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8 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What are Middens?
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the accumulation of debris and domestic waste products resulting from human use. The long-term disposal of refuse can result in stratified deposits, which are useful for relative dating.
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What is archaeology?
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The scientific study of the physical evidence of past human societies recovered through the excavation. Archaeology not only attempts to discover and describe past cultures, but also to formulate explanations for the development of cultures.
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What is an archaeological record?
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The physical remains produced by past human activities, which are recovered, studied, and interpreted by archaeologists to construct knowledge of the past.
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Prehistory?
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the millennia of ancient human history preceding written records.
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What is a C-14 dating (radio carbon dating)?
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an absolute dating method based on the radioactive decay of Carbon-14 contained in organic materials.
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K-Ar dating?
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a chronometric dating technique based on the rate of decay of potassium 40 to argon 40. Used to date rocks up to thousands of millions of years old though it is restricted to volcanic material no more recent than c 100 000 years old. One of the most widely used methods in the dating of early hominid sites in Africa.
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what is Dendochronology?
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the study of tree-ring patterns; annual variations in climatic conditions which produce differential growth can be used both as a measure of environmental change, and as the basis for a chronology.
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Obsidian hydration?
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this technique involves the absorption of water on exposed surfaces of obsidian; when the local hydration rate is known, the thickness of the hydration layer, if accurately measured, can be used to provide an absolute date.
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