Archaeology Test 1

☆ site formation processes

All archaeological remains are modified by the passage of time. The ways in which the archaeological record is formed after the site is abandoned is called site formation processes.

linguistic anthropologists

Development and use of language

☆ quarry site

E.x. A site where people were quarrying stone to make stone tools

aerial reconnaissance

Google maps and Google Earth LIDAR

☆ Frank Cushing

Lived among the Zuni for over 5 years in the American Southwest in the mid to late 1800s He learned their language and culture and was accepted into the society. Everywhere he looked, he saw a well-organized long lived society. When he saw the materials that had been abandoned (ancient pottery or settlements), he realized that archaeology was a way of doing anthropology into prehistoric times. Archaeology is how we connect to the prehistoric past to those not living among us. ☆ From the American Southwest, it was learned that you could learn a society and work step by step into the past from the known to the unknown. ☆ This principle is a basic principle in arcaehology today

☆ neolithic revolution

Neo: New Lithic: Stone When people settle into villages and produce their own plants, domestication of animals. Occurred over thousands of years.

☆ Earth Resistivity

Remote sensing technique Electrical current introduced into the ground to detect subsurface features Active technique

☆ metal detectors

Remote sensing technique Good for battlefield/conflict archaeology

cultural style

Shapes the behavior of the members of that culture, affects what political or judicial institutions may be like.

subsurface detection methods

Shovel tests, remote sensing

☆ Alex

Teaches lab sections on Fridays at 11am, 12pm, and 1pm Specializes in Pedestrian survey

☆ Patricia

Teaches lab sections on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday afternoons Specializes in Geophysical Survey methods: Magnetometry and Earth Resistivity

☆ Manda

Teaches lab sections on Thursday afternoons and Friday mornings at 9am and 10am Specializes in LiDAR

processural archaeology

Understanding that one step at a time. One thing leads to something else. Follow the process of development. a theoretical perspective that uses social, economic, and environmental dynamics to interpret cultural changes over time; it is based on the use of scientific methodology.

ethnoarchaeology

a discipline that uses the study of the behaviors of living people to better understand past patterns in the use of cultural materials, site organization, and settlement systems

☆ archaeological site

a place where we find traces of past human behavior. Sites are normally identified through humanly made/manufactured tools or artifacts (anything modified or made by humans) Anything from a simple hunting camp to complex cities Not determined by size, but by past human behavior that happened there Can be classified by the kinds of activities that took place there.

datum

a reference point on the ground with known spatial coordinates, sometimes calculated as Easting (x) and Northing (y), as well as elevation (z). One or more datums are established at archaeological sites and used to set up site grids and for precision location measurement of artifacts, animal bones, structures, features, samples, and so forth, found during excavation at a site, as well as for archaeological survey. The most basic strategy used by archaeologists is to establish two or more datums that are used to create a grid over the site.

transit

a special type of precision instrument with a telescope that can be flipped. It is used to measure horizontal and vertical angles such as those used by archaeologists to establish grid systems at sites.

ethnography

a subfield of cultural anthropology in which living people are studied using firsthand observation.

seriation

battle ship curves Through seriation, we can see how popular things are over time a relative dating method in which the frequency of artifact types or styles is used to construct a chronology of "older than" or "younger than" based on the popularity of types or styles over time.

☆ extensive survey

combine results from different projects over large region

Piece-plotting or point proveniencing

determining the exact x, y, and z coordinates of an artifact Archaeologists designate levels, layers, or loci with which the piece-plotted artifacts and samples are associated.

total station

equipment that combines a theodolite (which measures vertical and horizontal angles) with an electronic distance meter (EDM), which uses a laser beam to measure the distance from the total station to an object or point (where a prism is placed). The angles and distance are used to calculate x, y, and z coordinates (Cartesian coordinates) for each point. Many archaeologists today use a total station and associated computer software to establish a grid system.

archaeologists

field of anthropology Study people who are no longer around, study remains of the past

systematic survey

grid-system or equally space transects/transverses (straight paths) 1. Aerial 2. Invasive 3. Geophysical survey 4. ☆ Pedestrian survey, includes field walking, topographic survey, and surface collection

microfauna

in archaeology, this term refers to small animals such as mice, moles, and snails; these small animals are sensitive to changes in local temperature and moisture and thus are valuable indicators of paleoenvironments.

pedestrian survey

involves a team of people who space themselves at equal distance intervals, walks in a systematic manner, and examine the surface and surrounding areas for artifacts Most common survey method Easiest in dry environments with little vegetation

☆ LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging)

laser beams detect large architectural features under vegetation

☆ middens

long, abandoned rubbish or trash heaps Wealth of information modern middens: modern trash heaps

survey

look for most prominent remains or visible remains in a landscape

plan view map

looking down at a unit and drawing everything you see at top level, excavate down, draw next level

sterile sediment

no cultural materials

☆ aerial photography

oblique and vertical (straight down)

☆ kill site

places where animals were killed in the past E.x. A site with only buffalo bone and some broken stone tools

wet screening

sediment in a fine mesh screen is processed by running water through it, often making it easier to see artifacts and other materials

geoarchaeology

specialty in which geological analyses are used to aid in the interpretation of archaeological sites, such as the role of natural taphonomic processes, and of the formation of landscapes, in which sites are located, and landscape features.

☆ palynology

study of pollen relative dating Pollen specialists look at soil samples or soil column for pollen. E.x. The lowest levels had lots of trees, so there was a forest. In the middle levels, they found fewer trees but lots of grasses. In the uppermost layer, the grass pollen disappeared and tree pollen was found again. specialty that focuses on the study of plant pollen to better understand past environments, human impact on environments, hominin diet, and climate change.

remote sensing

survey conducted at ground surface using geophysical techniques sonar: acoustic imaging using echo-location seismic: acoustic imaging using sound wave reflection and refraction subsurface

stratigraphy

the layers or levels at an archaeological site. These can be defined as natural (geological) or cultural, and can be used as a relative dating technique in which cultural materials found in deeper levels or layers are older than those in overlying levels or layers. The bottom layer is the oldest and the layers on top of it are progressively younger. Relative chronology

research design

the set of methods that archaeologists use in their survey and excavation projects Based on a research question specific to a given project. In a research design, questions are placed within a theoretical perspective that guides the choice of sites, relevant data sets, and methods. In most cases, a research question will help define which areas of the world might be most appropriate for certain types of archaeological research.

zooarchaeology

the study of animal bones found at archaeological sites. Zooarchaeologists usually identify the genus and species (when possible) and provide information on the types of animals present; they also examine animal bones for stone artifact cut and percussion marks, evidence of use as tools, presence of shaped bone tools, and burning.

paleoenvironments

the types of environments and habitats characteristic of regions during the past; these developed because of changes in climate, as well as later human manipulation of vegetation and animal communities.

archaeometallurgy

this archaeological specialty concerns the study of how metals were produced and used in the past.

anthropology

to try to study humanity in the widest possible sense. ☆ Ultimate goal: study human society

farming and domestication of animals

took place over thousands of years

☆ dendrochronology

tree ring dating Dating can go back 7,000 years. an absolute dating method that provides calendar year dates based on the analysis of tree-ring sequences of thicker and thinner annual growth rings; can only be used in parts of Europe and in the American Southwest, but only extends back in time some 8,700 to 12,000 years ago.

☆ Survey method depends on

1. Type of environment 2. Research goals

Darwin's Theory of Evolution and Natural Selection

1859 It provided an alternate explanation for the origins of humankind. It provided for a longer period of time for these aspects to come about. ☆ Still, how had humans settled all the different places around the world?

basic unit of excavation

1mx1m Hypotenuse is 141 cm

☆ archaeological record

All the material remains from the past forms the archaeological record data from survey and excavation make up the archaeological record 2 basic units: the sites themselves and artifacts.

☆ new archaeology

Argued that you could explain the past even without complete preservation. Many of the things promised with new archaeology were not realized. ☆ Introduced process, which became processual archaeology.

☆ law of association

Based on the principle that an artifact is contemporary with other artifacts found in the same horizon E.x. Because stone tools and shell pieces were found together, we can determine that they were making shell beads.

What is the curse of archaeology?

Collectors and treasure hunters. Antiquities dealers and private collectors will pay enormous sums of money to acquire some items This is illegal to do so in terms of foreign acquisitions into the US It is unethical for museums to buy pieces of the past that are not documented.

☆ Third stage of achievement: Civilization

Considered the ultimate, pinnacle of achievements from his own Victorian society. A qualitative leap to what he called civilization. E.x. Sumerians and Egyptians

unsystematic survey

Documentary sources: Historical documents Oral sources: Local sources and inhabitants Non-archaeological excavations: Architectural development, agriculture, etc.

wall profile map

Done at end of unit. Top level (grass) and basic zero line, first cultural level, second cultural level, until bedrock. 2 cultural levels. Sitting in the unit, looking at the walls.

law of superposition

E.x. We can say the stage was there before the podium, the podium was there before the papers were placed on them... We now have a sequence of events. Older-Table > folder > paper > pouch > papers-younger We now know a chronology. We don't know the specific time. ☆ We have put together a relative chronology: we know something is younger or older relative to the things around it. In superposition, if it is lower, its older. If its on top, its younger.

☆ time and space

Each artifact at an archaeological site has a relationship in space and time to all other artifacts. Some artifacts may be contemporary (existing at the same time as others). E.x. Artifacts in the same level are likely contemporary with each other (existed at the same time). E.x. An artifact in a lower level is likely older than an artifact found closer to the surface. When we understand that relationship in time and space, that provides us with context. The concepts of culture, time, and space in archaeology are absolutely inseparable.

☆ First stage of achievement: savagery

Earliest hunting and gathering bands All societies start off in this stage

cross dating

Examines the relative chronology of different sites. Can develop a regional chronology.

What kind of resource are archaeological remains?

Finite resource

biological anthropologists

Human biologists, mammalian development, human development over time

☆ Why is human culture unique?

Human culture is unique because much of its content is transmitted from generation to generation. We learn the cultural norms, what is acceptable in the way speak, dress, go about doing things. That is learned behavior.

☆ culture

Humans are the only animals that use culture as the primary means of adapting to our environment. E.x. Polar bears have thick coats of fur to live in the Arctic, we use thick coats of clothing. Culture is an adaptive system. It is the interface that we use between ourselves and our environment, other societies. Culture is the dominant factor in determining social behavior. The concept of culture provides archaeologists with a way for explaining the products of human activity. Many of the interacting components of culture are perishable. e.x. You can't dig up a religious philosophy, an unwritten language. The things that do survive have been affected in the past by those intangible aspects E.x. Social organization may be reflected in how houses or villages are constructed Every cultural system is in a constant state of change (process). a set of behaviors that result from social learning and traditions

☆ Edward Tyler

In the 1870s, Tyler organized humanity into three stages of achievement.

☆ C14 or radiocarbon dating

Introduced in 1949, developed by WiIlard Libby Up until that point, a lot of chronology was in a relative sequence. Can only do radio carbon dating on organic material. E.x. charcoal, burned bone, shell, hair, wood, basket fragment, sandals, something that decays The use of radiocarbon dating is only good for 40-60,000 years ago. Anything earlier requires a different technique. an absolute dating method that uses the decay rate of the radioactive isotope carbon-14 (14C) to calculate the age of organic materials, such as wood charcoal, found at archaeological sites. It can be used to date materials from the past 50,000 years and possibly up to 60,000 years ago. Because of fluctuations in the amount of 14C in the earth's atmosphere over time, radiocarbon dates must be calibrated (adjusted) to obtain the actual date of a sample. The less 14C there is, the older the sample. Have to calibrate due to WWII radioactivity, cosmic ray bombardment, and effects of 1800s Industrial Revolution AD 1950 is the baseline Years before the present are abbreviated to bp and now cal BP (meaning calibrated BP).

☆ What do many sites have today to accommodate tourists?

Many archaeology sites today around the world now have a museum where you can see the artifacts that let you know about the kinds of things that were found at the site with that particular culture from a particular time period. There's often a gift shop where you can buy replicas of what you see, a reminder of what something was like in the past.

☆ Second stage of achievement: Barbarism

People began to plant crops and tame animals (domestication). Once you have a reliable food supply, there's less movement.

☆ habitation site

Places where people lived E.x. A site with houses, hearths, where people were eating and sleeping

☆ time

Precise time measurement is a relatively recent phenomenon. Earlier than 3,000 BC, we enter a chronological vacuum. 99% of prehistory is in that chronological vacuum. Every object and event from the past has a time relationship to other objects and events.

☆ precision

Precision is key for accurate recording of your context. Precision in mapping is key for context

☆ process

Process implies a process sequence of event One event leading to another Ordered sequence of events

☆ ground penetrating radar (GPR)

Remote sensing technique Uses radar pulses (electromagnetic waves) at ground surface to deter underground features Active technique

geochemical analysis

Remote sensing technique measure of elements (phosphorus, magnesium, calcium) in soil samples that indicate human occupation Can be done from a plane Not hyper accurate

☆ magnetometry

Remote sensing technique measures variations in magnetic signatures across an area Can be used to map large areas Passive technique

New World exploration

Spainards came to the New World in the 1400s and found people who had been around for thousands of years. Europeans did not know what to make of them. They questioned if the Native Americans were even human. Once the Church established that they were human and souls to be saved, it didn't do away with the questions. ☆ How do we relate them to the Biblical story of creation? By the end of the 1800s, most scientists believed that Native Americans came to the New World by the Bering Strait land bridge there at the time.

☆ underwater archaeologists

Study ancient wrecks, ships that have gone down Try to understand trade and exchange Techniques similar to dry land counterparts Still need context Classified as historical archaeologist

social cultural anthropologists

Study living populations, study living groups of people

☆ historical archaeologists

Study sites that date to the recent historical times (we have written records for them) Supply details that are missing from historical documents Historical documents don't always record everything. ☆ Historical records are often filled with political or religious matters, but they rarely describe people's behavior. ☆ Including two very important questions: What were people eating? Where were the toilets located? ☆ Historical documents are often biased

subassemblage

Subassemblage: behavior for a smaller group in the community E.x. hunter using bow and arrows, mechanic's tools

☆ space

The precise position of artifacts tends to be measured. Context in space is closely tied to people's behavior. Context in space is based on the association between artifacts.

☆ Three goals of anthropological archaeology

The study of culture history The reconstruction of ancient life How people's cultures changed in the past and why

☆ Archbishop James Ussher

Until comparatively recent times, scientists believed in the Biblical story of creation that God created the Earth in 7 days. Archbishop James Ussher calculated from the scriptures that the world/earth was created in 4004 BC, left about 6,000 years for all of human existence. Various tools were already being found with extinct animals. Clearly, people had been on Earth for longer than 6,000 years

☆ classical archaeologists

Use the same techniques that prehistoric archaeologists used Primarily interested in societies that have a Greek and Roman background (some Egyptian)

culture history

We put culture history together from the study of archaeological sites ☆ There were many archaeologists in the past that believed trying to find intangible things were a waste of time. ☆ In the 1950s, more and more archaeologists began to realize that classifying materials was not enough. ☆ Archaeologists started to argue that human societies in the past had changed because of the ecological and environmental factors around them. Archaeologists started to look at where human settlements were and what artifacts they had (reflected the resources available and may tell us something about the past).

☆ technology

When we do find artifacts, it partly reflects technology of the past. ☆ We can learn about that technology, but given the context, we might also understand the values and uses societies in the past placed upon those artifacts. ☆ Prehistoric tools are not culture in and of themselves. They are a pattern reflection of the culture that produced them.

☆ assemblage of artifacts

When we look at a community and its artifacts, we can talk about an assemblage of artifacts. Can test the patterning for all the community's activity

☆ pattern reflection

When we look at material remains from the past, that is a pattern reflection of the culture that produced them. That patterning is the critical part to understand behavior in the past.

spit

a term used by some archaeologists to describe an excavation unit that has an arbitrarily assigned specific depth and size; it is especially useful if natural or cultural layers are not easily seen in the stratigraphy.

Cartesian coordinate system

a three-dimensional grid system, in which horizontal axes (x and y) are combined with a vertical axis (z) to calculate the position of any given point. Each axis is per-pendicular to the others. At ar-chaeological sites, the x grid axis often corresponds to north-south and the y grid axis represents east-west. The z grid axis is the elevation of each point. Most archaeologists prefer to work with positive numbers, so the entire site must be situation within the upper right section.

☆ intensive survey

focus only on one site and cover it completely

Cultural resource management (CrM) and salvage archaeology

locate and record sites before destruction by development archaeologists who work in the field of CRM have projects that are based on recovering data about areas that will be impacted by new construction, such as the expansion of a road or the building of a parking lot, or otherwise potentially destroyed, for example, areas used by the military for training exercises. Many of these regions are federal or state owned and are subject to a number of laws, regulations, and reporting requirements.

absolute dating (chronometric) methods

methods of obtaining calendar dates for archaeological sites or fossil finds, including dendrochronology, radiocarbon dating, and potassium-argon dating. Except for dendrochronology, these methods yield dates with standard deviations, resulting in a time range within which a site or fossil can be placed. historical records, dendrochronology, c14 or radiocarbon dating

paleoanthropology

the study of human cultural and biological evolution by archaeologists and biological anthropologists; this term is commonly applied to biological anthropologists studying early hominin fossils.

☆ cultural context

☆ Everyone lives within a cultural context. ☆ That cultural context is one that is often qualified by some kind of label. E.x. Middle-class America, Roman, Egyptian When we use these broad labels, it is known as stereotypes.

☆ prehistoric archaeologists

☆ In prehistoric archaeology, we try to document and understand the ways in which humanity adapted itself to the many and diverse environments of the past. Deal with enormous time scale ☆ Primary source of information on 99% of human history Look at societies all over the world, how they came into being, how they differed from one another, how they changed over time Have to be specialists due to giant time scale

Lewis Binford

☆ In the 1960s, there was a major change in archaeology. These archaeologists wanted to explain culture change, explain the past, find reasons why societies and cultures evolved in different ways. ☆ These investigations were spearheaded by Binford. Binford said we needed more rigorous investigations in archaeology. We had to be much more scientific. He argued that archaeology was more than a descriptive subdiscipline of anthropology. It was a science, and with scientific methods you could explain the past. ☆ This kind of archaeology was called new archaeology.

☆ context

☆ The location of an artifact in time and space, where an artifact is found in a given location, how deep, relation to a building ☆ Context is critical for any and every artifact excavated. Once you remove it from the ground, you've taken away significant context and are cheated of certain knowledge. When we understand that relationship in time and space, that provides us with context. The notion of context is at the foundation of modern archaeology.

archaeology

☆ looking at past human behavior ☆ systematic study of humanity in the past ☆ Archaeology is not about the objects excavated. It's about past human behavior. Includes human behavior, social organization, beliefs, every aspect of human culture specialty in which researchers study humanity's past; includes analyses of cultural materials such as flaked stone artifacts, animal bones, prehistoric art and personal ornamentations, etc., as well as settlement systems, taphonomy of archaeological sites, past social and political systems, and so forth.

prehistory

☆ the part of human history that goes back before written records Most of humanity's story took place in the absence of written records. Begins with the earliest concentration of stone tools (tend to be preserved)