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
matrix
the physical material within which artifacts are embedded or supported
remote sensing
the imaging of phenomena from a distance, primarily through airborne and satellite imaging; links geophysical methods such as radar with _____ methods applied at ground level, such as thermography
absolute dating
the determination of age with reference to a specific time scale, such as a fixed calendrical system
feature
a non-portable artifact (hearths, architectural elements, or soil stains)
radiocarbon dating
an absolute dating method that measures the decay of the radioactive isotope of carbon in organic material
Behistun (Bisitun)
longest Old Persian text and it tells of the reconquest of the Empire by Darius
• Propaganda rock, written in three different languages
• Darius killed the usurper and came into power
(Rawlinson)
market exchange
a mode of exchange which implies both a specific location for transactions and the sort of social relations where bargaining can occur; usually involves a system of price-making through negotiation
reciprocity
a mode of exchange in which transactions take place between individuals who are symmetrically placed, i.e. they are exchanging as equals, neither being in a dominant position
redistribution
a mode of exchange which implies the operation of some central organizing authority. Goods are received or appropriated by the central authority, and subsequently some of them are sent by that authority to other locations
rosetta stone
an ancient Egyptian granodiorite stele inscribed with a decree issued at Memphis in 196 BC on behalf of King Ptolemy V. The decree appears in three scripts: the upper text is Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the middle portion Demotic script, and the lowest Ancient Greek. Because it presents essentially the same text in all three scripts (with some minor differences between them), it provided the key to the modern understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphs.
popol vuh
mayan creation myth. mud people –> stick people –> corn people.
Hunter & Jaguar deer
J.F. Champollion
deciphered trilingual rosetta stone, refused to acknowledge work of Thomas Young.
Chain of Decipherment
Modern Persian –> Middle Persian –> Old Persian –> Trilingual Inscriptions –> Babylonian/ Assyrian/ Elamite –> Akkadian and Sumerian
elgin marbles
a collection of classical Greek marble sculptures (mostly by Phidias and his assistants), inscriptions and architectural members that originally were part of the Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis of Athens. Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin obtained a controversial permit from the Ottoman authorities to remove pieces from the Parthenon while serving as the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1799 to 1803.
UNESCO 1970 Convention
Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (preventative measures, restitution provisions, international cooperation framework)
chain of collecting
collector –> request to dealer –> dealer to sources –> sources to locals –> locals loot/ destroy archaeological context
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)
requires federal agencies and institutions that receive federal funding to return Native American “cultural items” to lineal descendants and culturally affiliated Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations. Cultural items include human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony.
open area excavation
the opening up of large horizontal areas for excavation, used especially where single period deposits lie close tot he surface
vertical excavation
timeline of events, best in caves. looking for shallow sediments
wheeler box grid
retaining intact baulks of earth between excavation grid squares so that different layers can be correlated across the site in vertical profiles
horizontal excavation
classical sites, larger sites
tunneling
digging down into the earth
zonal excavation
opening up one area. four by four squares, select an area where features are connecting
aging a skeleton
epiphyseal fusion, toothwear
main methods of establishing the age of a skeleton are by examinations of the growth patterns of bones and teeth and of bone microstructure
sexing a skeleton
size of sciatic notch, subpubic angle
intact bodies can be sexed from the genitalia; skeletons and bone remains, much more common in archaeological record, are sexed from size and form differences between male and female bones; children are difficult to sex
deep sea cores
drilled from the sea bed, provide the most coherent record of climate changes on a worldwide scale; contain shells of microscopic marine organisms (forminifera) laid down on the ocean floor through the continuous process of sedimentation. Variation in the ratio of two oxygen isotopes in the calcium carbonate of these shells give a sensitive indicator of sea temperature at the time the organisms were alive
ice cores
borings taken from the arctic and anarctic polar ice caps, containing layers of compacted ice useful for reconstructing paleoenvironments and as a method of absolute dating
palynology
the study and analysis of fossil pollen as an aid to the reconstruction of past vegetation and climates
phytoliths
minute particles of silica in plant cells which survive after the rest of the plant has decomposed; some are specific to certain parts of the plant; survive very well in most archaeological sediments and can add to the picture of the environment built up from other sources
pollen
most useful for the study of minor fluctuations in climate over the last 12,000 years though can be preserved for millions of years in some contexts
*lake cores
oxygen isotope ratios in ice cores
- warm: more O16
- cold: more O18
oxygen isotope ratios in marine cores
- warm: more O18 on shells
- cold: more O16 on shells
sexing a skeleton
size of sciatic notch, subpubic angle
deep sea cores
drilled from the sea bed, provide the most coherent record of climate changes on a worldwide scale; contain shells of microscopic marine organisms (forminifera) laid down on the ocean floor through the continuous process of sedimentation. Variation in the ratio of two oxygen isotopes in the calcium carbonate of these shells give a sensitive indicator of sea temperature at the time the organisms were alive
ice cores
borings taken from the arctic and anarctic polar ice caps, containing layers of compacted ice useful for reconstructing paleoenvironments and as a method of absolute dating
palynology
the study and analysis of fossil pollen as an aid to the reconstruction of past vegetation and climates
phytoliths
minute particles of silica in plant cells which survive after the rest of the plant has decomposed; some are specific to certain parts of the plant; survive very well in most archaeological sediments and can add to the picture of the environment built up from other sources
pollen
most useful for the study of minor fluctuations in climate over the last 12,000 years though can be preserved for millions of years in some contexts
*lake cores
oxygen isotope ratios in ice cores
- warm: more O16
- cold: more O18
oxygen isotope ratios in marine cores
- warm: more O18 on shells
- cold: more O16 on shells
