Archaeologists believe we can understand the present by studying the past. They search for historical remnants left behind by people. There are several different types of historical items that archaeologists use to understand Native American culture, including American Indian artifacts, features, and eco-facts.
Artifacts are man-made and easy to carry, moving them does not change their underlying purpose. An example of this might be a weapon or a carved bowl. A feature is also something that is man-made but it is not easy to carry and if it is moved then it changes its purpose. An example might be a well or a wall.
Eco-facts are non-man-made, or natural, items that still give information about the culture in which they are used. Some examples are stored food, manure, or buried pets. The main difference between an artifact and an eco-fact is that an artifact is man-made and an eco-fact is nature-made.
Archaeologists usually look for cultural items at a site. This is a place where eco-facts, features, and artifacts are located. They may find evidence of all three items or just one or two of them. They define the borders of the site either with a physical barrier or sometimes just by the fact that items were found there.
The next thing an archaeologist must consider is whether the site is a primary or secondary context. Primary context sites are ones that have not been disturbed by subsequent human actions. Secondary context sites have been disturbed by other humans after the first human occupants departed.
Archaeologists also use the principle of association to make conclusions about a culture. Association refers to the relationship between two or more archaeological items that are found together. For example, if cooking items were found in a room with a stove you might be able to determine that the room had been used as a kitchen.
The reason that archaeologists must consider all of these factors in order to understand what happened in the past is because they cannot interview Native Americans from that period. The only way to gain an understanding is to look at what they were doing, how they were living, and the items they surrounded themselves with in order to draw conclusions about their culture.
The biggest threat to Native American culture today, is looting. In New Mexico, for example, an estimated 95% of all archaeological sites have been looted. The looters have taken everything from these sites, including pottery, pendants, clothing, figurines, pots, and arrowheads. Law enforcement is working to catch them though, in 2006 undercover agents purchased $325,000 worth of artifacts from looters. They arrested and indicted 47 people as a result of these buys. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg, according to agents.
Many people consider looting American Indian artifacts a grey area, in fact given the opportunity most people would probably pick up an arrowhead without even realizing they were looting. However, it is illegal. Even putting the legality aside though, the real crime is the loss of historical knowledge. Historical knowledge is what is used not only to learn about the Native American culture but also to remind people of lessons learned.
Artifacts are man-made and easy to carry, moving them does not change their underlying purpose. An example of this might be a weapon or a carved bowl. A feature is also something that is man-made but it is not easy to carry and if it is moved then it changes its purpose. An example might be a well or a wall.
Eco-facts are non-man-made, or natural, items that still give information about the culture in which they are used. Some examples are stored food, manure, or buried pets. The main difference between an artifact and an eco-fact is that an artifact is man-made and an eco-fact is nature-made.
Archaeologists usually look for cultural items at a site. This is a place where eco-facts, features, and artifacts are located. They may find evidence of all three items or just one or two of them. They define the borders of the site either with a physical barrier or sometimes just by the fact that items were found there.
The next thing an archaeologist must consider is whether the site is a primary or secondary context. Primary context sites are ones that have not been disturbed by subsequent human actions. Secondary context sites have been disturbed by other humans after the first human occupants departed.
Archaeologists also use the principle of association to make conclusions about a culture. Association refers to the relationship between two or more archaeological items that are found together. For example, if cooking items were found in a room with a stove you might be able to determine that the room had been used as a kitchen.
The reason that archaeologists must consider all of these factors in order to understand what happened in the past is because they cannot interview Native Americans from that period. The only way to gain an understanding is to look at what they were doing, how they were living, and the items they surrounded themselves with in order to draw conclusions about their culture.
The biggest threat to Native American culture today, is looting. In New Mexico, for example, an estimated 95% of all archaeological sites have been looted. The looters have taken everything from these sites, including pottery, pendants, clothing, figurines, pots, and arrowheads. Law enforcement is working to catch them though, in 2006 undercover agents purchased $325,000 worth of artifacts from looters. They arrested and indicted 47 people as a result of these buys. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg, according to agents.
Many people consider looting American Indian artifacts a grey area, in fact given the opportunity most people would probably pick up an arrowhead without even realizing they were looting. However, it is illegal. Even putting the legality aside though, the real crime is the loss of historical knowledge. Historical knowledge is what is used not only to learn about the Native American culture but also to remind people of lessons learned.
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