Anth 201 Terms

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archaeology

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a subdiscipline of anthropology, looking at past human behaviors through material remains

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attribute

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a minimal characteristic of an artifact

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assemblage

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a group of artifacts recurring together at a particular time and place

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artifact

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a portable object used, made or modified by humans

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conjunctive approach

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a methodological alternative to traditional archaeology. presented by Walter Taylor, in which the full range of a cultural system was taken into consideration in explanatory models

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context

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the matrix, provenience and association of an artifact

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cultural ecology

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A term devised by Julian Steward to account for the dynamic relationship between human society and its environment. where culture is an adaptive mechanism

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culture-historical approach

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archaeological interpretation which used the procedure of the traditional historian

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aerial reconnaissance

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an important survey technique in the discovery of archaeological sites

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deduction

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a process of reasoning by which more specific consequences are inferred by rigorous argument

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induction

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a method of reasoning in which one proceeds by generalization from a series of specific observations to draw general conclusions

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frequency seriation

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a relative dating method which relies principally on measuring changes in the proportional abundance observed among finds

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relative dating

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the determination of chronological sequence without a reference to a concrete time scale.

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ecofact

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non artifactual organic and environmental remains which have cultural relevance

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feature

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a non portable artifact

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processual archaeology

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an approach that stresses the dynamic relationship between social and economic aspects of culture and the environment as a basis for understanding the process of culture change. uses the scientific method

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New Archaeology

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a new approach advocated for in the 1960s which argues for an explicitly scientific framework

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Post processual archaeology

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explanations formulated in reaction to the perceived limitations of processual archaeology. it is not general and focuses on the details.

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archaeozoology

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identification and analysis of faunal sites as an aid to the reconstruction of human diets and contemporanities of the environment

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types

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a class of artifacts defined by a consistent clustering of attributes

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experimental archaeology

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the study of past behavioral processes through experimental reconstruction

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excavation

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the principal method of data acquisition involving the systematic uncovering of archaeological remains

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geomorphology

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a sub discipline of geography concerned with the study of the form and development of the landscape

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NISP

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a gross counting technique used in the quantification of animal bones.

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number of identified specimens

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MNI

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a method of assessing the faunal assemblages based on the smallest number of animals necessary to account for all the identified bones

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minimum number of individuals

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taphonomy

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the study of processes which have affected organic materials such as bone after death

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floatation

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a method of screening(sieving) excavated matrix in water so as to separate and recover small ecofacts and artifacts

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absolute dating

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the determination of age with reference to a specific time scale

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environmental archaeology

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a field of interdisciplinary research: archaeology and natural sciences. directed at reconstruction of human use of plants and animals and how past societies adapted to changing environmental conditions

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GIS

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software based systems designed for the collection,organization, analysis, display and storage of spatial digital data held in different layers.

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pollen/ phytoliths/ macrofossils

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ways to reconstruct vegetational history of a region

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paleoclimate

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study of the past climate

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seasonality

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events in animal life which can only happen during a specific season

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cross dating

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establishing a time line using references to historical events with known dates