Archaeology 1

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1. Proton magnetometry, ground penetrating radar (GPR), electrical resisting, and microgravimetric survey are all varities of:
a) dating methods
b) trace element analysis
c) remote sensing
d) all of the above

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c) remote sensing

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20. What major habitat change accompanies the end of the Miocene: a) contraction of the forests b) glacial advance into the world's temperate regions c) the appearance of land bridges connecting Australia to Asia nad Asia to North America d) increase in the wrold's major deserts

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a) contraction of the forests

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Paleoanthropology and archaeology are subfields w/in the broader discipline of:
a) history
b) biology
c) anthropology
d) ethnology

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c) anthropology

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3. Anthropology is the study of:
a) people
b) primitive people
c) ancient people
d) pre-biblical times

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a) people

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6. The study of the living apes and monkeys is called:
a) primatology b) simianology c) pongidology d) monkeyology

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a) primatology

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The subfield w/in the discipline of anthropology that focuses on living groups of human beings is called:
a) primatology b) ethology c) ethnography d) bioanthropology

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c) ethnography

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Ethnographers study:
a) primitive people b) living groups of human beings c) extinct people d) tribal societies

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b) living groups of human beings

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7. Paleoanthropologists have as their focus:
a) artifacts b) the biological history of the human species c) the material remains of human behavior d) tribal societies

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b) the biological history of the human species

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8. Archaeologists have as their focus:
a) artifacts b) the biological history of the human species c) the material remains of human behavior d) tribal societies

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c) the material remains of human behavior

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9. An adaptation is:
a) a “strategy” for survival b) a change in behavior c) an invented pattern d) an improvement or refinement in some biological characteristic

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a) a “strategy” for survival

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10. Culture is viewed as: a) outside of the realm of evolutionary theory b/c it is not biological b) behavior shared by all animal species c) behavior restricted only to humanity d) non-biological adaptations

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d) non-biological adaptations

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11. The story of the biological and cultural evolution is written not in words but in things like: a) skeletons b) stone tools c) remnants of pyramids d) all of the above

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d) all of the above

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12. A proposed explanation for a phenomenon is called a: a) hypothesis b) theory c) paradigm d) all of the above

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a) hypothesis

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13. a dominant scientific perspective or intellectual framework is called a: a) focus b) paradigm c) hypothesis d) taxonomy

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b) paradigm

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14. Stone chopping tools, arrowheads, bits of pottery, and bronze daggers are all examples of: a) ecofacts b) features c) specimens d) artifacts

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d) artifacts

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15. the bones of a butchered mastodon, charred nuts found in an ancient fireplace, and sunflower seeds recovered from a prehistoric trash dump are all examples of: a) ecofacts b) features c) specimens d) artifacts

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a) ecofacts

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16. A place where the material remains of human activity are found is called a: a) fossil locality b) master sequence c) site d) ecofact

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c) site

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17. archaeological material that was disposed of in the place it was mae or used is called: a) debitage b) primary refuse c) absolute refuse d) secondary refuse

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b) primary refuse

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18. The key paleoanthropological discovery made at the site of Laetoli, in Tanzania, was of: a) the fossil skeelton of “Lucy” dating to app. 3 million years ago b) the oldest anatomically modern human fossil dating to app. 100,000 years ago c) the oldest tools made by our hominid ancestors dating to about 2.5 million years ago d) a 23-meter-long trackway of human-like footprints dating to more than 3.5 millions years ago

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d) a 23-meter-long trackway of human-like footprints dating to more than 3.5 millions years ago

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19. the Miocene Epch was marked by the predominance of what kind of habitat: a) forest b) desert c) arctic tundra d) savanna

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a) forest

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21. savannas are characterized by: a) dwarf tree species b) grasses c) a lack of plant life d) apes

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b) grass

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22. most trees follow which photosynthetic pathway: a) c4 b) c3 c) c8 d) c14

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b) c3

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23. Most grasses follow which photosynthetic pathway: a) c4 b) c3 c) c8 d) c14

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a) c4

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24. Human beings evolved from: a) an ape species that outcompeted the other apes living in the diminishing Miocene forests b) an ape species that could not compete in the diminishing Miocene forests and was pushed out onto the savanna c) monkeys and not apes at all d) a separate group of Prosimians

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a) an ape species that outcompeted the other apes living in the diminishing Miocene forests

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25. Sahelanthropus is thought to have been bipedal based on the positioning of its: a) pelvis b) thoracic vertebrae c) foramen magnum d) metatarsals

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c) foramen magnum

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26. Orrorin is thought to have been bipedal based on the morphology of its: a) femurs b) tibiae c) sacrum d) all of the above

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a) femurs

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adaptation

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mode or strategy for survival. an adaptation can be a physical characteristic; the thick fur of a polar bear is a physical adaptation for life in the Arctic. An adaptation can also be a cultural behavior; the material culture of the Inuit people including harpoons, igloos, parkas, and dog sleds are their invented, cultural adaptations to life under the same environmental conditions

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anthropological linguistics

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subfield of anthropology that focuses on language

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anthropology

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the study of humanity. a broad social science with varied focus on human biological and cultural adaptations, human origins, and biological and cultural evolution as well as modern cultures

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archaeology

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the study of humanity through the analysis of the material remains of human behavior. the study of the things that people made and used and that have fortuitously preserved. archaeologists often focus on human cultural evolution.

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artifact

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any object manufactured by a human being or human ancestor. usually defined further as a portable object like a stone spearpoint or clay pot to distinguish it from larger more complex archaeological features

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catastrophism

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the perspective that the current appearance of the earth can be best explained as having resulted from a series of natural catastrophes--for example, floods and volcanoes. Catastrophism was quite popular prior to the nineteenth century and lent support to the claim of a recent age for the earth

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culture

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the invented, taught, and learned patterns of behavior of human groups. the extrasomatic (beyond the body or beyond the biological) means of adaptation of a human group

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erosion

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the disintegration and transportation of geological arterial by wind, water, or ice.

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ethnographer

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cultural anthropologist who lives among a group of people or a cultural group. Interacts with them on a daily basis, often for an extended period of time, observing their behavior.

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ethnology

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the comparative study of culture. Ethnologists study human behavior cross-culturally, looking for similarties and differences in how people behave: how they raise their children, how they treat elders, how they organize their labor, etc.

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evolution

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systematic change through time of biological organisms or human cultural systems.

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multilineal evolution

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the view that there are many pathways of change a culture may take over the time span of its existence. Multilineal evolutionary schemes recognize that cultures experience ordered change, but that there is no single pathway that all cultures take

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natural selection

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the process proposed by Charles Darwin for how species evolve. Those individuals in a species that possess advantageous characteristics are more likely to survive and pass down those characteristics than are individuals that do not possess those advantages.

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paleoanthropology

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anthropological study of the evolution of our speices. Paleoanthropologists study the skeletal remains and cultures of ancient hominids.

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stratigraphy

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related to the geological or cultural layer in which something has been found. Stratigraphic layering representes a relative sequence of geological time and/or cultural chronology.

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three-age system

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chronological breakdown of the history of human culture into a stone, bronze, and iron age. Developed in 1836 by J.C. Thomsen as aprt of a guidebook for the archaeological collections at the Danish National Museum, this evolutionary system achieved great popularity.

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unilineal evolution

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the no longer accepted view that all cultures change or evolve along the same pathway, usually one of increasing complexity. In some unilineal evolutionary views, cultures can become “stuck” at a particular evolutionary step when some particular, necessary technological development is lacking. 19th century scholar Lewis Henry Morgan's sequence of savagry, barbarism, and civilization is an example.

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absolute dating

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any date where a year or range of years can be applied to a site or artifact. As opposed to relative date where only a chronological order can be established.

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activity area

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a place where an activity or group of activites were carried out in the past. The activity area is transformed into an archaeological feature by the loss or discard of material items used in the activity—stone toolmaking, cooking, butchering, burial—that was carried out there.

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archaemagnetic dating

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orientation of the earth's magnetic field can become fixed in relatively recent cultural deposits like the sediments in a canal or the clay in bricks lining a kiln. The date of a site can be determined where that orientation points to a location of magnetic north already fixed in space and time along a master curve.

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artifact artificial selection

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the process used in the domestication and refinement of plants and animals whereby human being select which memebers of a species will live nad produce offspring. Humans make such decisions on the basis of their needs or desires concerning the form or behavior of the species: plants that produce larger seeds; animals that produce woollier coats; animals that produce more milk.

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C3 pathway

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the photosynthetic process employed by most trees. In the C3 pathway, a radioactive isotope of carbon, 13C is differentially filtered out.

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C4 pathway

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the photosynthetic process employed by most grasses and sedges. In the C4 pathway, a radioactive isotope of carbon, 13C, is more readily sued than in plants that follow the C3 pathway.

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cache

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a stash of stuff placed away for safe keeping by ancient people. When the arcaheologist is lucky, a cache was not returned to in the past and whatever was stored tehrein was not retrieved. A cache becomes the equivalent of an unitnetnial time capsule, providing a cluster of artifacts representing a single time period.

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carbon dating

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radiometric dating techniques based on the decay of a radioactive isotope of carbon: 14C or radiocarbon. Carbon dating can be applied to virtually anything that was once part of a living organism within a range form about 50,000 to 500 years ago. Also called radiocarbon dating.

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coprolites

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fossilized feces, useful in the reconstruction of an ancient animal's diet

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Deciduous dentition

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Baby teeth. The teeth that are shed like the leaves of deciduous trees.

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dendrochronology

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tree-ring dating. By palcing a tree section found at an archaeological site within a master sequenceo f tree-ring widths through time, the ageo f the tree (which it died or was cut down) can be determined and associate with the site at which it was found.

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ecofact

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element found in archaeological contexts that exhibit human activity, but were not made by people and so are not, strictly speaking, artifacts. Burned wood in a fireplace, butchered animal bones in a trash pit, and charred seeds or nuts in a midden are all ecofacts.

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epiphyseal fusion

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the epiphyses of each long bone join to the diaphyses during the process of phsycial maturation. The age of death of a juvenile individual can be assessed by reference to the degree of epiphyseal fusion exhibited.

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experimental archaeological (replication?)

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the reproduction, under laboratory conditions, of facsimiles of archaeological artifacts. Process employed to analyze ancient technology.

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faunal assemblage

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the animal bones found at a site and the speicies represented by those bones

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feature

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combination of artifacts and/or ecofacts at a site, reflecting a location where some human activity took place. Features include fireplaces, middens, burials, cooking hearths, activity areas, and buildings. Features are also defined as nonportable, complex artifacts.

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foraminifera

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microorganisms used in the study of ancient environments. By measuring the ratio of 16O:18O in foraminifera fossils, the amount of the earth's surface covered in ice at any given point of time can be indirectly determined.

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hypothesis

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a proposed expalnation for some phenomenon. A hypothesis may be derived initially from empirical observation of the phenomenon; the process called induction. Hypothesis must be tested; predictions are deduced of what new data must be found if the hypothesis is to be supported.When data are found that contradict these predicitons, the hypothesis is rejected or modified.

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isotope

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variety of an element's atomic form. Isotopes are distinguished by the numer of neutrons in their atomic nuclei. Some isotopes are unstable and decay into other forms. These are said to be radioactive. Some radioactive isotopes can be used in dating paleontological or archaeological material.

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K/Ar dating

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potassium/ argon dating. The half-life of radioactive potassium has been measured to be 1.3 billion years. Since potassium is an abundant element in the earth's crust and since argon collects in rock at a fixed rate as ar esult of the decay of radioactive potassium; this technique is widely applicable.

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morphology

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literally, the study of form. An analysis of the shape and ofrm of skeletons or artifacts.

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osteology

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(study of bones?)

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paleomagnetic dating

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dating method based on the movement of earth's magnetic poles

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paleopathology

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the study of ancient disease, trauma, or dietary deficiency. Hominid skeletons often bear evidence of these.

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paynology

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the identification of plants through the remains of their pollen grains. Pollen is morphologically species specific; the pollen grains of each species are recognizably different from the pollen of all other plant species. Recovery at an archaeological site of the preserved pollen of particular species allows for the reconstruction of the plant community present when the site was occupied which can, in turn, inform us of the climate at the time.

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paradigm

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an overarching perspective, a broad view that underlies a scientific discipline

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pedestrian survey

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a systemative walkover of an area in the search for archaeological remains. A pedestrian survey is a useful tool in the search for sites especially where ancient people built structures with durable materials, where natural processes didn ot cover up materials on the ground, or where natural or cultural processes have exposed buried layers on the surface.

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phytoliths

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microscopic, inorganic particles produced by plants. Phytoliths are extremely durable and their morphology is species specific. Enormous databases have been compiled that allow the researcher to examine individual phytoliths recovered in the soils or adhering to artifacts recovered at aracheological sties and toidentify the species from which the phytoliths originated.

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pollen

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pollen grains are the male gametes in plant sexual reproduction. Pollen grains are durable and morphologically species specific. When preserved at or near an archaeological site and recovered from the same stratigraphic level as a site, a general picture of the local plant community present when the location was occupied can be reconstructed.

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primary refuse

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archaeological artifacts and ecofacts left at the place they were used or produced.

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relative data

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a date that places fossil or archaeological site or artifact in a sequence with other specimens, but does not allow for the assignment of an age in terms of years or even a range of year (compare to absolute date).

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secondary refuse

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archaeological artifacts and ecofacts that were removed by the people who made, sued, or produced them from the place where they were made, used, or produced, to a designated refuse area or areas: for example, a trash pile or pit.

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sexual dimorphism

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differences in the form and size of the two sexes. Among most primates, males tend to be larger and physically more powerful than females.

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site

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a place where people lived and/or worked and where the physical evidence of their existence in the forms of artifacts, ecofacts, and features can be or have been recovered.

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taphonomy

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how materials become part of the paleontological or archaeological record

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test pit

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a hole or boring into soil in the search for archaeological evidence. In some parts of the world a pattern of test pits spread out across an area in a primary method by which archaeological sites are searched for and by which the spatial detribution of buried materials at a site is first identified.

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thermoluminescence

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a “trapped charge,” radiation damage technique for dating archaeological objects. Energy produced by natural radiation in soil becomes stored in nearby objects. The amount of energy stored is a function of the level of the background radiation (this can be measured) and time. Once you know the level of background radiation at a particular place, you can measure howm uch has accumulated in an archaeological object, and from that dtermine how old the object is (how llong it has been accumulating the energy).

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wear pattern

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characteristic and diagnostic traces of damage or polish left on stone tools as a result of their use. Analysis of wear patterns can often tell the researcher how the tool was used and on what material it was used.

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arboreal

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life in the trees. Primates, for the most part possess an arboreal adaptation.

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australopithecine

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any members of the genus Australopithecus, including several species: ramidus, afarensis, africanus,and sediba. Oldest members of the genus date back to at least 4.4 million years ago. The genus is extinct by 1 million years ago. Characterized by an ape-sized brain but with the modern human behaviorial trait of bipedal locomotion.

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cranium

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the bones of the head and face (excluding lower jaw)

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diastema

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gap in the teeth of both the mandible (lower jaw) and maxilla (upper jaw). The large canine teeth fit into the diastemas of their opposing jaws when those jaws are closed.

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flake

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stone fragment removed from a core with the blow of a hammerstone, antler baton, or pressure flaker. The flake can be either discarded or it can be used as is or further modified for use as a specific tool.

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foramen magnum

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large hole at the base or back of the skull through which veins, arteries, and nerves pass. The location of the foramen magnum in a fossil skull is an indicatoro f how the skull was attached to the vertebral column and, by inference, the form of locomotion employed by the creature.

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genera

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the level in biological taxonomy between family and species.

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hominid

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any creature believed to be in the direct human line. Bipedal locomotion is the single most salient characteristic of the hominids.

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ilium

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the upper blade of the pelvis

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ischium

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the bottom rear portion of the innominate bone of the pelvis.

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knapper

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one who makes stone tools. To knapp is to make stone tools through the application of percussion and pressure.

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mandible

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lower jaw

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maxilla

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upper jaw

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miocene

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period of time from 25 to 5 million years ago. Forests were more extensive during the Miocene than they are today. A broad arry of arboreally adapted ape species thrived during this epic; most became extinct at the end of the Miocene when the forests diminished in their geographical extent.

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Oldowan

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the earliest stone tools. Simple chopping tools and sharp flakes, Oldowon tools date to about 2.4 million years ago. These tools were probably made by Homo habilis. Some evidence suggests they may also have been produced by Paranthropus robustus.

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postcranial

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all of the bones below the cranium

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prognathous

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the quality of having a forward-thrusting lower face. Apes are prognathous as are extinct hominids. Anatomically modern human beings tend to have flat, nonprognathous faces.

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sagittal crest

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a ridge of bone that runs along the top of the skull from front to back. The sagittal crest provides added surface area for the attachment of powerful termporalis muscles that attach to the jaw.s male gorillas and some ancient hominid fossils possess a sagittal crest.

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tibia

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the lower of the two large bones making up the lower leg. The shin bone.