Flashcards
arch exam 1
Cards in this deck (64)
- 1FeaturesNon portable objects i.e post holes, floors, ditches, hearths
- 2StratigraphyThe study of layers found during excavation. The law of superpostion states that where one layer overlies another, the lower was deposited first. This forms the basis of how archaeologists investigates changes though time/
- 3ProvenienceThe place of origin or earliest known history of something. Also the horizontal and vertical position of an artifact.
- 4Site Formation ProcessProcesses affecting the way in which archaeological materials came to be buried, and their subsequent history
afterwards. Cultural-deliberate/accidental activities of humans (looting). Natural-natural or environmental events that govern burial/survival of arch record (pompeii) - 5SynchronicSynchronic relates to the way something is used at a certain point in time but in different contexts.
At a time. - 6Diachronicrelates to the way something changes (or doesn't) over time.
Over time - 7Shell MiddenIs an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, vermin, shells and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human occupation.
- 8ArtifactPortable objects used, modified or made by humans. i.e tools, jewelry
- 9Artifact pt 2 Stylistic Formal TechnologicalStylistic- A well defined local variation in artifacts that may reflect territorial boundaries. color, decoration and texture.
Technological- An artifact that is the direct result of how it was made or due to the raw materials used.
Formal- Attribute based on the physical characteristics of an artifact, including shape, shape of parts and measurable dimension. - 10EcofactOrganic and environmental remains not made by humans. i.e bones, seeds, plants
- 11SitePlaces where artifacts, ecofacts and features are found together.
- 12LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging)Laser scanning technique that can accurately map whole landscape, even beneath tree cover. Digital plans cam reveal subtle features like the remains of ancient field systems.
- 13LandsatAny of various satellites used to gather data for images of the Earth's land surface and coastal regions. These satellites are equipped with sensors that respond to Earth-reflected sunlight and infrared radiation
- 14Aerial photographyPhotographs can either be oblique (better for pictorial effect and perspective) or vertical (better for maps and plan). Features visible from the air are classified as either earthworks,soil marks or crop marks.
- 15Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)Uses radar pulses to image the subsurface. This nondestructive method uses electromagnetic radiation in the microwave band of the radio spectrum, and detects the reflected signals from subsurface structures.
- 16DataThere are two sources of information that the archaeologist uses from a digging site with the aim of making conclusions about past human behavior. Material-These are the physical items located such as artifacts and include objects. Intangible-
This is solely information based - 17LithicsArtifacts made of stone
- 18DebitageDebris from making stone tools
- 19PaleontologyThe scientific study of life existent prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene Epoch (end of ice age). It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments
- 20PhytolithsMinute particles of silica derived from the cell of plants. survive very well on most arch sediments and can add to the picture of the environment built from other sources.
- 21CoprolitesFossilized Feces; these contain food residues that can be used to reconstruct diet and substances activities.
- 22Seven stages of research design1. Formulation of research questions.
2. Implementation of research prior fieldwork.
3. Acquisition of data
4. Processing of materials and records
5. Analysis of data
6. Interpretation
7. Publication and dissemination (spreading) of results - 23Contextrefers to the relationship that artifacts have to each other and the situation in which they are found.
- 24Primary ContextAn undisturbed association, matrix and provenience
- 25Secondary ContextA context of an arch find that has been disturbed by subsequent human activity or natural phenomena.
- 26Horizontal and Vertical excavationsHorizontal- Opening up large areas of a particular layer to reveal the spatial relationship between artifacts and features in that layer
Vertical- Cutting into deep deposits to reveal stratification - 27AssociationA find's relationship with other finds
- 28Three age systemA classification system of technological periods. It established the principle that by classifing artifacts one could produce a chronological ordering- Stone, Bronze, Iron
- 29AntiquariansAn amateur interesting in ancient artifacts who studies or collects objects of antiquities
- 30Cultural Resource Management (CRM)The safeguarding of the arch heritage through the protection of sites and through salvage arch (rescue arch), generally within the framework if legalization designed to safeguard the past.
- 31Sampling (Simple, Random, Stratified and systematic)Sampling- the process of selecting part of a site for excavation or an area for fieldwork, preferably to a strategy which allows statistical estimates and generalizations of the relation of the sample to the unexplored parts of the whole site.
Random- - 32Biological AnthropologyA sub discipline of anthropology dealing with the study of human biological or physical characteristics and their evolution.
- 33Nazca Linesare a series of ancient geoglyphs (a large design or motif) produced on the ground located in the Nazca Desert in southern Peru.
- 34Postprocessual ArchaeologyA collective term for a number of approaches to the past, all of which have roots in the post-modern current of thought developed in the 1980-90s. Neo- marxist- social awareness, post positivist- rejects emphasis on systematic procedures of scientific method, phenomenlogical- stress on personal experiences of indi and way which encounters with material world, praxis- stress upon sig of human actions in shaping social structure, habitus-strategy generating principles, hermeneutic- rejects generalization
- 35Remote SensingThe imaging of phenomena from a distance, primarily through airborne and satellite imaging(LIDAR). "Ground based" links geophysical methods such as radar. (Ground Penetrating Radar)
- 36Reconnaissance SurveyA broad range of techniques involved in the location of an arch site e.g. the recording of the surface of artifacts and features and the sampling of natural and mineral resources.
- 37remotely operated vehicle (ROV)Any vehicle that is remotely controlled by a means that does not restrict its motion with an origin external to the device.
- 38Geographic Information System (GIS)GIS are software based systems designed for the collection, organizing, storage, retrieval, analysis, and displaying of spatial/digital geographic data held in different layers.
- 39Global Positioning System (GPS)An instrument that determines (by triangulation) the location of features, using data from orbiting satellites.
- 40Unilineal Evolutionis a 19th-century social theory about the evolution of societies and cultures. It was composed of many competing theories by various anthropologists and sociologists, who believed that Western culture is the contemporary pinnacle of social evolution. Different social status is aligned in a single line that moves from most primitive to most civilized
- 41Descent with ModificationIs simply passing traits from parent to offspring, and this concept is one of the fundamental ideas from Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.
- 42TaphonomyThe study of processes that have affected organic materials such as bones after death; it also involves the microscopic analysis of tooth marks or cut marks to assess the effects of butchery or scavenging activities
- 43Cultural Formation Process (forms)Refers to the events that created and affected an archaeological site after its creation. culture might have affected an assemblage at an archaeological site include purposeful and accidental discard of objects or burning and demolition of structures. Natural could include earthquakes or rodent burrowing or vegetation growth or normal decay.
- 44PreservationThe protection of artifacts and arch sites through activities that minimize deterioration and damage and that prevent loss of context and contact.
- 45Dry Cave, BogsBoth help with preservation
- 46Data UniverseA defined area of arch investigation, bounded in time and space, often a geographic region or an arch site.
- 47Classical ArchaeologyArchaeologist who are interested in the societies of ancient Greece and Rome, their empires and neighboring territories.
- 48Feminist ArchaeologyEmploys a feminist perspective in interpreting past societies. It often focuses on gender, but also considers gender in tandem with other factors, such as sexuality, race, or class.
- 49PseudoarchaeologyThe use of selective arch evidence to put forward nonscientific, fictional accounts of the past.
- 50DisturbanceThe changing or altering of an arch context by the effect(s) of an unrelated activity at a later time.
- 51Archbishop James UssherIn 1650 he used the bible to calculate that the earth was made, by God, in 4004 B.C.
- 52christian jurgensen thomsenHe was the first to systematically study the Three Age System. He proposed that prehistoric artifacts could be divided into these coming from stone, bronze, iron
- 53Nabonidusfirst archaeologist. Lead the first excavations and first to date an archaeological artifact
- 54Franz BoasHe argued against contemporary theories of racial distinction between humans. His work culminated with his theory of relativism, which discredited prevailing beliefs that Western civilization is superior to simpler societies.
- 55Karl MarxCreated Marxist archaeology is an archaeological theory that interprets archaeological information within the framework of Marxism.
- 56Lewis BinfordThe founder of the "new Arch"
- 57Stevens and CatherwoodThe combination of vivid descriptions by Stephens and the “romanticized” drawings of Catherwood made the ancient Maya known to a wide audience.
- 58Squier and DavisThe study of the prehistoric indigenous mound builders of North America, and the early development of archaeology as a scientific discipline. Best record today on moundbuilders
- 59Thomas JeffersonThe first scientific excavation
- 60Charles DarwinEstablished the concept of evolution to explain the origin and development of all plants and animals.
- 61Herbert SpencerLeading sociologists of his time and was an influencer of the structural-functionalist perspective. phrase 'survival of the fittest'
- 62Alfred KidderHe saw a disciplined system of archaeological techniques as a means to extend the principles of anthropology into the prehistoric past and so was the originator of the first comprehensive, systematic approach to North American archaeology.
- 63Howard CarterMade one of the richest and most celebrated contributions to Egyptology: the discovery (1922) of the largely intact tomb of King Tutankhamen.
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