Position paper 1
Many universities and institutions of higher learning are introducing the no smoking policy within their institutions. One such institution is the Northern Arizona University. Smoking among the youth especially those who are in school is increasing at an alarming rate and that is the reason for the ban. The ban has been ongoing in most of these institutions but there are claims that the habit is ongoing and that some students do so in secret places where they dispose the filters so they are not caught with them. In order to determine the trends and how this is done in secrecy, researchers can use archeological methods to investigate this behavior in the universities and other institutions of higher learning. The researchers can go to the areas that are suspected and investigate trash so as to establish whether these claims are true or false.
First of all, they will need to identify some of these places that are suspect. Then they can carry the necessary tools that may be needed to conduct the search and research. Some of these tools include backpacks, gloves, ruler, writing materials and plastic bags. They can then go on to identify the survey methods to be used. In this case, an intensive survey will be necessary because it is important to closely monitor the ground within the college and the contents of the trashcans available (Preucel & Mzorowski 87). It is of importance to cover the entire area lest some lucrative findings will be left out. All descriptive information will then have to be recorded. For instance, whether filters were located and if yes, at what exact places or points were they found. It is of necessity that the site maps be drawn so as to aid a more direct study and identification of hotspots.
Gridding will now come in because this is the method that will be used to establish a grid over the exact sites that will determine the extent of the presence of the cigarette filters. When they have been collected, they can be studied and counted in order to establish how many they were in a specific area. This is what is called analyzing of the specimens. They are supposed to be catalogued and sorted because it is through this way that one can identify the patterns that are used by the smokers and where exactly their secret activities take place. It is believed that artifacts or recovered materials are used in determining and knowing the habits and trends of the former occupants. In this case, the study and research is conducted to establish whether cigarette smoking is still taking place in campuses and if so, where are these areas where students hide to smoke.
It is imperative to ensure that all relevant records are captured. It is at this point where photographs will be taken. Then a report will be written which will give a complete detail of the findings. All facts will be gathered, a map of the sites where the filters were located as well as the features of the sites. The impression of the researcher comes in handy because it will be used in making conclusive remarks about the findings. These archeological methods will go a long way into establishing the real happenings in campuses in order to establish whether smoking still takes place even after the bans have been implemented
Position Paper 2
Applying Archeological Thinking to Contemporary Problems
Cultural archeologists study social construction in society and how they evolve. When studying the different cultures of the world and how they have evolved to become what they are today, it is inevitable to assume that archeological thinking is mandatory in understanding them. Structural comparisons of all human societies’ centers on looking into material record, and that can be termed as the sites for excavation. When one puts the globalization ideology in this context, then it becomes clear how the world influences each other and how these world cultures affect each other. Archeological thinking comes in handy, especially when it comes to making comparison between what is happening now due to globalization, and how the world was influenced before the globalization era. The structural comparison of human societies can only be understood by the use of archeological thinking, considering that the changes that occur do so every fortnight.
When there is providence of a different perspective in the emerging structures of the modern world in the context of globalization, it becomes inevitable to ignore the fact that these societies can be put in comparative contexts. These comparative contexts are made up of the past years or eras when things were different from what we are experienced today. It is at this point when historical archeology comes in and leads to unearthing materials and cultures that underpin present life. Such studies and critical analysis eventually leads to the understanding of what is happening presently as well as possible patterns in the future (Sabloff 117). This thinking prompts intellectual engagements that will eventually lead to the unearthing of or resolving of issues that affect society.
Archeological thinking is very important in interpreting the emergence of contemporary human activities and the complexity that comes with new things. One of these contemporary problems that have been brought about by globalization is the whitewashing of people’s cultures and influencing other cultures different from their own. The media has played a key role in depicting some cultures as better than others. What happens when this is the case is the fact that some cultures diminish and become long forgotten over a short period of time. People are abandoning their mother tongues for the prestigious universal languages such as English and French. The result of this is that their mother tongues will disappear and in their place will be different varieties of these languages that are considered international.
Archeology is often regarded as a historical social science. The work of social sciences is analyzing how different societies live at different times. Archeological thinking and ideologies can be used in understanding the present generations and ways of life. Globalization has its effects and implications of how people exchange and live in this era of modern technology. Through this technology it is easier to also research further and know factors affecting present day life and how the past may have influenced it. Archeology can help resolve some of the mysteries surrounding people’s ways of life. Just like historians, archeologists study the human past. But by the mere fact that archeologists serve to meet the needs of the present world, then they are able to connect research on the past in order to influence the present and the future too. Archeological thinking comes into play through history and does affect the present as well.
Works Cited
Preucel, Robert, W. & Mrozowski, Stephen, A. Contemporary Archeology in Theory: The New Pragmatism. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Print.
Sabloff, Jeremy. Archaeology Matters: Action Archaeology in the Modern World. Sacramento: Left Coast Press, 2008. Print
