Notes

History notes:
(note, hihi :o)
Role of Archaeology
- Archaeology plays a key role in historiography since it deals with the study of artifacts, and other evidence from the past.
- These are clues about how people lived, developed, and interacted with their surroundings.
- Archaeologists work with genetic scientists (describing human history), environmental scientists (understand resource allocation and land degradation)
- Same event / time period can be understood in different ways, eg the victor and the loser describing the details of a war

Disciplines of Study
- Physical Anthropology 𐃘 Prehistory 𐃘how the mummy Ice Man died and what happened to him before his death, development of the human race in South Africa
- Genetics 𐃘 Prehistory 𐃘 DNA evidence of the Neanderthal genome, Denisova Cave in Siberia
- Linguistics 𐃘 Pre-Columbian 𐃘 cultural aspects of Maya civilization in Mesoamerica by deciphering of Maya glyphs
- Physics/Remote Sensing 𐃘 Neolithic Age 𐃘 information about Neolithic settlements such as Skara Brae in Scotland
- Archaeology and Forensic Anthropology 𐃘 Modern Era crimes against humanity from mass graves in Bosnia during “ethnic cleansing”
- discoveries are also made in areas such as cultural anthropology, genetics, linguistics, physics, etc.

Flexible History
- Historians draw conclusions based on evidence (eg: artifacts) that are available at the time.
- Conclusions may have bias in their interpretations, which can be caused by where they live, the time in which they live, how history is taught where they live, and their own connection to the subject matter.
- Therefore, history is flexible and should be reevaluated
- Based on more modern evidence, history could be revised, and rewritten based on these new finds.
- Ancient languages couldn't have been translated at first when discovered, but as time progresses we piece things together to be able to
- Sam Wineburg, a professor of history at Stanford University. Describes the unique nature of artifacts and how they contribute to historical understanding.

History in Depth
- November 2013, a team of scientists made up of female archaeologists, anthropologists, and paleontologists began exploring the Rising Star Cave in South Africa.
- The team excavated around 1,550 hominid fossils.
- The passage narrows to less than 10 inches high and the chamber sits more than 100 feet away from the cave’s entrance.
- A new species, Homo naledi, was discovered.
- This changed the original theory on human evolution

Newer finds Replace Old Theories
- Olduvai Gorge in northern Tanzania, Africa, a hominid fossil was discovered there in 1960
- It revealed information about the tools that early humans made and how they developed technology to survive.
- Hominid 𐃘 A human or other creature that walks upright.
- Multiple other discoveries revealed more about early humans and how they lived.
- These new discoveries changed earlier interpretations and theories that scientists and other researchers had developed about the human species after studying evidence at Olduvai Gorge.