Archaeological Looting Terms

Flexed burial

A body buried in the fetal position (curled on its side).

Ethnography

A branch of anthropology that studies and describes modern human cultures (rather than human behavior or physical attributes). Archaeologists sometimes work with ethnographers in an effort to correlate behavior with material remains.

Feminist archaeology

A branch of archaeology that focuses on collecting evidence of female social roles in past cultures and of women's influence in shaping societies.

Experimental archaeology

A branch of archaeology that studies ancient technology by reproducing it or by recreating a type of site to study the processes of site formation.

Historical Archaeology

A discipline within archaeology concerned with supplementing written history with archaeological research to create a more complete account of the past. The term applies only to the study of societies with written records.

Tumulus

A large, earthen mound built above a tomb or grave.

Grid

A network of squares. A site or large area of excavation is generally marked off into square units before digging begins.

Epigrapher .

A person who studies ancient inscriptions

Flake

A piece of stone removed from a core for use as a tool or as debitage.

Ziggurat

A rectangular, tiered or terraced structure of varying heights that served as a platform for temples in ancient Mesopotamia -- an area that was home to the Sumerians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and other ancient cultures.

Acheulean

A stone tool industry, in use from about 1.6 million years ago until 125,000 years ago. It was characterized by large bifaces, particularly hand axes. This tool-making technology was a more complex way of making stone tools than the earlier Oldowan technology. More flakes were knocked off from both sides of a stone and there is evidence that the maker had a preconceived notion of the tool's final form.

Alloy

A substance made by the mixture of two or more elements, at least one of which is a metal. Alloys are often stronger and more durable than pure metals. Bronze is an alloy of copper and either zinc or tin.

Dendrochronology

A type of absolute dating. The technique is based on the fact that trees add a ring of growth annually, and counting the rings gives the age of the tree. The rings vary in size depending on the conditions affecting trees in an area, so trees from the same region will have similar patterns of growth and can be matched with one other. When a tree ring pattern is recognized in timber, the age of that timber can be calculated and thus the approximate age of the feature or structure to which it belongs can be determined. This method was first widely used in the American Southwest.

Radiocarbon dating

An absolute dating technique used to determine the age of organic materials less than 50,000 years old. Age is determined by examining the loss of the unstable carbon-14 isotope, which is absorbed by all living organisms during their lifespan. The rate of decay of this unstable isotope after the organism has died is assumed to be constant, and is measured in half-lives of 5730 + 40 years, meaning that the amount of carbon-14 is reduced to half the amount after about 5730 years. Dates generated by radiocarbon dating have to be calibrated using dates derived from other absolute dating methods, such as dendrochronology and ice cores.

Global Positioning System (GPS)

An instrument that determines (by triangulation) the location of features, using data from orbiting satellites.

Ground-penetrating radar

An instrument used to find sub-surface anomalies (features) by recording differential reflection of radar pulses.

Agora

An open-air place of congregation in an ancient Greek city, generally the public square or marketplace, that served as a political, civic, religious, and commercial center.

Alidade

An optical surveyor's instrument used in the field to create topographic maps and top plans. Today alidades are being replaced by Total Stations.

Hieroglyphs

Ancient writing system consisting of pictographic or ideographic symbols; used in Egypt, Mesoamerica, and elsewhere.

Varves

Annual clay deposits made by retreating and melting glaciers, used to measure recent geological events; may be used for relative dating.

Feature

Any physical structure or element, such as a wall, post hole, pit, or floor, that is made or altered by humans but (unlike an artifact) is not portable and cannot be removed from a site.

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.

Contract Archaeology

Archaeological research and excavation undertaken under contracts with the government or private organizations, designed to protect cultural resources in danger of destruction due to development. Contract archaeologists are often hired by construction companies to do salvage archaeology. See Salvage.

Geoarchaeology

Archaeological research using the methods and concepts of the earth sciences. Geoarchaeologists often study soil and sediment patterns and processes of earth formation observed at archaeological sites. This form of research provides a wealth of information about context and human activity.

A.D.

"Abbreviation for the term Anno Domini Nostri Jesu Christi (or simply Anno Domini) which means ""in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ."" Years are counted from the traditionally recognized year of the birth of Jesus. In academic, historical, and archaeological circles, A.D. is generally replaced by the term Common Era (C.E.)."

Absolute Dating

Collective term for techniques that assign specific dates or date ranges, in calendar years, to artifacts and other archaeological finds. Dates are determined by a variety of processes, including chemical analyses (as in radiocarbon dating and thermoluminescence), data correlation (as in dendrochronology), and a variety of other tests. See Relative Dating.

Field notes

Detailed, written accounts of archaeological research, excavation, and interpretation made while in the field at an ongoing project.

Coprolite

Fossilized excrement or feces.

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 occurred.

Grave goods

Objects placed within human burials to equip a person for the afterlife or to identify the deceased.

Alluvial Deposit

Soil deposited by running water, such as streams, rivers, and flood waters. Many ancient peoples, such as the Egyptians living along the Nile, depended on annual floods and alluvial deposits to replenish the soils they were farming. Alluvial soils are usually nutrient-rich and good for agriculture. In some instances, however, running water carries away nutrients from exposed soils and creates areas unsuitable for agriculture.

Tufa

Solidified volcanic ash. Also known as tuff.

Glaze

Special slip applied to pottery that produces, on firing, an impermeable, glossy surface.

Doric column

Tapering column, generally fluted, with a simple, squared capital and no base.

Trench

Term sometimes used to refer to an excavation unit, especially when the length is longer than the width.

Fabric

Term used to describe the composition of the clay used in the manufacture of a ceramic pot or artifact; it includes temper, texture, hardness, and other characteristics.

Ware

Types of ceramics; may refer to function, appearance/style, or fabric (as in cooking ware, ribbed ware, coarse ware).

Acropolis

The "high point" or citadel of an ancient Greek city, like the Acropolis in Athens. It is generally a raised area above the rest of the city where the most important sacred and secular buildings are brought together. The buildings on the Athenian Acropolis were important for trade and worship.

Context

The position and associations of an artifact, feature, or archaeological find in space and time. Noting where the artifact was found and what was around it assists archaeologists in determining chronology and interpreting function and significance. Loss of context strips an artifact of meaning and makes it more difficult (sometimes, impossible) to determine function.

Ground Reconnaissance

The search for sites by visual inspection of the surface while on the ground (as opposed to in the air). See Surface Survey.

Flotation

The soaking of an excavated matrix (usually dirt) in water to separate and recover small ecofacts and artifacts, such as pollen samples, that cannot be recovered through traditional sieving.

Typology

The study and chronological arrangement of artifacts, such as ceramics or lithics, into different types based on associating similar characteristics. Typing makes a high volume of samples easier to study and compare.

Underwater archaeology

The study of archaeological sites and shipwrecks that lie beneath the surface of the water. This is a dangerous form of archaeology and is often conducted with the aid of mechanized tools that can be operated remotely.

Salvage Archaeology

The swift excavation and collection of artifacts at sites in immediate danger of destruction, usually by major land modification or construction projects (as in construction of a road or dam). Archaeologists record and recover as much of the site as they can in the brief period before it is destroyed. Also known as Salvage Archaeology.

Aerial Reconnaissance

The technique of searching for sites and features, both cultural and natural, from the air, often using aerial photography or the human eye. This is a good way to search for patterns or changes in soil color or plant density (possible indicators of buried features) that may not be visible to a person walking on the ground.

Half-life

The time needed for half of a radioactive isotope to decay and form a stable element. This known rate of decay is used in radiometric dating, such as radiocarbon dating, to determine the age of objects.

Diffusion

The transmission of ideas or materials from culture to culture, or from one area to another.

Aerial Photography

The various techniques of taking photographs of natural or cultural features from the air, using balloons, airplanes, satellites, and other sources, in order to study the features in their entirety from a top-down (bird's eye) view.

Hominid

This term was used in the past to describe the early humans called Hominins today. When the classification system changed to include apes in the human lineage (Hominidae), the term Hominid came to include apes and humans. Today, when talking about the human lineage and its ancestors, we use the term Hominin. Older publications that use the term Hominid are usually refering to the human lineage only.

Uniface tools

Tools or points that are worked or knapped on only one side or face.

Type

In archaeology, a grouping of artifacts identified as distinct or created for comparison with other groups. This grouping may or may not coincide with the actual types or groups designed by the original manufacturers.

Zone

In archaeology, a term used to refer to a stratigraphic level within an excavation.

Tree rings

Growth rings formed annually in a tree's trunk, which often reflect the conditions in which the tree grew. Thicker rings are indicative of a good growing season with ideal temperatures and sufficient rain. See Dendrochronology.

Flint

Hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock used by early humans to manufacture stone tools, such as spear and dart points, knives, and other utilitarian tools. Late stone-age people also struck flint to make sparks to produce fire.

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.

Use-wear analysis

Microscopic analysis of artifacts or bones to find wear patterns or damage marks that indicate how the artifact was used. For example, marks running perpendicularly to the edge of a stone knife could indicate that the tool was used for scraping rather than cutting. Also called wear analysis.

Egyptology

The branch of archaeology that specializes in the study of Egyptian civilization.

Excavation

The digging up and recording of archaeological sites, including uncovering and recording the provenience, context, and three-dimensional location of archaeological finds.

Hellenistic period

The era between the death of Alexander the Great (323 B.C.E.) and the rise of the Roman Empire (27 B.C.E.), when a fairly uniform civilization, based on Greek traditions, prevailed over most of the ancient world, from India in the east to Spain in the west.