Wrapping Up

It always surprise me how fast semesters fly by! As Archaeology 392 is wrapping up, I just thought I would reflect on the course from the past few months.

First of all, I found Arch 392 incredibly insightful into the world of burials and graves. All the material was really interesting, and the articles chosen for us to read opened up a vast range of related topic to the world of death in archaeology. I've truly realized how significant and important graves and funerary practices are to archaeology.

As an Anthropology Major with a Minor in Environmental studies, this class was initially not really in my area of interest and I took it mainly because I need it as a requirement and I love the professor. However, over these months, my interests in grave and burial archaeology has tremendously increased! I've been watching some great documentaries about different mummies and grave sites around the world, and I always have incredibly interesting and fun facts to share with my friends. My sister doesn't undertand why I'm so interested in dead bodies, but she's studying computer science and math, and I don't get that either.

Myself at the Royal Ontario Museum in 2009 - you can see the mummies toes!

I've always been very interested in archaeology and this course was an excellent way to learn more about death in the world archaeology. I'm very excited to discover more about it!

Thanks for such a great class everyone! Cheers!

Your Piece of Humanity

Hello fellow Archaeology kids.

If you haven't checked out this video - do so! It's a quirky, witty, and insightful song about Anthropology.

I really like this song, I mean - it's really catchy first of all. I find myself singing it all the time, on buses, on the way to class, at the grocery store, when doing homework...anyways! Also, I think it nicely boils down what we do in our Archaeology class or just in Anthropology in general. It's about learning from one another, and exploring our beautiful and unique similarities and differences.

One of my key attractions to Anthropology is this celebration of diversity among people, and this field is really proud to stand for that. I also like this song because, similarly in Anthropology, we love the variation of people, but there's also this incredible appreciation that we all are just human. It's really exciting to think about that although we are all so different in such wonderful ways, we together, are all the same - human.

Using Archaeology for me is just a fascinating way that we can learn more about ourselves through the study of people remains. Especially through looking at burials and grave sites, there is so much we can discover  - it's really exciting!!

So tell people your story. What is your piece of humanity?

Where Do The "Goods" Go?

Lately in class we have been discussing repatriation and the returning of artefacts back to its place of origin. For example, if a museum in France has an precious statue from Greece, and they Greek want it back as it is part of their culture and history. Artefacts are not only historically important, but they are also culturally important.


While it is extremely important to respect the people of different cultures and their right to the artifacts of their ancestry and country, archaeologist also needs many of these artifacts for knowledge and understanding to progress. With both sides in mind, how do we find a balance?

The Rosetta Stone

I think every culture have a right to retain back what properly belongs to them, however, I also believe the artefacts well-being should be the most important thing. For example, with the Rosetta Stone which is from Egypt, found by French archaeologist and is now in the British museum. Who should get it? While many exclaim that it should obviously return back to Egypt, there are many who argue that it is not safe in Egypt as there has been such an extreme amount of museum robberies in the Middle East.

We have to hold on to our few precious remains from ancient times, so we must do our best to protect and preserve them, even if that does mean a few angry tribesmen.

Cross-Dressing Pharaoh?

Alright, so if we have 'gay' cavemen, why not add some cross-dressing pharaohs?

Click HERE to read the article about this gender-confused ruler.

In this article put out by NewScientist, the author, Caroline Morley discusses the gender of famous female Pharaoh, Hatshepsut who ruled Egypt in the 15th century BC. She was actually quite a successful and long reign. Despite her sex, Hatshepsut was often depicted as a man as not only according to their belief, all Pharaohs were sons of their god,  Amon-Re. As well to boot, she apparently dressed like male Pharaoh.

Egyptian Pharaoh, Hatshepsut

As Hatshepsut was such a good leader, it is possible that people thought she could not actually be a women, even though she was . It was quite common then and throughout history that women are seen less than men, and where in order for women to voice her opinion or make social change, they have to assume a more masculine position.  However, unlike the Ancient Greeks who are quite famous for their chauvinistic ways, the Egyptians were much more 'liberal' when it came to women's right. For example, Egyptian women could participate in religious rites, control their dowries and inherit property (Thompson).

Hatshepsut's Temple

If there was such a liberty for women even in this ancient time, why would Hatshepsut be depicted as a man, or even dress like one. According to Ray John's article, Hatshepsut was in a difficult situation, because if something unfortunate happened, such as a loss in battle, she could easily be blamed for it. 

Even though she was apparently an excellent ruler with much experience and charisma, I think that since she was still female, she struggled much during her reign. By wearing the male clothes, it was her way to show that one could still rule, whatever sex they were. Also, this is evidence that she was willing to go to incredibly lengths to prove that she could do her job, and do it well. 

Thompson, James C. "Women in Ancient Egypt." http://www.womenintheancientworld.com/women_in_ancient_egypt .htm

John, Ray. 1994. Hatshepsut: The Female Pharaoh. History Today. 44 (5), p. 23 - 29. 

Let's Put This Rubric to the Test!

My group project - called the Yagamatas - are focused on the Buddhist monks in North Western Japan who self-mummified themselves in order to achieve a higher level of being, in which then are then known as a buddha. The goal of our case study is to understand why by preserving the body, it would lead them to gain this higher state and how does the process, preparation and final placement of the monk's bodies compare to the Incan child mummies in Argentina.

Mummified Buddhist Monks of Japan

Within this blog post however, I will take website about these mummified Japanese monks analyze it with my own rubric. 

Here is the website: 

http://www.tamqui.com/buddhaworld/Self-mummification

Here is my rubric: 

http://www.rcampus.com/rubricshowc.cfm?code=N72728&sp=true&nocache=1331750884670

Introduction: Gives a good overview of the monks and a brief introduction of the focus 3.5/4

Layout: Very simple, not extremely appealing. Though there are some good images and it isn't confusing to move from information to the next. 2.5/4

Evidence: Basically no evidence is show as to where they received the information from. 0/4

Depth of Analysis: Very basic and practical to get the information across. Not much depth as to thinking 'outside the box', though the website does does demonstrate some archaeological and cultural understanding. 2.5/4

Comprehension of Material: Basica understanding of information 2/4

Conclusion: Nicely wraps up presentation 3/4

Organization: Quite neat and straight-forward. The information and key points flow smoothly throughout presentation 3/4

Mechanics: No bold or obvious grammatical errors - though a few run-on sentences. 3.5/4

20/32 = 63%

Not too great I'm afraid - although maybe I just choose a poor article to mark.

100 Facts: Mummies

A little while ago, our professor, Erin McGuire showed us a quirky little children's book called 100 Facts: Mummies? I took a quick look through it in class, and thought it was a pretty interesting book. The other day, I walking past a Coles Book store near my place and decided to pop in to see if they had the book. They did, and $4 later I walked out with my own copy. While it is a colourful, inviting presentation that briefly, but successfully covers many of the different mummies around the world, what I found most interesting was how this book was meant for children to read (rather than 2nd university students like in my case). Not only that, but the book contained information that might be rather disturbing or discomforting for younger children (or people of any age) such as the Inca children in South America that were sacrificed in religious practices (there's even an animated picture of two young kids dressed up in ceremonial costume before their death). So, right off the bat - Is this right? Is it right for kids to be introduced to stuff like this at such a young age? What about compared to generally considered violent video games or action movies? Is this book a better, or a more 'healthy' example of talking about death? There have been many studies that prove that violent video games for example, have led to negative outcomes such as being more aggressive, more prone to confrontation to authorities, and a decline in school achievements (Gentile et all, 2004). Could showing young children real, possibly just as gruesome images have the same effect. I think the way that the information is presented has enormous importance. In video game where it's intended to kill others to win, it's evident that this may have some psychological impacts on a growing child and their natural motivations. However, in an archaeological perspective or even in just a way that a child could appreciate the mystery of the mummies, I think introducing adolescence to the different perserved bodies around the world is definitely acceptable. Younger children may not understand or appreciate the curiosity of the beautifully perserved, old, lifeless bodies, so it may be better for an older audience. In regards to 100 Facts: Mummies, I think the book does a very good job in introducing children to the world of fascinating and compelling history of perserved bodies without any possibility that it could be psychologically harmful.                 Gentile, D. A. Lynch, P., Linder, J. & Walsh, D. (2004). The effects of violent video game habits on adolescent hostility, agressive behaviours, and school performance. Journal of Adolescence, 27, 5 - 22.

Stain-Glass Monuments

Initially my group was going to focus on the Pioneer Square Cemetery or also known as the 'Old Burring Ground' in downtown Victoria, however, we instead chose to pay closer attention to the beautiful Christ Church Cathedral located right beside the grave yard. The cathedral is apart of the Anglican denomination and was built in a gothic style of the thirteenth century by J.C.M. Keith in 1926. It is one of Canada's largest churches with interior dimensions of 93 x 140 feet.

Located on Quadra St. 

Within the church we got a tour around the cathedral and even down into the crypt. The crypt was really interesting and there were hundreds of plaques with names and dates of people who've died. These people were cremated and then placed inside a little 'cubby hole' of which the plaque was then placed upon the front. Out tour guide even showed us where her and her husband have purchased a joint 'plot' or 'cubby' where they will go once they've died.

The inside of the Cathedral. On the left side you can see some of the monument-windows. 

Back upstairs, in the sanctuary, all around the walls were incredibly beautiful stain glass windows. On the left wall facing North were twelve stain glass windows that were each monuments dedicated to people of the community. As well, they were each associated to one of the twelve apostles of the Christian religion. As well each window depicts a human activity such as architecture, farming, law or engineering.

This is the outside look at all twelve windows. 

For our monument project, we chose to focus on these twelve monuments. We asked ourselves how and why some people or groups would have been selected to have such significant monuments in the form of magnificent stain glass windows for everyone to see. This could be based on wealth, their impact in the community or their social role. As we further investigated each individual, we noticed that many of the people played a significant part in the growth of Victoria's economy.

"In loving memory of Edgar Crowe Baker"

For example, Edgar Crowe Baker was a founding member of the Victoria and Esquimalt Telephone Company (which is still active today!) and was an accomplish figure in the Navy. William P. Sayward created the first lumber yard in the area in 1858 which grew incredibly quickly brought trade and money into Victoria's economy. David Russel Ker was also interested in the milling industry and started the Ker Feed and Milling company which later became a part of Maple Leaf Mills.

"In loving memory of David Russel Ker"

According to the Stained Glass Association of America, stained glass during the Gothic period grew from a basic style and ornamentation into a more complex and symbolic, iconography. The windows began to contain more everyday, realistic imagery such as daily labour jobs and other ordinary activities. The Christ Church Cathedral is built in a gothic style, similar to those back in Europe. It is very likely then that this trait of common events found in stained glass windows can also be found in the Christ Church Cathedral. The twelve monumental windows are each associated with an apostle and a human activity. According to the cathedral’s history, these attributes have no direct correlation which the person or their social significance, but are chosen by random or possibly by the family's preference.

Here is the link to our Google Map:

http://maps.google.ca/maps/ms?vps=2&hl=en&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=203409174868915066479.0004b866e02d60856e2b6

http://www.christchurchcathedral.bc.ca/

http://stainedglass.org/