Archaeology Midterm Quiz Questions

What is another name for parallel evolution?

Candelabra Theory

What is the last step in a research design?

Curation and publication

Which age comes immediately after the Stone Age?

Neolithic Age

What does a lithicist study?

Stone

What type of exact dating is used to date objects made from clay?

Thermoluminescence

How do postprocessual archaeologists approach an artifact?

They seek to derive meaning from the artifact.

What is an example of an archaeological disturbance?

A stream

Who is not part of the environmental survey team?

Archaeologist

Who is said to be the first modern archaeologist?

Augustus Pitt Rivers

Which cities were a part of Mesopotamia?

Babylon Assyria Baghdad

Which early form of currency is still used today in many places?

Bartering

What cannot be reconstructed from skeletal remains?

Exact age

True or false: An additive artifact still resembles the materials used to make it.

False

True or false: An archaeologist is more of a treasure seeker than a scientist.

False

True or false: An artifact is any object related to a site that is immobile.

False

True or false: Archaeologists rarely work with scientists in other fields.

False

True or false: Constructed features develop over time due to human use.

False

True or false: Nomadic people built permanent dwellings every time they moved.

False

True or false: Prehistoric archaeologists rely on written records to guide their research.

False

True or false: The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered by a prominent archaeologist.

False

True or false: Only the most significant items uncovered during an excavation must be dated.

False

True or false: Radiocarbon dating only works with artifacts that were never alive.

False

True or false: The Neolithic Age marks the beginning of metallurgy.

False

True or false: The cradle of civilization is where the first human was thought to have been born.

False

True or false: The necessity hypotheses state that language began as mimicry.

False

Which feature is an example of a cumulative feature?

Garbage dump

Who discovered the remains of the city of Troy?

Heinrich Schliemann

What is Thomas Jefferson known for in regards to archaeology?

His research into the history of Native Americans His document Notes on the State of the Virginia His detailed approach to archaeology

Which job was man responsible for in the hunter-gatherer societies?

Hunting

What is it called when a large object stalls an excavation?

Interruption

What analysis do archaeologists use to identify the physical structure of an artifact?

Material analysis

What is it called when weapons are formed by striking two stones against each other?

Percussion

What type of artifact is found during digs more than any other?

Pottery

On which site was a nearly perfectly preserved ancient burial site containing thousands of mummies and artifacts?

Puruchuco-Huaquerones

What refers to visually inspecting a possible excavation site?

Reconnaissance

Stratigraphy, the Law of Superposition, and the Law of Association are examples of what type of dating?

Relative dating

Which method of site selection is employed when artifacts are in danger of being destroyed?

Rescue Archaeology

What makes up a social system?

Social relationships Political structures Economic system

What kinds of excavations might be found underwater?

Sunken ships Land bridges Coastal towns

What refers to a random word assigned to an object?

Symbol

Which early law was based on religious principles?

The Mosaic Law

What is not a part of the actual archaeological dig?

The artifacts are carefully dated

What system did Christian Thomsen develop in order to organize the collections in the museum where he worked?

Three-Age System of Chronology

Why is it believed humans crossed the Bering Land Bridge?

To follow herds of animals

Which items left from past societies does an archaeologist study?

Trash Pottery Bodies

True or false: An artifact was once a natural object that has been modified by humans.

True

True or false: Context refers to the position of an archaeological find in time and space.

True

True or false: Relative dating involves dating objects in relation to other objects.

True

True or false: Scientific monogenesis states that there was one original language and all other languages evolved from it.

True

True or false: The first great civilization was Mesopotamia.

True

True or false: The word "archaeology" means the study of ancient things.

True

True or false: True archaeology is characterized by logical, systematic, and verifiable methodology.

True

True or false: A dig support team supports both the environmental support team as well as the site excavation team.

True

True or false: Both underwater archaeologists and land archaeologists grid out their sites before digging for artifacts.

True

True or false: Carbon dating is more accurate than stratigraphy.

True

True or false: Humans began farming out of necessity.

True

True or false: Symbols are what allow us to speak abstractly.

True

True or false: The cultural-historical approach is the oldest cultural approach and relies on inductive reasoning.

True

True or false: It took Howard Carter many years to find King Tut's tomb.

True (Dig years)

What evidence has NOT been found in support of the Pangaea Theory?

Written accounts have been discovered.