DetailedResearch

The interesting thing about archaeological research is that a researcher can be so precise with research, but it's still debatable whether they make the right assumptions about what it means. There are some days I sit and think to myself and just wonder if everything archaeologists have found is actually wrong. What if we're actually completely off on what we find. It's so hard to tell, especially since gender can be interpreted in so many ways, and there are so many different kinds of cultures out there. We honestly have no idea. But that's not what I'm going to look at in this blog. I want to look at detailed research and how important it is for other researchers, as well as University students. 


It's important to look closely at someone's data because if you want want to conduct your own research, you're going to need to compare it to someone else's research. When you're comparing your research to other peoples', you need to be as precise as possible to see if the results are similar or differ. The more precise the research, the more you can analyze it and infer things. I really admired how much work Howell & Kintigh (authors of Archaeological identification of kin groups using mortuary and biological data: an example from the American Southwest) put into finding out the dental information of the people they were looking at because it provided an opportunity for them to find something that someone has not found before. 


I believe that Howell and Kintigh wanted to be extremely clear about how their data was collected so that it was easier for other researchers to repeat what they have done to test their hypotheses and see if they get the same results. It also provides a good source for other researchers to draw from. If someone is writing about the topic then they have something to draw from which is precise and looks good for evidence. 


The benefits of examining the mechanics of an article instead of just talking about the content in class is that you can really pick apart the areas you enjoy of the article and use them later on for something like a project. It allows you to go more in depth of a subject if you enjoy it, and it allows you to interpret it your own way, so when we do discuss it in class, you have something unique to say. Also, sometimes if you're not engaged in the conversation happening in class, you aren't in the present moment. If you're taking your time to go through an article and analyze it, then it allows you to be more engaged on your own terms. 


Howell and Kintigh did a really good job of getting to their point of research right away in their essay. I really enjoyed this essay, even though it may have been because I'm a little biased and enjoy biological anthropology. I admired their attention to detail and I believe this is a really throughly detailed research that will provide a good base for other researchers to work off of. 

Bibliography


Howell, Todd L. and Keith W. Kintigh (1996) Archaeological identification of kin groups using mortuary and biological data: an example from the American Southwest. American Antiquity 61(3): 537-554. 


Photo from: http://www.hpedsb.on.ca/ec/services/its/HPEDSBExternalResearch.html