Archaeology Ch 1-8

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Archaeology

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study of our human past, combining the themes of time and change, using the material remains that have survived

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anthropological archaeology

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archaeology investigations that seek to answer larger fundamental questions about humans and human behaviour taught in departments of anthropology

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prehistory

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the time in the past before written history

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historical archaeology

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refers to the archaeology of civilizations of the recent industrial era, since 1700 on

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classical archaeology

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branch of arch primarily concerned with the Mediterranean civilizations of Greece and Rome

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CRM

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cultural research management

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scientific method

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method of testing a hypothesis to get results

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lost wax casting

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a technique for creating detailed metal casting using wax as the mold, the molten metal replaces the wax and replicates the mold - Moche

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annealing

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a process of repeated heating and cooling to make metal tougher and less brittle, Moche

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bronze

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a mixture of tin (or arsenic) and copper that produced a harder metal, produced in both old and new world (Moche)

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invention

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the creation or development of new ideas or techniques for solving problems

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diffusion

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the spread of new ideas or materials from one group to another

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migration

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the movement of people into a new area - bring technology with them!

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scale

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different levels of discovery, analysis, and interpretation in archaeology

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scale

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the size of a map relative to the area it portrays

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context

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place and association among the archaeological materials and the situation in which they occur

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in situ

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the original position of an object in its place of discard or deposition - primary context

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primary context

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the original position of an object in its place of discard or deposition

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secondary context

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once an object has been moved from its original position

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provenience

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the place of discovery or origin, where an item is from

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assemblage

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a related set of different things at each site

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component

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an assemblage from a single layer, living floor, or occupation horizon; a set of materials in contemporary use by the same group of people, subset of assemblage

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living floor

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actual places where people lived and carried out their activities

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rockshelter

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a shallow cave or overhang, defined by having a width greater than its depth

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petroglyph

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rock art made by removing the outer surface of a rock by carving or hammering

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geoglyph

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rock art made by moving large rocks to form patterns

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mound

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a built pile or heap of earth or stones, resembling a very small hill, usually a burial monument; Hopewell Tradition, Mississippian Complex and Monk's Mound

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stela

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a stone monument, carved and/or painted with designs and/or inscriptions, common in the Maya region

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site formation

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the processes involved in the creation of archaeological sites

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taphonomy

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study of what happens to a plant or animal between its death and the time it is found as a fossil or archaeological remain

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shell middon

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a specialized kind of extractive site, a mound made up of large dumps of shell from mussels, oysters or other species

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effigy mound

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mounds in the shape of animals, people or spirits

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industry

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one object or artifact type that appears in a number of assemblages

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fieldwork

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an important part of arch research involves survey for and excavation of arch materials, normally outdoors

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survey

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search; a systematic reconnaissance of the landscape for artifacts and sites on the ground through aerial photos, field walking, soil analysis, or geophysical prospecting

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excavation

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the exposure, recording, and recovery of buried materials from the past

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reconnaissance

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the search for artifacts and sites by survey or field walking

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seasonal round

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movement of people from place to place to exploit specific foods that were available at different times and locations during the year

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sample

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small part of the shole, to take a part of a deposit, site, feature or artifact for analysis

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field notes

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the records of a field projeect of survey or excavation, important for research projects

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section

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the walls of trenches and squares in excavations that show a cross section or profile of the deposits and reveals the sequence and methods of formation

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flotation

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an arch tech for recovering charred plant remains using water and density differences between heavy and light materials in sediments - dry sediments stirred into water, lighter plant remains come to the top

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datum

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a point with known locational coordinates and elevation, a fixed point for surveying the rest of the site

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grid

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planning frame, normally a 1m2 frame of wood or aluminum fitted with a string at intervals, used for drawing detailed plans of vertical sections or horizontal floors in excavation

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total station

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a modern surveying instrument using infrared laser and computer to calculate distance and 3-D angles to determine precise locations of targets in terms of grid coordinates and elevation

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GIS

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geographic information systems: comp program for storage, display and analysis of demographic and spatial data, involves overlaying maps of an area in combo with locational info and spatial analytical capabilities

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GPS

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locational and navigational system for determining precise 3D coordinates of any place on earth's surface

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soil sampling

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determines organic information and presence of objects in soil through coring or test pitting, look for phosphate or coal to indicate human habitation

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remote sensing

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above ground tech using aircraft or satellite photos, radar, and other stuff to locate features on or near surface, below ground tech by resistivity, magnetic props, or chem

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visibility

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how easily seen an arch site is to a naked eye without excavation

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conservation

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preservation and restoration of archaeological materials in the laboratory and museum

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restoration

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altering the material and/or structure of an artifact or structure to return it to a more original condition

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classification

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the process of putting objects into groups on the basis of shared characteristics

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grouping

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The process of sorting things into piles or groups of similar items without predetermined categories

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typology

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a formal system of classification for assigning time and space meaning to archaeological materials

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guide

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a listing of different types or species that are present and the distinguishing characteristics of each

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additive techniques

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ways of making things like ceramics or building a house that involves incremental steps and the addition of material to the object or structure – a bigger object is made from smaller pieces

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subtractive techniques

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ways of making things like stone tools or wood carvings that involves the continuous removal of material from a larger original piece

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style

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a distinctive way of being or doing

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seriation

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an archaeological method for ordering based on popularity of styles, forming a series based on style variation that tends to show battleship curve, ex: gravesites, pottery

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data

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information; the observations and measurements of archaeological materials

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range

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a measurement of the spread of values using the minimum and maximum

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mean

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the average for the ratio scale data calculated by dividing the sum by the number of observations

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normal curve

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the standard, or normal, shape of measured values plotted in a frequency diagram – bell shaped

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histogram

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a graph of the number of measurements in interval form

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dendrochronology

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the study of the annual growth rings of trees as a dating technique - good till 9,000 years old (Amer Southwest - anasazi, viking ship), need trees grown in same area with same climate, not good in tropics or above treeline

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chronology

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a framework of time to show the order of events, a dated sequence of events in the past

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relative dating

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method of dating that determines whether an object or layer is older or younger than another

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absolute dating

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method of dating that can provide an age in calender years

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pipe stems

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clay pipe style changed over time - got longer with smaller hole, ex of seriation

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varves

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annual layers of deposits in cold-water lakes, can show C14 to C12 ratio from atmos to use in calibration of radiocarbon dating

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obsidian hydration

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a dating technique (absolute) which relies on the accumulation of a hydration (weathering) layer (patina) on the fresh surface of obsidian objects - can't determine how long it has been exposed to water, up to 800,000 years old

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TL dating

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thermoluminescence: tech for absolute dating: based on principle that rate of accumulation of thermoluminescence after heating, used with burned flint and clay for samples up to 500,000 years old, earliest pottery is 12,000 years old

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Potassium Argon dating

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dating tech for old samples based on half-life (1.3 billion years) for decay of potassium into argon in molten rock that has solidified (no argon in molten rock, only argon in hardened rock would be from decay), good 5,000 to 3 billion years

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radiocarbon

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C14 -> N14, half life: 5730, used only on organics up to 50,000 years, compare C14 ratio to C12 to ratio in atmosphere - must calibrate

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half life

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conventional rate for radioactive decay based on the time period for the decay of half the unstable isotope in a known quantity of material

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calibration

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correction of raeiocarbon dating for difference between C12 to C14 ratios in the atmosphere over time, by looking at tree rings, varves, stalactites

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analysis

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the study and search for pattern in the body of information that results from excavation and classification.

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Antiquarianism

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treasure hunting period in arch (find the "Lost", mysterious spectacular), 18th century through early 20th cen

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Howard Carter

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King Tut's Tomb, financed by rich Lord Carnarvon, made a name by discovery,

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Hiram Bringham

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Machu Picchu - Antiquarianism

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Heinrich Schlieman

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Troy - Antiquarianism

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Cultural History

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Early 20th cen onward, create an understanding of events in time in prehistory, focus on ordering, classifying, understanding space and time, esp in N. Amer (James A. Ford), V. Gordon Child in Middle Eastern Prehistory

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V. Gordon Child

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middle eastern prehistory - Cultural historian

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James A. Ford

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North American prehistory - Cultural historian

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Change is often interpreted as:

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Invention, Diffusion or Migration in culture history

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Processual Archaeology

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1960s onward, focus on scientific method, evaluative learning and explanation gained by hypo deducto and inductive reasoning, Lewis Binford with N. Amer Prehistory

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Lewis Binford

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Processual Arch, North American Prehistory

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Post-Processual Archaeology

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1980s onward, focus on humanity and science, tends to emphasize themes, individuals, interpretive frameworks, not everything due to one factor, Ian Hodder, European Prehistory

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Ian Hodder

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European Prehistory - Post-Processual

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Artifact

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people made objects such as pottery that can be portable

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Ecofact

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natural thing left behind that has human interaction alterations - ie. firepit, seeds

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features

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things that cannot be moved, evidence of human activity - Ie. hole that has been filled, house foundations

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culture

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shared technology, economy, environment, ideology, guiding principles of how things should be, how people ought to behave

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Archeologists want to know:

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culture in context: environment, demography, technology, economy, organization, ideology

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Questions in Environment

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how have cultures adapted to environ, what are the detriments of an environment

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Demography

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study of populations in the past, important because population density and economy are thought to be linked (hunter-gatherers, horticulturalists, farmers, intensive farming) Population pressure, sustainability, food availability for a population

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Technology

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means by which humankind extracts what it needs from the environment

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Economy

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how people obtain, exchange food, material and goods, differentiated advantage, ex: Inca verticality - location determines economy

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Organization

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how societies are organized, based on kinship, lineage, ranks within society, class society

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Ideology

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what people believe, how they approach releigion, iconography, symbols

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Garbology

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A.J. Weberman-> Bob Dylan, James Deetz -> miners, Charles Fairbanks -> slavery, William Rathje -> landfill project

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Archaeological Site

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any area of human activity, ex: garbage heap, anything dug, evidence of consturction

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Posts

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mark foundatiosn of shelter, rot in pace to create organic stains in inorganic soils

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Human burial of sites

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build on top of site, fill dangerous holes

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Natural Burial of Sites

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erosion and deposition by floodplains, lacustrine deposits along lake edges, colluvium (soils and gravels slide downhill), aeolian (sand carried by wind), volcanic eruptions

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Sampling strategy - systematic

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can miss sites if systematic, so make sampling random to be able to account for chance

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Sampling strategy - transects

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less likely to miss sights when not going in straight lines to look for sites

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Sampling - Auger

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core sampling for soil, if you find charcoal, then test pit

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Test Pit

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at most 3 ft deep, mostly not in greek or roman arch

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terminus post quem

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a date that the layer must be older than

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law of superposition

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in a natural sequence of deposition, the oldest layer is the deepest one, and the newest layer is on top

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terminus ante quem

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a date that a deposit must be earlier than ex: layer of ash representing the London fire

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Historical records

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absolute dating tech, last 5,000 years, very accurate

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Mayan Dating
_
.

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_ = 5
. = 1

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Technomic function

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practical function of artifact, pragmatic - ie. knife for cutting

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Socio-technic function

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social context function of artifact, conveys social meaning - ie: tie or corsage

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Ideo-technic

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ideological context and function - ie. symbols such as crescent moon

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artifact function determination

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role of form, role of design, social and ideological context

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form follows function

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implies that artifacts are made for a set use and guides design of artifact

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!Kung San projectile points

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Polly Wiessner: most important style features are shape of barbs, body and size of points
-hunters can ID their own arrows
-assertive style: individual identity
- emblematic style: group identity

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Better representation of points, material or size?

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size first: represents type of game being hunted,
material based on what is available at the time

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Why do you want to catagorize artifacts?

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-understand human behaviour
-based on raw material, tech (additive/subtractive), function and style

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use wear

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traces of how an artifact was used: striations, polish; insight on function of object

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residue

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chemical analysis of proteins on artifacts: blood for what was hunted, or what what organics were stored in pottery