Euan MacKie
Encyclopedia
Euan Wallace MacKie is a British
archaeologist
and anthropologist
. He is a prominent figure in the field of Archaeoastronomy
.
, Croydon
between 1946 and 1954 and later graduated with a degree in Archeology & Anthropology from St. John's College
at the University of Cambridge
in 1959 and has a PhD
from the University of Glasgow
where he is now an honorary research fellow
. He was elected Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London
in 1973. Keeper of Archaeology and Anthropology in 1974 and Deputy Director from 1986 - 1995. He took early part-time retirement in 1995 with full retirement 1998. He is also member of the Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
(FSA Scot.), an Honorary Research Fellow of Hunterian until 2005 and an Honorary Research Associate of the National Museums of Scotland from 2007. Mackie is also a member of the Prehistoric Society and Glasgow Archaeological Society, of which he was president during in the 1980s.
He spent six months in Central America as member of the Cambridge Expedition to British Honduras excavating Mayan
archaeological sites in British Honduras
(now Belize
) between 1959 and 1960. At the medium sized ceremonial centre
of Xunantunich
the application of the British system of recording every layer exposed, including the surface deposits, produced dramatic evidence for the sudden destruction of the site in the later 9th century, the partial clearance of fallen rubble and then its final abandonment by the elite groups who had lived in it. Thereafter peasants seem to have lived among the ruins. An earthquake
was suggested as the most likely agent for this destruction, although this is controversial to many. Subsequent major excavations at the site in the 1990s by UCLA do not seem to have recognized the same phenomena.
On returning to the United Kingdom in 1960 he worked for a six months as temporary assistant in the old Department of Ethnography
in the British Museum
before taking up a curatorial post in the Hunterian Museum
of the University of Glasgow
in charge of prehistoric collections, later in charge of ethnographical collections as well. His work primarily involved research, fieldwork, excavations and displays. He became deputy director there in 1985 but voluntarily relinquished the post to become a semi-retired senior curator from 1995 -1998. Since full retirement he has continued to carry out research, to write and to lecture. His research and general interests are varied and he has written on the following topics.
s of Scotland
and past changes in the natural environment, their nature and causes. When investigating a topic which is regarded as extreme by most colleagues, how can one know if one is being rational or just perverse? He therefore attempted an analysis of the nature of non-literate archaeological evidence, following on the work of C F C Hawkes, and concluded, in contrast to Hawkes, that there is a fundamental difference between the way economic and technological inferences are made, directly from the evidence and the way social inferences are made, indirectly and by the use of analogy
. Ian Hodder
has come to similar conclusions. This contrast is extremely important, for example, when considering the type of society which existed in Late Neolithic
Britain and which might have achieved remarkable things in the realms of astronomy
, geometry
and mensuration. Is it fair, for example, to maintain that these achievements are improbable, even impossible, because we ‘know’ that the societies of the time were too primitive to do such things? Is an alternative model of Neolithic society feasible which is equally well grounded in the archaeological evidence but which can accommodate these new ideas? In either case the model of Neolithic society which we favor has to be quite lightly anchored to the hard archaeological evidence and should be changed if evidence appears that contradicts it, and should never be used by itself to question the relevance or reliability of such evidence.
MacKie has also conjectured that personal motivation might play a part in determining an archaeologist’s attitudes to orthodox and unorthodox ideas. Although this is obviously tricky ground which is full of intellectual pitfalls, and which could come up against the deep-seated belief that every academic probably has – that his or her own rationality is beyond question, he decided to air some of the problems by making a tentative list of the rational and irrational reasons for opposing and supporting unorthodox ideas. The hope – not realized so far – then was that by bringing these issues into the open, a more informed debate about British archaeoastronomy
for example might result.
and prehistory
of northern Britain
and the evolution and foreign influences of material culture. Further interests include cultural diffusionism, 18th century architecture of Scotland
, archaeological methodology and museum design. He has led several major excavations along with studies of stone circles and standing stones of the later neolithic
period, in particular their astronomical and calendrical qualities. He has also conducted surveys into the level of skill in astronomy
and geometry
existed in neolithic Britain. His bibliography includes over 120 books, articles and papers.
He braved to speak out on several controversial areas of science, suggesting a method of testing various Catastrophism
theories in New Scientist
in 1973. He claimed "It is possible, using radiocarbon dates, to devise a simple quantitative test." In "Science and Society in Prehistoric Britain", he became one of the very few archaeologists to put the unit of the Megalithic Yard
to scientific test. He noticed that two squares of a side equal to the Egyptian remen
generates a root five diagonal that is very close to the megalithic yard. He also showed the links to the Sumerian šu-du3-a
, ancient mining rods used in the Austria
n Tyrol and an Indus Valley
measuring rod
excavated from the Mohenjo-daro
site. He is importantly noted for being the first person to suggest the term Archaeoastronomy
, however he modestly claimed "...the genesis and modern flowering of archaeoastronomy must surely lie in the work of Alexander Thom
in Britain between the 1930s and the 1970s."
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
archaeologist
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, 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...
and anthropologist
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
. He is a prominent figure in the field of Archaeoastronomy
Archaeoastronomy
Archaeoastronomy is the study of how people in the past "have understood the phenomena in the sky how they used phenomena in the sky and what role the sky played in their cultures." Clive Ruggles argues it is misleading to consider archaeoastronomy to be the study of ancient astronomy, as modern...
.
Biography
Mackie was educated at Whitgift SchoolWhitgift School
Whitgift School is an independent day school educating approximately 1,400 boys aged 10 to 18 in South Croydon, London in a parkland site.- History and grounds :...
, Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
between 1946 and 1954 and later graduated with a degree in Archeology & Anthropology from St. John's College
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
in 1959 and has a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
where he is now an honorary research fellow
Research fellow
The title of research fellow is used to denote a research position at a university or similar institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a principal investigator...
. He was elected Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London
Society of Antiquaries of London
The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...
in 1973. Keeper of Archaeology and Anthropology in 1974 and Deputy Director from 1986 - 1995. He took early part-time retirement in 1995 with full retirement 1998. He is also member of the Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body in Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum, Chambers Street, Edinburgh...
(FSA Scot.), an Honorary Research Fellow of Hunterian until 2005 and an Honorary Research Associate of the National Museums of Scotland from 2007. Mackie is also a member of the Prehistoric Society and Glasgow Archaeological Society, of which he was president during in the 1980s.
He spent six months in Central America as member of the Cambridge Expedition to British Honduras excavating Mayan
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
archaeological sites in British Honduras
British Honduras
British Honduras was a British colony that is now the independent nation of Belize.First colonised by Spaniards in the 17th century, the territory on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, became a British crown colony from 1862 until 1964, when it became self-governing. Belize became...
(now Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
) between 1959 and 1960. At the medium sized ceremonial centre
Astronomical complex
An astronomical complex or commemorative astronomical complex is a series of man-made structures with an astronomical purposes. It has been used when referring to a group of Megalithic structures that it is claimed show high precision astronomical alignments...
of Xunantunich
Xunantunich
Xunantunich is a Maya archaeological site in western Belize, about 80 miles west of Belize City , in the Cayo District. Xunantunich is located atop a ridge above the Mopan River, within sight of the Guatemala border...
the application of the British system of recording every layer exposed, including the surface deposits, produced dramatic evidence for the sudden destruction of the site in the later 9th century, the partial clearance of fallen rubble and then its final abandonment by the elite groups who had lived in it. Thereafter peasants seem to have lived among the ruins. An earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
was suggested as the most likely agent for this destruction, although this is controversial to many. Subsequent major excavations at the site in the 1990s by UCLA do not seem to have recognized the same phenomena.
On returning to the United Kingdom in 1960 he worked for a six months as temporary assistant in the old Department of Ethnography
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
in the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
before taking up a curatorial post in the Hunterian Museum
Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery
The University of Glasgow's Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery is the oldest public museum in Scotland. It is located in various buildings on the main campus of the University in the west end of Glasgow.-History:...
of the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
in charge of prehistoric collections, later in charge of ethnographical collections as well. His work primarily involved research, fieldwork, excavations and displays. He became deputy director there in 1985 but voluntarily relinquished the post to become a semi-retired senior curator from 1995 -1998. Since full retirement he has continued to carry out research, to write and to lecture. His research and general interests are varied and he has written on the following topics.
The nature of archaeological evidence and how inferences are made from it
This is an ongoing concern for MacKie, which was stimulated by growing interest in some controversial viewpoints in archaeology, notably regarding the vitrified hill fortHill fort
A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...
s of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and past changes in the natural environment, their nature and causes. When investigating a topic which is regarded as extreme by most colleagues, how can one know if one is being rational or just perverse? He therefore attempted an analysis of the nature of non-literate archaeological evidence, following on the work of C F C Hawkes, and concluded, in contrast to Hawkes, that there is a fundamental difference between the way economic and technological inferences are made, directly from the evidence and the way social inferences are made, indirectly and by the use of analogy
Analogy
Analogy is a cognitive process of transferring information or meaning from a particular subject to another particular subject , and a linguistic expression corresponding to such a process...
. Ian Hodder
Ian Hodder
Ian Hodder FBA is a British archaeologist and pioneer of postprocessualist theory in archaeology that first took root among his students and in his own work between 1980-1990...
has come to similar conclusions. This contrast is extremely important, for example, when considering the type of society which existed in Late Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
Britain and which might have achieved remarkable things in the realms of astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
, geometry
Geometry
Geometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers ....
and mensuration. Is it fair, for example, to maintain that these achievements are improbable, even impossible, because we ‘know’ that the societies of the time were too primitive to do such things? Is an alternative model of Neolithic society feasible which is equally well grounded in the archaeological evidence but which can accommodate these new ideas? In either case the model of Neolithic society which we favor has to be quite lightly anchored to the hard archaeological evidence and should be changed if evidence appears that contradicts it, and should never be used by itself to question the relevance or reliability of such evidence.
MacKie has also conjectured that personal motivation might play a part in determining an archaeologist’s attitudes to orthodox and unorthodox ideas. Although this is obviously tricky ground which is full of intellectual pitfalls, and which could come up against the deep-seated belief that every academic probably has – that his or her own rationality is beyond question, he decided to air some of the problems by making a tentative list of the rational and irrational reasons for opposing and supporting unorthodox ideas. The hope – not realized so far – then was that by bringing these issues into the open, a more informed debate about British archaeoastronomy
Archaeoastronomy
Archaeoastronomy is the study of how people in the past "have understood the phenomena in the sky how they used phenomena in the sky and what role the sky played in their cultures." Clive Ruggles argues it is misleading to consider archaeoastronomy to be the study of ancient astronomy, as modern...
for example might result.
The Iron Age brochs of Atlantic Scotland and their material cultures, particularly rotary querns and pottery
The Hunterian's early ethnographical collections and the voyages of Captain Cook
His research interests include brochs, rotary querns, the Hunterian's early ethnographical collections, the voyages of Captain Cook, the iron AgeIron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
and prehistory
Prehistory
Prehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...
of northern Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and the evolution and foreign influences of material culture. Further interests include cultural diffusionism, 18th century architecture of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, archaeological methodology and museum design. He has led several major excavations along with studies of stone circles and standing stones of the later neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
period, in particular their astronomical and calendrical qualities. He has also conducted surveys into the level of skill in astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
and geometry
Geometry
Geometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers ....
existed in neolithic Britain. His bibliography includes over 120 books, articles and papers.
He braved to speak out on several controversial areas of science, suggesting a method of testing various Catastrophism
Catastrophism
Catastrophism is the theory that the Earth has been affected in the past by sudden, short-lived, violent events, possibly worldwide in scope. The dominant paradigm of modern geology is uniformitarianism , in which slow incremental changes, such as erosion, create the Earth's appearance...
theories in New Scientist
New Scientist
New Scientist is a weekly non-peer-reviewed English-language international science magazine, which since 1996 has also run a website, covering recent developments in science and technology for a general audience. Founded in 1956, it is published by Reed Business Information Ltd, a subsidiary of...
in 1973. He claimed "It is possible, using radiocarbon dates, to devise a simple quantitative test." In "Science and Society in Prehistoric Britain", he became one of the very few archaeologists to put the unit of the Megalithic Yard
Megalithic Yard
A Megalithic Yard is a unit of measurement, about , that some researchers believe was used in the construction of megalithic structures. The proposal was made by Alexander Thom as a result of his surveys of 600 megalithic sites in England, Scotland, Wales and Britanny...
to scientific test. He noticed that two squares of a side equal to the Egyptian remen
Ancient Egyptian units of measurement
-Length:Units of length date back to at least the early dynastic period. In the Palermo stone for instance the level of the Nile river is recorded. During the reign of Pharaoh Djer the height of the river Nile was given as measuring 6 cubits and 1 palm...
generates a root five diagonal that is very close to the megalithic yard. He also showed the links to the Sumerian šu-du3-a
Ancient Mesopotamian units of measurement
Ancient Mesopotamian units of measurement originated in the loosely organized city-states of Early Dynastic Sumer. The units themselves grew out of the tradition of counting tokens used by the Neolithic cultural complex of the Near East. The counting tokens were used to keep accounts of personal...
, ancient mining rods used in the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n Tyrol and an Indus Valley
History of measurement systems in India
The history of measurement systems in India begins in early Indus Valley Civilization with the earliest surviving samples dated to the 5th millennium BCE. Since early times the adoption of standard weights and measures has reflected in the country's architectural, folk, and metallurgical artifacts...
measuring rod
Measuring rod
A measuring rod is a tool used to physically measure lengths and survey areas of various sizes. Most measuring rods are round or square sectioned, however they can be flat boards. Some have markings at regular intervals...
excavated from the Mohenjo-daro
Mohenjo-daro
Mohenjo-daro is an archeological site situated in what is now the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Built around 2600 BC, it was one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, and one of the world's earliest major urban settlements, existing at the same time as the...
site. He is importantly noted for being the first person to suggest the term Archaeoastronomy
Archaeoastronomy
Archaeoastronomy is the study of how people in the past "have understood the phenomena in the sky how they used phenomena in the sky and what role the sky played in their cultures." Clive Ruggles argues it is misleading to consider archaeoastronomy to be the study of ancient astronomy, as modern...
, however he modestly claimed "...the genesis and modern flowering of archaeoastronomy must surely lie in the work of Alexander Thom
Alexander Thom
Alexander "Sandy" Thom was a Scottish engineer most famous for his theory of the Megalithic yard, categorization of stone circles and his studies of Stonehenge and other archaeological sites.- Life and work :...
in Britain between the 1930s and the 1970s."