Honestly, I'm sick of the dinosaur questions, mistaken identity for Dr. Temperance Brennan, and the references to Indiana Jones. I'm going to let you in on a little secret...come closer...closer...I DO NOT STUDY DINOSAURS and NEITHER DOES ANY OTHER ANTHROPOLOGIST/ ARCHAEOLOGIST!!!
Paleontology vs. Archaeology
Definitions:
Paleontology is the study of the history of life on Earth as based on fossils. FOSSILS are the remains of plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, and single-celled living things that have been replaced by rock material or impressions of organisms preserved in rock. (Credit: National Geographic)
| Yummy! :) |
Archaeology is a sub-discipline of the field of anthropology that studies the human past through material remains i.e. ceramics, pottery, lithics, structures, bones etc.
More Misconceptions
1. Dr. Temperance Brennan is a forensic anthropologist not an archaeologist.
Forensic anthropology is a field which applies anthropological science to legal settings where the remains of the victims are in a advanced stage of decomposition.
2. Archaeology involves danger, whips, and a fedora. Depending on where an archaeologist works in the world there might be some danger but not the kind that you think. We risk suffering from dehydration, heat stroke, uncooperative weather, and animal bites. Our list of tools in the field DOES NOT include a whip or a fedora. I've never actually seen any of the Indiana Jones movies but I'm sure 99.8% of the references the movies contain are false.
3. We get to keep the artifacts that we find. Our job entails uncovering and preserving history not stealing and hoarding goods.
4. Ah...the money misconception. I don't know how many times people have come up to me and said "Oh, you're going to be have a Ph.D. I know you're going to be rich" Yeah, archaeology isn't one of those professions that we chose so that we can drive Bugattis and live in million dollar homes.
Here's the portion of the presentation where I tell you what I actually do...
I am a historical zooarchaeologist.
(pause)
Here's what that means: I study the remains of animals from archaeological sites from which there are written records and other historical documents.
My research interests are: the African and African American diaspora, the Reconstruction period, health and nutrition, and the environment.
What I'm trying to do: I want to look holistically at African American health and nutrition as they made the transition from slavery to freedom and how that transition impacted their food practices and consumption patterns over time.
Why I think it's important: Food has always been important to our culture. I'd like to archaeologically see the origins of our "soul" food.
As always it's been a pleasure....
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