Episode 8 – H for Historical Archaeology, Archaeology News, and Ancient Mycenae site visit

Into the Dust Archaeology

ABCs of Archaeology – H is for Historical Archaeology
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3Z7CxHaBn8&list=PLcH4-BWqVM6KHP2Ih6UEq4_G1qRq8MgSn&index=10

Historical archaeology presents the exciting opportunity to combine written history with material remains to paint a detailed picture of what happened in the human past. However, it’s not without its dangers. History is often written with agendas in mind, so whole people and events are purposefully erased. Or, even more common is just the more subtle, less conscious biases which guide peoples’ writings, leaving whole topics or groups of people either forgotten in the historical record or portrayed with in a slanted manner. However, if we are able to read history critically and not use it to totally define our archaeological research, then the two disciplines working together indeed can be a powerful combo.

Living Archaeology Site Visit – Ancient Mycenae

Today, we will continue our story of Bronze Age Greece, moving on from Knossos and the Minoans to the Mycenaeans at…Mycenae – where else?! Mycenae is home to the largest beehive tomb in the ancient world, and a ton of archaeological gold bling. This is where the Trojan war was launched, and it was the center of the Aegean world in its day. Since being discovered however, it’s been ransacked and its finds dispersed from Russia to London, and much of it is sitting in Athens. As a standalone visit, unless you know the history, it’s likely to be disappointing as the most impressive artefacts are offsite, and the museum and signage don’t very effectively cover the story of what happened there. However, if you’re an enthusiast, or you other otherwise visiting the Argolid, which is loaded with archaeology, you’d better make it there! It’s less than a 2-hour drive from Athens.

Archaeology News – Archaeology from outer space

First, we start off with an out-of-this-world story about meteorite material in ancient metallurgy – it’s not as rare as you think! In fact, the use of these otherworldly materials shows the ingenuity and thirst for discovery that people show now was present in our ancient ancestors. The same is true for a medieval astrolabe recently recognized as an object which harkens back to a time of scientific discovery and religious harmony in Spain. It’s something our ancestors could teach us a lot about given the violent state of our current world. Finally, we do a brief intro to the motherlode of archaeological site: Çatalhöyük. A loaf of bread was recently discovered there that is older than the bible, older than the pyramids, older than…just about anything you can think of!

#archaeology #history #science