“Techniques and Methods to Understand The Past”

A Journey to The Past

الرحيم الرحمن الله بسموبركاته ورحمةالله عليكم السالم

• How does technologies can help us to surf the past• Scientific fields which act as “The Time Machine”

“The Time Machine”

• From the heaven: The Holy Books of three basic religions• The sight: other minor religious scriptures• Ancient scriptures of civilizations• Tertiary and quartenary readings

Literal Study

• Secondary data• Fieldwork• The Cultural Systems Paradigm (The CSP)• Ethnographic Observation, Interviewing, and Interpretation

Ethnographical Techniques and

Methods

• Botany and Ethnobotany• Zology and Ethnozoology• Ecology and Ethnoecology

Biological Techniques and

Methods

Prehistoric people and how are they studied Study from the remains: bones and teeth

Health state Hereditary disorder and ilnessess

The MummiesPeat-bog peoplesThe Iceman Study of the remaining stone-aged cultures (Africa, New

Guinea, Australia)Waste sites and food preservation areasThe artefacts

Arts from ancient ages Buildings (Pyramids, Stonehenge.)

Other organisms remains (insect eggs, insects fossils, etc.)

“The Time Machine” ..... 1

Grauballe-Man (the Mosegaard-Museum, Denmark). Discovered in 1952 in Nebelgård Mose, Denmark. Bronze and Iron Age bodies that have been recovered

from peat bogs are quite well preserved. (Malene Thyssen)

Stonehenge is thought to have been a healing center. (Frédéric Vincent)

Modern techniques to reveal the past Visual examinations X-Rays Computed Tomography (CT) Scans Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Electron Microscopy Immunologic and chemical assays Mass Spectrophotometry (MS) methods DNA testings

Radiocarbon dating Using isotope C-14 45,000-50,000 years tracing (half-life decay)

Other radioisotope dating K-40 (1.25 billion years) U-238 (4.5 billion years) Ru-87 (49 billion years)

“The Time Machine” ..... 2

Scientific fields which act as “The Time Machines” PaleopathologyThe study of ancient people and their illnesses Archaeology and its branchesThe study of human activity in the past, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes (the archaeological record) Anthropology and its branchesThe study of humankind, past and present, that draws and builds upon knowledge from social and biological sciences, as well as the humanities and the natural sciences EthnologyThe branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationship between them Physic and instrumentations Chemistry and the uses of chemical assays

“The Time Machine” ..... 3

From the heaven: The Holy Books of three basic religions Torah and Bible The Qur’an

The sight: other minor religious scriptures Vedic Taoism Qabalah’s magick Animism and Dynamism

Ancient scriptures of civilizations Papyruses of Egypt Samhitas of Indian Scriptures from China Lontars and Serats from Indonesia

Tertiary and quartenary readings Research journals Combined documentations on books and review journals Abstracts from proceedings

Literal Studies

Secondary Data: What Can Ethnographers Collect From...The importance of early hypothesisPrimary data where the secondary one comes from:

Scholarly and popular publications/products Archival and statistical data found in administrative resources from

government, etc. Other archival documents such as maps, atlases, etc. Personal and individual data such as diaries, family histories, biographies,

etc.

Ethnographical Techniques and Methods ..... 1

Field WorkPrimary data collectionTotal immersion in the field setting

24 hours 7 days 12 months Complete seasons, etc.

Researchers as a part of the communitiesCultural dynamicFilling the gaps from the secondary data

Ethnographical Techniques and Methods ..... 2

The Cultural Systems Paradigm (The CSP) *)

The major categories of CSP: The individual human organism The social systems Behavioral patterns The significant “idea” systems Expressive Culture Material culture The physical environments Needs The human group’s shared history

Holistical study of: The socio-cultural contexts: components of socio-cultural systems The socio-cultural processes: interactions within socio-cultural systems The socio-cultural meanings: patterns of basic human needs fulfillment

Ethnographical Techniques and Methods ..... 3

Child as a basic model of etnography Observations Interviews Participations Interpretations

Descriptive observations Non-participant observations Participant observations

Study community entré and initial ethnographic tours Introductions Immersions

Selecting social settings for Ethnographic study From “Grand-Tour” ton “Mini-Tour” observations to informal,

unstructured conversational, and descriptive interviews From descriptive to semi-structured, to structured interviews Exploring the structure of culture domains: focused and select

observations and semi structured and structured interviews‑

Ethnographical Techniques and Methods ..... 4

Botany and EthnobotanyBotany: study of plants as organism; Ethnobotany: study of

human-plants interactionClassical botany: plant morphology, systematics, anatomy, and

physiologyModern botany: plant engineering and biotechnologyEthnobotany:

Religions Food Health Tools Etc...

Ethnobotany as a combination of botanical and ethnographic study from indigenous people

Biological Techniques and Methods ..... 1

Zoology and EthnozoologyZoology: study of animals as organism; Ethnozoology:

study of human-animals interactionsClassical zoology: animal morphology, systematics,

anatomy, and physiologyAnimals and human cultures

Religions Animals and human works Foods, drugs, etc

Ethnozoology as a cultural views on animals

Biological Techniques and Methods ..... 2

Ecology and EthnoecologyEcology: study of environment as a living system;

Ethnoecology: study of culture-living environment interactions

The Hierarchy of living systems: ecological fields Populations Communities Ecosystems Biomes Biosphere

Ethnoecological views on landscapingEthno-landscape and humans healthBioprospecting of future chalenges

Biological Techniques and Methods ..... 3