Archaeology and the Media
Essay Preview: Archaeology and the Media
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The media and archaeology go hand-in-hand when it comes to discoveries. Much of what we know about today is due to the study of people from the past. Archaeologists are important in this journey to the past. Publishing their findings is an important ordeal. Not only does the inquisitive archaeologist want to know certain findings, but also the curious people in todays world. The media is an outlet for showing people new theories, and discoveries that can help us know where we came from and how people lived before us. There are many ways the media brings archaeology into the public eye. Since it is constantly in the news, there are thousands of examples of media addressing topics in archaeology.
The media uses many techniques to get the attention of the average citizen. The article headlines are often exaggerated and somewhat false statements. For example Melissa Grays article is titled “Beheaded Vikings found at Olympic site.” Many archaeological finds involve recovered bones in which many body parts are found but not the skull. This is not uncommon, but to grab the attention of readers, this headline makes the reader feel as if headless bodies in a site are an extremely rare occurrence. The article goes on about how radiocarbon dating was used to give a range of dates when the Vikings were killed. This evidence of death by a “sword-like object” in a bonebed is very exciting to archaeologists and the media hypes it up very much. The reader is supposed to feel like this is in important point in human history, which may be true as this finding could help recreate an environment from the past in order for us to understand where we came from. The media addresses archaeology as an exciting event that we should care about. This is true, as archaeology is an important aspect of understanding culture and how it has changed over time.
An article by Charles Q. Choi of Fox News titled “Missing Link Between Man and Apes?” speaks of a skull that was discovered in South Africa. The skull is a possible explanation of how Homo sapiens have evolved over time. Once again the title can be misleading for readers in order to get their attention, as experts have found that evolution has not occurred in big jumps in evolution, but a gradual change. The title seems to infer that this discovered skull is a missing piece that the archaeologists needed to complete the evolution steps. Choi makes this assumption not just based on evidence, but uses it as an attempt to make the reader more curious about the skulls. Choi makes the discovery seem groundbreaking for archaeology, which is great. Archaeology needs the media to help gain attention for these important finds. While this find is great, it takes many sites and their provenience to help determine the evolution of the genus Homo. The media in this case helps archaeology bring important discoveries to the public.
Archaeology is not