TEST123

Anthropogenic

(a feature or phenomenon) originating in human activity

Transit

A surveying instrument that measures horizontal and vertical angles

Unit

An area of excavation, usually measuring five feet by five feet

Midden

An area used for trash disposal.

Chronology

An arrangement of events in the order in which they occurred.

Diagnostic artifact

An artifact that provides clues to the function or date of a feature or site (alternative: an item that is indicative of a particular time period and/or cultural group)

Structure from Motion

Process of using overlapping photographs to create a 3D image; similar to photogrammetry, but uses an additional step to calculate camera position from the photographs.

RTK GNSS

Real Time Kinematic Global Navigation Satellite System: a high accuracy GPS system composed of base station and rover receivers

Structured light Scanner

3D scanning device for measuring the three-dimensional shape of an object using projected light patterns and a camera system.

Munsell Soil Color Chart

A book filled with swatches to determine soil colors. This tool is used in the field to assess the gradation of soil color, and in the lab to record standardized colors to artifacts (e.g., ceramic slip color)

Attribute

A characteristic or property of an object, such as weight, size, or color.

Photogrammetry

A computerized process that produces spatially accurate images from ordinary photographs. The use of photography to survey and map.

Profile

A drawing of a vertical section of soil showing stratigraphy (alternative or additional definition: vertical cut in the soil, revealing the sequence of horizontal layers, or soil stratigraphy; https://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/lums_pond/pdf/vol1/lums_1_glossary.pdf)

Plan View

A drawing of excavated areas as seen from above

Grid

A network of uniformly spaced squares used to divide a site into units; a grid is used to measure and record the position of artifacts and features across a site

Law of Superposition

A physical "law" asserting that deeper layers of sediment or archaeological strata will naturally be older than the layers above them (in the absence of unusual, disruptive, activity, such as earthquakes).

Lens

A small and thin deposit, often ash

Archaeologist

An individual whose goal is to learn about human culture through the analysis of material remains

Artifact

An object made, altered, or used by people

Total station

An optical surveyor's instrument that combines a transit and an electronic distance measuring device. A total station calculates angles and distances for surveyed objects. This information can be used to create topographic maps.

Fauna or Faunal remains

Animal life, such as bone and shell.

Level

Arbitrary depth of soil within a stratum (also the depth of an object or feature within an excavation unit.)

Ecofacts

Archaeological finds that are of cultural significance, but were not manufactured by humans. These include bones and vegetal remains that can tell us about past diet or environments.

Assemblage

Artifacts which have been found together and presumably were used at the same time or for similar tasks

Inorganic

Composed of matter other than animal or plant, or not derived from living or once-living organisms.

Secondary Context

Context of an artifact that has been wholly or partially altered by transformation/site formation processes after its original deposit, as in disturbance by human activity after the artifacts' original deposition.

Strata (singular=stratum)

Discrete layers of earth or levels within an archaeological site (alternative: Stratum - relatively homogeneous layer distinct from the layers directly above or below.

Formation processes

Human-caused or natural processes by which an archaeological site is modified during or after occupation and abandonment. These processes have a large effect on the provenience of artifacts or features found by archaeologists. Geological processes, disturbances by animals, plant growth, and Human activities all contribute to site formation.

In Situ

In its original place, undisturbed

Harris Matrix

Invented in 1973 by Dr. Edward C. Harris as a way to simplify the representation of the stratigraphy at an archaeological site. In addition to traditional cross section drawings, Harris proposed that archaeologists create a flow chart (Harris Matrix) of a site to record the order in which layers and features occured.

Site

Location where archaeological remains are found

Organic

Material derived from or relating to living organisms. Organic remains decay and are not preserved as well as inorganic remains in the archaeological record.

Flotation

Method of screening (sieving) excavated matrix in water so as to separate and recover small ecofacts and artifacts

Subsoil

Natural, undisturbed soil that contains no features or artifacts

Association

Objects found near one another in the same context are said to be in association.

Material culture

Physical objects and structures from the past.

Flora

Plant life. Seeds and charcoal are floral remains often found on archaeological sites.

Locus (Plural: loci)

Same as Context; the smallest definable unit in stratigraphy (alternative definition: A specific point in space; a discrete excavated unit or archaeological context

Sterile

Soil that contains no trace of human activity

Archaeology

Systematic study of human culture through the analysis of material remains

Primary Context

The context of an artifact, feature, or site that has not been disturbed since its original deposition

Provenience

The location in which an object was found

Matrix

The physical material (often dirt) in which archaeological objects are located.

Context

The relationship of artifacts and other cultural remains to each other and the situation in which they were found. (Can also indicate a specific stratigraphic unit; see locus)

Post Mold

The stain left in the soil indicating where a post has rotted in place or was removed from a post hole

Post Hole

The stain left in the soil which indicates where a hole was dug to place a post

Stratigraphy

The study of the layering of deposits in archaeological sites - artifacts or cultural remains and natural sediments become buried over time and form strata.

Culture

The system of shared beliefs, values, practices, and things that the members of society use to cope with their world and with one another, and that are transmitted from generation to generation through learning

Survey

The systematic examination of the ground surface in search of archaeological sites.

Plowzone

The top layer of soil disturbed by the action of a plow

Material remains

artifacts, features and other items such as plant and animal remains that indicate human activity.

Feature

permanent fixtures or distinct deposits at an archaeological site, such as a hearth, post holes, or floors

Screening

sifting earth through a wire mesh to find artifacts