Background Information

Background Information
"Looking into the Past"

People have always been curious about their past. As far back as ancient Greek times there were individuals who tired to probe myths, legends, and local stories to find their "roots". These ancient "archaeologists" were not treated with great respect. To the Greeks, the term usually meant being too curious or inquisitive; in fact, it could refer to the local gossip and tale carrier.

As time passed, the Romans and then the Renaissance Europeans began to search through the remains of abandoned cities and to find great treasures. Statues, decorations from temples, and golden artifacts were highly prized and were used to decorate palaces. These treasures from long-vanished civilizations wee sought because of the outstanding beauty of their artwork. Simple objects of everyday life, if found, were usually thrown away. In this way, treasures from Pompeii, in Italy, and Troy, in Turkey, were discovered.

During the nineteenth century, people wondered if archaeology might be able to prove the events recounted in the Bible. This possibility caused much excitement, especially in England. In the 1870's a researcher in London translated a fragment of a cuneiform tablet unearthed in what had been Mesopotamia (now Iraq). What he read sounded just like the Bible story of the Great Flood. Financed by a London newspaper, the researcher made an expedition to the Middle East and, in Nineveh, found the rest of the broken tablet. The tablet was part of the ancient epic of Gilgamesh; its account of a great flood matched the story of Noah in many details. This discovery was given much publicity. To many people, the tablet was physical evidence that the Bible was historically accurate. Other archaeologists searched for the remains of the walls of Jericho and King Solomon's mines.

Modern archaeologist is more than treasure hunters or verifiers of the Bible. These scientist have developed systematic techniques for slowly uncovering past civilizations Their goal is to learn as much as possible about ancient civilizations from their physical remains, whether they are great treasures or the trash heaps their vanished people have left behind. By studying the remains of the past, an archaeologist hopes to see where we have been, how we remain the same, and how we have changed.

Archaeologists may call on other scientist s to help them locate and interpret their findings. A geologist can give advice about locations where human beings might have lived thousands of years ago. Botanists can examine seed and plant remains to describe the vegetation and climate of an area. Paleopathologists (doctors who specialize in the diseases of ancient times) can tell what illnesses the people had and how they died. The more different types of scientific analysis archaeologists can bring to their investigation, the more clues they have to use in their sleuthing.

The Tell: What Is It?
A "tell" is a man-made mountain created by a number of successive layers of hum habitation. The first settlers usually found a small natural mound and built upon it. As wars, invasions, and natural decay go on over the centuries, debris and ruins build up. New cities are build over old, and the mound grows higher. Tells are common in the Middle East, the desert lands of the United States, and other areas where dry weather has aided in their preservation.

The major principle to keep in mind regarding the excavation of a tell is that the oldest layers are on the bottom and the newest on the top. Excavating a tell is similar to peeling an onion. Each level, or stratum, is slowly stripped away and every level of habitation examined. As you go deeper, the objects found are older, until finally the base rock is reached.

Resource:
Sleuthing Through History. J. Weston Walch, Publisher, Portland, Maine1983

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