of furniture. The other similar piece of furniture is along the west wall. This piece of furniture is the same dimensions as the previously described piece. It also contains an identical padded structure with a thin blue fabric that is fitted over top. This furniture varies slightly from the previously described in a few ways. First, the front side of the furniture piece is missing. It has been replaced with a shorter wooden piece that only spans half of the side. Additionally, there is a soft cushion at one end of the padded structure as well as a larger felt cloth over the entire padded structure. Several soft stuffed pieces of fabric in the shapes of animals are contained within this second larger piece of furniture. Due to the characteristics of these two large pieces of furniture, it is inferred that these serve as sleeping quarters for two smaller individuals. Because of the full containment and lack of front opening of the first described furniture piece, it is suspected this piece is used for a smaller, potentially younger individual. The opening in the front of the second furniture piece would allow easier in and out movement for a larger, perhaps older individual. Due to clues in this room along with the sign noted on the door, it is believed that the inhabitants of this room are both males.

            A third larger piece of furniture within this room is located in the southwest corner. This appears to be a larger seat. The seat is composed of grey fabric with significant padding underneath. The seat has a higher, larger back. There are padded armrests on either side. Upon further inspection, there are two buttons noted along the left outer side. When pressed, one button will raise the feet of the seat. When pressed, the other button will lower the feet of the seat. This seat appears to be large enough for multiple individuals to sit if they maintain the smaller size indicated in previous artifacts.

            A smaller piece of furniture is noted between the grey seat and the suspected sleeping furniture of the older, larger inhabitant. This piece of furniture is wooden but has been painted a darker blue color. It is 30 inches high and has a three-dimensional trapezoid or trapezoidal prism in shape. The front is open. There is a single shelf within the piece of furniture. This creates a storage level on the bottom, a storage level on the shelf within, and a storage level on top of the piece of furniture. Contained within the piece of furniture on the two lower levels are numerous bound articles of manuscript. These manuscripts have varying subjects. The most popular subjects are trucks, animals, and religious texts. Some manuscripts appear to be in pristine condition, while show signs of wear and tear.

            In the southeast corner, along the south wall, there appears to be an additional wooden structure. This structure is 5 feet tall and contains five open shelves. On the three lower shelves there are numerous folded pieces of fabric. Due to the sizes of these pieces of fabric and their similarity to the large felt cloth on the larger inhabitant’s sleeping quarters, it is suspected they are used for keeping the room inhabitants warm on cooler nights. The next shelf up contains numerous soft stuffed pieces of fabric in the shapes of animals as well as several head garments. The final and tallest shelf contains two ceramic structures. One structure is blue and in the shape of an elephant, while the other structure is white and in the shape of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Upon further inspection, the structures each contain a narrow opening at the top as well as a circular opening at the bottom that is plugged with a rubber cylinder. When lifting these two structures, one can hear the sound of small pieces of metal hitting each other. When the rubber plug is removed, multiple coins are noted. It is suspected that these structures serve as a monetary storage device for the two small inhabitants of the room.

            Along the west wall, between the suspected sleeping furniture of the older, larger inhabitant, there is a white, cylindrical structure. This structure is 27 inches tall. There is an upper flap that lifts when a lower foot pedal is engaged. Within this structure, there appear to be rolled-up cloths. Due to the smell and excrement contained within cloths, it is suspected to be the waste of one or both the inhabitants of the room. This device appears to eliminate the detection of odor from these wastes. It is suspected that this structure is a storage device for these wastes prior to permanent removal from the room.

            A small, blue rectangular prism structure is noted just within the entrance of the room. It is 28 inches tall. This structure is hallowed and has a flap on top to allow access to the hallowed area. Within the structure, there are several pieces of dirty garments. These garments appear to be of two different sizes. It is suspected that this structure is used as a holding and transportation device for dirty garments prior to cleaning those garments.

            The last appreciated structure within this room is a 4-foot-tall fabric Tyrannosaurus Rex. This Tyrannosaurus Rex is approximately 7 pounds. It currently resides in front of the south window but can easily be lifted and moved around the room. The fabric on the exterior of this dinosaur is a soft velvet in a variety of colors including yellow, blue, and green. Given the suspect nature of this room and the soft characteristics of the dinosaur, it is suspected that the dinosaur is a play toy for the two small inhabitants.

            Overall, this room appears to be the sleeping quarters of two young inhabitants. This appears to be a classic initial archeologic and anthropologic assessment. While many purposes of the structures and furniture contained within this room are more easily determined, some aspects need further analysis. This is a classic anthropological theme that states, “All objects, old and new, from the most special to the most mundane, have multiple dimensions” (Welsch et al., 2017, p. 527). This assessment is made difficult because all objects change over time. This includes their physical change, as well as the change in significance that they hold for those that possess these objects (Welsch et al., 2017). As this assessment evolves, anthropologists can start to gain a better understanding of different societies and cultures.

 

Works Cited

Welsch, R. L., Vivanco, L. A., & Fuentes, A. (2017). Materiality: Constructing social relationships and meanings with things. Anthropology: Asking questions about human origins, diversity, and culture. Oxford University Press. (pp.527).