Archaeology is a source of history, not just a bumble auxiliary discipline. Archaeological data are historical documents in their own right, not mere illustrations to written texts, Just as much as any other historian, an archaeologist studies and tries to reconstitute the process that has created the human world in which we live - and us ourselves in so far as we are each creatures of our age and social environment. Archaeological data are all changes in the material world resulting from human action or, more succinctly, the fossilized results of human behavior. The sum total of these constitutes what may be called the archaeological record. This record exhibits certain peculiarities and deficiencies the consequences of which produce a rather superficial contrast between archaeological history and the more familiar kind based upon written records.
Not all human behavior fossilizes. The words I utter and you hear as vibrations in the air are certainly human changes in the material world and may be of great historical significance. Yet they leave no sort of trace in the archaeological records unless they are captured by a dictaphone or written down by a clerk. The movement of troops on the battlefield may change the course of history, but this is equally ephemeral from the archaeologists standpoint. What is perhaps worse, most organic materials are perishable. Everything made of wood, hide, wool, linen, grass, hair, and similar materials will decay and vanish in dust in a few years or centuries, save under very exceptional conditions. In a relatively brief period the archaeological record is reduce to mere scraps of stone, bone, glass, metal, and earthenware. Still modern archaeology, by applying appropriate techniques and comparative methods, aided by a few lucky finds from peat-bogs, deserts, and frozen soils, is able to fill up a good deal of the gap.
上一篇: 名师推荐六级优秀范文背诵(12)
下一篇: 名师推荐六级优秀范文背诵(6)
2017高考英语一轮复习学案人教版必修一unit 3
陕西省2017届高三英语二轮复习解题指要:完型填空 专题3 说明文(人教版同步)
2017高考英语一轮复习(福建泉州专用)北师大版必修三《Unit8》强化演练知能闯关
2017届高考英语一轮复习教案:3.2《Healthy eating》(人教版必修3)
2017高考英语北师大版选修7一轮复习课件(安徽专用)《Unit 21 Human Biology》人类生物学
2017届高考英语一轮复习教案:3.1《Festivals around the world》(人教版必3)
2017高考英语北师大版必修4一轮复习课件(安徽专用)《Unit 12 Culture Shock》文化冲击
2017高考英语一轮复习(福建泉州专用)北师大版必修三《Unit7》强化演练知能闯关
湖北省2017届高三英语二轮复习 第2模块 完形填空 模块综述(课件)
湖北省2017届高三英语二轮复习 第1模块 多项选择 专题1 名词(课件)
2017高考英语一轮复习学案人教版必修一unit 5
2017届高考英语一轮复习教案:3.5《Canada—“The True North”》(人教版必修3)
2017届高考英语一轮复习教案:4.1《Women of achievement》(人教版必修4)
2017高考英语一轮复习学案人教版必修一unit 1
2017高考英语北师大版选修8一轮复习课件(安徽专用)《Unit 22 Environmental Protection》环境保护
2017高考英语一轮复习(福建泉州专用)北师大版必修四《Unit10》强化演练知能闯关
2017高考英语北师大版选修6一轮复习课件(安徽专用)《Unit 16 Stories》故事
2017高考英语北师大版必修5一轮复习课件(安徽专用)《Unit 13 People》人
2017高考英语一轮复习(福建泉州专用)北师大版必修三《Unit9》强化演练知能闯关
2017高考英语北师大版选修6一轮复习课件(安徽专用)《Unit 18 Beauty》美
2017高考英语北师大版必修5一轮复习课件(安徽专用)《Unit 14 Careers》事业
湖北省2017届高三英语二轮复习 第1模块 多项选择 专题3 动词短语(课件)
陕西省2017届高三英语二轮复习解题指要:阅读理解 专题1 任务型阅读(人教版同步)
2017届高考英语一轮复习教案:3.3《The Million Pound Bank Note》(人教版必修3)
2017高考英语北师大版必修3一轮复习课件(安徽专用)《Unit 9 Wheels》车辆
2017高考英语北师大版选修7一轮复习课件(安徽专用)《UNITS19~21》
湖北省2017届高三英语二轮复习 第1模块 多项选择 专题4 形容词与副词(课件)
2017高考英语一轮复习(福建泉州专用)北师大版必修二《Unit6》强化演练知能闯关
2017高考英语一轮复习学案人教版必修一unit 2
湖北省2017届高三英语二轮复习 第1模块 多项选择 专题5 介词短语(课件)