Cultural artifacts are a broad category of historical objects having ties to the past or to the arts. These objects can range from old carved sculptures and historical documents to digital files, images, and videos. Additionally, this category includes data artifacts like programmer-generated source code or complex ideas, plans, and tactics. However, when talking explicitly about cultural objects, it usually refers to archeological discoveries made at historic locations. These artifacts from the past are essential in giving modern people insightful looks into the way of life of our ancestors (artincontext, 2023).
What are ancient artifacts?
Ancient artifacts act as visible reminders that shed light on people’s lives thousands of years ago. Even though these relics may resemble modern products, their employment of unusual materials or technology may make them seem strange. Examples of ancient artifacts include food-cutting stone tools, cooking earthenware, and rudimentary circular structures used to house families. Also included in ancient artifacts are the remains of previous feasts, such as shellfish, or millions of years-old preserved footprints in volcanic ash. At least 2.8 million years ago, during the period of our earliest ancestors, and maybe even earlier, ancient objects were created. For archaeologists, figuring out an artifact’s age is a major task. Once an item has been found, its age must be established in order to determine when it was made or used. To determine an artifact’s age, archaeologists use a variety of methods (Brhel, 2016).
What makes an artifact meaningful?
The significance of an archaeological discovery relies on its context, which encompasses factors such as geographic location, depth, or soil layer from which an artifact is unearthed (stratigraphy), its relationship with surrounding ecofacts and features (and whether any changes have been caused by living organisms or natural geological forces), and the examination of the processes involved in creating the object (which can provide insights into cultural transformations throughout history) (Emgoodwin, 2012).
Examples of Ancient Artifacts
Olmec Colossal Heads
Between around 400 and 1,400 B.C., the Olmec civilization—often referred to as Mesoamerica’s first culture—arose from the swampy woodlands along the Mexican Gulf Coast. While working on the same piece of ground more than two thousand years later, in the year 1862, a farmer unintentionally discovered a massive stone head. This find was the first of a total of 17 such heads that have since been located and are thought to be representations of Olmec kings. These magnificent statues weigh more than an adult elephant and reach between 5 and 10 feet tall. They show stern-appearing people with distinguishing features, including almond-shaped eyes, flat noses, and full lips. Each head has a distinctive face, expression, and headgear, indicating that it was made to represent a particular chieftain. The initial unintentional discovery was made in Tres Zapotes, a town in the Tuxtla Mountains’ foothills that also provided the basalt stone used to carve the heads. But later, at the historic capitals of San Lorenzo and La Venta, around 60 miles from the basalt quarry, archaeologists found the majority of these heads. Although it was clearly a difficult operation, it is still unknown how the Olmec moved these massive boulders, which were finally engraved and placed in central plazas. A few archaeologists have theorized that ancient humans destroyed older statues on purpose as new tyrants rose to power since some of the heads look to have been purposefully smashed and buried in the distant past (Alex, 2020).
King Tut’s Funerary Mask
Many people immediately think of King Tutankhamun’s famous funeral mask when the word “pharaoh” is mentioned. After his untimely death in 1323 B.C., this 24-pound duplicate of the young Egyptian king’s visage was placed on his mummified body. at the youthful age of 19, after a brief 10-year rule. Lapis lazuli, turquoise, and other priceless jewels shine brilliantly on the base of the mask, which is made of solid gold. A snake and vulture are shown on the forehead, signifying the union of Lower and Upper Egypt, and a tube-shaped beard extends from the chin. This extraordinary mask was rediscovered in the contemporary era in 1922, when British archaeologist Howard Carter found King Tut’s nearly complete tomb in the Valley of the Kings, a famed burial place near the Nile River. The bulk of Egyptian royal tombs have been desecrated throughout history by both ancient and modern robbers; therefore, Tutankhamun’s burial chamber was the first to reveal the astounding wealth that pharaohs brought with them to the afterlife (Alex, 2020).
・Terracotta army
Imagine spending more than three decades building your own tomb—a gigantic undertaking propelled by limitless strength, plenty of finances, and a steadfast quest for immortality. Even so, the grandiose complex built by Qin Shihuang, the first emperor to unify China, who ruled from 210 to 221 B.C., may dwarf your final resting spot. According to ancient Chinese literature, a stunning 700,000 workers toiled on this massive complex, which was 22 square miles in size and larger than most college campuses (with the exception of just three in the United States). Stunning statues of dancers and acrobats, lavish vehicles decked out in gold, and canals that resemble dioramas with bronze waterfowl may all be found inside this enormous mausoleum. The Terracotta Army, a stunning collection of thousands of life-sized clay warriors, is without a doubt its most well-known feature. They are organized in trenches in precise military formations. Farmers accidentally stumbled upon the first monument in 1974 while excavating a well. This led to three significant excavations that revealed an additional 2,000 soldiers, with an estimated 6,000 more remaining buried beneath the ground. Surprisingly, each statue seems to represent a real soldier from Qin Shihuang’s powerful army, as seen by their distinctive facial hair, clothing, headgear, and working bronze weapons, which still look remarkably crisp today. According to a 2014 study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science (Alex, 2020), even their ears have unique traits.
Reference
Alex, B. (2020). The 6 Most Iconic Ancient Artifacts That Continue to Captivate. Discover Magazine. [online] 29 Jul. Available at: https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/the-6-most-iconic-ancient-artifacts-that-continue-to-captivate [Accessed 23 May 2023]
artincontext (2023). What Are Artifacts? – The Historical and Cultural Value of Objects. [online] artincontext.org. Available at: https://artincontext.org/what-are-artifacts/ [Accessed 23 May 2023]
Brhel, J. (2016). Artifacts gives look into life in the past. [online] Press & Sun-Bulletin. Available at: https://www.pressconnects.com/story/news/education/2016/03/17/artifacts-gives-look-into-life-past/81906322/ [Accessed 23 May 2023]
emgoodwin (2012). What Makes an Artifact Meaningful? | Real Archaeology. [online] Real Archaeology. Available at: https://pages.vassar.edu/realarchaeology/2012/09/16/what-makes-an-artifact-meaningful/ [Accessed 23 May 2023]
