Archaeology Test #1

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branches of archaeology

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biblical
egyptian
medieval
classic
maritime
public

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archaeological record

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the material remains of past human activities and behaviors

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artifacts

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portable tools, ornaments, or other objects manufactured or used by people to accomplish a specific task

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ecofacts

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unmodified (nonartifactual) remains of biological materials use by, or relating to, people

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features

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non-portable objects used or constructed by people

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cultural deposition

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as people occupy an area, evidence of their presence begins to accumulate

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strata

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cultural (contains artifacts, ecofacts, and/or features) or geological (sterile) layers

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stratification

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layering of sediments that results from various depositional processes, both cultural and natural

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BCE/CE

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BCE = before common era
CE = the common era
basically the same as AD/BC

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BP

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before present
present = 1950

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the normative view

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archaeologists assume that behavior, both past and present, is patterned and non-random. cultures have a set of rules or expectations (or norms) that govern a behavior in a particular society. these behaviors will generate a material record that can be recovered and used to interpret past life ways

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the 5 stages of classification according to the greek poet Hesoid

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age of gold and the immortals, age of silver, age of bronze, age of epic heroes, age of iron

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uniformitarianism

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natural (geologic) processes operating in the past are the same as those that can be observed operating in the present

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danish scholar christian j. thomsen

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proposed a 3 stage system... stone, bronze, iron

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basic chronological periods of the old world

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iron age
bronze age
stone age... neolithic, mesolithic, paleolithic (upper, middle, lower)

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jean francois cahmpollion

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deciphered the Rosetta Stone which included greek and egyptian scripts

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archaeology began to emerge a true discipline in the _____. prior to this period, work had been conducted by ______.

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late 1800s

antiquarians

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(unilinear) cultural evolution

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belief that culture develops (or evolves) in a uniform and progressive manner. societies passed through the same stages to arrive at a common end

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savagery

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technology consisted of stone tools and wilf foods (hunter/gatherer)

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barbarism

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beginning of agricultural and metallurgy (pastoralist)

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civilization

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identified by the invention of writing (agriculturalist)

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unilinear cultrual evolution stages

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savagery
barbarism
civilization

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diffusion

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geographic movement of traits from one place to another... requires contact

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gustav kossinna

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manipulated archaeological evidence to suggest that every important invention/idea had originated in germany... suggested that german people had a historic right to land they once occupied

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material culture

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objects and materials made or altered by human activity

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when does something become part of the archaeological record

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as soon as it is lost, discarded, abandoned, or cached (stored) by people

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locus (loci)

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distinct activity areas within a site

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locus zones

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habitation
burial
work

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new world

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paleo-indian
archaic
woodland
late prehistoric
historic

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deposits

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accumulations of cultural and non-cultural material

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pedology

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the scientific study and classification of soils

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pedogenic processes

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soil forming processes, dependent on the type of parent material and environmental conditions

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anthropogenic soils

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soils formed as a result of human activity

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middens

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site deposits that consist of a decomposed (decomposing) garbage heap

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stratigraphy

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the study and validation of stratification; the analysis in vertical, time dimension, of a series of layers in the horizontal, space dimension

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stratification

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layering of sediments that result from various depositional processes, both cultrual and natural

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strata

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cultrual or geological layers

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law of superposition

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the strata that were laid down first are the oldest, as long as the strata are not disturbed

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context

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the location of recovered artifacts/features

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context levels

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immediate matrix (the material surrounding it), provenience (horizontal and vertical position within the matrix), association with other artifacts/features

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primary context

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refers to materials found in their original position

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secondary context

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refers to materials which have been displaced and redeposited by distrubance factors

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geofact

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natural stone that may resemble an artifact

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casual tool (expedient tool)

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something used once, was handy, may show little to no use-wear to identify it as an artifact

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simple tool

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artifact that consists of a single peice

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composite tool

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a tool formed of two or more joined parts

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debitage

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waste by-products (debris) from tool manufature

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manuport

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an unmodified, natural rock, brought into a site by human agency, that shows no sign of alteration

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fire cracked rock

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not an artifact per se, but was modified by human activity

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palynology

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the study of pollen

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inhuman remains

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the disposal of the dead bosy by burial

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ossuary

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storehouse for human skeletal remains

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cremation

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burning the dead... usually have some bone fragments left

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transformation processes

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the various processes by which the archaeological record is transformed over time, such as decomposition and bioturbation

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geologic conditions

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aggradation
degradation
stability

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aggradation

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when sediments are accumulating

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degradation

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when previously deposited sediments and previosuly formed soils are removed by erosion

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stability

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when erosion and deposition are negligible and during which soil formation may occur

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hydrology

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the study of water--particularly its geographic distribution and effect

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taphonomy

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the study of decaying organisms over time. in archaeology, it is the study of what happens to biological materials after they enter the archaeological record. helps us to understand the condition and distribution of recovered materials

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pedoturbation

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mixing of soils and sediments

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bioturbation

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the disturbance or movement of deposited materials by organisms

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faunalturbation

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the disturbance of movement of deposited materials by animals

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krotovina

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filled in animal burrows

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floralturbation

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the disturbance or movement of deposited materials by plants

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cryturbation

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disturbance due to freeze-thaw action in the soil. found in environments where the ground freezes seasonally to varying depths

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graviturbation

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the down-slope movement and mixing of sediments primarily due to gravity without aid of flowing medium such as air, water, or ice

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argilliturbation

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disturbance caused by seasonal shrinking and swelling of clayey coils in response to seasonal changes in soil moisture

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aeroturbation

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disturbance created by the action of air

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human agency

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the most dynamic force in the alteration of the archaeological record

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biological activity

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organisms eating organic material

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inorganic activity

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exposure to the elements

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GIS

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analyze artifact density and site layout

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GPS

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accurately map and plot sites

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archaeology

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the study of the human past through material remains

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culture

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the total ways of life of any society, not simply those parts which society regards as higher or more desireable

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4 sub-cultures of anthropology

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physical anthropology
cultural anthropology/ethnology
linguistics
archaeology