Archaeology

Front 1

4 characteristics of science in archaeology?

Back 1

1. universe is a real thing & something we can learn about.
2. universe operates according to law.
3. laws are immutable
4. laws are discoverable.

Front 2

scientific method?

Back 2

1. find mystery that needs explaining.
2. create theory & testable hypotheses.
3. test hypotheses using ur data.
4. accept or reject hypotheses.

Front 3

human behavioral ecology?

Back 3

Theory that humans have evolved through natural selection to adjust phenotype to adapt to environment.

Front 4

prey choice model?

Back 4

Upon encountering their prey, hunters will decide to pursue it or not.

High ranked prey: Deer
Low ranked prey: Bunny

Front 5

resource depression?

Back 5

when high ranked preys are exhausted. exploited from foraging behavior.

Front 6

sustainability?

Back 6

the ability to maintain; ability of some relationship to persist for an extended period.

Front 7

relative dating?

Back 7

dating that determines the SEQUENTIAL ORDER in which events occurred

Front 8

absolute dating?

Back 8

dating that determines an APPROXIMATE AGE.

Front 9

direct dates?

Back 9

taken from the actual object of interest.

Front 10

indirect dates?

Back 10

taken from the materials associated with the object of interest.

Front 11

target event?

Back 11

the event you want to date.

Front 12

dated event?

Back 12

the event you are actually dating.

Front 13

Different kinds of absolute dating are?

Back 13

1. Dendrochronology
2. Radiocarbon dating
3. Luminescence
4. Potassium-Argon

Front 14

Dendrochronology?

Back 14

dating based on annual growth rings in trees.

during a drought, rings are close together, when more moisture grows farther apart.

Front 15

Radiocarbon dating?

Back 15

uses radioactive decay of 14C to estimate the time since the death of the organism.

(When living things die, they stop taking in Carbon)

Front 16

Luminescence?

Back 16

Something that emits (sends) light.

-There is a stimulus that causes energy to build up, stored and another stimulus that releases that energy.

-mineral crystals have chemical imperfections, which trap mobile electrons. Heating those crystals empty the stored energy setting it to zero. Energy accumulates and you measure the energy in the mineral + radiation estimates TIME SINCE EXPOSURE TO LIGHT OR HEAT.

Front 17

Potassium-Argon?

Back 17

Measure the amount of 40Ar in volcanic rock, that will give you estimate of date of rock formation.

Front 18

Geoarchaeology?

Back 18

study that applies concept of geosciences (Earth) to archaeological research.

Front 19

deposit?

Back 19

3 dimensional units made from sediments.

Front 20

sediment?

Back 20

something that has been transported by some process from one location to another (dirt + artifacts)

Front 21

soil?

Back 21

sediment that has undergone chemical/mechanical alterations.

Front 22

Eolian sediment?

Back 22

sediments carried by WIND.

-can carry clay and fine silt.

Front 23

Alluvial sediment?

Back 23

sediments carried by WATER.

-can carry sand to small cobbles. beach sediment.

Front 24

Colluvial sediment?

Back 24

sediments transported on a HILL through GRAVITY.

-can carry large cobbles along with smaller sized sediments

Front 25

Glacial sediment?

Back 25

sediment carried by GLACIER.

-carries mix of different sizes of cobble. Variation in size and shape of sediments.

Front 26

Tsunami sediment?

Back 26

SAND that gets finer toward land, deep-water marine fossils.

Front 27

Roof fall (eboulis)?

Back 27

rock that falls from the ceiling of a cave due to FROST ACTION.

Front 28

Marker bed?

Back 28

geological layer whose age has been confirmed, by geologists and others. & whose presence can be used to date archaeological sediments.

Front 29

Different natural processes that alter, disturb or preserve?

Back 29

1.Floralturbation
2.Faunalturbation
3.Krotovina
4.Cryoturbation
5.Graviturbation

Front 30

Floralturbation?

Back 30

plants affect the distribution of artifacts at archaeological sites. (when a tree falls, trunk breaks and pulls artifacts from lower level to higher)

Front 31

Faunalturbation?

Back 31

animals affect the distribution of archaeological materials.

Front 32

Krotovina?

Back 32

a rodent hole.

Front 33

Cryoturbation?

Back 33

freeze/thaw activity in a soil, pushes artifacts to the surface.

Front 34

Graviturbation?

Back 34

artifacts are moved downslope through gravity.

Front 35

bioarchaeology?

Back 35

the study of the human biological component evident in the archaeological record.

Front 36

Paleopathology?

Back 36

the study of ancient patterns of disease and disorders.

Front 37

Harris lines? (in bones)

Back 37

pauses in growth due to DISEASE, TRAUMA & MALNUTRITION.

Front 38

Cribra Orbitalia?

Back 38

Iron deficiency of the eye socket. cause the spongy appearance in eye.

Front 39

Porotic Hyperostosis?

Back 39

Iron deficiency in skull. Causes bone tissue to appear spongy and soft.

Front 40

Dental caries?

Back 40

bacteria that feed on carbs & produce acid that dissolve tooth enamel. (cavity)

Front 41

Evidence 4 Cannibalism?

Back 41

1. remains not treated respectfully.
2. separation of bones at their joints.
3. no signs of carnivore scavenging
4. light color of bones & smooth surface suggests stewed or boiled
5. more men eaten than women

Front 42

complex hunter-gatherer?

Back 42

inequality in social/political groups.

-ties between different groups that involve exchange (economic relationship)

Front 43

How do you look for social?
Potlach?

Back 43

look for storage and surplus of material goods, evidence of potlach.

-designed to establish or maintain social status.

Front 44

human burials
1. achieved status?

Back 44

worked for their profits (donald trump)

Front 45

human burials
2. ascribed status?

Back 45

born with their profits (royal family)

Front 46

Hypotheses:
Why and how does social complexity arise?

Back 46

1. resource rich environment = high population = unequal territories = unequal access to resources.
2. "Big Men" theory: certain individuals just take leadership roles.

Front 47

cognitive archaeology?

Back 47

the study of the way ancient societies thought and symbolic structures perceived in past material culture.

Front 48

symbol?

Back 48

an object or act, by cultural convention, stands for something else, with no specific connection.

Front 49

ritual?

Back 49

a succession of discrete behaviors that must be performed in a particular order under particular circumstances.

Front 50

religion?

Back 50

a specific set of beliefs about ones relation to the supernatural.

Front 51

Cosmology?

Back 51

study of origin, large scale structure, and future of the universe.

Front 52

Iconography?

Back 52

art forms/writing systems that symbolically represent ideas about religion or cosmology