Chapter 4

Paleoanthropologist Christopher Stringer once noted that "absence of evidence does not necessarily prove evidence of absence." Why is this important to keep in mind when assessing the use of fossils to study the past?

The failure to find a fossil species in a particular place does not necessarily mean that it did not live there.

Under what conditions are fossils most likely to form?

areas covered by volcanic ash

Dendrochronology is an absolute dating method based on the comparison of tree-ring growth patterns and is also useful

because it provides information about climatic patterns in specific regions.

Paleopathology is the study of

disease and injury in skeletons from archaeological sites.

Radiometric dating techniques available to anthropologists

establish a probable date for fossils by calculating radioactive decay in the specimen found or the rocks surrounding it.

Absolute dating uses stratigraphy to establish a time frame in relation to other strata.

false

The American Anthropological Association's Code of Ethics is applicable only to research being conducted in the United States.

false

The American Anthropological Association's Code of Ethics

is designed to ensure that all anthropologists are aware of their obligations to the field of anthropology, the host communities that allow them to conduct their research, and society in general.

The specialist among a team of scientists at an excavation site who focuses on the study of ancient plants through pollen samples taken from the site is most likely a

palynologist

Informed consent refers to

people's agreement to take part in research after they have been fully informed about its purpose, nature, funding, procedures, and potential impact on them.

Advances in technology enable archaeologists to gather evidence that is not visible to the naked eye. One example of such microscopic evidence is the study of

phytoliths, microscopic crystals found in many plants that are inorganic and do not decay, which means that they can reveal which plants were present at a given site even when no other plant remains survive.

What term refers to the study of the processes that affect the remains of dead animals?

taphonomy

The utility of stratigraphy for dating purposes is based on the fact that

the depth and order of undisturbed soil strata reflect the age of their deposition.

The principle of superposition states that in an undisturbed sequence of strata,

the oldest layer is on the bottom.

Digging according to arbitrary levels is quicker but less refined than digging according to the site's stratigraphy.

true

Experimental archaeologists try to replicate ancient techniques under controlled conditions.

true

Flotation is a technique used by archaeologists to recover very small remains from an excavation.

true

Historical archaeologists use written records to supplement the archaeological record.

true

Informed consent refers to people's agreement to take part in research after they have been fully informed about its purpose, nature, funding, procedures, and potential impact on them.

true

Paleopathology is the study of disease and injury in skeletons.

true