ARCHAEOLOGY TERMS - ANTHROPOLOGY
steps of an archaeological project
-1. hypothesis creation -2. survey & site location -3. excavation -4. data collection and recording -5. laboratory and conservation -6. interpretation -7. publication
What excavation technique do archaeologists use to help keep track of the location of each find?
Divide an excavation site into squares and create a site plan
Which of the following technologies is helpful to archaeologists in surveying and downloading and recording information a feature or site's location?
Global Positioning System
At what step of an archaeological project do archaeologists formulate specific questions or resolve particular issues about artifacts, which they excavate?
Hypothesis creation.
Archaeologists generally choose to focus on a particular culture that often is associated with a chronological period. In what culture would Teotihuacan be associate with?
Mesoamerican archaeology.
In the article, "Ethics and Archaeology: The Attempt at Çatalhöyük," by Hodder (2002), what is the ethics question he raised regarding the excavating of archaeological sites by archaeologists?
The question Hodder raises regarding the excavating of archaeological sites by archaeologists is should the research focus strictly on questions, which address the interests of the scientific community, or also consider the interests of different stakeholders such as local communitites, politicians, and artists. He suggests that archaeologists should engage different gouprs and collaborate with them in setting the agenda for an archaeology project. He argues that archaeologists have an ethical responsibility to ask questions about the past that resonate with stakeholder communities. For example, the local rural inhabitants of Çatalhöyük are farmers with low incomes and limtied education. They have limited detailed knowledge of the history of Turkey that they learned from primary school and folk traditions. Their interest in Çatalhöyük included practical concerns such as how to benefit economically from the project, the site, and its tourists. The project has helped persuade regional officials to build a new school and library.
In what country is the archaeology site, Çatalhöyük, located?
Turkey
publication
all the finds, plans, photos & interpretation of site are published
data collection and recording
artifacts are carefully removed for further analysis and study; photos, drawings, detailed notes
cultural resource management
assess archaeological remains at construction sites to record critical info & preserve stuff before the site's destroyed/covered up
laboratory and conservation
by specialists; preserve & restore delicate/damaged objects
Egyptian archaeology
deals w/ Egypt
classical archaeology
deals w/ civilizations affected by Greeks & Romans
prehistoric archeology
deals with time periods before the invention of writing
datum point
easily identifiable fixed spot at a known elevation above sea level
historical archaeologists
examine both physical remains and texts
What type of remain is the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan?
features
Mesoamerican archaeology
focuses on cultures in Central America & Mexico
environmental archaeologists
help us understand the conditions that existed when the people being studied were alive
interpretation
interpret findings & explain story/significance of the site
At what step of an archaeological project do archaeologists attempt to explain the story and significance of a site?
interpretation
The physical remains, which an archaeologist, discovers is also referred to as ____
material culture
excavation
most well-known aspect of archaeology; excavate remains under earth
many branches of archaeology
prehistory; historical; ethnoarchaeologists; environmental; industrial; cultural resource management
survey and site location
reason to dig & where to dig
experimental archaeologists
reconstruct techniques and processes used in the past to create artifacts, art, & architecture
features
remains that cannot be moved; ex) large buildings, post holes
artifacts
smaller, portable objects
The recording and "reading" of strata from an excavation site is called
statigraphy
Successive layers of soil that develop around artifacts and features are referred to as _____.
strata
industrial archaeologists
study buildings & remains that date to the period after the Industrial Revolution
underwater archaeologists
study material remains that survive underwater
context
the association of artifacts and features found within an area or layer; allows us to interpret archaeological finds & their meaning
culture
the behavior and beliefs of groups of people
archaeology
the study of past cultures through the material (physical) remains people left behind; remains used to understand & reconstruct all aspects of past cultures
hypothesis creation
to answer specific questions or resolve certain issues
What is the primary tool of an archaeologist?
trowel
