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How Do We Learn About The Past

How-Do-We-Learn-About-the-Past

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10 views

How Do We Learn About The Past

How-Do-We-Learn-About-the-Past

Uploaded by

laralucky020567
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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How Do We Learn About the Past?

George Sabo III, Ph.D. (Arkansas Archeological Survey)

Archeology
I nformation about the American Indian past comes from three kinds
of sources: archeological, historical, and ethnographic. What are the
strengths and weaknesses of these sources?

disintegrate rather quickly. Only the most durable ma-


Archeologists study terials, such as stone, fired clay ceramics, dense bone,
the preserved material and plant remains that have been carbonized (that is,
remains of past human ac- turned into charcoal by burning) survive in the ground
tivities. Places where these for more than a few years. This means that archeologists
materials are found are often are able to reconstruct only some of the activi-
called archeological sites. ties that characterized ancient societies. What ancient
Archeological remains in- people thought, along with other “intangible” aspects of
clude weapons and tools their cultures are not preserved in the ground and can
Archeologists deal with
used to accomplish tasks only be imperfectly inferred by interpreting certain cat-
material evidence
such as hunting, farming, of past human activity.
egories of materials.
cooking, craft making, and You can learn more about archeology by visiting
building houses or other the Society for American Archaeology’s For the Public
facilities. The debris left over from performing those website (www.saa.org/publicftp/PUBLIC/home/
tasks is also found at archeological sites. Evidence of home.html).
houses and facilities such as cooking fires and storage
pits sometimes can be identified as anomalies, dis- History
turbances, or other features that stand out in natural Historians use documentary sources, including
soil layers. Animal bones and plant remains left over written accounts, maps, and lists (inventories and cen-
from meals can tell us what people ate. Sometimes sus records, for example) to reconstruct what happened
skeletal remains are preserved in cemeteries or in iso- in the more recent past. These sources contain rich
lated burials. These remains are studied by biological detail, identifying not
anthropologists to answer questions about ancient life only the time, place,
histories, including patterns of health and disease. and circumstances of
Archeologists work much like detectives to deter- an event, but also the
mine from fragmentary evidence what actions or events participants’ beliefs and
produced the remains preserved at a site. They then use motivations. Such de-
this information to compare and contrast what people tail enables historians
did at different time periods and from one region to to place the event, and Historians deal with
another. This ability to study activity patterns over long others like it, into a nar- documentary evidence
periods of time is one of archeology’s great strengths. A rative account—a sto- of past human events.
weakness of the archeological record is that it is incom- ry—that tells modern
plete. Most items crafted from perishable materials, readers what happened in the past, why it happened,
such as wood, plant fibers, and most animal products, and how past events relate to the present state.

Arkansas Archeological Survey | Fayetteville AR | 479.575.3556 1


www.arkansasarcheology.org
Documentary sources have their own shortcom- of a group’s belief
ings. Any documentary source—a written description system.
of an event, a map of a newly explored territory, or a Ethnographic
community census—is limited by what was observed. accounts also have
A male priest visiting an 18th century Indian village limitations. First,
was not likely to witness all women’s activities, nor most ethnographers
for that matter was he likely to accompany hunters on choose to examine a
most of their trips. The priest could only describe life particular aspect of
in the Indian community as he saw it. Furthermore, culture—for exam-
what the priest wrote about was intended to make spe- ple, social organi-
cific points to specific readers. He was selective as to zation, religion, eco-
what observations he recorded. For example, in a let- nomic activities, or
ter to his religious superiors the priest might include political relations— Ethnographers directly observe
more information about rituals he considered to be so no single ethnog- cultural activities.
the work of the devil than about how hunters fash- raphy provides a
ioned their weapons. His descriptions might also ex- complete cultural account. Most ethnographic field-
aggerate what seemed to him the “heathenish” aspects work is limited to a few months or at most a few years’
of Indian culture, for example, dance. Documentary time, so cultural processes operating on longer time
sources are not infallible. Factors contributing to bias scales may go undetected. Finally, anthropologists, de-
must be critically evaluated. Only through this critical spite their best efforts, often remain “outsiders” in the
process can the modern historian extract information communities they study; they are not privy to every
useful to his or her research. aspect of community life.
A wealth of information on Arkansas history, in- These three major sources of information—
cluding information on archeology and Indians, can archeological, historical, and ethnographic—each
be found at the online Encyclopedia of Arkansas History possess strengths as well as weaknesses. Archeologi-
& Culture (www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net). cal information permits us to compare and contrast
cultural features from different times and places and to
Ethnography trace the development of long-term cultural processes,
Anthropologists participate directly in the social but usually only in very general terms rather than in
life of human communities. This “participant-obser- fine detail. Historical accounts offer better chronologi-
vation” approach yields a wealth of information—far cal coverage and detail, but are selective in terms of
more than is generally available even in documentary topic and observation may be highly biased. Ethnogra-
sources. As a result, ethnographies written by anthro- phies are richly textured and highly detailed accounts
pologists offer the most richly textured accounts of a by specialists trained to be aware of their own cultural
society’s way of life, and usually include chapters on biases, but temporal coverage is very limited. Many
the beliefs people have about the world. Nearly every factors can reduce the quantity and quality of archeo-
society maintains its own account of its origins, his- logical, historical, and ethnographic evidence. These
tory, and past experiences. Different in many respects factors must be critically evaluated whenever we turn
from the histories produced by academic scholars, to these sources for information to answer questions
these accounts “from the native point of view” are nei- about the past. When properly used, all of these sourc-
ther more nor less accurate; rather, they offer a valu- es can provide important information on American
able alternative perspective on the past. Many anthro- Indian history in Arkansas and the South.
pologists study these “indigenous histories” as part

Arkansas Archeological Survey | Fayetteville AR | 479.575.3556 2


www.arkansasarcheology.org

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