Archaeology Sense Making
A lot of pseudoarchaeology enthusiasts claim that the traditional "timeline" presented by archaeologists doesn't "make sense."
But archaeological chronology isn't there to "make sense," the dates we present are what is supported by actual evidence.
Like why do the great pyramids at Giza date to the Old Kingdom Egypt?
- radiocarbon dates
- ceramic stylistic dates
- historical dates from king lists
- relative sequencing of construction and quarrying at Giza
- all correlated and checked with dates from other sites
Archaeology isn't about developing a narrative that "makes sense." Archaeology is based on evidence we do have, checking it & updating our narratives with new evidence.
Like any discipline, to make sense of archaeology you need to be familiar with tens of thousands of data points.
Archaeology won't make sense to anyone who doesn't understand the history of the field and how our evidence has been and is studied.
That's not gatekeeping, it's just a complicated field that requires expertise and experience.
Without that experience, ofc it might not make sense.
A lot of pseudoarchaeology enthusiasts claim that the traditional "timeline" presented by archaeologists doesn't "make sense."
But archaeological chronology isn't there to "make sense," the dates we present are what is supported by actual evidence.
Like why do the great pyramids at Giza date to the Old Kingdom Egypt?
- radiocarbon dates
- ceramic stylistic dates
- historical dates from king lists
- relative sequencing of construction and quarrying at Giza
- all correlated and checked with dates from other sites
Archaeology isn't about developing a narrative that "makes sense." Archaeology is based on evidence we do have, checking it & updating our narratives with new evidence.
Like any discipline, to make sense of archaeology you need to be familiar with tens of thousands of data points.
Archaeology won't make sense to anyone who doesn't understand the history of the field and how our evidence has been and is studied.
That's not gatekeeping, it's just a complicated field that requires expertise and experience.
Without that experience, ofc it might not make sense.