Archaeology QUIZ 1 REVIEW
ources of archaeological data?
- Geographic setting. Examples: cave sites, coastal sites, river valley sites, etc.(geomorphological setting)- Function. Examples: quarry site, habitation site, kill/butchering site- Age. Examples: Stone Age (Palaeolithic), Classic Period, 3rdDynasty, etc.
Non-invasive methods
1. Ariel Survey 2. Remote Sensing Technologies Non-invasive• Surface survey = walkover survey = visual reconnaissance• Remote Sensing = Geophysics ('Geophizz')
John Lloyd Stephens & Frederick Catherwood -
18th Century explorers, travelled through Mexico & Central America; their books energized the public's interest in archaeology. Drew amazing pictures.
Sir Leonard Woolley
9th Century English archaeologist who 'discovered' the royal tombs at Ur, Mesopotamia Ur was the burial site of 16 Sumerian royals. Their tombs contained great material wealth - large paintings of ancient Sumerian culture, gold and silver jewelry, cups, semi-precious stones, and other furnishings. He uncovered and examined more than 2,000 burials.Sir Leonard Woolley is considered to have been one of the first 'modern' archaeologists Woolley was knighted in 1935 for his contributions to the field of archaeology.
shovel testing
A sample survey method used in regions where rapid soil buildup obscures buried archaeological remains; it entails digging shallow, systematic pits across the survey unit.
Cultural and natural formation and transformation of an archaeological site.
A sequence of occupation episodes interrupted by natural events of flooding, decomposition, and modern constructio
transects
A term generally used to describe an artificial part of the survey area selected for field-walking, each one consisting of smaller collection units. Transects are mostly plotted on the map as slices through the survey area. Their size and position is often based on the principles of systematic random sampling, in order to collect data which is representative for the entire archaeological landscape.
orienteering compass
A tool that shows the direction of travel
freeze dried preservation
Ampato Ice Maiden of Peru Freeze-drying is a useful technique for drying organic archaeological artifacts, recovering water-damaged archival and library materials, and preparing museum specimens of plants and animals
Archaeology in the early 1900's
Archaeology became a staple in academic settings• New discoveries helped 'archaeology' become a household word•Large-scale public works projects (like the WPA) in Europe & North America produced mountains of artifacts and information
arid
Arid regions and dry caves (good for preservation) - Egyptian mummies, Atacama Desert, Chile
trenching
As an excavation method trenching permits archaeologists to see long, unbroken views of a site's stratigraphy. This is important because it a) allows researchers to determine how the site was formed and transformed over time and b) allows researchers to easily see and understand relative dates of occupations using various dating methods (see above left image) Trenching and the use of heavy equipment in archaeology pragmatism!
satellite imagery
Built between c. 2500 and 2000 BC, the three main pyramids and associated complexes of subsidiary pyramids, temples and bench-like 'mastaba' tombs can be readily seen on a Russian KVR-1000 satellite image of the area
Postprocessualism
Cognitive Archaeology, Gender (feminist perspectives) & Marxist approaches are part of postprocessualism focus is on 'emic' (insiders) perspectives. Ideological & symbolic systems are seen as important. NOT so much emphasis on technology & the environment or use of quantitative methods to explain culture How do individuals contribute to culture change? Why do we see certain human behavioral responses to changing perceptions of the universe? Social relations?More explanatory than descriptiv grew out of 1980'scritique on archaeology as too focused on big men and big scale Archaeology should focus on meaning and lived experience should think about their role in production of knowledge had a responsibility to stakeholders and broader public archaeologists became interested in the noise - the subjectivities and inconsistencies they felt enabled us to think more about individuals in the past
Christian Thomsen
Danish scientist who developed the Three-Age chronological system (Stone, Bronze, Iron Ages) to describe Prehistoric Europe. - appointed first director of new national museum in 1819, established chronological foundation for Old World arch with 3 stage system of stone, bronze, iron- Jen Warsaae is related.
Auger Testing
Drill like holes take small samples - metal instrument- type and depth of deposits
Lewis Binford
Father of the 'New Archaeology/ Processualism' Processual archeology- sees archaeology as a science, often includes prehistoric archaeologists. Processual Archaeology. interested in explanation, generalization, culture process, and the pursuit of objectivity. - father of new archaeology- believed archaeology needed to be more anthropological- debated Francois Borde about looked at function of artifacts rather than percentages (regarding neanderthal sites)
Kathleen Deagan
Historical archaeologist who works in St. Augustine Figured out how to date bottles at sites in florida and the carribean based on pictures of bottles from time periods.
Archaeology after 1950
In 1949 Willard Libby develops radiocarbon dating technique, winning the Nobel Prize for this work• Multidisciplinary approach became more common in research projects•"New Archaeology" of the 1960's & 1970's - emphasis on deductive reasoning, quantitative and statistical methods and the search for general laws. Now called 'processualism"• In the 1970's a series of legislative acts made the protection of the past a legal requirement in the United States - emergence of Cultural Resource Management (CRM)
James Ussher
Irish theologian who said the Earth was created in 4004 BC using biblical references) to October 23, 4004 bc The exact dating of the age of the earth was arrived at by an Irish theologian, James Ussher, arrived at by an Irish theologian, James Ussher, in 1640.in 1640.He arrived at his conclusion by careful counting He arrived at his conclusion by careful counting of the "begats" in the Bible, and perhaps by of the "begats" in the Bible, and perhaps by some divine guidance.....
LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging)
Light Detection and Ranging, a remote sensing technique using the same principle as radar. The instrument transmits light to a target, some of which is reflected back to the instrument. The time for the light to travel out to the target and back is used to determine the range to the target. Airborne scanning laser rangfinder Differentail gps Inertial navigation system 30,000 points per second at ~15cm accuracy $500/mi^2 Extensive, automated, geometric filtering to remove tree canopy
Magnetometry
Measures variability in the magnetic field beneath the ground surface to locate magnetic anomalies.
metal detecting
Most basic one is metal detecting. Walking around with metal
features
Non portable archaeological evidence: Fence Marks, Soil stains
ecofacts
Plant/ animal remains found: Animal Carcass. 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.
Anaerobic
Process that does not require oxygen. Bog People/mummies
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)
Radar system in which high azimuth resolution is achieved by storing and processing data on the Doppler shift of multiple return pulses in such a way as to give the effect of a much longer antenna.
satellite
SAR provides a "road map" for geoarchaeologists to locate sites, features and artifacts and to better interpret the history of early people and climatic conditions in this region.
Sarah Parcak
Space archaeologist who uses many non-invasive survey methods. American archaeologist, used satellite imaging to identify potential archaeological sites in Egypt, Rome, and elsewhere in the former Roman Empire
Methodologies
Strategies for carrying out a scientific study. A detailed description of how an investigation will be set up and what data will be collected. - flexibility in the above
architecture
Tectihuacan, Mexico
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson!- lead the first archaeological expeditions at the octagonal mansion Poplar Forest from 1809-1826- when he died, and while he led them, his slaves were doing all of the work in running the plantation and making it successful- Archaeology at Poplar Forest showed that the slaves had some sort of home life and personality that allowed them to escape from the horror of slavery on occasion "Father of American Archaeology"
Culture History
Time & Space questions(Temporal/Spatial)Basis for Processualism & Postprocessualism. What happened? When & Where?More descriptive than explanatoryDirect Historical Approach - cultural continuities in descendant groups through history (time
When would archaeologists use heavy machinery to excavate
When 'fill' deposits are covering a site or part of a site, such as recent/modern soil that was brought in to build up an area (think Logan Airport in Boston). Also, heavy machinery may be used when plowzone (soil disturbed by farming) needs to be removed.
Hiram Bingham
Yale archaeologist & first Westerner to encounter Machu Picchu. Incan civilization discovered by Hiram Bingham in 2911. HIRAM WAS LOOKING FOR TRACES LEFT BY INCA MANCO AS HE FLED FROM PIZARRO 1912 Yale Peruvian Expedition Yielded collection of artifacts Bingham. He believed he had found Old Vilcabamva, the citadel of Manco IncaBut also saw it as ruins of Tampu-tocco, birthplace of first Inca King, Manco-Capac. Proposed Machu Picchu as the birthplace of the Incas, due to three windows Bingham also claimed that Virgins of the Sun occupied Machu PicchuBecause skeletons found there had almost all been womenYoung girls selected at 7 and assigned to state institutionPriestesses, secondary wivesReanalysis shows ratio of men to women much more even
thermal infrared multispectral scanning (TIMS)
a remote sensing technique that uses equipment mounted on aircraft or satellites to measure infrared thermal radiation given off by the ground
Pedestrian Survey
a systematic walkover of an area in the search for archaeological remains
osteologist
a technician who specializes in the treatment of bone disease
Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)
an electromagnetic pulse is aimed into the ground. The bounced-back signal can indicate something about the nature of whatever it has encountered. A near-surface geophysical surveying application that works using radar that is pulsed through the ground surface. As radar energy is reflected off of underground discontinuities a portion of the energy is reflected back to the surface and measured at a receiving antenna. The radar travel times are measured and stored digitally on a computer
sites
any place where material evidence exists about the human past
Museum Wormianum
by the 1700s and 1800s we have the "Antiquarians"By the early 1800's Europe's museumswere filling with artifacts from all over the world - 'curiosities'Danish scientist Christian Thomsen established the Three-Age chronology for prehistoric Europe that is still used today (stone - bronze - iron ages)Jacques Boucher de Perthes found bones of extinct animals in association with hand axes in France
airphotos
data collecting, comprises taking photographs or images from aircraft or satellites, and data analysis which such images are analyzed, interpreted, and integrated with other evidence from field survey
anthropogenic deposits
deposits that result from human activity
Stanley South
developed Mean Ceramic Dating using historic sherds from Brunswick Town, N.C.. Stanley South 1977: "Method and Theory in Historical Archeology 1. explicit evolutionary framework. 2. Logically grounded and scientific techniques. 3. Quantitative method for paters recognition 4.timeless, spaceless.
J.C. Harrington
developed pipestem dating for historical archaeologists. Harrington completed a report of his work at the May-Hartwell site in 1938, but it was not until 1950 that any of his reports of the Jamestown excavations would be published. This was because the National Park Service envisioned their function as one of preservation and interpretation rather than research. To combat this, the Harringtons and other National Park Service employees founded the Eastern National Park and Monument Association in 1948, which published a number of Pinky's archaeological reports. It also provided funding for publishing postcards and pamphlets detailing the history and archaeology of National Parks and Monuments.[2]The excavations at Jamestown continued until World War II, when Harrington was made Acting Park Superintendent of Colonial Park.[3] He held this position until 1946, when he went on to become the Eastern Regional Archaeologist for the National Park Service's southeast region in Richmond, Virginia
Willard Libby
developed radiocarbon dating
Charles Darwin
developed the theory of evolution via the process of natural selection. Father of evolution; wrote the book on the origins of the speciesbased on his findings on the galapogas islands and finches Published in 1859• First clearly articulated publication on the theory of evolution through the mechanism of natural selection•His work a) led to widespread acceptance of the antiquity of the earth and humankind and b) was an intellectual turning point in our understanding of the past• eventually led to creation of thehighly acclaimed "Darwin Awards"
Invasive methods
digging deep into the ground Invasive• Shovel testing• Auger testing• Probing
Howard Carter
discovered King Tutankhamun's tomb King Tut 1922
Charles Lindbergh
famous American aviator who took the first aerial photographs of an archaeological site (Chaco Canyon, N.M.)
How are sites formed and transformed?
first - human settlement, then...• anthropogenic activities/site formation• natural and cultural transformations create the "archaeological record"
Seriation
forms, methods of mfg, styles change through time. is a relative dating technique
Stratigraphy
he layering of cultural depositsMost important principal - Law of Superposition (relative dating method)
horizontal or block excavations
horizontal or block excavations give you the ability to see spatial (and possibly functional) relationships between artifacts, ecofacts & features
Visual Reconnaissance
look for most prominent remains in a landscapemany sites are visible on the surface only as a scatter of artifacts and require more thorough survey: called recconaissance survey -useful in areas where people with mobile way of life have left little archaeological record (like Africa)-growth of regional studies: archaeologists study settlement patterns- distribution of sites across the landscape within a given region has developed from being a preliminary stage in field work to an independent area of research, which can produce different info than digging -modern excavation is slow and costly, whereas survey is cheap, quick, relatively non-destructive and requires only maps, compasses-not just identification sites and recording surface artifacts, but also the sampling of natural and mineral resources
probing
most traditional technique that uses rods or borers, helps note the positions where they strike solids or hollows
artifacts
object made by human beings, either hand-made or mass-produced. Anything made: Stone, Pottery
Index Fossil Concept
strata containing the same fossils (artifacts) are of similar age relative dating method
walkover survey
surface collection; 100% collection. shovel test: at regular intervals
desiccated
the process of becoming completely dry - Egyptian mummies, Atacama Desert, Chile
Palynologist
the study of pollen grains and other spores, especially as found in archaeological or geological deposits.
Processualism
the study of social structures and cultures by analyzing and comparing their processes and methodologies. Adaptations to various environmental settings; processes of culture change; strong alignment with Scientific Approach; empiricism. Techno-environmental materialism - direct material benefits (food, shelter, clothing, etc) How was past human behavior structured? Why do we see certain behavioral responses to changing environments? Processes of change, more on group levelMore explanatory than descripti Cultural Ecology, Cultural materialism are major processual approaches can link human behaviors to material correlates; uses scientific method as way of approaching study; focus on environment
Geomorphologist
they study how the surface of the Earth formed and how it is changing.
How does an archaeologist record the vertical locations of artifacts, strata, features, and other cultural stuff? By either using -
•Surveying instruments, such as transit and stadia rod (see a),or•String and line level (see b), the elevation of which still needs to be determined using a transit and stadia rod or GPS unit
