SOH MING HUI

General overview

Ethics of archaeology

After a lecture on public archaeology and cultural resource management, we were first tasked with researching and making a presentation on a case study. For this, I choose to research on the Belitung shipwreck - its excavation was a contentious issue; on one hand it led to an enormous amount of archaeological evidence being recovered and provided important insight into Sino-Arabic trade in the 9th century, however as it was commercially salvaged and excavated without proper scientific methods, displaying it in exhibitions might create a precedent for commercially exploiting archaeological and heritage sites and also unintentionally promotes treasure-hunting.

Through this task and the short lecture, I better understand what archaeologists consider when deciding whether or not to excavate a site and how to treat the archaeological data (eg. identifying stakeholders involved, significance of a place). Looking at case studies also allowed me to appreciate how the principles of public archaeology and cultural resource management can be applied in the real world. As in most of the real world examples, there might be a grey area between what is ethical and unethical, thus it is important for archaeologists to weigh the pros and cons of excavating and carrying out archaeological research on a site before doing so.

Surveying

The first activity we conducted outside was mapping and surveying, where we had to observe a landscape and draw a site map. Although the activity seemed simple initially, we found that there were many things to consider when having to produce a site map; not only the general purpose and features of the map, but also the details, like whether man-made structures or fauna should be drawn.

Poster

The main project of this attachment was to create an academic poster regarding archaeology in Singapore. For my group, we decided to look into bio-archaeology, which was a topic that we were really interested in, and a case study of human remains excavated in Singapore. The aim of this project was for us to present the archaeological knowledge that we learnt through reading research papers and books in a more digestible form to the public, as part of increasing public awareness on archaeology and its significance in Singapore.

My group researched on the basic methods of bio-archaeological research (analysing physiological changes, conservation). For example, we found that a person's age at death can be determined by measuring ridges formed by the weekly growth of tooth enamel and the fusion of their bones (sequence of the joining of separate pieces of bone). We also looked into the 45 teeth that were found scattered across the Victoria Concert Hall excavation site in September 2011, that dated back to the pre-colonial Temasek period (1300s to 1600s) and discussed the potential findings that can be drawn from them.

One of the main challenges that we faced in completing this project was narrowing down what we wanted to include in our poster. As we had learnt a lot about archaeological research the past month and had done more external research on bio-archaeology, there were many topics that we wanted to cover, such as the non-destructive research methods (eg. CT scanning) that were used on mummies/tombs and the ethical concerns surrounding bio-archaeology. However, we were limited to an A3 sized poster and had to ensure that it could appeal to the public without it being an information overload.

3 content knowledge / skills learnt

1) Learning about the varieties of ceramics and learning how to differentiate them

At the start of this attachment, I thought that ceramics = the Chinese porcelain plates that were common Singaporean household items and did not know much about ceramics. Fortunately, we were given a crash course on the basic types of ceramics before sorting and archiving the Empress Place artefacts. I learnt that there are 3 main types: earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. They can be differentiated based on the firing temperature and the composition of the clay. When sorting artefacts, we used methods of hearing the pitch of sound caused by tapping the artefacts (the higher the pitch, the higher the firing temperature) and using a magnifying glass to view the fineness of the clay.

2) Gaining an insight into Maritime archaeology

Underwater archaeology was a topic that all of us were keen in, thus our mentor who had experience in this aspect decided to give us a short lecture on shipwrecks. There is much research potential in shipwrecks as they are "time capsules" of what had happened in that instance and shows what objects people wanted to transport in one go. Hence, they can reveal information on maritime trade in the past and previous maritime traditions such as shipbuilding and rowing methods. In Southeast Asia and Singapore, there are likely many shipwrecks that are yet to be discovered, since the region was very involved in maritime trade. However, due to current threats like a lack of legislature for heritage in Singapore and our reclamation of land, these archaeological research opportunities might be missed.

3) Learning how to generate a 3D image of an artefact

Through a short demonstration by our mentor, we had a general idea of how 3D image generating works. Multiple photos of the artefact are taken from different angles and are then entered into an algorithmic programme, which pieces together parts of each image to form a 3D image. Following his demonstration, we discussed how this valuable technology can be used to allow people, especially the public, to view and experience artefacts that are inaccessible to them. For example, our mentor also showed us a 3D image of an anchor that he had discovered on an underwater excavation, which would allow the public like ourselves to view this otherwise inaccessible artefact.

2 interesting aspects of my learning

1) A rewarding aspect of the job was finding sherds with unique and interesting decorative motifs while sorting the artefacts!

2) From my time at the AU, I realised that in reality, being an archaeologist is an enjoyable yet tedious job that requires much dedication. It takes a great amount of time, effort and patience to excavate, sort through several kilograms of artefacts, conduct thorough research and stylistic/composite analysis and complete an entire archaeological research process. What we completed in this one month was only a small part of what archaeologists study and do.

1 takeaway for life

Our mentor had shared that archaeology is a field that has received little public attention, thus there are very few archaeologists in Singapore and that it is a tough job with not a very high pay. Despite all this, he chose to pursue this career and has been doing so for 11 years, as archaeology is something that he is really passionate about. Hearing his story was very inspiring and served as a reminder on the importance of doing things you're passionate about. I felt that this was relevant to us as students who will have to make decisions that will affect our education and occupational pursuits in the near future.