Applied Archaeology
Our final lesson and blog is on Applied Archaeology and Caring for the Global Cultural Heritage. We began the discussion with Diving with a Purpose, a group that focuses on the protection, documentation, and interpretation of African slave shipwrecks and the maritime history and culture of African Americans. We discussed Cultural Resources which include physical features, natural and artificial, associated with human activity, being unique and nonrenewable. We also discussed Applied Archaeology which seeks to acquire the knowledge necessary to aid in solving a specific, recognized societal problem and to help improve quality of life. We discussed the Oakland Hotel and the demise of Lake Apopka and also discussed William Rathje and "Garbology" and it's social desirability bias, and study of modern humans through their refuse.
I found the section on homelessness interesting. I volunteered with a group of citizens in Northern California a few years ago that assisted in cleaning up and restoring public areas after homeless camps were abandoned (there were a lot of them). We did not find much evidence of alcohol consumption as in the case study from Gainesville (with the exception of some airplane bottles of liquor and a couple of beer bottles), unfortunately what we did find was evidence of hard drug use. There were so many heroin/fentanyl needles that we ran out of sharps containers to hold them all. In addition to the needles we picked up multiple trash bags of Whippet canisters (nitrous oxide), used for huffing. We also located many empty butane bottles and other evidence suggesting they were manufacturing hash from marijuana. What we did find interesting was the local shelters and non-profits were distributing "care bags", a small bag with hygiene products and other necessities but more importantly they contained clean needles (part of the NORCAL Clean Needle Initiative, to reduce the spread of communicable disease). We found hundreds of these bags still full of all the items, the only thing removed were the needles.
How Cutting-Edge Archaeology Can Improve Public Health
Brickley, M. (2018, July 18)How Cutting-Edge Archaeology Can Improve Public Health. https://www.sapiens.org/archaeology/rickets-vitamin-d-deficiency/
This article is about anthropologists study of rickets from archaeological sites can help dentists spot signs of vitamin D deficiency in children. Rickets is a childhood disease caused by vitamin D deficiency that can lead to the softening and distorting of bone due to being unable to mineralize properly. Most of the vitamin D is obtained through the ultraviolet rays of the sun, but children in the more northern latitudes lack in this vitamin due to overcast weather, smog from pollution, and heavy cloths or being inside due to the cold. Instead of the very destructive method of cutting up teeth to determine the deficiency, the researchers decided to use x-rays. This breakthrough can also be used my modern dentists to adopt the same practice to identify the deficiency earlier in modern youth.
I found it interesting, that even with all of our modem medical advancements, rickets is still a common disease worldwide and not just third world countries. I found an article that stated the cases of rickets in the US are rare, but in the UK it can be as common as 7.5 per 100,000 children younger than age 5. Having the medical advancement of using x-ray to early detect the disease could be groundbreaking in eradicating this terrible disease.
Confronting the Colonial Legacies of Museum Collections
Abbot, A. (2020, May 7)Confronting the Colonial Legacies of Museum Collections. https://www.sapiens.org/culture/museum-restitution/
This article is about a exhibition venue, The Humboldt Forum, in Berlin that has raised questions about museum restitution and the importance of researching objects' provenance. This exhibition is a collection of items from museums throughout Berlin, the biggest critique of the exhibition is the way in which many of the items we obtained by these museums over the years through colonial oppression. One art historian, Savoy, is actually quoted as calling the exhibition "like Chernobyl". She was actually a member of the board developing the forum, but quit because she believed there was a failure to prioritize provenance research.
This is not just happening at this exhibition, but museums and exhibitions throughout the world. In the US, research and discussions have led to the extensive restitution of Native American Cultural Artifacts. However some believe, that Germany was very late to the conversation and some of these conversations have stalled. I understand the need of restitution for these artifacts that were obtained though nefarious means, and that these cultural items belong to the cultures that created them. I also feel that an agreement can be made to continue to house and display these items around the world instead of just returning them to their cultural origins to be possibly locked away. I feel it is beneficial to these cultures for the world to be able to see what they have created and learn more about their history.
DNA sleuths solve mystery of the 2,000-year old corpse
Ghosh, P. (2023, Dec 19). DNA sleuths solve mystery of the 2,000-year old corpse. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-67755415
This article is about determining how a man born 2,000 years ago in southern Russia ended up in the English countryside. The skeleton of the man was discovered in Cambridgeshire and the man was from a nomadic group called the Sarmatians. He represents the first evidence of his people in Roman Britain. Researchers were able to use DNA to read the genetic code to pinpoint the exact cultural background of the individual. Since this man was buried without any personal effects to identify him, DNA testing was essential in determining who he was.
I think this speaks volumes to the magnitude of the Roman Empire. This man was from the farthest reaches of the Eastern Empire, in a land that spoke Iranian, and ended up on the far west side of the known world in an English field. It's amazing how researchers can use dental evidence to determine the man was probably living in his home land until the age of 6 by the growth rings in his teeth. As he grew up, the dental patterns changed suggesting he was eating more wheat as he moved further west to Britain. Though historic records it is determined that Sarmatian horse cavalry was stationed in this area with the Roman army, and this man may have been the son or slave of one of the cavalry soldiers.
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