ANTH 1003 Week 4 (Auburn University - Monica Cox)

Glaciation

A condition when the land surface is covered with sheets of glacial ice

thermoluminescence dating

A dating method for estimating dates of pottery that has been fired (items exposed to heat-pottery, volcanic ash)

Carbon-14 dating

A dating method that establishes the date or period of an organic artifact or feature from the relative proportions of radioactive carbon to non-radioactive isotopes [how much carbon has radiated off the bone... determines the age]

Seriation

Relative dating method that analyses changing styles of pottery or other artifacts over time to situate any particular assemblance of artifacts into a Time series of styles and designs

Paleoethnobotany

The study of ancient plant remains in order to reconstruct a picture of prehistoric environments and human-plant interaction

If you wanted to understand very early, non-living human beings, you would likely engage in a) historical anthropology b) paleoanthropology c) geological analysis d) living primates such as the great apes

b) paleoanthropology

Cultural anthropologists face an ethical responsibility in their work and so must disclose informants a) finding sources for research b) reasons for doing the research c) the location in the field d) the name of all informants

b) reasons for doing the research

feature

non-portable evidence of human activity

Pleistocene

A geologic period from 1.8 million to 10,000 years ago, which was characterized by multiple periods of extensive glaciation. Land of northern hemisphere covered by glaciers , these sheets of ice retreated about 12,000 years ago

ethnopoetics

A method of recording narrative speech acts- including oral poetry, stories, and ritual use of language- as verses and stanzas in order to capture the format and other performative elements that might be lost in written prose.

Test pit

A preliminary excavation, usually of a single 1-meter-by-1-meter square to see if artifactual material exists at the site and to assess the character of the stratigraphy

Qualitative Research

Aim is to produce an in-depth and detailed description of social behaviors and beliefs

paleoanthropologist

Anthropologists and archaeologists who study the fossilized remains of ancient primates and humans to understand their origins and evolution - developed # of strategies to analyze fossils

relative dating

Any dating techniques provide us with rough assessments of the age of a fossil artifact, or archaeological feature relative to other fossils , rocks, artifacts, or features

fieldnotes

Any information that the anthropologist writes down or transcribes during fieldwork.

Sites

Any location that shows evidence of human activity, including those with monuments and buildings

interview (survey, open-ended, structured, etc)

Anysystematic conversation with an informant to collect field research data, ranging from a highly structured set of questions to the most open-ended ones

Quantitative Research

Classifies features of a phenomenon, counting or measuring them and spconsrructung mathematical and statistical models to explain what is observed

Optical Stimulated Luminescence

Dating method that measures electrons trapped within crystalline structure found in quartz and feldspare after being buried. Crystals in these grains absorb energy from trade amounts of radioactive material in soil and rock. When exposed to light, electrons are released a d can be measured to estimate the date the were buried late Quaternary dating technique used to date the last time quartz sediment was exposed to light.

Cultural anthropology is one of the most quantitative of the social sciences... True or False

FALSE

In order to study culture one must travel to distant, far-off places. True False

FALSE

Reconnaissance phase of archaeology

Field work typically begins by walking an area, collecting whatever scattered artifacts can be found on the surface (often referenced to as "ground reconnaissance") - Then during reconnaissance phase, the researcher can investigate whether such locations are viable archaeological sites Deciding whether site is worth digging

Haplotype

Group of distinctive inherited genes

Period

In archaeology, a division of prehistory. Divisions are based on gross changes in subsistence patterns, climatic changes, housing, and burial styles, etc.

Phase

In archaeology, a unit of time and space characterized by one or more distinctive artifact styles (pottery, lithics-stone, etc)

Haplogroups

Lineages that share haplotypes

fieldwork

Long-term immersion in a community, normally involving firsthand research in a specific study community or research setting where people's behavior can be observed and the researcher can have conversations or interviews with members of the community.

Trace fossils

Soft tissues such as organs, skin, and feathers that do not fossilize, but sometimes leave impressions, or traces on the sedimentary rock that forms around them

A critical reason for taking field notes is that there may be a long lag time between fieldwork and writing and publishing about it. True False

TRUE

Anthropologists are making a mistake when they clean samples of potsherds for analysis... True or False

TRUE

anthropological linguistics

The branch of anthropology concerned with the study of human languages

Fossilization

The process by which hard tissues like bone and teeth slowly turn to stone as molecule by molecule the hard tissues turn to rock, keeping the shape of the original bone

participant observation

The standard research method used by sociocultural anthropologists that requires the researcher to live in the community he or she is studying to observe and participate in day-to-day activities.

Stratigraphy

The study of layers of rock and how they were deposited

interglacials

The warm periods that occur during ice ages or between ice age, usually referring to warm periods during during Pleistocene

Surface Collection

a collection of pottery and stone artifacts made from the surface of the soil around a possible site

potassium-argon dating

a dating method that measures the decay of an isotope of potassium into argon, used to date minerals, clays, and sediments over 100,000 years old in igneous rock that was laid down as volcanic ash

Comparative method

a research method that derives insights from careful comparisons of aspects of two or more cultures or societies

Breccia

a rock composed of broken fragments of minerals or rock cemented together by a fine-grained matrix (highly destructive)

genealogical method

a systematic methodology for recording kinship relations and how kin terms are used in different societies

Reconnaissance work in archaeology is also known as: a) Phase I b) Phase II c) Phase III d) Phase IV

a) Phase I

Which project would likely require the assistance of a geomorphologist? a) a study of landscape change b) a study of community response to an environmental disaster c) a study of how people maintain clean water in lakes d) a study of how volcanoes forced migration patterns to change

a) a study of landscape change

Cultural anthropologists do research by a) building trusting relationships with people over a long period of time b) gathering data to produce statistical models c) focusing on single dimensions of people's lives d) studying the physical evolution of modern Homo sapiens

a) building trusting relationships with people over a long period of time

A form of non-portable material culture that a human has made and modified is called a/an _______________. a) feature b) geode c) flake d) fossil

a) feature

ethnography of speaking

anthropological approach to language that distinguished the ways that people actually speak from the ideal ways that people in any culture are supposed to speak speech acts only acquire their real meaning when they are studied in a social context study of language must go beyond the sentences, beyond language and bring in social context

Chronometric dating

any dating method that determines an age of a fossil, rock, artifact, or archaeological feature on some specified time scale

informant

any person an anthropologist gets data from in the study community, especially people interviewed or who provide information about what he or she has observed or heard

The comparative method a) studies the evolution of a single language b) focuses on one society over a long period of time c) uses data from many different societies d) is the only accepted method of research in modern anthropology

c) uses data from many different societies

Chronometric dating techniques used by archaeologists help establish a) when something lived in relation to other fossils b) when something died in relation to other fossils c) the exact time of death of a human or creature d) a more specific age for a fossil or something organic

d) a more specific age for a fossil or something organic

tree-ring dating

dating method that determines the age of a wood sample by counting the number of annual growth rings.

absolute dating

dating that gives a specific age, year, or range of years for an object or site

In which of the following locations would you likely find an anthropologist doing fieldwork? a) factory b) mental institutions c) NYC neighborhood d) Amazon rainforest e) all of the above

e) all of the above

What kind of data do anthropologists gather from doing interviews? a) terms for biological species b) details about court cases c) life histories d) opinions on upcoming elections e) all of the above

e) all of the above

Geomorphologists

geologists who study the formation and structure of the earth's surface

Residue Analysis

microscopic analysis of the residues of plant and animal foods, especially starches, on pottery or tools

Use-wear

patterns of wear and tear on an artifact that is presumed to be due to use

Habitation sites

places where people lived at some time in the past

action research

research in which the goal of a researcher's involvement in a community is to help make social change

alluvial soil

rich, fine grained soils deposited by rivers and streams

The Law of Superposition says that...

sedimentary layers are deposited in a time sequence with the oldest on the bottom and the youngest on the top.

The ability to document changes in pottery styles in non-living societies happens through...

seriation

Headnotes

the mental notes an anthropologist makes while in the field, which may or may not end up in formal fieldnotes or journals

intersubjectivity

the realization that knowledge about other people emerges out of relationships and perceptions individuals have with each other

Paleoanthropology

the study of the history of human evolution through the fossil record