Archaeology Midterm 2
A comprehensive analysis of ancient DNA, from both mtDNA and nuclear DNA samples, from a prehistoric cemetery at Norris Farms in Illinois, an Oneota cemetery dating to about AD 1300, suggests a
"single wave" hypothesis for the peopling of the Americas, around 37,000-23,000 years ago.
Platinum was unknown in Europe until the 16th century, but was being worked in Ecuador as early as the
2nd century BC.
Although impressions of textiles or flexible basketry on fired clay are attested as early as 25,000-27,000 years ago, the earliest known trace of actual cloth is a white linen fragment found clinging to an antler tool from Turkey, dating to approximately
7000 BC.
In order to assess the size and age of the animals at the Boarding School site, a typical technique was used, namely:
All of the above were used. (a. their numbers were assessed using the minimum number of individuals technique. b. ages of the animals were based on the eruption sequence and degree of wear on the teeth, and from bone fusion. c. sex was established on the basis of size and pelvic shape. )
There are various indicators useful for the identification of domesticated animals. One attribute for the identification of domesticated animals from archaeological contexts is a
All of the above. (. A. decrease in overall size. b. reduction in tooth size. c. high number of adolescent and young adult animals (in a meat herd). d. high number of adult females (in a milk herd).)
Dietary studies have been revolutionized through analyses of human tooth enamel and bone collagen based on
All of the above. (A. the different ratios of carbon isotopes 13C and 12C. b. the different ratios of nitrogen isotopes. c. concentration of strontium in bone. )
Animal sex may be identified based on bone remains of
All of the above. (A.antlers. b. large canines. c. penis bone. d. female pelvic structure.)
Using the ratio of strontium to calcium in bones, analysis determined that
All of the above. (a. Australopithecus robustus, formerly thought to be a vegetarian, ate some meat. b. proportions of plant and animals food in bones of eastern Mediterranean populations did not radically change from the Middle Paleolithic until the Mesolithic. c. at an Olmec site, differences in meat consumption revealed in the skeletons were reflected in the amount and quality of burial goods. )
Microscopic abrasion on human teeth provides clues to general types of food intake. Abrasive particles in food leave striations on the tooth enamel which
All of the above. (a. if meat eaters, leave vertical striations on lateral surfaces of teeth. b. if vegetarians, leave both vertical and horizontal striations. c. leave striations on the biting (occlusal) surfaces. )
According to Andrew Sherratt there was a second, later stage of domestication that he calls the Secondary Products Revolution. Sherratt argues that the Secondary Products Revolution was defined by the intensified use of animals for
All of the above. (a. milk and cheese. b. wool. c. animal traction (plowing). )
Microbotanical analytical techniques include the study of
All of the above. (pollen, fossil cuticles, & diatoms)
There are competing theories about the causes for ancient big-game extinctions (such as the mastodon and horse in the Americas). One group believes that climatic change is the primary cause behind these extinctions, although this does not explain why similar changes in earlier times did not have the same effect. Competing theories argue that
Answer b and c are both correct. (b. the arrival of people led to overexploitation and then extinction.) (c. human overexploitation led to the disappearance of megaherbivores, in turn leading to extinction of medium-sized herbivores. )
If there is an over-representation of young and old animals in relation to their numbers in a live population, this would suggest
Answers b and c are both correct. (b. an attritional age profile. c. scavenging, or hunting by humans of the most vulnerable animals. )
At midden sites where shells vastly outnumber bones, this is usually interpreted as evidence that
Both answers b and c are correct. (b. the population who produced the midden were exploiting mollusks in times of crisis or as supplementary food. c. shells survive much more successfully than bone. )
Using 19th-century survey information converted to GIS format, George Milner investigated a key site to understanding a complex society in North America located on the Mississippi. In the study area, Milner found that the largest sites are generally located on well-drained land adjacent to steep banks alongside permanent wetlands, enabling people to take advantage of dry land for farming and lakes for fishing. This site is
Cahokia.
Centralized societies typically exhibit disparities between rich and poor, and thus they offer the potential to study social ranking and social organization. Which of the following would you suggest offers strong evidence of social ranking?
Elite residences, rich burials, and craft specialists.
____________, first made in Predynastic Egypt, is a glass-like material manufactured by coating a core material of powdered quartz with vitreous alkaline glaze.
Faience
Warfare is always undertaken with the objective of permanently occupying the lands of the vanquished in a process of territorial expansion.
False
Written records form probably the greatest single source of information for ancient state societies; they directly relate knowledge that requires no interpretation.
False
A key component to understanding the origins of early plant domestication has been the study of pollen grains.
False.
Advanced stone work such as the 12-angled stone in Cuzco, Peru, could not be shaped without the use of metal tools, which the Inca did not have.
False.
Although neutron activation analysis (NAA) is extremely useful for determining a material's source, the technique is limited because it is a destructive method.
False.
Although recent advances are encouraging, it still remains largely a mystery how the Egyptians baked their bread.
False.
Although scientific techniques for characterization are very helpful to archaeological studies of material sources, in most cases visual examination is sufficient.
False.
Although taking different amounts of time according to region, environmental conditions, and technological innovations, all societies eventually progress from bands to state societies.
False.
Although trade is significant to understanding relations between different polities, the flow of goods has little impact on economic integration or unification.
False.
Ancient wood, when preserved, can be a useful indicator for understanding human use of this material, but it must be burned (charcoal); desiccated or waterlogged wood is not very useful.
False.
Bones survive more successfully than teeth.
False.
Diatoms are useful for identifying whether ancient bodies of water were fresh, brackish or salt, but not for finer grained analytical questions, such as the level of water salinity or nutrient status.
False.
Evidence suggests that the tropical sweet potato, the dominant staple in most New Guinea highland communities today, was first cultivated in Kuk Swamp.
False.
In cases where exotic goods are traded over long distances, it is a safe assumption that centralized, hierarchically ranked societies were involved.
False.
Lead isotope analysis is an essential characterization technique for metals, although limited to lead.
False.
No domesticated plants were cultivated in North America until they were introduced soon after the arrival of colonists from the Old World.
False.
Pollens are best preserved in arid zones, particularly loess or sandy sedimentary deposits.
False.
Steel is iron that contains about 0.3 and 1.2 percent tin.
False.
Tertiary cultural deposits are those which accumulate on the surface during human activity (such as ash layers, or the floors people live and walk on).
False.
The kula ring, studied by Bronislaw Malinowski, was a series of exchanges between inhabitants of Melanesian islands. These exchanges centered on the trade of everyday commodities, such as food, although some other small gifts were sometimes exchanged as well.
False.
The term "world system" as used by Immanuel Wallerstein designates religious or ideological systems that reach across national borders.
False.
Through experimentation and practice, archaeologists have ascertained which techniques were used for creating some buildings and monuments. However, other methods, such as how the Easter Island statues and the Stonehenge lintels were raised, remain a mystery.
False.
Visual analysis can reliably differentiate ancient burning from mineral staining on bones.
False.
During the first two centuries AD in the eastern US there was an interaction sphere that included exchange of valuables such as obsidian, shark teeth, copper, flint and other materials. This interaction sphere has come to be known as the
Hopewell.
_________________ is a particularly useful method used in the characterization of amber to distinguish different sources.
Infrared absorption spectroscopy
The Butser Experimental Farm in southern England is a long-term research project to replicate a functioning version of a farmstead dating to about 300 BC, that is, in the
Iron Age.
The remains of large animals, such as sheep or cows, found on archaeological sites help us build a picture of past human diet. These remains are known as:
Macrofauna.
An Old World chronological period beginning around 10,000 years ago between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic, the _______________is associated with the rise of microlithic tools.
Mesolithic
Although faience originated in Egypt before 3000 BC, true glass did not develop until 2500 BC in
Mesopotamia.
____________, characteristic of the Mesolithic period, are tiny stone tools that were probably used as barbs on composite implements.
Microliths
V.G. Childe coined a phrase in 1941 to describe the origin and consequences of farming, which was accompanied by the widespread development of settled village life. That phrase is the
Neolithic Revolution.
_____________ were a significant development in pyrotechnology during the Neolithic in the Near East around 8000 BC.
Ovens for bread baking
____________ is a mode of exchange in which transactions take place between individuals of relatively equal status.
Reciprocity
_________, or conjoining, is the attempt to put stone tools, flakes, and cores back together again, providing information on the stages in producing the tools and reconstructing the process of the knapper's craft.
Refitting
The _________ are credited with introducing the technique of glass-blowing, in about 50 BC.
Romans.
Analyses that attempt to calculate the proportions of resources such as arable or pastoral land within an area around a site in order to understand what would have been exploited by the inhabitants is known as
Site Exploitation Territory.
In metalworking, the smelting process produces a residue known as
Slag.
Settlement patterns based on territorial divisions centered on a single site may be created by drawing straight lines between pairs of neighboring sites; a second series of lines are then drawn at right angles to the mid-point, creating what are known as
Thiessen polygons.
Cluster analysis identifies similarities and differences among complete assemblages, such as burial goods from different graves in a cemetery.
True
Hammurabi's law code was written in the Akkadian language, in the script known as cuneiform.
True
"Direct access" refers to the situation where a user goes directly to the material source without the intervention of any exchange mechanisms.
True.
According to J. Richard Steffy, the best way to learn how a ship was built and functioned is to refit the excavated timbers, with the aid of exact copies at 1/10 scale.
True.
According to Marshall Sahlins, balanced reciprocity takes place among those well known to each other in a definite social context. Negative reciprocity operates between strangers or those socially distant from one another.
True.
After the first leather shield from Bronze Age Ireland was discovered, a replication experiment involved researchers attacking each other with swords and spears of Bronze Age type. It was found that the leather shield was superior to the bronze shield.
True.
Although her thesis no longer receives much support, Marija Gimbutas studied female figurines from across southeast Europe and Anatolia from the Neolithic and Copper Age. She argued that women were influential and important until the Bronze Age, when a dominant, warlike male hierarchy was introduced, possibly by Indo-European warrior nomads from the East.
True.
Although pollen grains are of little use in studies of plant domestication, molecular genetics are now beginning to make a contribution to the question.
True.
Baked clay figurines were produced in the Upper Paleolithic period: one notable concentration is at certain sites in the Czech Republic dating to about 26,000 years ago.
True.
Based on study of the starch granules in residues found in Egyptian vessels, Delwen Samuel was able to reconstruct the malting process used by the Egyptians to make beer around 1500 BC.
True.
By about 3000 BC, the Andean cultures had mastered cotton textiles, which quickly took over from previous techniques using other fibers such as reeds and rushes.
True.
Cahokia, located near modern day St. Louis, was the principal settlement of one of the most complex societies that ever existed in North America.
True.
Characterization studies of obsidian found at early Neolithic sites in the Near East pinpointed two sources in central Anatolia and two in eastern Anatolia.
True.
Copper oxhide ingots found throughout the eastern Mediterranean basin typically have unique lead isotopic characteristics that allow the determination of the original source.
True.
Despite many attempts, the Indus or Harappan script is one of the last to remain undeciphered.
True.
Even when skeletal material is not present, the absence of coprolites of certain species (such as the ground sloth) provides evidence of extinctions.
True.
Evidence suggests that obsidian found in the Franchthi Cave on the Greek mainland was being collected from the island of Melos as early as 10,000 years ago.
True.
Excavations in the city of York revealed that a shift from clean water species (shad, grayling) to species more tolerant of polluted water (perch, roach) occurred around the 10th century AD when the Viking town underwent rapid development.
True.
Experimental work with the Haya, a Bantu-speaking agricultural people living along the shores of Lake Victoria, confirmed that their ancestors had the technology to make carbon-steel in preheated forced draft furnaces almost 2000 years before Europe had the same capabilities.
True.
Hammering copper makes the metal brittle, but by heating the metal, some pliability can be restored. Such a technique was discovered virtually as soon as native copper began to be worked.
True.
If analysis of an ancient animal bone assemblage indicates the presence of very few adult males but many adult females, this argues strongly for a managed herd.
True.
In a few caves with Upper Paleolithic art, such as Lascaux, the height and inaccessibility of the art indicates the use of a ladder or scaffolding.
True.
In most segmentary societies, craft production is organized at the household level. In chiefdoms and states, craft production is often organized at a higher, more centralized level.
True.
In some mammals, annual rings of cementum (a mineralized deposit) form around the tooth roots below the gumline; a thin-section of these indicates alternating seasons of stress or plenty.
True.
Iron was not used in the New World during pre-Columbian times.
True.
Once people began to cultivate cereals, they preferentially selected varieties that retained their seeds until they could be harvested.
True.
Phosphate analysis of soils can be used to identify where livestock were concentrated.
True.
Primitive valuables is a term coined by George Dalton for tokens of wealth and prestige used in the ceremonial exchanges of non-state societies.
True.
Recent experimental work indicates that the hand axes of the Lower Paleolithic could serve as useful and versatile butchery tools.
True.
Sedentism was a prerequisite for cereal cultivation and both were essential preconditions for animal husbandry.
True.
Shaping native copper was well-established as early as the Archaic period (4th-2nd millennia BC) in the northern U.S. and Canada.
True.
The authors suggest that the erection of impressive monuments at regional ceremonial centers may sometimes represent one polity attempting to outdo neighboring polities in conspicuous consumption. This is known as competitive emulation.
True.
The carbon isotope bone collagen method is particularly crucial in North America because the rise of agriculture involved the transition from a predominantly C3 to a C4 plant environment with the introduction of maize.
True.
The catchment area of a site is the total area from which the site's contents were derived.
True.
The earliest known glass furnace was found at Tell el-Amarna, Egypt, dated to about 1350 BC.
True.
The introduction of new farming methods such as plowing, terracing, and irrigation, as well as the use of poorer quality land, all are labor-intensive techniques.
True.
The limited range of exchange goods that a society considers very valuable or of high status are known as prestige goods.
True.
Traditionally it was believed by archaeologists that cattle were first domesticated in the Near East, and subsequently spread from there; recent work on domestication using DNA now suggests at least two, and possibly three, separate domestications.
True.
Wheeled vehicles first appeared in the 4th millennium BC.
True.
When one society comes to adopt the forms of customs, buildings, and artifacts of neighboring societies, particularly among peer polities, this is known as emulation.
True.
When preserved, microscopic analysis of fibers and follicles may indicate domesticated animals, as was done for camelids in South America.
True.
Central Place Theory was developed by the geographer ____________ to explain the spacing and function of settlements in the landscape.
Walter Christaller
A technique used to identify minerals in the raw materials of an artifact, or to identify clay minerals in sediments, is known as
X-ray diffraction analysis.
Microfauna (small animals) tend to be better indicators of climate and environmental change because
a and b are correct. (A. they are sensitive to oscillations in climate and adapt relatively quickly & B. they accumulate naturally, so they reflect the immediate environment )
In order to create more elaborate shapes in metal, a technique is used which involves first modeling the shape in wax and then encasing it in clay. By heating the clay, the wax melts and flows out; molten metal is then poured into the hollow mold. After cooling, the clay mold is removed. This technique is known as the
a and b are correct. (a. lost-wax method. b. cire perdue method.)
Work at Elands Bay Cave in Cape Province, South Africa, documented how, over 6000-7000 years, the rise in sea level transformed the territory around the site from being inland riverine to estuarine and coastal. This discovery was based on the
a and c are both true. (decline or disappearance of grassland animals (such as giant horse, giant buffalo, rhinoceros, Cape buffalo). (rise to dominance of marine animals, with higher relative frequencies of cormorants, rock lobsters and seals)
If the core of a ceramic sherd is dark (gray or black),
a or b could be the cause. (a. the firing temperature was too low to fully oxidize the clay. b. the duration of firing time was not long enough)
Human burials, with associated grave-goods and monuments, provide an abundance of evidence for social ranking. In Egypt, for example, the pyramids represent the conspicuous display of wealth and power. Barry Kemp argues that the brief period of immense pyramid building activity was followed by a period of decreased pyramid building because of
a transfer of resources to the provinces.
Status won through an individual's accomplishments (e.g., hunting, mediating disputes) in their own lifetime is known as
achieved status.
The most favorable sediments for the preservation of pollen are
acidic and poorly aerated peat bogs and lake beds.
In the context of studying ancient distribution, down-the-line trade is the movement of a commodity
across successive territories through successive exchanges.
At the Early Paleolithic site of Koobi Fora, Kenya, Glynn Isaac's team plotted the density of artifacts and were able to fit some fragments of bone back together. From this they were able to demarcate specific parts of the site where tasks were performed, called ________ by archaeologists.
activity areas
On Easter Island, the most isolated piece of inhabited land in the world, the loss of timber due to the cutting down of trees by humans resulted in
all of the above ( termination of stone carving around AD 1680, cessation of canoe manufacture, soil erosion, lower crop yields.)
Evidence for metallurgical methods could include objects such as
all of the above (a. slags and ingots. b. molds, crucibles and tuyères. c. scrap metal, failed castings and furnaces.)
Observing the wear patterns on ancient stone tools is an aspect of microwear analysis; experimental archaeology provides added information on the specific activities the tools might have been used for by
all of the above (a. using modern copies of stone tools in a variety of specific tasks. b. studying the traces of polish on modern copies of tools after use. c. creating categories of tool use according to wear patterns created on modern copies.)
Centralized societies differ from non-centralized ones in a number of ways. The more centralized structure often allows or requires greater economic specialization, which would be visible archaeologically as
all of the above (intensified farming, taxation, redistribution, craft specialists)
Peer-polity interaction takes a variety of forms, such as
all of the above . (a. language and ethnicity. b. flow of commodities. c. ceremonial exchange of valuables. d. competition.)
Analytical methods for characterization are varied. For pottery, a reliable technique for determining the source is
all of the above. (a. heavy mineral analysis. b. studies of grain size. c. thin section analysis. )
Obsidian makes a good material for characterization and distribution studies because
all of the above. (a. there are relatively few sources of obsidian in the world. b. different sources are chemically different. c. it was desirable in prehistoric times, and was used to make tools.)
The technique of mixing two or more metals to create a new material, such as copper and tin to make bronze, is known as
alloying.
In order to understand bone assemblages produced as a result of human activity as opposed to those created by animals, studies have focused on the effects of predators and scavengers on bones. A bone collection that consists of high numbers of bone cylinders and a low number of bones with articular ends was probably produced by
animals.
A society that has a ruler with authority to establish and enforce laws, stratified classes, administrative officials for collecting revenue, and the practice of redistribution would probably be considered a
archaic state.
The function of perforated antler "batons" dating to the European Upper Paleolithic has been debated for some time. The most widely accepted view, based on ethnographic analogy, is that they were used as
arrow-shaft straighteners.
When social status or prestige are the result of inheritance or hereditary factors, this is known as
ascribed status.
Based on the results of multidisciplinary surveys aimed at uncovering the ancient environment, evidence from Kuk Swamp in New Guinea suggests that by around 7000 years ago
banana cultivation had begun.
Excavations at the Boarding School site in northern Montana, carried out with help from the local Blackfoot tribe, found evidence of a typical hunting practice used for thousands of years in North America, with three layers of bones, each representing one episode. This site was a
bison drive site.
The alloying of copper with tin produces
bronze.
The waterlogged site of Ohalo II, along the Sea of Galilee in Israel, has yielded the world's oldest known ____________, dating to 19,000 years ago.
cereal grains
The application of techniques to determine the particular properties of the constituent materials of traded goods, and thus understand their source of origin, is known as
characterization.
A society with differences in social status (ranking), specialists manufacturing crafts, surpluses, and perhaps a permanent ritual or ceremonial center would probably be considered a
chiefdom
Artifacts that might give clues to the existence of a centrally organized administration would include such things as
clay sealings, standardized weights and measures, Roman milestones.
A multivariate statistical technique to assess similarities between assemblages based on the occurrence or absence of specific artifact types is known as
cluster analysis.
Using relative bone weight of each species of animal present is a way of
comparing species abundance.
The expensive public feasting of Northwest Coast American Indians, the potlatch, is an example of conspicuous consumption that would best be described as
competitive emulation.
We know that the vegetation of much of Australia was changed by the Aborigines through
controlled burning practices.
The piece of stone from which material is removed to make stone tools (flakes, blades) is known as the
core.
Analysis of Neolithic Jomon shell mounds around Tokyo Bay, Japan, recovered evidence for a variety of food remains. Seasonality of clam exploitation was derived from
daily growth lines.
When a mode of exchange involves the operation of some central organizing authority that receives or appropriates goods and subsequently sends some to other locations, this is
distribution.
At the site of Tell Abu Hureyra, Syria, Epipaleolithic (10th/9th millennia BC) layers contained only morphologically "wild" forms of einkorn and rye, and lacked the common, toxic-seeded weeds that become abundant later in the Neolithic levels. However cultivation came about, once farming was fully established, the spectrum of seed-based foods
dropped from 150 species to a mere 8.
A basic technique used in the analysis of artifact composition, ________ allows the study of small changes in composition within the body of an artifact.
electron probe microanalysis
Found in Lower Pleistocene contexts, crude stone pebbles once thought to be made by humans but now considered to be natural are known as
eoliths.
Estimates of the age at which animals were killed are usually based upon the
eruption and wear patterns of the teeth.
Although difficult to recognize from the archaeological record, the study of language and linguistic boundaries shows a correlation between language areas and
ethnicity.
An important method used to gain an understanding of a past society involves the study of the present-day use and significance of artifacts, buildings, and structures, and the way these things become incorporated into the archaeological record when they are thrown away, torn down, or abandoned. Such an approach is known as
ethnoarchaeology.
Metallographic examination involves the
examination of a polished section cut from a metal artifact under a light microscope.
When plotted on a graph of distance from source (X-axis) against quantity of a traded item (Y-axis), down-the-line exchange typically reveals a pattern of
exponential fall-off.
By plotting the quantities of material on the Y-axis, and the distance from a source on the X-axis, the decline of quantities of traded items in the archaeological record with increased distance from source is known as
fall-off analysis.
In an analysis using infrared spectroscopy, gas liquid chromatography, and gas chromatography mass spectrometry, it was found that the most useful compounds for identifying different cereal and legume species are
fatty lipids.
Ethnicity is very difficult to recognize archaeologically. Archaeologists have sometimes automatically viewed pottery decoration or tool assemblages as reflecting ethnic affiliation, a problematic assumption highlighted by Ian Hodder's examination of
female ear decorations, worn by the Tugen, Njemps and Pokot.
A chinampa is
fertile land reclaimed by dredging mud from canals by the Aztecs.
After retrieving a core, the layers may be analyzed in two ways. First, scientists study the presence or absence and fluctuations of different foraminiferan species. Second, using a mass spectrometer, they analyze the
fluctuations in the ratio of stable oxygen isotopes 18 and 16 in the calcium carbonate of the foraminiferan shells.
As well as being a good indicator of ancient climate, loess also played an important role in Neolithic farming because these soils
formed fertile and easily worked land ideally suited for simple technology.
Although palynology is very useful for the reconstruction of past vegetation in forested regions, grass pollens are typically indistinguishable from one another. In grassy environments such as tropical Africa, an alternative is the study of the protective layer of the skin or epidermis of leaves or blades of grass that retain the characteristic shapes of the underlying epidermal cells known as
fossil cuticles.
Diatoms are
fossilized unicellular algae.
The study of the form and development of the landscape is known as
geomorphology.
A technique frequently used by the Etruscans, by which a metalworker soldered small grains of metal onto a background typically of the same metal, is known as
granulation.
A study of faunal and plant remains conducted at the site of Tell Abu Hureyra, Syria, concluded that for at least 1000 years after the first cultivation of domesticated plants,
hunting still played a crucial part in the site's economy.
In order to understand the sequence of creating the various elements in Upper Paleolithic cave paintings, Alexander Marshack has used ____________ to distinguish between ocher pigments.
infrared film
After 10,000 years ago, as the farming way of life took root in different parts of the world, the introduction of new agricultural methods such as plowing, terracing, and irrigation, as well as the use of poorer quality land, suggest that there was a gradual
intensification of food production.
A regional or inter-regional exchange system is known as an
interaction sphere.
As temperatures rise after an ice age and glaciers melt, the weight of ice is removed from the land. The rise in the level of the land creates raised beaches in a process known as
isostatic uplift.
In a new examination of John Yellen's ethnographic study of the !Kung San of the Kalahari Desert, archaeologist Todd Whitelaw used computer modeling, producing a map based on __________ that closely matched the actual original camp plan.
kinship distance
In order to establish and reinforce alliances in Melanesia, a system of ceremonial, non-competitive, exchange is known as the/a
kula ring.
At a bison kill site in New Mexico dated to the 15th century AD, John Speth found more male skulls than female, but more female limbs than male. He deduced that this was because
lactating and calving cows were under nutritional stress, so the male limbs had the most meat and body fat, and these were therefore taken away.
The cargo of over 350 copper "oxhide" ingots from the Uluburun shipwreck appears to have originated in Cyprus. This was determined using
lead isotope analysis.
Sediments formed of a yellowish dust of silt-sized particles blown by the wind and redeposited on newly deglaciated land or on sheltered areas are known as
loess.
A mode of exchange that implies a specific location for the transactions to occur and allows or fosters the negotiation of price-making is known as
market exchange
Study of the patterns of wear or damage on the edges of stone tools that can provide useful information on a particular tool's function is known as
microwear analysis.
Deposits of discarded debris are known as ______________
middens.
In order to assess the abundance of a species in a faunal assemblage, a calculation of the smallest number of animals necessary to account for all the identified bones is generally known as the
minimum number of individuals (MNI).
During the Paleolithic period (before 12,000 years ago), most archaeological sites seem to reflect organization of societies into
mobile hunter-gatherer groups (bands).
The introduction of pottery generally seems to coincide with the adoption of a more sedentary way of life. Paleolithic people may not have created pottery because
mobile hunter-gatherers would not want to carry heavy fired clay containers around.
Accurate to about + 5%, this technique for compositional artifact analysis depends on the excitation of atom nuclei through bombardment with slow neutrons and is known as
neutron activation analysis.
At the site of Wadi Kubbaniya in Upper Egypt, Fred Wendorf and colleagues identified a remarkable number of plant food species. The dominant resource, and probably a dietary staple, was
nutgrass tubers.
The presence or absence of various elements in an artifact may be established by examining the appropriate spectral line of their characteristic wavelengths. Although used in the analysis artifact composition, __________________ has an accuracy level of only about 25%, and has been superseded by ICPS.
optical emission spectrometry
The concept of a chaîne opératoire is best described as the
ordered chain of actions, gestures, and processes in a production sequence which lead to the creation of a finished product.
The recovery and identification of plant remains from archaeological contexts to study past human use of plants is known as
paleoethnobotany.
The study of pollen grains, developed by Norwegian geologist Lennart von Post, is commonly known as
palynology.
Trace element analytical results are typically expressed in
parts per million.
Exchanges of all types (imitation, emulation, competition, etc.) between autonomous socio-political units is known as
peer-polity interaction.
Commonly found preserved in ash layers, pottery, and on stone tools and even teeth, minute particles of silica derived from plant cells are known as
phytoliths.
In order to understand the stratigraphy of sediment on the ocean floor, ships use a ___________ to extract a thin column of sediment for later laboratory analysis.
piston-corer
The technique whereby a thin layer of one metal is bonded to another metal, such as silver with copper or copper with gold, is known as
plating.
A politically independent or autonomous social unit is known as a
polity.
For many years, archaeologists puzzled over the method used to create the flute or channel on Folsom points, a Paleo-Indian tool of North America. Based on textual observations and experimentation, it was determined that the flute was created by
pressure flaking using a T-shaped crutch, placed against the chest.
Karl Butzer has distinguished three groups of cultural deposits: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary cultural deposits are those which accumulate on the surface from human activity, while secondary cultural deposits are best described as
primary deposits which have undergone modification, either through physical displacement or a change in the use of an activity area.
George Dalton used the term _____________ to refer to the tokens of wealth and prestige used in ceremonial exchange systems of non-state societies.
primitive valuables
The intentional use and control of fire by humans is known as
pyrotechnology.
NISP is a gross counting technique used in the
quantification of animal bones.
Societies such as chiefdoms and states, whose members have unequal access to status and prestige, are known as
ranked societies.
New settlers to the Polynesian islands brought with them pigs, fowl, and crop plants, as well as stowaways such as the rat, geckos, and weeds. These were new competitive predators to the indigenous species, but probably the most drastic effects on the landscape were caused by
rapid deforestation by people, which led to open grassland and erosion.
In his influential ethnographic work, Argonauts of the Western Pacific, anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski described an exchange network that centered on ceremonial exchange between inhabitants of some Melanesian islands. Malinowski's study of this system was influential in shaping our understanding of how _____________ works.
reciprocity
Chemical and infrared spectroscopic analyses of a yellowish residue found inside a pottery jar from the Neolithic site of Hajji Firuz Tepe, Iran, was identified as tartaric acid. Dating to about 5400-5000 BC, this represents the earliest evidence for
resinated wine.
In a study of seasonality, Paul Mellars and Michael Wilkinson estimated the age at death of certain fish (saithe, or coalfish) based on the size distribution of the fishes'
sagittal otolith.
Generally larger than mobile hunter-gatherer groups, these societies are typically sedentary, rarely number more than a few thousand people, and lack permanent differences of social status between people. These are generally referred to as
segmentary societies (tribes).
An acoustic underwater survey device that uses the principle of echo-sounding to locate submerged landforms is known as a
seismic reflection profiler.
John Cherry used non-metric multi-dimensional scaling (MDSCAL) to examine information recorded on clay tablets found at Pylos. Although his results are hypothetical, his analysis of this information allowed the
separation of the towns into the kingdom's two provinces.
Proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) has similar analytical possibilities as SEM, but is better for analyses of
small areas of light materials (such as paper, pigments, or soldering of alloys).
One of the most thorough studies of production and distribution was that by Isabel McBryde at the quarry outcrops on Mount William. By examining ethnographic accounts of tomahawk production, and then working with a petrologist, McBryde determined that access to the quarry was strictly limited, and was available only through kinship or ceremonial affiliations. The quarry was located in
southeastern Australia.
Reaves are
stone boundary walls found in southwest England dating from the Bronze Age.
Within an interaction sphere there is a tendency for the symbolic systems to converge. Where the form of a religion has much in common from center to center, as reflected in the iconography, this would be an example of
symbolic entrainment.
Displacements in the plates that make up the earth's crust, often responsible for the occurrence of raised beaches, are known as
tectonic movements.
Inclusions in the clay used to make pottery that act as a filler, creating strength and counteracting cracking and shrinkage during firing, are known as
temper.
Based on cross-cultural analogy to recent megalithic funerary monuments in Madagascar, Mike Parker Pearson and Ramilisonina suggest that the landscape of early Wessex was divided into two domains, of
the living and the dead.
Rock varnishes consist of natural accretions of manganese and iron oxides with organic matter from microscopic plant debris which accumulate on rock surfaces, and are metabolized and cemented into a varnish through bacterial action. This rock varnish may be analyzed using
the ratio of stable carbon isotopes 12 and 13.
Prestige valuables and ordinary commodities may be exchanged within the same society but in separate systems; this is known as
the sphere of exchange.
Taphonomy is
the study of processes which have affected organic materials, such as bone, between its deposition and its discovery by the archaeologist.
Pollen grains are
the tiny male reproductive bodies of flowering plants.
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
there may have been a system of hereditary ranking.
In a study of Telemarchay, a prehistoric site in the Peruvian Andes, Jane Wheeler found that at around 3000 BC there was a significant increase in remains of fetal and newborn camelids such as llamas and alpacas (from about 35% to about 73%). She interprets this as evidence that
these were domesticated animals experiencing high mortality as a result of life in dirty, muddy corrals.
The examination of a microscopic slice of an object with a petrological microscope in order to determine the source of the material, is known as
thin-section analysis.
In order to smooth out local irregularities and highlight the main geographic distribution of objects, archaeologist might use
trend surface analysis.
In order to achieve the desired temperatures necessary for smelting, a ceramic air pipe or ____________ can be used to force more air into the furnace.
tuyère
One conclusion derived from the experimental studies at the Butser Experimental Farm was that if storage pits have an impermeable seal,
unparched grain can be stored for long periods without decaying.
Immanuel Wallerstein used the term __________ to designate an economic unit articulated by trade networks that extended far beyond the boundaries of each individual political unit, linking them together in a larger functioning unit.
world system
