Time Team America
| Time Team America | |
|---|---|
| Format | Archaeological reality television |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 5 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
|
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Distributor | PBS |
| Broadcast | |
| Original run | July 8, 2009 – August 5, 2009 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Time Team America is an American television series that airs on PBS. It premiered on July 8, 2009. It is an Oregon Public Broadcasting adaptation of the British show Time Team, produced in collaboration with Channel 4 which commissioned the original show,[1] in which a team of archeologists and other experts are given 72 hours to excavate an historic site.[2]
The U.S. version features "freelance and university-affiliated experts [who] mostly join existing excavations...[and] arrive with resources that the archaeologists already on the case usually can’t afford and specific questions that, if answered, will advance the understanding of the site."[3]
A second season was announced on October 18, 2011, scheduled to shoot during the summer of 2012 and to air in 2013.[4][5] On December 20, 2011 it was announced that Justine Shapiro would host the second season.[6]
Episodes
When PBS introduced a video player on its website in mid-April 2009, an episode of Time Team America became the most viewed.[3] Original air dates are as announced by PBS, but may vary by PBS station.
| # | Episode | Location[7] | Original airdate[8] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Fort Raleigh, North Carolina" | Roanoke Island, NC | July 8, 2009 |
| The team travels to Roanoke Island to look for evidence of the Lost Colony of Fort Raleigh and learn what life might have been like for the first English colonists.[9] | |||
| 2 | "Topper, South Carolina" | Topper, SC | July 15, 2009 |
| Time Team America goes to the woodlands near the Savannah River in South Carolina to help with the excavation of the Topper site. One part of the team will dig a Clovis quarry, while the other will investigate a controversial cultural layer claimed to be pre-Clovis.[10] | |||
| 3 | "New Philadelphia, Illinois" | New Philadelphia, IL | July 22, 2009 |
| New Philadelphia was the first town in the United States platted and registered by an African American, Free Frank McWorter, some 30 years before the Civil War. Time Team America joins the ongoing research of New Philadelphia to help search for the town's schoolhouse.[11] | |||
| 4 | "Range Creek, Utah" | Range Creek, UT | July 29, 2009 |
| Time Team America was invited to Range Creek in the Book Cliffs in Utah to help with the research into the extraordinary well-preserved pit-houses and granaries of Fremont people.[12] | |||
| 5 | "Fort James, South Dakota" | Fort James, Hanson County, SD | August 5, 2009 |
| Fort James in South Dakota was one of the few stone forts on the American frontier, and it was abandoned only a few years after it was built in the 1860s. The team goes on a mission to find out how big the fort was to protect its archaeology for future research.[13] | |||
Reviews
A Newsday review said "Time Team America at moments, employs [an] approach much in favor at PBS, which worries — needlessly, I think — that the only way to make serious subjects appealing to the attention-deficit-disordered youth of our TV nation is to throw in plenty of zing, zest and zip.... But don't hold any of this against the show, because it's engaging, thoughtful, smart, nicely produced and really, really interesting."[14]
Archaeology Techniques
Some of the archaeology techniques used in Time Team America are geophysical survey and excavation. Geophysical Surveying: There area many types of geophysical survey that are used in archaeology. Some of the techniques that are used are ground penetrating radar, magnetometers, and remote sensing technology. They detect any thing that is under the ground that is different from everything that is around it. These can be helpful in finding the archaeological site. These ways are not 100% accurate all the time, some times the change in the soil that they see is just a change in the soil and not something that is man made. It is best if you know how to read the print-outs that come from the machines or have someone do it that is good at reading them. Using the geophysical surveying equipment can be expensive, that is why it is some what special that it is on Time Team America. Some sties never get to have it done at them, they have to only rely on a pedestrian survey. Which is done by having people walk over the site looking for artifacts or features.
Ground penetrating radar: A pulse of electromagnetic radiation that is aimed in the earth. It works by reflecting the signal that it sends off of items in the soil. The reflection gives the depth for the objects that are underground. It is similar to how radar works in the air, but the radar is pulled along the ground.[15]
Magnetometers: There are three different types of magnetometers; fluxgate gradiometer, alkali metal magnetometer and proton free precession magnetometer. They work by sending waves in to the ground that detect differences in the magnetic fields of the earth. The magnetometer need to be able to send their signals fast enough to be able to pick up the signals while they are being pulled across the ground. Fluxgate gradiometer is not really used in archaeology due to it being difficult to get constant data. The alkali metal magnetometer is very expensive to use but it is very sensitive and has fast cycles when it is used. The most common magnetometer that is used in an archaeological site is the proton free precession magnetometer it is cheaper then the alkali but it is still sensitive and fast enough to get good results.[15]
Excavation: There are many steps to doing an archaeological dig. You have to set up the excavation unit; typically it should be a square that is one meter by one meter. The squares that are dug are on a grid that has an enter point a datum that all the measurements are done from. This makes the recording of the distances for the entire site easier. After the excavation unit is set up you can start the excavation; the digging can be done in two ways, either natural stratigraphic levels that go off of the soil changes or by measured levels that go down arbitrary levels that are constantly even with soil changes (10 to 20 cm at a time).oh While the excavation is going on there is paper work to be filled out that has to do about how far you have dug, where you started from, what you have found or not found, what the soil is like. This has to be done for each level and different paper work has to be filled out if you find a feature (post hole, part of a building, road). When you have found an artifact you have to but it is a bag or tub that and label what it is and where it was found in the excavation unit. Each level has to have its own set of bags or tubs. For important or special artifacts (hole ceramics, projectile points, or what you are studding) they should be measured from three different ways; from the north, east and from the top down. They should also be mapped in on the paper work. After the excavation is done then it is time to go in the lab and analyze what has been found, then you can come to your conclusions or you might have to go back out and do another excavation.
The archaeology in this film is realistic, yet the time given to the team is very minimal. In actuality, excavations and surveys can take years. The Time Team goes to the sites to help an already existing excavation to give the archaeologists a focal point in order for them to make progress on their project. This show is an acceptable representation of real archaeology in the media. The average media of archaeology is dramatized or given a false motive (such as time travel, fringe sciences...), but TIme Team America can capture large audiences without the extra fictional dramas.
Communicating Archaeology
In order to work past the prevalent misconceptions that the public holds in regards to archaeological field work and methodology, a number of factors must be taken into consideration. Time Team America attempts to incorporate a number of these factors into their episodes, but leaves a lot to be desired in the process of debunking stereotypes.
The professional archaeologists are able to communicate the methods and theories about their sites in an accessible manner through answering the questions asked of them by the show’s team. Cast members ask questions in a manner that a general public would which allows for clear and straightforward answers. The methods are explained without a heavy use of confusing jargon. Whenever an uncommon term is used, the narrator explains it in simpler terms and often a graphic or animation is used to solidify the definition.
Overall, the cast appears authentic and truly excited about their work. Given the environment, it is not surprising that they are dressed as they are and does not seem as though stereotypical wardrobe has been provided for them. Those involved seem well versed and the subject matter is not overly sensationalized. The majority of the archaeologists are white and male, but a strong contingent of females are also represented. It is very apparent that each cast member was hired to fulfill a niche requirement set forth by their British counterparts.
One tool that the show tends to utilize often is setting up the archaeologists into opposing sides based on their theories about a site and pitting them against one another. Theoretical and experimental disagreement is essential to archaeological advancement as it is with any other science based on the scientific method. Sensationalizing this disagreement between cast members does not have a positive effect on public awareness of archaeology. Without explaining that this is a natural experimental and scientific process of deduction and discovery, this disagreement further solidifies to the public that there could be inherent unrest in the field, so how can these scientists be trusted? It should have been noted that this form of disagreement is the impetus for the forward movement of science and knowledge, not just people bickering about what they think is right.
Holtorf (2007) presents three well developed models for bridging the gap between archaeology and society. He defines the Educational Model, the Public Relations Model, and the Democratic Model. More about these can be found within the referenced article.[16] Time Team America content falls under all three of these models in one form or another. They educate the public through outreach, they are somewhat able to aid in improving how the public views archaeology in general, and the show generally emphasizes the importance of scientific rigor, though to a lesser extent than the other two.
In 2002 the Society for American Archaeology made a special publication focusing on public outreach. The magazine in its entirety can be found at www.saa.org. In it are a number of wonderful articles discussing the importance of adequate and successful communication of archaeology to its supporting public.
DVD
All the 5 episodes of the first season have been released on separate DVDs.[17]
See also
References
- ↑ "Time Team America – About Time Team – Credits". Retrieved 16 August 2009.
- ↑ "Time Team America – About Time Team". Retrieved 16 August 2009.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Digging (Against the Clock) for History, a May 29, 2009 article from The New York Times
- ↑ "PBs Time Team America". Facebook. October 18, 2011. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
- ↑ "Time Team America – Home". PBS. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
- ↑ "PBs Time Team America". Facebook. December 20, 2011. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
- ↑ Site Reports, from the show's website
- ↑ "Time Team America – About Time Team – Broadcast Information". Retrieved 16 August 2009.
- ↑ "Time Team America – Site Reports – Fort Raleigh". Retrieved 16 August 2009.
- ↑ "Time Team America – Site Reports – Topper". Retrieved 16 August 2009.
- ↑ "Time Team America – Site Reports – New Philadelphia". Retrieved 16 August 2009.
- ↑ "Time Team America – Site Reports – Range Creek". Retrieved 16 August 2009.
- ↑ "Time Team America – Site Reports – Fort James". Retrieved 16 August 2009.
- ↑ Time Team America, archaeology on PBS, a July 8, 2009 Newsday review
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Weymouth, John (1986). "Geophysical Methods of Archaeological Site Surveying". Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory 9: 311–395. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
- ↑ Holtorf, Cornelius (2007) Can you hear me at the back? European Journal of Archaeology Vol. 10(2–3): 149–165.
- ↑ "PBS Shop – Time Team America". Retrieved 15 August 2009.