Archaeology: The Science Of The Human Past

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Anthropology:

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The study of humans, including their biology, language, culture, both past and present.

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Archaeological culture:

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an archaeological entity defined by a pattern of common traits, thought possibly represent a past culture.

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Archaeological record:

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the record of past human behavior. (the material remains of past human activities distributed in patterns across the landscape and varying degrees of condition)

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Archaeology:

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the study of the human past

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artifact:

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a portible object made, modified, or used by humans for specific task. Artifacts are the basic "unit" of archaeological analysis.

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Classical archaeology:

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the archaeology of "classic" states, such as greece and rome, in the area of the mediterranean sea and surrounding regions

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cultural chronology:

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the description and sequences of cultures through space and time

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culture:

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learned and shared behavior in humans passed from generation to generation

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features:

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a nonportable thing constructed by humans for some task, such as a hearth, road, or dam

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historical archaeology:

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the archaeology of literate societies, primarily those of the recent past; often refers to the remains of European cultures outside of Europe

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data:

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information resulting from the observation and recording of empirical and measurable phenomena

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empirical:

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objects and patterns that physically exist and can be observed measured and tested

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hypothesis:

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a proposal to explain some relationship between two or more variables (data) that must be testable and refutable

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laws:

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universal generalizations about classes of facts (gravity)

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model:

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a proposed construct of some entity, generally consisting of a series of interrelated hypotheses

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paradigm:

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a philosophical framework within which a discipline operates

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research design:

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a plan for an archaeological investication, stating the question(s) or proeblems (s) to be addressed, the theoretical approach, the biases of the investigators, the kinds of data sought to address the question, and the methods to be used to recover the data

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scientific method

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the method, employd in western science, in which data are combined to form a hypothesis, which is tested against new data, rejected, or accepted, and either a new hypothesis is formed or the old one is retested

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theory:

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a systematic explanation for observations that relate to a particular aspect of the empirical world

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antiquarians:

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people interested in archaeology prior to the development of the formal discipline, primarily hobbyists

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civilization:

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a culture with a sociopolitical organization complex enough to be considered a state; the highest stage of cultural development according to the original theory of uni-linear cultural evolution

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Diffusion:

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the movement of ideas or technologies from one culture to another without the movement of people

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Iron-age:

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one of the basic cronological periods in old world archaeology, between 3000 BC and the present a time when iron was the most important metal

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bronze age:

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5500 and 3000 years ago, when bronze was the most imporant metal

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neolithic age:

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the time of preliterate farmers in old world from about 5000 to 8000 years ago (neo means new)

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Mesolithic age:

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8000 to 10,000 years ago, when people first started farming (meso means middle)

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paleolithic age:

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hunters and gatherers from 10,000 to 4 million years ago (paleo means ancient)

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stone age:

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between 10,000 and 2.6 million years ago (divided into neolithic, mesolithic, and paleolithic)

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Typology

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the classification of materials into categories based on morphology

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Unilinear cultural evolution

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the nineteenth century theory that all cultures evolved upward through a specific series of stages, from savagery to barbarism to civilization

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analogy

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an inference suggesting that if two things are similar in some ways, they probably will be similar in other ways

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cultural materilism

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the theoretical framework based on the idea that human behavior is in response to practical problems

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ecofacts

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the unmodified remains of biological materials used by, or related to the activities of, people, such as discarded animal bone or charcoal from hearth fires or natural pollen in an archeological site

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ethnoarchaeology

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the study of how living traditional people do things and how archaeoogists might apply that information to the past

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experimental archaeology

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the use of experiments with ancient materials and techniques to discover how and why things might have been done in the past

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gender

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a culturally constructed category used to group people and defined by the role behavior that a person is expected to have in the culture, regardless of sex

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middle-range theory

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a combination of logic, analogy, and theory that link the materials within the archaeological record to human behavior

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post-processual archaeology

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the theoretical paradigm in archaeology in which the past believed to be subjective and thus unknowable

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processual archaeology

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the theoretical paradigm in archaeology in which the past is believed to be objective and knowable

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anthropogenic

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human caused changes in the environment; often used to refer to midden soils

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bioturbation

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any disturbance or movement of deposited materials by biological means

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casual tool

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objects used as a tool once or twice for a specific purpose and discarded with no purposeful modification (a boulder)

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composite tool

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a tool made from more than one part, such as a knife with a stone blade and a wooden handle

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component

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that portion of a site or site deposit representing occupation by an archaeologically specific culture over a specific time

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context

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the relationship between something and its surroundings in time and space

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geofact

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a naturally shaped stone that resembles an artifact

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inhumation

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the intentional burial of a corpse; the disposal of the dead by burial

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locus

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a distinct place defined within a site, such as a cemetry, pubic square, or ceramic manufacturing area

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manuport

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materials, such as an unusual stone or seashell from a distant source, clearly transported to a site by humans but showing no evidence of use of modification

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midden

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site soil deposits containing broken and used up artifacts plus decayed organic materials such as shell, plants, bones, grease, charcoal and ash from fires and general household trash

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ossuary

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a location where the bones of individuals were interred together , having been removed from temporary graves where the bodies had been put to decompose

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primary context

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the original location of an item before it was moved

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secondary context

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the location of an item that has been moved out of its original (primary) location

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simple tool

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a tool with only one part, such as a throwing stick

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taphonomy

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the study of what happens to biological materials after they enter archaeogical record

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transformation process

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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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use-life

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the functional life of a tool, from its manufacture, to rejuvenation, to discard

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block excavation

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a large excavation unit 2 to ten meters square or larger designed to expose a large area in a site

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curation

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the process of preparing archaeological material for permanent storage and the storage of the material

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datum

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the point from which measurements are taken for mapping

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geophysical survey

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a group of noninvasive and nondestructive technique to discover buried features in a site such as walls trenches pits burials and hearths

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in-situ

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a latin term meaning "found in place" commonly applied to items in place during an excavation

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judgment sample

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a sample in which the choice of the sample is based on judgment

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remote sensing

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a group of techniques from aerial photo from space based lazer imagine for mapping that permit the the detection of relatively large scale phenomena unobserved or unnoticed by the human eye in a non destructive manor above the ground

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screening

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the use of wire mesh to separate soils from objects so that artifacts and ecofacts can be removed

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standard excavation units

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regular excavation units 1 to 2 meters square used in the excavation of a site

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statistical sample

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a sample in which each sample unit has the same mathematical chance of being chosen as any other

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test level excavations

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small scale excavations designed to determine the content extent and integrity of a sign

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Documenting modern garbage patterns, studying shipwrecks, understanding cultures, and reconstructing the past are all involved with?

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Archaeology

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Digging up dinosaurs is not a part of ______.

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archaeology

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Ancient Rome would be studied by ______ archaeology.

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classical

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The preservation and management of archaeological resources is called?

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cultural resource managment

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What was widely adopted by archaeologists in the late 1800s, depended upon a belief in the idea of progress, is no longer in favor by contemporary archaeologists, and claimed all cultures moved through a progression of stages

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uni-linear cultural evolution

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what is the movement of traits from one place to another?

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diffusion

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Who conducted the earliest known archaeological work?

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ancient egyptians

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What archaeological method didn't predate WW II?

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radiocarbon dating

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Louis Binford called for archaeology to make full use of _______ technology.

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scientific technology

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Criticisms of processual archaeology by post-procesualists include all of the following except an archaeology of ______ is impossible.

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Criticisms of processual archaeology by post-procesualists include all of the following except an archaeology of gender is impossible.

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All cultural institutions can be explained by direct material payoff because of _____ _____.

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All cultural institutions can be explained by direct material payoff because of cultural materialism.

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The study of the processes that transform biological remains once they enter the archaeological record is called ________.

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The study of the processes that transform biological remains once they enter the archaeological record is called taphonomy.