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19 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Why/how did American Archaeology come about? |
Through growing concern of destruction and genocide of Native American cultures and society |
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What is Ethnoarchaeology? |
The study of present societies and their material culture to help us understand past social, economic, and political systems. |
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What is culture history? |
Chronicle of the changes that occur within an archaeological culture over time. |
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What is an artifact? |
Objects made, modified, or used by humans in the course of their activities. |
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What is a feature? |
Something that cannot be removed without destruction (hearth, wall, pit). |
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What is a site?
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Remains of previous human activity. |
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What is context? |
The framework (time, space, form, and culture) in which we find archaeological remains. |
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What is an assemblage? |
All the artifacts of one culture or time period found within an archaeological site. |
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What is an activity area? |
A place within a site in which one or more specific activities occurred. |
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What is an attribute? |
A quality or feature of an artifact. |
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How do you locate a site? |
Through informants like elders, locals, looters, or systematic surveying. |
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What are arbitrary levels? |
Depth of excavation determined by archaeologists, usually 1-‐10 cm and consistent through excavation. |
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What are stratigraphic levels? |
Excavation level dependent on the natural or cultural stratigraphy of a site. |
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What is sieving/screening? |
Collection of ceramics, stone, human and animal bones through sieving/screening. |
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What is flotation? |
Technique of recovering artifacts by mixing the soil matrix with water. |
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What is the law of supraposition? |
Knowing that the lower layer of rocks have been there longer and are probably older (stratigraphic dating) |
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What is carbon dating? |
A dating system that tests the levels of C14 in a fossil or of livings things--HARD TO DO AFTER 40,000-50,000 YEARS DUE TO LACK OF CARBON DECAY |
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What is potassium-argon dating? |
A system used to date volcanic ash. |
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What is the conjunctive approach? |
Looking for similarities and differences in a specific archaeological event and how to interpret them. |
