Archaeology 110 - Final Review

"Survival of the fittest", a key mechanism in Darwin's theory of evolution, is also known as: a. natural selection b. uniformitarianism c. stratification d. classification e. ethnology

A

An example of an artifact made of inorganic materials is a. a plant fiber basket b. a stone tool c. an animal bone comb d. a wood flute e. none of the above

B

In the film, "Neanderthal", archaeologists worked to understand how this species hunted using spears by analyzing: a. rib cage volume b. vocal calls c. muscle scarring on bones d. the hyoid bone e. markings on the bones of their prey

C

Most human remains recovered by archaeologists are in the form of: a. mummies b. bog bodies c. skeletons or bones d. impressions of decayed burials e. hairs that have been preserved

C

The remains of large animals, such as sheep or cows, found at archaeological sites help us build a picture of past human diet. These remains are known as: a. microfauna b. macrobotanical c. macrofauna d. megafauna e. macroscale

C

All of the following are examples of synthetic materials except: a. pottery b. glass bottles c. iron weapons d. stone hand-axes e. none of the above

D

What is a more formal field method used by cultural anthropologists to collect data that can be statistically analyzed? a. genealogy b. participant observation c. undirected conversation d. survey research e. none of the above

D

According to the cordage exercise in the lab, which of the following was likely the biological result/consequence? a. arthritis in the shoulders b. cuts on the fingers c. loss of hair d. spinal injuries e. blisters/calluses

E

Commonly found preserved in ash layers, pottery, and on stone tools and even teeth, minute particles of silica derived from plant cells that survive after the rest of the organism is decomposed are known as: a. diatoms b. phytoliths c. eoliths d. foraminifera e. macrobotanical remains

B

Dr. Searcy;s ethnoarchaeological research of Maya manos and metates (i.e., grinding stones) in Guatemala revealed that a. a stronger analogical link was necessary to draw his conclusions b. these tools are linked to multilayered cultural beliefs and practices c. these tools are being used more and more by modern people. d. it is likely that ancient Maya men used these tools as part of their domestic duties. e. both c and d

B

During the 18th century, _________ was one of the first archaeological sites to be excavated. a. Catalhoyuk b. Pompeii c. Cramborne Chase d. Tutankhamen's Tomb e. Pecos Ruin

B

In North America, the influential anthropologist Julian Steward emphasized the importance of environmental adaption in cultural change. This paradigm was called... a. environmentalism b. cultural ecology c. eco-archaeology d. diffusionism e. New Archaeology

B

Inclusions in clay used to make pottery that act as a filler, creating strength and counteracting cracking and shrinkage during drying and firing are known as: a. slag b. temper c. microliths d. debitage e. silicates

B

Temperate climates are not usually conducive to organic preservation at archaeological sites because of a. the possibility of long-term freezing conditions and natural refrigeration b. variable temperatures and fluctuating precipitation c. hyper-aridity d. water-logged environments e. steady humidity and temperatures

B

What is the best method for dating volcanic rocks older than 100,000 years old? a. radiocarbon b. potassium/argon dating c. uranium-series dating d. archaeomagnetism e. thermoluminescence

B

What kind of evidence was analyzed by Dr. Searcy in the pipes he showed in class that provided evidence that tobacco, wood, and grasses were smoked by the Fremont Indians? a. microwear b. macrobotanical remains c. paleoentomological d. microfauna e. both b and d

B

A society with some differences in social status (ranking), specialists manufacturing crafts, surpluses, and perhaps a permanent ritual or ceremonial center would probably be considered a a. mobile hunter-gatherer group. b. segmentary society. c. chiefdom d. early state e. bands

C

Dr. Searcy showed how he taught his son a sign or symbol for the word "treat" using the Gangnam Style dance. This is an example of: a. the process of indoctrination b. c-transforms c. the arbitrary application of meaning in language among humans d. an inappropriate use of children in anthropological research

C

Remote sensing uses various instruments and methods for creating images of features that may be located below ground. How does a magnetometer work? a. It employs magnetic pulses that travel through the ground and the echoes are recorded by the device. b. It emits a weak electrical current and records the conductivity of the current through the electromagnetic fields underground. c. It measures magnetic intensity of anomalies in the surrounding magnetic field d. It records photographs of small voids in the ground using a small periscope head and light. e. It measures infrared light and results in a magnetic spectrographic image.

C

Using ethnographies usually recorded by sociocultural anthropologists to make inferences about the past is known as: a. ethnohistory b. ethnoarchaeology c. ethnographic analogy d. experimental archaeology e. ethnobotany

C

______ is a medical technique best used for the examination of soft tissues that may be found to still exist on a burial such as a bog body or mummy

CT scanning

According to the burial analysis group activity we completed in class, what aspects of the 7th century AD Anglo Saxon burial were true and helped to determine the social position of the woman interred in the middle of the burial mound? a. the only foreign or exotic items (two blue glass bowls from France) among all the burials were found with the woman in the middle of the burial mound. b. the location of the woman's burial in the middle of the mound. c. The woman in the middle of the mound was surrounded by burials of people with fewer or no grave goods. d. all of the above are true e. a and c are true.

D

All of the following are examples of unaltered materials except: a. stone b. wood c. antler d. copper e. plant fibers

D

Ian Hodder and his students emphasized researching aspects of the archaeological record such as gender and religion, which were influential arguments for the school of archaeological thought called: a. the New Archaeology b. ethnology c. cultural ecology d. postprocessual archaeology e. processual archaeology

D

Insect exoskeletons are resistant to decomposition and can be considered likely indicators of past climactic conditions. The study of ancient insects is called: a. phytolythology b. palynology c. micromorphology d. paleoentomology e. paleoethnobotany

D

Small fragments of bone may be examined for bone microstructure. With increasing age, circular structures called _______ become more frequent a. osteoporosis b. ephiphyses c. osteoliths d. osteons e. circuloses

D

When early humans picked up a rock and chipped it to use it as a tool to hunt large game, archaeologists consider this action to be: a. a factor in the transition from creature to human b. natural selection c. a way to determine provenience d. a cultural formation process e. an n-transform

D

Which of the following is not one of the variables that should be considered when designing an experimental replication? a. skill level required b. number of people that may have performed one or a series of tasks c. seasonal requirements d. use of materials only available to modern people e. all of the above should be considered

D

Written records may supply an incomplete picture of the society that produced them because a. records written on perishable materials may not have survived over time. b. only certain types of activity, such as business transactions, may have been recorded in writing. c. some written records may not be accurately recorded d. all of the above are true. e. only a and b are true.

D

Although ice core analysis suggests that the next ice age should be 15,000 years in the future, _____ appear(s) to be having an effect on the normal cycle of the earth's temperature. a. the tilt of the earth b. rising sea levels c. solar flares d. continental drift e. human activity

E

Features include such things as a. hammers, chisels, and arrowheads b. animal bones, plant remains, and other ecofacts c. small villages, houses, and palaces d. lithic scatters, pyramid complexes, and burials e. postholes. hearths, and storage ditches

E

The facial reconstruction of King Richard III, whose skeletal remains were found under a modern parking lot in Leicester, England, was based on a. a death mask found in his burial b. skull structure and modern tissue thickness measurements c. portraits of the king d. DNA analysis e. both b and c

E

The major archaeological problem with waterlogged finds, particularly those made out of wood, is a. that they are always too big to fit in museum laboratories b. that currently we have no scientific methods to preserve them. c. that wood preserves in all conditions, making waterlogged wood redundant. d. that water currents destroy most wooden artifacts. e. that they deteriorate rapidly when they are removed from the water.

E

The primary goal of chemical characterization of an object is to a. reveal information about the character of the person who made it. b. mimic how objects were used in the past. c. determine the recipes used by people to create the object. d. assign objects to standard categories so they can be stored properly e. discover the source of the material an object is made out of.

E

The principle of ________ was originally developed in geology by Sir Charles Lyell, but was later applied to the human past. It suggested that geologically ancient conditions were in essence similar to those of our own time. a. Three Age System b. evolution c. matrix d. stratification e. uniformitarianism

E

The study of disease and injury in skeletons found at archaeological sites is known as: a. skeletal biology b. paleoanthropometry c. forensic anthropology d. epidemiology e. paleopathology

E

This absolute dating method was developed by A.E. Douglass, an American astronomer, chiefly from work he conducted at the Pueblos of the American Southwest. a. tree-ring dating b. radiocarbon dating c. potassium-argon dating d. dendrochronology e. both a and d

E

Through the best efforts of experts, the chances of identifying the right sex of a child based only on skeletal remains are a. one in a hundred b. 100% c. 75% d. one in a thousand e. 50%

E

Unfortunately animals can disturb the original context of artifacts and destroy archaeological features, and this is known in archaeology as: a. bioturbation b. life-cycles c. n-transforms d. c-transforms e. both a and c

E

Which of the following lines of evidence helped solve the mystery of the collapse of the Mayan city of Copan in the film, "The Lost King of the Maya?" a. the discovery of its first ruler b. biological evidence of an epidemic c. items traded from Quirigua, its rival city d. mass burials with people who were anemic (malnourished) e. hieroglyphs interpreted from various places at the site

E

Which of the following would lead archaeologists to the conclusion that a body was deliberately buried? a. the presence of an animal skeleton with the body b. the presence of prestige goods such as ivory spears with the body c. indications that the body was placed in a dug grave d. all of the above e. b and c only

E

______ is defined as ethnographic research carried out with the analogical needs of the archaeologist in mind.

Ethnoarchaeology

How is horticulture different from agriculture?

Horticulture is non-intensive, more like home gardens. Agriculture continually uses fields and beasts of labor

_______ is the adaptive strategy where workers are alienated from the product of their work and is most commonly associated with modern Western societies

Industrialism

What are the three main characteristics common to most definitions of culture?

Learned, social, symbolic

The method used to identify earthworks and other monumental architecture below tree canopies using a laser scanner that rapidly pulses a series of beams to the ground is known as _______

LiDAR

Describe how theory, method, and data are related

Method is used to obtain data, and data is used to make and support theories, which feeds back into methods

Volcanic glass, which was used to replicate chipped stone tools in class, is also called _________

Obsidian

Discuss one method used in archaeology to analyze human teeth and describe what it can tell us about a person.

Studying wear on the teeth of bodies can reveal age and what kinds of food the individual ate (if they ate corn tortillas ground on a metate, the bits of stone in the tortilla can grind down their teeth)

Name the perspectives on the study of symbols in archaeology and give an example of each.

Symbols as tesserae - the sacrament Symbols as tokens - the mannequin scepter of the Maya Symbols as girders - the Great Cross in Paquime (Stone Henge)

The example of water/wine and bread used in the sacrament or Eucharist, which is practiced in many Christian religions, is an example of symbols as ________

Tesserae

Symbols as ______ are those that convey and transmit meaning and information to their viewers

Tokens

_______ man, found in Denmark, was a bog body wearing a pointed leather cap and is considered to be one of the best preserved bodies from prehistoric times.

Tollund

Which of the following is not considered one of the five adaptive strategies discussed in class? a. cultivation b. horticulture c. foraging d. agriculture e. industrialism

a

The study of human body parts and dimensions, including body mass and compositions as indicators of nutritional status, is known as _______

anthropometry

The study of material remains from archaeological sites is called ______

bioarchaeology

______ is a type of exchange where the user goes directly to the source of the material

direct access

______ are organic and environmental remains that may not have been used/made by people, but reveal important data about their lives.

ecofacts

Sociocultural anthropology is based on a body of recorded material that describes the vast array of human beliefs, practices, and achievements. The process of collecting this information in the field is known as ______

ethnography

A(n) _________ is a way we can create analogies regarding prehistoric technologies by trying to replicate the technology in repetitive attempts

experiment

Define experimental archaeology and describe how it is used in archaeological studies

experimental archaeological attempts to replicate ancient methods through multiple trials using materials only available to ancient peoples. It is used to discern how people lived and understand ancient societies overall.

All humans subsisted by _____ up until 10,000 B.P.

foraging

What is an etic perspective?

from the outsider (the ethnographer) who observes a culture from an analytical perspective

The study of pollen grains, developed by Norwegian geologist Lennart von Post, is commonly known as ________

palynology

Groups of people whose subsistence is based on domesticated animal herds where there is a symbiotic relationship between animals and people are known as a(n) _______

pastoralist

The horizontal and vertical position of an artifact or feature within the matrix is known as _______

provenience

A key breakthrough in the use of scientific methods to date archaeological remains was Willard Libby's 1949 invention of ______

radiocarbon dating

A source or means of obtaining the necessities of life is also known as _______

subsistence

Pottery and metals are examples of _______ materials, which have undergone an actual change in state due to human activities

synthetic

What is context?

the situation in which an artifact was discovered, including: the matrix, association, and provenience. (if placed out of context approximately 80% of the information about the artifact is lost)

A society that practices non-intensive food production (horticulture or pastoralism) and lacks a formal government is known as a(n) _________

tribe/segmentary society

______ is the social process by which culture is learned and transmitted across the generations, most often during childhood

enculturation

The study of ethnographic cultures through the examination of of historical records is called ______

ethnohistory

In the film "Lost King of the Maya", a depiction on Altar Q suggests that the kings of Copan legitimized their power by: a. claiming ancestry to Yax K'uk Mo b. sacrificing people who opposed them. c. hoarding and redistributing food and other goods. d. building monumental architecture to mark special occasions e. creating alliances with their rival city, Quirigua

A

GIS, which stands for _________, was a significant development in archaeological mapping. a. Geological Igneous Systems b. Geological Information Systems c. Geographic Information Systems d. Genealogical Information System e. Geographic Intelligence Society

C

Humankind's ability to use ______ is generally agreed to be what most clearly distinguishes our species from other animals. a. currency b. our thumbs c. symbols d. technology e. the left side of our brains

C

If it can be demonstrated that gold was highly valued by a society, archaeologists could conclude that individuals from that society that were buried with gold. a. were artisans that worked in gold b. had a lower social status c. had a higher social status d. came from somewhere else e. all of the above

C

In Elman Service's typology of human societies, mobile hunter-gatherer groups were originally called: a. chiefdoms b. segmentary societies c. bands d. tribes e. none of the above

C

Isotopic analysis of human tooth enamel or bone collagen relies on a. the presence of phytoliths b. whether the person ate sugar or not. c. reading the chemical signature left in the body by different foods. d. the amount of calcium a person consumed in later life. e. the analysis of microremains

C

Most stone tools are made by removing ___ from a ___ in a process called flintknapping a. fractures from a flake b. megaliths from a quarry c. flakes from a core d. hand-axes from a chopper e. rocks from a bag

C

Our clearest glimpse at what people looked like in the past is from a. written records b. marks on skulls c. preserved bodies d. aDNA analysis e. facial reconstruction

C

These objects or features were not found as an indicator of religious ritual at the site of Gobekli Tepe in southern Turkey a. offerings b. large, carved monolithic stones c. hearths/fire pits d. animal imagery e. walled rooms

C

Through seriation, assemblages of artifacts are arranged in serial order, which is taken to indicate a. their relative worth b. what year they were excavated c. their relative ordering in time d. where they were discovered on the site grid e. a typological sorting based on their horizontal location

C

The arrangement and order of words in phrases and sentences is known as: a. morphology b. descriptive linguistics c. lexicon d. syntax e. phonology

D

The material immediately surrounding an artifact, usually some sediment such as gravel, sand, or clay, is known as the: a. feature b. find spot c. site d. matrix e. ecofact

D

The study of the arrangement of superimposed layers of rocks or soil is called a. dendrochronology b. the Three Age system c. typology d. stratigraphy e. seriation

D

Universal Grammar is the idea that: a. Grammatical categories of particular languages lead their speakers to think in different ways. b. Children are shaped by the language they leant through enculturation c. Language shapes but does not restrict thought. d. The human brain contains a limited set of rules of organizing language because all languages have a common structural basis, and all humans have similar linguistic abilities e. Anyone can learn another language if they are genetically predisposed

D

When considering different approaches to interpretation in science, ________ is top-down logic where theories are evaluated by testing hypotheses. a. processualism b. induction c. methodology d. deduction e. abduction

D

Single-cell algae, whose cell walls are replaced by silica when they die, can be identified to indicate environmental conditions. These are known as: a. isotopes b. pollen c. phytoliths d. microbotanicals e. diatoms

E

Which of the following statements regarding preservation is true? a. Stone tools typically survive very poorly in the archaeological record, and stone artifacts rarely date from before 500 years ago b. Such metals as gold, silver, and lead corrode and do not survive well in the archaeological record. c. Dry environments prevent decay through the shortage of water allowing micro-organisms to survive and flourish, thus preserving organic remains d. unfortunately no organic remains, such as food, wreaths or funerary bouquets, survived in the tomb of Tutankhamen e. All of the statements above are false

E

Which of the following was part of the processual movement known as "New Archaeology"? a. An emphasis on cultural history and chronologies b. A system for regional strategy in archaeology was created c. Topics that weren't seen as attainable in earlier explanations of the past, such as gender and religion, began to be addressed. d. Debated that objectivity is impossible. e. Heavy reliance on the scientific method, logical deduction, and environmental determinism

E

the sites featured on the "Time Team America" video were created by the prehistoric people known as the _______

Fremont Indians

When an anthropologist enters the field in a foreign environment and experiences extreme discomfort, fear, and home-sickness, this is known as:

culture shock

What is an emic perspective?

the worldview of local people, less analytical and less self-aware

What is a c-transform?

(cultural transforms) occur when people act on artifacts and ecofacts

What is a n-transform?

(natural transforms) situations in which nature acts upon something and changes it.

For archaeologists trying to understand social ranking, the individual burial of a child with rich burial goods and a well-built funerary monument would suggest that a. there may have been a system of hereditary ranking b. there may have been an egalitarian system with no ranking. c. the child had achieved a high social status through his or her own actions. d. there was a high rate of infant mortality e. none of the above

A

In the early stages of the discipline, what was the main difference between sociology and cultural anthropology? a. Sociology traditionally focused on large, industrialized Western nations. b. Anthropology relied on sampling and statistical techniques to derive interpretations about the cultures they studied. c. Sociology typically used ethnographic techniques to collect data. d. Anthropology traditionally focused on urban cultures e. Sociologists worked to solve social ills while anthropology posed questions about small societies and their organization

A

Influenced by Darwin's ides about evolution, Lewis Henry Morgan argued that human societies evolved through stages, from a. savagery to barbarism to civilization b. barbarism to agriculturalism to civilization. c. australopithecines to Homo erectus to Homo sapiens. d. Hinter to gather to agriculturalist. e. savagery to peasantry to capitalist

A

Pollen grains are a. the tiny male reproductive bodies of flowering plants. b. the minute particles of silica derived from the cells of microfauna c. the outermost protective layer of the skin of leaves or blades of grass d. fossilized unicellular algae. e. what bees eat for breakfast

A

Religious rituals usually contain four main components. Which of these is not one of those components? a. the partaking of sacrificial emblems b. the delineation of a boundary zone between this world and the next c. the belief in the presence of a deity d. the participation in worship e. both a and d

A

The construction and use of the site of Gobekli Tepe in Turkey predates the development of _____ in the area a. farming b. language c. symbols d. religion e. stone tools

A

The most comprehensive record of climate change on a global scale is obtained through a. deep sea cores b. calendric records c. faunal profiles d. fission track dating e. the National Weather Service

A

The mummies of the Andes are a good example of exceptional preservation of organic material resulting from its location in a a. cold climate b. bog c. dry cave d. sandy desert e. swamp

A

The study of artifacts and other material indicators of patterned actions that reflect religious beliefs is known as: a. the archaeology of cult b. symbolic archaeology c. cognitive archaeology d. spiritual archaeology e. symbols as ritual

A

The study of traded goods is an important part of the investigation of: a. exchange b. our hominin ancestors c. the development of agriculture d. long-term climate change e. both a and c

A

The use of symbols by people to structure their mental and social world, such as the Mound of the Cross at Casas Grandes in northern Mexico, is an example of symbols as: a. girders b. art c. tokens d. tesserae e. religion

A

What are the four main subdisciplines of anthropology? a. physical anthropology, linguistic anthropology, cultural anthropology, archaeology b. biological anthropology, forensic anthropology, archaeology, linguistics c. archaeology, biological anthropology, linguistics, applied anthropology d. medical anthropology, ethnography, ethnology, cultural anthropology e. genetic anthropology, physical anthropology, psychological anthropology, linguistic anthropology

A

Which of the following are considered a form of unsystematic survey? a. random site reconnaissance with local informants b. use of a grid system c. shovel test pits d. planned transects in pedestrian survey e. both a and c

A

Who was the first cultural anthropologist who advocated long-term personal study of groups in their local cultural setting and participant observation? a. Bronislaw Malinowski b. General Pitt-RIvers c. Sir William Flinders Petrie d. Charles Darwin e. Sir Charles Lyell

A

Although variables according to population, a number of skeletal attributes can be used for differentiations of the sexes. The best indicator of sex is the: a. shape of the pelvis b. shape of the mandible c. shape of the cranial vault d. shape of the femur and tibia e. shape of the orbital crest

A (men also generally have more robust bones)