Does Archaeology Make You a Better Person?

Recently, I responded to a very interesting Question of Doom, 'Does Archaeology Make You a Better Person?'

Initially, the subject of the email struck me as a slightly odd question... 'Better than whom?' Indeed Mrs. Soup, coming from a Classical Historian's perspective, took slight offence... 'Better than a Classicist?'

However, this first response was rendered mute as I read the rest of the email. The question was asked in the context of the notion of 'walking a mile in the shoes of another' and how that 'can make you a better person'.

The more I considered this QoD, the more I realised that Archaeology does, or at least has the potential to have an effect upon how one sees the world. More than this, it became clear that in many ways Archaeology has a very real effect upon how I live my life!

Other ways of life/ Tolerance:

Anthropology and Archaeology exposes us to other ways of life.

Whether through the study of other modern human cultures or through the study and reconstruction of historical and prehistorical cultures, Anthropology and Archaeology have the potential to challenge us.

I still remember the first time I heard about the notion of ‘exposure’ platforms close to Neolithic Monuments where human remains could be exposed to the elements and animals to be ritually cleaned to the bones. This was shocking… There was no other word for it. I was a young man and nothing like that had ever occurred to me. Burial, cremation, even mummification but an exposure platform!? This was bizarre to me, or rather my culture! But it was most certainly a fascinating notion.

Through such exposures (no pun intended), I believe I have become far more open to the simple fact that ‘other people live in other ways’ and in turn I have become a more tolerant person than I might have been without those experiences.

Awareness of Legacy:

Archaeologists are probably more aware than most of the legacy of things.

The smallest of facts can completely change how a site/ artefact/ person is viewed in Archaeology and frequently these facts (which are often preserved with extreme bias) will come to define those finds.

In this instance, I think of ‘The Shaman’ and kiln at Dolni Vestonice. Here, a rather curious covered clay kiln with around 2,000 figurines was found. The figures had either been deliberately smashed or engineered to explode in the heat of the fire. This might have been linked with shamanistic rituals… But may not have. Who knows what evidence has NOT been preserved?


If a few broken figurines and an oven can invoke the impression of magical machinations, who knows what details from our lives/ our time will be preserved and what they will say about who, what and how we were? This is another way in which Archaeology can effect one’s life.

The Context of Time:

An Archaeologist is more likely to be aware of the context of time for everyday life.


The depth of time studied by Archaeologists is fairly difficult to imagine, however it does put a different perspective on words like 'modern', 'different', 'forever', 'olden days', 'original' and 'native' etc.


For example, it often makes me chuckle when I think of those who complain about immigration into Britain. Some extreme folk have even gone so far as to claim that they are the 'Aboriginals' of these islands, being overrun by others. Disregarding the ultimate fact that even Aboriginals had to 'move in' to Australia - Britain, arguably has NO natives!


If one looks far enough back in time, much of the land which became the British Isles was uninhabitable. The famous remains discovered at Cheddar Gorge show people living more-or-less at the limit of human endurance. These people had potentially been forced into cannibalism when the reindeer populations crashed. Any further North, it seems that for a time the environment was inhospitable.


And before that... It's fairly clear that Homo Sapiens are the definition of a migratory species, populating the world from 'other places'.


Archaeology offers a time perspective on life which is hard to gain in other professions.

Environmental Issues/ Recycling:

The study of Humanity's past is also the study of our environment through time.


Archaeologists must investigate whole environments, worlds, which in some cases no longer exist, in an attempt to better understand past societies. This not only makes Archaeology a compelling and varied subject to study but also provides insight into the fact that our world is constantly changing.


Global warming! This, next to war and economics has come to the define the age in which we live. It is the spectre which causes debate, concern, denial and even fear more readily than most. However, an Archaeologist knows that the situation, for better or worse, is far from simple.


Some of the earliest lessons we learn are about the climatic and geological eras which have informed our environment. We learn that the world is in constant shift, that there are warming and cooling periods and that therefore there will always be species who are losing their environments...


However we also understand that our particular warming period is an odd one. We have put back the next ice age by around 1,500 years because of the myriad of activities which we have adopted which change the world - heating it up. We also learn that such activities are not new! It is possible to see the effect of the Roman empire upon the world's atmosphere in ice cores which record the moment that lead smelting expanded to unprecedented levels. We learn that we do effect the environment in which we live and that we may well fall victim to such action.


Despite this Archaeologists are also privy to the fact that we have survived through extraordinary climatic shifts. The people of Palaeolithic Europe, in particular the Gravettian people were incredibly well adapted to the harsh environmental conditions in which they lived. A combination of knowledge, technology, recycling, patience and guile preserved people through times which we cannot readily imagine. It has been stated that living in the far north is a bizarre thing for, essentially, a tropical ape to attempt. However we have managed it because of the buffer we have created between the environment and ourselves... Culture... Technology.


Archaeologists have reason to care for the environment, to understand that we effect the world in ways which can be hard to accept. However they are also equipped with the knowledge that change happens and that human beings have the potential to survive through almost anything... This balance between stewardship and stoicism is a way of life which can be born of Archaeology.

Critique, free thinking and abstract thought:

If nothing else, the exposure to other people, places, times and environments which the study of Archaeology affords us allows Archaeologists to bring those experiences to bear upon modern life.


Archaeologists are acutely aware that things have not always been 'like this' and that therefore they don't have to stay 'like this'.


A pertinent point of criticism is the economic system to which we all (apparently) submit ourselves. This is not the place to go into a detailed rant about the bizarre phenomenon that is modern money. However it is clear from the past that there are other ways of trading... Not least to trade with value, rather than debt!

The practice of undermining the value of currency is an old one. It began with the desire to make more coins by adding base metals to, say, a silver penny in order to make the silver go a little further. Eventually, an enterprising soul in Italy decided that it was ok to simply 'promise' gold with a piece of paper and based upon this promise the real value of what was available could not only be hidden but also multiplied in a very short time when debts were repaid... So that eventually we no longer traded in value ie I will give you this for that, rather we traded (and continue to trade) in debt... the promise to eventually fulfil the value of the coin/ note in your wallet.


Whilst it may be pie-in-the-sky to call for a re-imagining of the entire economic system, Archaeologists and Anthropologists are aware of any number of economic alternatives. Some based upon gift giving, others based upon the perceived value of certain plentiful or rare objects... The Aztecs valued feathers over gold! However, almost none of these alternatives call for the levels of debt, or indeed perpetual growth, which modern economics relies upon. As Kenneth E Boulding said: "Anyone who believes in indefinite growth in anything physical, on a physically finite planet, is either mad or an economist."


While Archaeologists may not be able to offer 'the answer', they can most certainly ask 'the question' or imagine 'the other' which puts modern assuptions under a keen spotlight. This may be a skill more readily developed amongst Prehistorians, but the ability to think in an abstract fashion about evidence presented is invaluable to any Archaeologist and arguably society itself!

So... There you have it. Some thoughts (in addition to the video) on how Archaeology has the potential to make our lives better, if not make those who are open to such concepts 'better people'.


I certainly feel that I benefit from being an Archaeologist.


But don't let it go to your head, fellow Archaeologists! For example, I am incredibly clumsy (arguably because I am day dreaming about the past), I couldn't run a marathon and I have not got the answer to world peace... Better... Not perfect!

I'm off for a cuppa :)