Abstract
This paper examines how archeology has served nationalistic goals, particularly when excavations reinforce the desires of a country or government. Two case studies are cited, which according to the paper demonstrate the power of nationalism, particularly when the remains of the past serve as weapons for elevating and protecting a nation's heritage. First, the paper examines archeological projects in the Republic of Ireland, implying that better funding is given to projects that focus on the post-Christian epoch rather earlier cultures, such as the Vikings. Then, the paper points to the government of Israel as focusing only on Jewish or Biblical excavation projects rather than those geared toward the more recent Palestinian presence in the Holy Land. The paper concludes with political statements against the Israeli government regarding the country's Palestinian population.

From the Paper
"Located on a terrace at the edge of cultivated land which overlooks the estuary of the River Deben in Suffolk, England, Sutton Hoo is believed to be the principle burial site of Anglo-Saxon kings dating back to the 7th century A.D. In 1939, a remarkable discovery was made at this site, then owned by Mrs. E.M. Pretty who "entrusted the archeological work to the Ipswich Museum and to famed archeologist Basil Brown" (Rahtz, 1998, p. 175), the man responsible for uncovering the remains of a Viking ship of which only corroded clench nails, soil discoloration and textural differences in the surrounding sand remained. But Brown then realized that this was no ordinary ship, for he concluded that it was a burial-ship which somehow had managed not to be robbed of its treasures in antiquity. This burial site turned out to be immensely important, for the remains of the ship held gold, silver and other Viking treasure; amazingly, Mrs. Pretty decided to bequest to Great Britain all that had been found at the site, one of the largest gifts of its kind ever given to a sovereign nation."

Tags:Jerusalem, Dublin, nationalism, Tara, City of David, Middle East

Abstract
This paper traces the development of modern archeology, showing the influences that caused man to become interested in the past. The interest taken in monuments and relics of the past is shown in a cultural context, with the author citing the outlooks of different groups at various points in history. The author also describes when archeology became a science as opposed to an opportunity to profit financially with items pilfered from ancient sites. Charles Darwin's view on archeology is highlighted in the paper. The paper concludes by crediting the discovery of major ancient sites in the 19th century as the springboard for the modern science of archeology.

From the Paper
"To understand how archeology became a modern discipline, it is important to remember that while today, an interest in the past is taken for granted, after the end of the Roman Empire it was the present and the future that was of interest, either in Christian terms in the sense that the Second Coming was at hand but also the difficulties for many peasants of simply surviving to the next day. Past, dead civilizations were despised as heretical or irrelevant. According to scholar Brian Fagan "One of the most popular hobbies in America today is collecting Indian arrowheads. But this is a new interest, new at least when considered in terms of the centuries. For hundreds of years Europeans seem to have been oblivious even to the existence of such things. Millions of people must have seen stone axes, spear points, and arrowheads in plowed fields and dried-up stream beds or on eroded hillsides, but they did not notice them. To them such things were just so many more rocks" "

Tags:Enlightenment, Mesopotamia, Charles Darwin, Troy, Knossos

Abstract
The paper examines the history of Tel-Dan and its biblical relevance as seen in the Old Testament. The paper also looks at the archeological value of the site and how it offers insight into the importance of the location.

outline:
Introduction
Biblical Significance
Archeological Value
Understanding of the Site

From the Paper
"The history of the site is an interesting one, beginning with its foundation in 4500 BC as Layish (lion), capture and its becoming the "northernmost dwelling place of the Jews" under the name of Dan. As the Jewish Kingdom divided into two regions, Tel Dan become a center of worship and saw the hosting of a golden calf as symbol to venerate. The city thrived for many centuries and became a cultural center as well, but was finally abandoned in the fourth century AD, as the pressure of the Roman occupation was continually growing.
"In terms of an actual biblical significance, the first point in this agenda occurs throughout the Old Testament, when Tel-Dan represented the northern border of the Kingdom of Israel and the home of the popular golden calf. "It was here, 2900 years ago, that King Hazael of Damascus punctuated his invasion of Israelite territory with the erection of the famous House of David inscription, the oldest document to mention the historical King David. It is here that visitors can explore King Jeroboam's temple, which the Hebrew Bible indicates he established to house the golden calf and challenge the temple in Jerusalem for religious supremacy."

Tags:King, David, Philistines, religion

Abstract
This paper discusses the use of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy (NMR), Petrographic analysis, microscopy and radiography, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), and infrared spectroscopy (IR) in examining archeological remains. The author includes an application of these methods. Pictures and graphs are included.

From the Paper
"There are many ways one can study archaeological materials. This paper will focus on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy (NMR), Petrographic analysis, microscopy and radiography, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), and infrared spectroscopy (IR). All are part of a process that helps to identify many materials, which in turn provide answers to parts of the past. They are all very useful tools for the examination of archaeological artifacts and many other things."

Tags:electron, infrared, ir, magnetic, microscope, readiography, resonance, scanning, science, scientific

Abstract
This paper examines how the prehistoric human background of Europe began tens of thousands of years ago in the latter part of the Stone Age. It looks at how ancient man, beginning roughly during the Upper Paleolithic Period, circa 32,000 B.C.E., evolved from a primitive and animal-like being into one that could construct and use tools, build shelters and create early forms of societal structures that eventually led to the rise of towns and cities along the rivers and coastlines of ancient Europe.

From the Paper
"The Stone Age is usually divided into the Paleolithic ("Old Stone") and Neolithic "New Stone") Ages; the end of the Paleolithic and the beginning of the Neolithic is thus placed about ten to twelve thousand years ago. During the long Paleolithic Period, human beings roamed throughout Europe, searching for food as hunter-gatherers, and often migrated great distances in order to follow large game animals or locate more abundant sources of wild plants. At least as early as 50,000 years ago, the type of Paleolithic human beings known as Neanderthals, named from the remains found in the Neanderthal Valley in Germany, spread over Macedonia and then into Greece as far south as the Peloponnese peninsula."

Tags:paeolithic, neolithic, stone, age

From the Paper
"The study of ancient Israel has been both tremendously advanced and transformed by the use of archaeology. This field has been used to support the historical narrative provided by the Biblical text in some instances, while altering the views of many modern scholars as to what dates the biblical stories are to represent, when they were written, and how historically reliable they are. Although the use of archaeology in the study of ancient Israel has not been able to conclusively support or refute the assumptions made about the time period, as derived from the Bible, it has proved helpful in formulating more well-informed beliefs as to what ancient Israelite society was like."

Tags:bible, christ, christianity, god, jesus, origins, religion, theology

Abstract
This paper discusses how the use of archaeological and historical data as a tool of the state has a long and illustrious history and how in many cases it seems possible that the archaeological record exists partly in an attempt to influence the nationalism of the future. It examines the different ways in which archeology interacts with national/political perception such as a tool of the state either in substantiating claims to land or power, or in promoting a specific style of government or nationalism in general. It analyzes how archeology is dependent upon and biased by its surroundings in many ways and how at the same time, modern culture depends upon archeology to be its memory of the past and to provide it with the assumptions and biases it needs to function.

From the Paper
"Because of the power of the past to reinvent the future, some states may resort to forcing the past into the molds they desire. Consider, for a minute, our previous two imaginary nations. What if it turned out that Nation A had in fact completely and intentionally misinterpreted the ruins in those hills, and had in fact planted occasional pieces of data? What if the ruins actually existed to a third, expired race of people? Nation A's use of these ruins to create the foundation for war, despite all contrary evidence, would make them a prime example of the second sort of relationship that may exist between archeology and the nation/society. Sometimes, archeology is just a puppet of the state. For example, there is a great deal of evidence that archeological departments in Nazi Germany creatively "made up" a great deal of evidence supporting the supremacy of the Aryan race. By giving themselves (illusory) archeological evidence of the past greatness of their militant people, they invoked a new martial spirit among their modern community. Yet the Nazis have not been alone in such revisionism."

Tags:history, government, nationalism, culture

Abstract
This paper will cover the historical premise of Stonehenge and uncover what it means in the light of recent historical findings. The history of the stones tells us where it can placed in history and why it was built.

From the Paper
"The earliest human beings to enter the American continent crossed the Bering land bridge between Siberia and Alaska at various times between 11,000 and 40,000 years ago. They were stone-age hunters who followed herds of large animals across the bridge and, eventually, down into North and South America. Because, after 11,000 BP (years before the present), the level of the Bering Sea rose and cut off this means of access, the American continents have sometimes been called "a laboratory for modern man" (Farb 3). The people who moved into these new territories brought their culture with them. But, their material culture was extremely limited, as with most migratory stone-age peoples, and any material objects made of organic materials have long since vanished, leaving primarily a few bone tools and the technological tradition of spear points as their only legacy."

From the Paper
" The mortuary practices of various peoples can tell archaeologists a great deal about their cultures' beliefs and behavior. An examination of the archaeological evidence from burial sites of the Nasca and Moche people of pre-Incan Peru will demonstrate how such conclusions can be drawn. Burial remains are, of course, incomplete evidence -- even in terms of the ritual associated with death and disposal of the body. But the details of burial sites and the iconography of art associated with them are the only primary sources on mortuary practice. These peoples were preliterate and did not come into contact with literate groups. The only information that supplements the archaeological record is the retrospective comparison of earlier cultures with what was recorded by observers of Inca practice. But there is a wealth of.."