Lecture 6

Excavation and Dating methods of archaeology

Lecture Overview

This lecture is about excavation and dating methods in archaeology. There are several
dating methods of archaeology that are classified into relative and absolute. Absolute
dating methods are sometimes called direct dating methods, while relative dating
methods are called indirect dating methods. Relative or indirect dating methods give us
the age of artefacts in comparison with others, while absolute or direct dating methods
give us exact age of artefacts

Methods of Archaeological Investigation.

 The most important focus of the archaeologist is to unearth artifacts which can
provide evidence of when particular events took place in the past.
 The archaeologist is also able to draw a sequence of when these events took place
and
 Finally, they look at the extent of the impacts of these events on the environment
and human history.

Archaeological Procedures

These are usually very systematic and follow certain specific procedures that include:
 Methods of site discovery
 Site survey
 Excavation
 Interpretation of evidence

Site Identification

LILECHI M. Page 1
Sites are points or areas on the landscape which shows material evidence of human
activities in the past. One can reject as a site an area that does not have enough
concentration of cultural remains per square meter. Therefore, the decision whether an
area is a site or not depends on individual archaeologist. The size of a site is determined
by the density and extent of visible surface remains.
Indicator of Prospective Archaeological sites

 Those areas which are conspicuously above the ground level those can include
some ruins like pyramid, burial monuments etc.
 Vegetation cover- in places where the soil has been distributed vegetation cover
may be healthy because of nitrogen and phosphorus content in the soil is very
high. Conversely, the presence of stunted vegetation or a very poor growth of
vegetation may be an indicator of a site especially if that vegetation is a concrete
sub-surface.
 Soil Cover-in places where past human activities have taken place e.g. where
villages had been abandoned you find dark organic soil which when ploughed
shows dark zone.
 Surface finds of artifact- e.g. where there are concentration of potsherd, bones,
stone tools etc. This gives an indication of site.

Practical consideration to have in mind before embarking on excavation:

i) Archaeological sites are part of nation's heritage- to excavate therefore requires

permission (license) from the National Museum of Kenya which is mandated as
the custodian of all archaeological heritage in Kenya.
ii) Accessibility- determine the means of transport to the particular site.
iii) Finance- the economic ability to carry out the excavation.
iv) The state of the excavation site. Some sites could be holding very fragile objects
and therefore utmost care must be exercised during the excavation.

LILECHI M. Page 2
 v) Community interests: Find out if the excavation site is of cultural or religious value
to the community.
vi) Location of the site: some sites are near swamps, rocky areas, densely populated
areas, thickly forested areas etc. These will impact on excavation.

Excavation Strategies

Strategies of excavation are determined by the nature of the research problem, the nature
of practical considerations. The excavation strategy must be flexible for one to find
material representing cultures that are not reflected on the surface. To do this, one must
have knowledge about the site before excavating. This knowledge is often obtained
through:
• Surface Collection
• Remote Sensing
Every excavation starts with a testing strategy which consists of excavating small squares
in the deposits so as to obtain a preliminary understanding of the site stratigraphy and
variations in archaeological debris.

Types of Excavation

Horizontal excavation- its objective is to uncover large areas on the grounds in the search
of the entire settlement pattern. This is done on a relatively large scale and is designed to
uncover household and other activities that are normally discovered only by digging over
an extension area. For example, the excavation of Gedi ruins in Malindi used the
horizontal method .

Vertical excavation - this is designed to uncover stratigraphic information or a sequence of

occupation layers on a small scale. Vertical excavation is done when artifact are of
primary concern.

LILECHI M. Page 3
Once an excavation has been done the next step is recording. If an artifact has been
discovered it is given a number and entered in a catalogue and then the artifact is stored.
Day to day process is recorded starting with how many centimeters, squares and what
has been discovered. Recording is usually done after the classification of materials found
in the site. After classification; laboratory analysis and presentation is done.

Interpretation of evidence

This is usually dependent on the state of the objects discovered. Some of the objects could
be in such a state of decomposition that they may not yield much evidence. It is a well-
known fact that each evidence has its own potentialities, possibilities, but it also has its
limitations and drawbacks. The evidence acquired by archaeologists include material
objects (artifacts) and structures, e.g. houses from historical sites. Such materials have
their own limitation, for example, it is not easy to find one from fragments of pottery or
any other artifacts what language their makers spoke; what they thought about life after
death as well as how their local system was organized. Burial practices however help to
send some light on a people's belief of life after death.

Preservation of recovered objects

Objects of metal and pottery are often at very poor state of preservation. However, the
risk of uncovering fragile artifacts can be lessened by allowing the object to dry well
before touching. Direct form of heat must be avoided as this tends to disintegrate the
object or artifacts. Thus drying should be naturally done. Where practicable, a whole
block of soil in which the object is embedded could be removed and its excavation
completed under safer conditions at home or laboratory.

Human bones are preserved for professional examination by physical anthropologists

and other specialists who are able to determine from the bones the age, sex of individual,

LILECHI M. Page 4
height e.t.c. The commonly used chemical for preservation is called acetone that is
applied to the specimen to prevent them from disintegrating into powder.

Importance of dating in archaeology:

 Usually a difficult task because archaeological artifacts don't speak for themselves.
 Where there are no written records to give us dates, other methods such as
archaeology have been devised to date various events that we know took place.
The main reason why dating is important;
 To interpret the archeological materials by dating various morphological aspects
of human development. This is important because there cannot be a proof in
theory about bio-central process unless time is controlled.
 Dating helps in estimating any falsehood that had been done on any find. In this
case, hominid found in England and dated 2.75 million years ago has been
correctly dated to 320,000 years. Likewise, Lucy Australopithecus Africans is
found in Omo valley in Ethiopia was dated 4.5 million years but has been re -dated
to 2.75 million years ago.
 Archaeological dating has also been used to authenticate dates given by historians.
A case in point was Herodotus, a Greek historian who wrote about the
construction of the great pyramid of Khufu and gave it a date which archaeology
has confirmed. Secondly, many biblical dates have been confirmed or disputed by
archaeological dating.
 Dating has helped historians to understand that human development has never
been the same all over the world. At the same time, from archaeological dating we
learn that man first evolved in Africa and fire was first used in Kenya and possibly
later China. We also learn of Egypt having conquered part of Asia.
 Dating itself helps archaeologists to reconstruct history from artifacts. From
archaeology we get to give event dates i.e. periods are given events. It is in dating,
that archaeologists are able to come up with different age systems e.g. Stone Age,

LILECHI M. Page 5
 Bronze Age, Iron Age, etc. This is done through relative dating of archaeological
materials. Such classification of ages has remained valued today and it is
extensively used by historians.

Types of dating methods

Relative Dating Methods

 Stratigraphy and Superposition

Stratigraphy refers to the layering of rocks on the earth’s crust. The stratigraphy of an
archaeological site is assumed to be preserved in a vertical sequence or bottom and top
manner.

 Biostratigraphical Dating

Biostratigraphical type of dating applies to a situation in which the age of archaeological

evidence is arrived at by basing it on the age of faunal remains found in that particular
stratum.

 Serration Dating

Serration dating is applied to artefacts such as pottery, and it is divided into two types,
namely, stylistic and frequency. Stylistic serration refers to a technique employed in the
making of pots, while frequency serration is used to determine the frequency of artefacts
in sites from its origin; expanding popularity and finally its disuse.

TYPOLOGY DATING

Typology dating method is the one that studies objects of various forms and types.

Absolute Dating Methods

 Potassium Argon

LILECHI M. Page 6
Potassium Argon is used to date rocks in which fossils may be embedded. It can date rock
formation, which date as far back as two billion years ago and as recent as 400,000 years
ago.

 Radio-Carbon 14

Radio-carbon 14 works on the principle that when the rays of the sun come into contact
with the earth’s atmosphere, neutron are produced, which combine with the atmospheric
nitrogen to form radioactive carbon 14, which has fourteen rather the normal 12 neutron
at its nucleus. Because of the additional neutrons the radioactive carbon 14 becomes
unstable and begins to decay. The process takes about 5730 years for half of the carbon 14.

This method has the following advantages: one, the age determination method of radio
carbon 14 has helped to correct the wrong impression created by the diffusion theories
about the origin and spread of cultures. After a long period of decay, there is usually small
amount of radio carbon for detection.

 Thermo Luminescence

Thermo Luminescence is mostly applied to pottery when baked to a temperature of 700

to 1100 degrees Celsius. Each pottery has its own sensitivity to heat and its age is calibrated
depending on its thermo luminescence response. It works well with previously heated
objects such as pottery.

General Limitations of Archaeology

Limitations of archaeology are as follows:

Environmental Constraints

In West Africa, the climate is humid and the soils are acidic. Objects of iron rusty easily and
may not stay longer. There is also the destruction of material culture by white ants. The
weather may also distort objects or artefacts and may mislead archaeologists on the
purpose for which the objects were made.

LILECHI M. Page 7
Human Development

Farming, road construction and urbanization may lead to the destruction of archaeological
sites.

Limited Geographical Knowledge and Finances

Archaeologists may be limited by geographical knowledge of the areas and the history of
the people under investigation. Moreover, archaeological work is uneven and not wide-
spread due to lack of experts and shortage of funds.

Limited Knowledge of the Spoken Language

From the artefacts, such as pottery, archaeologists may not know the language of their
maker; what they thought about life and death, or their belief systems.

Limited Knowledge on Political Organization

Archaeologist may give information on the political organization of a society, but it is not
enough to make us absolutely sure. Burial sites in Egypt have revealed prestigious goods
associated with authority and nobility but we, nonetheless, depend on common sense.
Suppose both the rich and poor were buried with such goods? Moreover, poorly enforced
laws protect archaeological sites, historical monuments and antiques are a major hindrance
to unearthing the actual truth.

Archaeology has helped history scholars to understand man’s history which transcends
modern cultural and geographical boundaries. It has not only been a source of history
during the non-recorded past, but has revealed new information about the historical
period. Hence archaeology still remains the most important and comprehensive source of
history.

LILECHI M. Page 8
 You have come to the end of lecture six. In this lecture you have learnt the
following:
 The meaning of excavation
 Procedure to be followed during excavation
 Archaeological dating methods
 The limitations of using archeology as a source in the reconstruction of african
history

Nyanchoga et Al (2008) Aspects of African History Vol. One Catholic University Press

Ki-Zerbo, J. (ed.) 1981) A General History of Africa, Vol. I. California, USA: Heinemann.

Hr5bek, I. (ed.) (1993). General History of Africa, Vol. III. East African Education
Publishers, 1993.

LILECHI M. Page 9