AR101 Final Exam Flashcards
processual archaeology
an approach that stresses the dynamic relationship between social and economic aspects of culture and the environment as the basis for understanding the processes of culture change. Uses the scientific methodology of problem statement, hypothesis formulation, and subsequent testing.
cognitive-processual approach
concerned with the integration of the cognitive and symbolic with other aspects of early societies, the role of ideology as an active organizational force
structuralist approach
interpretations which stress that human actions are guided by beliefs and symbolic concepts, and that underlying these are structures of thought which find expression in various forms. The proper object of study is therefore to uncover the structures of thought and to study their influence in shaping the ideas in the minds of the human actors who created the archaeological record
postprocessual explanation
explanation formulated in reaction to the perceived limitations of functional-processual archaeology; it eschews generalization in favor of an “individualizing” approach that is influenced by structuralism, critical theory, and neo-Marxist thought
cognitive archaeology
the study of past ways of thought and symbolic structures from material remains
processual
attempts to provide more general explanations (using, for instance, evolutionary theory), sometimes using law-like formulations and (more successfully) framing hypotheses and testing deductions from these against the data
postprocessual or interpretive
emphasizes the specific context, drawing sometimes on structuralist or neo-Marxist ideas stressing often the role (“agency”) of the individual, and avoiding the generalizations of the processual approach
migrationist and diffusionist
explanations rely on rather simple ideas of the supposed migrations of peoples, or the often ill-defined spread of ideas
Marxist archaeology
based principally on the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, this posits a materialist model of societal change. Change within a society is seen as the result of contradictions arising between the forces of production (technology) and the relations of production (social organization). Such contradictions are seen to emerge as a struggle between distinct social classes
evolutionary archaeology
the idea that the processes responsible for biological evolution also drive culture change
monocausal explanation
explanations of culture change which lays stress on a single dominant explanatory factor or “prime mover”
multivariate explanation
explanation of culture change which stresses the interaction of several factors operating simultaneously
critical theory
a theoretical approach developed by the so-called “Frankfurt School” of German social thinkers, which stresses that all knowledge is historical, and in a sense biassed communication; thus, all claims to “objective” knowledge are illusory
hominins
the subfamily to which humans belong, as opposed to the “hominids” which include not only humans but also gorillas and chimps, and “hominoids” which group these with gibbons and orangutans
pseudoarchaeology
the use of selective archaeological evidence to promulgate nonscientific, fictional accounts of the past
material culture
the buildings, tools, and other artifacts that constitute the material remains of former societies
cultural resource management
the safeguarding of the archaeological heritage through the protection of sites and through salvage archaeology generally within the framework of legislation designed to safeguard the past
*accounts for over 90% of the field archaeology carried out in the US
rescue/salvage archaeology
the location and recording (usually through excavation) of archaeological sites in advance of highway construction, drainage projects, or urban developments
legal basis
under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), archaeological investigation is often carried out in advance of projects on federal land, using federal funds, or requiring a federal permit
funding
generally speaking, the proponent of the construction or land use project pays for the work, whether that party is a federal, state, or local agency, or a private developer
compliance
project proponents fund legally required compliance work that includes inventory (survey), evaluation of a resource’s importance, assessment of impact of important resources, and mitigation (which may include avoidance, excavation, and conservation)
outcome
the fieldwork typically results in at least a report filed with the SHPO and data entered in government and other databases. Many CRM projects also result in published journal articles, monographs, and books
contract archaeology
archaeological research conducted under the aegis of federal or state legislation, often in advance of highway construction or urban development, where the archaeologist is contracted to undertake the necessary research
stratigraphy
the analysis in the vertical, time dimension, of a series of layers in the horizontal, space dimension; often used as a relative dating technique to assess the temporal sequence of artifact deposition
seriation
a relative dating technique based on the chronological ordering of a group of artifacts or assemblages, where the most similar are placed adjacent to each other in the series
relative dating
the determination of chronological sequence without recourse to a fixed time scale; the arrangement of artifacts in a typological sequence, or seriation
