1

Types of Intelligence Needed for Archaeologist

Trần Quang Vinh - 2056160090

Faculty Psychology, VNU HCMC - University of Social Sciences and Humanities

Class: 20616 - Academic English in Psychology

Ths Cát Phượng, Lâm Hoàng Đức

October 17, 2022

Types of Intelligence Needed for Archaeologist

According to the National Geographic professional online newspaper: “Archaeology is

the study of the human past using material remains. These remains can be any objects that people

created, modified, or used. Portable remains are usually called artifacts. Artifacts include tools,

clothing, and decorations. Non-portable remains, such as pyramids or post-holes, are called

features” (Diane B, Melissa M, Erin S, Andrew T, 2022). So we can understand archaeologists

are those people who use artifacts and features to learn how people lived in specific times and

places. They want to know what these people's daily lives were like, how they were maintained,

how they interacted with each other, and what they believed and valued.

Many people still think that this is just a simple job, only digging for clues is sometimes

like a geological worker. But in fact, this is a very complex industry, requiring the pursuer to

have extremely in-depth knowledge of both natural and social networks. The most important

thing is that archeology plays an extremely important role in the study of cultural history. Thanks

to archeology, many new issues of history are gradually being clarified.

It is a separate science, archeology is the study of human history from the creation of the

first stone tools until the last few decades, especially important in the study of primitive societies

from Paleolithic until writing appeared. Note that archeology does not include paleontology

because it only studies humans while paleontology also has many activities with a methodology

quite similar to archeology but applied to the study of humans. fossils and biological species.

As mentioned, archeology is really a science, so individuals who do archaeological

research, also known as archaeologists, also need to have certain "qualities". to run the research

in the best way. So what is the standard of intelligence, or more precisely, an archaeologist needs

to have? To answer this question, we can rely on the following analytical arguments and Howard
 3

Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences related to intelligence types. This doctrine deals with:

Linguistic - Verbal Intelligence, Mathematical Intelligence, Musical Intelligence, Spatial - Visual

Intelligence, Intrapersonal Intelligence, Interpersonal Intelligence, Naturalist Intelligence,

Existential Intelligence, Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence (Gadner H, 1983).

Firstly, most recently there has been an interesting discovery in archeology, “Neo-

Babylonians may have been the first to start writing break up letters.” King Nabonidus wasn't a

fan of being stood up, says a new finding by archeologists at Liberty University. Researchers

have unveiled that the 6th-century BCE Neo-Babylonian king sent what is thought to be the first

break-up letter ever discovered. Largely believed to be the first figure in world history to

commission archaeological work, the new finding points out that there is still a great deal to be

discovered about Nabonidus's reign. The tablet begins, “News has reached me via the Upper

Euphrates that you were visiting with my childhood friend Nisaba. I am devastated by this

betrayal, as you are one of my favorite concubines. You have until the end of the month to pick

up your flax shawls and sandals or else I will donate them to the temple of the moon god.”

(Liberty University Archeological team, 2019).

The message was revealed after close analysis by the archeologists who first discovered

the tablet late last year in southern Iraq. It's one of the most recent studies done by

archaeologists. But that is just one of thousands of other studies on ancient writing or ancient

pre-history, we can mention such as: Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, Chinese writing, Elamite

characters, Asia Minor hieroglyphs, Crete characters, ... All of the above studies require

archaeologists to apply their translation skills and language skills, and solve problems for

archeology. with ancient characters converted to modern language, learn meaning and

pronunciation. But the above factor is consistent with the operation of Linguistic/Verbal
 4

intelligent according to Gadner's classification, according to the following explanation: "Verbal

intelligence is the ability to understand and reason using concepts framed in words."(Bakić-mirić

N, 2010).

Secondly, archaeologists determine whether an excavation project is carried out in that

natural area based on field exploration. Site exploration is the identification of sites on an area,

while site exploration is the identification of relics contained within a site, for example, houses

or catacombs. These two types of exploration make extensive use of the same methods. At the

beginning, archaeologists have not yet widely applied field exploration. They identified the site

with the help of local people and excavated only when they could see it with their own eyes.

Gordon Willey, a pioneer, explored the entire area instead of each site during the 1949 Viru

Valley Survey, Peru (Willey, 1953). Since then, field exploration has progressed with the advent

of new archaeological theories a few years later (Feinman, 2015).

Exploration has many benefits when it is conducted as a pre-excavation exercise. Short

time, low cost due to not having to dig a huge amount of soil and rock to find artifacts (however,

archaeologists use sampling method to search a large area, when exploration becomes expensive)

red) (Redman, 1987). In addition, exploration prevents human destruction of sites and is the only

way to gather some form of information such as population sites. Exploration information is

usually recorded in the form of a map, so that the archaeologist can easily locate the required

locations.

The simplest method of exploration is surface exploration, which is done by searching for

relics and artifacts that can be observed with the naked eye on the ground. Archaeologists often

walk or use some form of transportation and use simple excavation tools such as drills, shovels,

and core tools. If nothing is detected, the probe area is considered empty. Aerial exploration is
 5

done by mounting cameras on flying vehicles such as airplanes, hot air balloons or kites. This

method helps to identify artifacts hidden underground, thanks to the nature of plants when

growing on different types of soil.

Geophysical exploration is the best method to detect objects underground, by using a

number of methods such as scanning radar (GPR), magnetic field, electromagnetic induction, ...

can see the differences between artifacts and land and different artifacts. 3D scanning radar

measurement can reconstruct an image of an area buried by mud or volcanic ash. In underwater

archeology, some tools used for exploration are: oceanographic magnetometer, side-scan sonar,

bottom-scan sonar. It can be determined based on the above field exploration that there are many

activities closely related to the use of two types of intelligence: Naturalistic intelligence and

Visual-Spatial Intelligence. Including having a very deep understanding of the stratigraphic

structure, subterranean space, and seabed to carry out detailed measurement and calculation

procedures, even archaeologists have to "imagine" before being in the collection. their brain to

be able to visualize the area to be exploited, so that the process is safe, avoiding collapsing

geological strata or affecting ancient ruins with an extremely large excavation area. Each artifact

must be visualized in as much detail as possible on spatial coordinates in order to perform

excavations. In parallel with that, archaeologists must also have certain understanding of the

natural conditions at the excavation site, including the flora and fauna underground, the aquatic

environment, the groundwater system, Radioisotopes exist, ... In order to avoid harming the

growth and development of the animals here, as well as relying on the flora and fauna, there are

certain conclusions in the development process in the future. through each historical epoch. For

example, Fincha Habera is a Middle Stone Age archaeological site located within the Bale

Mountains in southern Ethiopia. The rock shelter is located within the largest alpine ecosystem
 6

in Africa and is especially notable for the high altitude of the shelter and archaeological site,

lying about 4,000 meters above sea level, between the Harcha and Wasama Valleys. During the

Late Pleistocene, the Fincha Habera rock shelter was occupied by hunter-gatherers and the site

now provides evidence for one of the oldest human occupancies at high-altitudes. The

surrounding glacial climate provided conditions of fresh water, vegetation, and sustenance that

created a unique environment that allowed these hunter-gatherers to find longer term residence at

this shelter. According to radiocarbon dating, the first inhabitants of this bunker were medieval

blacksmiths who lived 31,000 to 47,000 years ago. Excavations of the Fincha Habera site in

Ethiopia's Bale Mountains have unearthed thousands of artifacts from the Middle Stone Age

ranging from locally sourced rocks to burned animal bones, human excrement and fireplaces of

previous fires. Evidence that predators exploited nearby resources while feeding on the

abundance of giant moles (Ossendorf, Götz; Groos, Alexander. R; Bromm, Tobias;

Tekelemariam, Minassie Girma; Glaser, Bruno; Lesur, Joséphine; Schmidt, Joachim; Akçar,

Naki; Bekele, Tamrat; Beldados, Alemseged; Demissew, Sebsebe, 2019).

Thirdly, archaeological excavations are the procedure by which archaeologists define,

retrieve, and record cultural and biological remains found in the ground. Past activities leave

traces in the form of house foundations, graves, artifacts, bones, seeds, and numerous other

indicative traces of human experience. These strata survive vary variously, depending on the

type of location and geology (hilly, lowland, wet, dry, acid, etc., known as the terrain. Survival

and visibility also depends on how far the remains of the past have already decayed or been

disturbed by later activities, such as cultivation or building. These site formation processes give a

site its modern character, and this has a strong influence on the excavations method that is used

(Carver, 2014). In the words of archeology professor David Loren at Oregon State University:
 7

“These excavations are now done mostly by mechanized equipment, however for small and

fragile or sharp artifacts. sharp, or details that require meticulousness and high ingenuity while

excavating to avoid damage, archaeologists use their hands and basic tools to exploit such as

trowel, wooden skewer, brush, …” (David L, 2012). The use of a skillful, precise, careful hand

to be able to excavate in the safest way is the most important thing that archaeologists need to be

able to preserve the integrity of the archaeological sites. Historical artifacts lie deep under the

ruins. These are the criteria suitable for the operation of kinesthetic intelligent - Those who have

high bodily-kinesthetic intelligence are said to be good at body movement, performing actions,

and physical control. People who are strong in this area tend to have excellent hand-eye

coordination and dexterity (Singh Y, Makharia A, Sharma A, Agrawal K, Varma G, Yadav T,

2017).

So, with the above analysis, to become an archaeologist we need to have at least three the

following types of intelligence: Linguistic - Verbal Intelligence, Spatial - Visual Intelligence,

Naturalist Intelligence, Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence.

References

Bakić-mirić N. Implementation of multiple intelligences theory in the English language course

syllabus at the University of Nis Medical School. Srp Arh Celok Lek. 2010;138(1-2):105-

10.

Carver, M. (2014). Excavation Methods in Archaeology. In: Smith, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of

Global Archaeology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-

2_1494.

Diane Boudreau, Melissa McDaniel, Erin Sprout, Andrew Turgeon. Archaeology. National

Geographic Society; 2022

Feinman, G. M. (2015). Settlement and Landscape Archaeology. International Encyclopedia of

the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 654–658. doi:10.1016/b978-0-08-097086-8.13041-7 .

Gardner H. Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York: Basic Books;

1983.

Loren David. (2012). The Excavation Process: How We Excavate. Cooper's Ferry Site Youtube

Channel

Ossendorf, Götz; Groos, Alexander R.; Bromm, Tobias; Tekelemariam, Minassie Girma; Glaser,

Bruno; Lesur, Joséphine; Schmidt, Joachim; Akçar, Naki; Bekele, Tamrat; Beldados,

Alemseged; Demissew, Sebsebe (2019-08-09). "Middle Stone Age foragers resided in

high elevations of the glaciated Bale Mountains, Ethiopia"

Redman, C. L. (1987). Surface Collection, Sampling, and Research Design: A Retrospective.

American Antiquity, 52(2), 249. doi:10.2307/281779.

Science. 365 (6453): 583–587. doi:10.1126/science.aaw8942.

Singh Y, Makharia A, Sharma A, Agrawal K, Varma G, Yadav T. A study on different forms of

intelligence in Indian school-going children. Ind Psychiatry J. 2017;26(1):71-76.

doi:10.4103/ipj.ipj_61_16

WILLEY, G. R. 1953. Prehistoric settlement patterns in the Virú Valley, Peru (Bulletin 155,

Bureau of American Ethnology). Washington (DC): Smithsonian Institution.