Experimental Accurately: The Theories Of Experimental Archaeology

Experimental Archaeology focuses on experiments and theories in order to determine what possible use a certain artifact was for, such as in a utilitarian sense or symbolically. Archaeologists then are able to develop a sense of how the people who used those specific artifacts functioned in their society. The science of experiments in Anthropology has been helpful in gaining insight as to how certain cultures have lived in the past. One such example comes from the Journal of Archaeological Science. In the Stone-boiling maize with limestone: experimental results and implications for nutrition among SE Utah preceramic groups by Emily C. Ellwood, M. Paul Scott, William D. Lipe, R.G. Matson, and John G. Jones, the authors discuss and attempt

The case focuses on Grand Gulch phase people who lived in Cedar Mesa in southeastern Utah in the year AD 200-500. Due to evidence from carbon isotope analysis of human remains, it is possible to infer that the Grand Gulch phase people subsisted heavily on maize as their main source of diet. It is unsure however how the Grand Gulch phase people achieved their required nutrients just through maize, but a theory is that they subjected their maize to thermo alkaline treatment (nixtamalization) (E.C. Ellwood et al.,2012). Nixtamalization is a process in which limestones are heated and used to cook maize in an attempt to increase the amount of nutrients that one can uptake. The goal of the experiment is to determine whether or not the Grand Gulch phase people practiced nixtamalization, or at the very least be capable. In order to gain further insight to the theory, the archaeologists in the experiment used limestone located in Cedar Mesa and boiled it to test out the temperature in which it would begin to calcine. The results then determined that the temperature required

Even though Archaeologist cannot fully understand the past, they can try to replicate the situations and create a valid hypothesis from the information. For example, with the experiment in Cedar Mesa, Ellword et al. (2012) can infer that in order to gain more nutrition, the Grand Gulf phase people had to figure out a way to do so or risk dying out. The archaeologists can conclude that when needed, humans can create new techniques in order to increase their chances of survival. In the experiment with the stone points, the hominids developed a way to use a natural resource in order to benefit them in hunting (Sisk and Shea, 2009). In short, experimental archaeology gives us a reason for why or how a certain phenomenon happened. For just a moment, it helps archaeologists view the world through the eyes of their