Introduction to geology and Basic archaeology

What is a hammerstone?

Hard rock used in hard hammer percussion.

Handstone (mano)

Hand held stone tool used for grinding material.

What is a metamorphic rock?

An igneous or sedimentary rock changed by heat and pressure.

What is Basalt?

An igneous rock mafic rock that is found in several colors and can range dark grey to purplish to green to black.

What is debitage?

Any product created during the flaking process. Debitage includes flakes, shatter and dust, although dust is seldom collected by archaeologists.

What are the two general lithic tool classifications in San Diego County?

Chipped stone and ground stone

What is a scrapper?

Dome shaped lithic tool used to clean animal skins, scrape wood or vegetal material.

What is Rhyolite?

Igneous rock related to granite. it contains more quartz and it cooled faster then granite, crystals are smaller.

What is steatite (soapstone)?

It is quarried for manufacturing beads, bowls, pipes and arrow shaft straighteners.

What is a sedimentary rock?

Rock formed by weathering, erosion, deposition, and cementation and compaction.

What is Sandstone?

Rock made of grains of sand held together with a finer matrix. It is sometimes possible to see layering.

What is igneous rock?

Rock that forms below or on the Earth's surface when magma wells up from the Earth's upper mantle or deep crust and hardens into rock (ex: granite). Forms the bulk of Earth's crust. Main source of many nonfuel resources.

What is an Anvils?

Rock used as a level base for chipping other rocks.

What is Volcanic (igneous)

Rocks are those that were hot and liquid at one time. These came to earths surface or hardened underground.

What is an metavolcanics rocks?

Term used by archaeologists to describe volcanic rocks that ere metamorphosed primarily by contact with hot igneous rocks. They are fine grained.

What is Quartz?

a mineral consisting of silicon dioxide and forms hexagonal crystals in its pure form. usually opaque white, pink, and grey.

What is a cobbles?

are rocks worn smooth and rounded by tumbling in a riverbed.

What is cryptocrystalline?

are sedimentary rocks made of silica, the most common mineral. ex is chert

What is a mortar?

bowl shaped vessel used with a pestle for grinding material.

What are Mafic rocks?

containing dark colored minerals.

coarse grained rocks contain what?

different minerals that are easily discerned with the naked eye.

What is a granitic rock?

igneous rock usually made up of three minerals: quartz, feldspar and mica. Minerals easily visible.

What are the three rock types?

igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic

What is obsidian?

is a natural glass produced by rapid cooling of molten rock that prevented the formation of distinct crystals.

What is a matrix?

it is the surrounding substance in a rock containing phenocrysts.

How are chipped stone tools made?

knapping or taking flakes of another stone

what is quartzite?

metamorphosed sandstone that was compressed so completely that is is difficult to distinguish individual sedimentary layers.

How are ground stone made?

pecking, smoothing or grinding stone into the desired shape.

What is a core?

rock from which flakes have been struck

Finer grained rocks contain what ?

separate minerals with crystals so small they are not easily visible with the naked eye.

What is a biface?

term used to describe a particular knife type tool to describe any tool that shows flaking on both of two faces or edges.

What is a crystal?

the characteristic geometric shape of a mineral

what is a chopper?

tool used to cut or crush. Usually has a smooth side, which fits in the palm, and the cutting edge opposite.