ANT 304 Classification and Material Culture - week 8

Groups of assemblages have been used to define which of the following?

archaeological cultures

Identify whether the following items are artifacts or ecofacts

artifacts: a ceramic bowl, a lithic flake ecofacts: a wheat seed, a sheep femur

An ____ is a group of artifacts recurring ____ at a particular place and time

assemblage; together

Identify the examples of assemblages.

assemblages: Roman ceramics, coins, silver vessels, and other artifacts from a site in Italy, stone tools from the site of Levallois, France not assemblages: Upper Paleolithic blades from different sites, distinctive post holes at a Mississippian site

Four main human behaviors are typically reflected in the archaeological record, in a particular sequence. Place in consecutive order the major human behaviors that are reflected in the archaeological record.

Acquisition of raw material, Manufacture, Use, Disposal or discard

In archaeology, ____ culture refers to the tangible objects, buildings, resources, and spaces that people use to define their society, and have survived from the past. Archaeologists study the objects that past peoples created and used. These objects are called ____.

material; artifacts

ecofact

organic and environmental remains not made by humans

cortex

outer surface of a core

In which period of human history can the first examples of ceramics be traced?

paleolithic / from c. 26,000 years ago

flake

piece removed during manufacturing

artifact

portable objects used, modified, or made by humans

Classification is the general process of sorting items into known categories. Identify the reasons why classification is important in archaeology.

reasons: Classification helps archaeologists organize the evidence, Material culture constitutes a large part of the archaeological record not reasons: Classification tells archaeologists how past humans organized their material culture, Classification is objective, while other methods for organization are arbitrary

Which of the following is a new technique that helps archaeologists determine if broken artifacts are contemporaneous?

refitting

By examining ____ of pottery sherds it is possible to examine natural mineral and rock inclusions in the ceramic, as well as intentional inclusions used as ____. This can help to establish where the ceramic was made.

thin sections; temper

T/F: Pottery is a common find on archaeological sites

true

Identify the main characteristics used to classify artifacts into typologies.

used: surface attributes, technological attributes, shape attributes not used: contextual attributes

When were stone tools first used?

3.3 million years ago

How has typology been used to produce a battleship diagram?

Seriation of types by frequency

Identify the statements that accurately describe artifact classification.

describes: classification groups artifacts arbitrarily, different archaeologists may classify artifacts differently does not describe: classifications are inherent to the artifacts themselves, classification should determine the way that archaeologists think about the past

Why might two archaeologists arrange the same set of artifacts into different typologies?

differing research questions

The flakes created from making stone tools are waste material and do not have any function

false

core

stone from which pieces are removed

Identify which of the following descriptions apply to stone tool production and which apply to pottery production.

stone: includes the Acheulean industry, first began around three million years ago pottery: traditional methods are still widely used around the world, relies on use of controlled use of fire (pyrotechnology)

enclosed kiln

temperatures around or over 900°C (1,652°F)

open kiln

temperatures around or under 900°C (1,652°F), produces dark ceramic cores

assemblage

groups of artifact (and building) types at a particular time and place

Place in consecutive order the steps used to create a stone tool.

remove primary flakes from core, strike off trimming flakes, retouch

If ecofacts are not created by humans, then why study them? Identify the reasons why archaeologists study ecofacts.

resons: ecofacts can illuminate past environmental conditions, ecofacts can tell us about past human diets not reasons: ecofacts can reconstruct past building styles, ecofacts can determine artifact typologies

Identify the key ways in which archaeologists learn about prehistoric stone tool manufacturing

ways: through experimental archaeology, through ethnographic observation not ways: through excavation, through classification

Identify the key ways in which archaeologists learn about prehistoric stone tool manufacturing.

ways: through experimental archaeology, through ethnographic observation not ways: through excavation, through classification