Archaeology Terms Flashcards
ANT200 Terms
1
Q
Survey
A
Maps physical remains of human activity
2
Q
In Situ
A
Archaeology material found in place it was originally deposited
3
Q
GIS
A
Geographic Information System - software apps that allow spatial data to be brought together and consolidated
4
Q
Horizontal Excavation
A
Excavation for which the goal is to excavate a broad area in order to expose the remains of a single point of time
5
Q
Vertical Excavation
A
Goal is to excavate a significant depts of deposits in order to expose record of sequence of occupation
6
Q
Law of Superposition
A
In any undisturbed depositioner sequence each layer of sediment is younger than the layer beneath
7
Q
Strata
A
Discrete layers in a stratigraphic sequence
8
Q
Provenience
A
Precise context in which an object is recovered in an excavation
9
Q
Datum Point
A
The linchpin for the control of excavation. It serves as a reference point for all depth measurement on the site.
10
Q
Wet Screening
A
Process of spraying water onto a sieve to break up sediments and move them through the mesh to make sure all artifacts are recovered during excavation.
11
Q
Flotation
A
Process used to recover botanical material (wood+seeds) which involves mixing sediments vigorously in water. In the process charred remains of seeds + wood float to the surface while the mineral sediments settle to the bottom. The charred botanical material can then be skimmed off + dried for analysis.
12
Q
Artifact
A
Objects that show traces of human manufacture
13
Q
Ecofact
A
Objects recovered from archaeological context that are either remains of biological organisms or the results of geographical processes.
14
Q
Postdepositional Process
A
Events that take place after a site has been occupied.
15
Q
Taphonomy
A
Study of the processes that affect organic remains after death.
16
Q
Quantification
A
Methods used by archaeologists to represent the large quantities of material recovered in excavations + surveys.
17
Q
Typology
A
A list used to draw up an inventory of types of artifacts found by archaeologists in a particular archaeological context.
18
Q
Attribute
A
A particular characteristic of an artifact.
19
Q
Absolute Chronology
A
A chronology stated in terms of calendar years.
20
Q
Relative Chronology
A
A chronology that places assemblages in a temporal sequence not directly linked to calendar dates.
21
Q
Seriation
A
The method of comparing the relative frequency of artifact types between contexts.
22
Q
Intrasite
A
Having to do with contexts within a single site - for example, an analysis comparing the sizes and contents of different houses to try to determine the social structure of a society.
23
Q
Intersite
A
Comparisons between two or more sites - for example an analysis comparing the number of houses between sites in a region.
24
Q
Synchronic Studies
A
Studies that make comparisons within a single period.
25
Diachronic Studies
Studies that make comparisons between different periods and look at processes of change through time.
26
Agency Theory
A theory that emphasizes the interaction between agency of individuals and social structure.
27
Archaeological Theory
Ideas that archaeologists have developed about the past and about the way we come to know the past.
28
Cultural Resource Management
Public archaeology carried out with the goal of mitigating the effects of development on archaeological resources.
29
Deduction
Drawing particular inferences from general laws and models.
30
Emic
An approach to archaeological or anthropological analysis that attempts to understand the meanings people attach to their actions and culture.
31
Etic
An approach to archaeological or anthropological analysis that does not attempt to adopt the perspective of the members of the culture that are being studied.
32
Evolutionary Archaeology
A range of approaches that stress the importance of evolutionary theory as a unifying theory for archaeology.
33
Feminist Archaeology
An approach that focuses on the way archaeologists study and represent gender and brings attention to gender inequalities in the practice of archaeology.
34
Hermeneutics
A theory of interpretation that stresses the interaction between the presuppositions we bring to a problem and the independent empirical reality of our observations and experiences.
35
Induction
Drawing general inferences on the basis of available empirical data.
36
Middle-range research
Research investigating processes that can be observed in the present and that can serve as a point of reference to test hypothesis about the past.
37
Neolithic
The period in which there are polished stone tools. Also called the New Stone Age. Beginning about 10,200 BC ending between 4,500 and 2,000 BC.
38
New Archaeology/Processual archaeology
An approach to archeology based firmly on scientific method and supported by a concerted effort aimed at the development of theory.
39
Palaeolithic
The period in which humans lived with now extinct animals. Also called the Old Stone Age. Beginning 2.6 million years ago, to the end of the Pleistocene around 10,000 BP.
40
Postprocessual Archaeology
A movement led by British archaeologists Ian Hodder which argues that archaeologists should emulate historians in interpreting the past.
41
Systems Theory
An archaeology theory that views society as an interconnected network of interacting elements.
42
Three-Age system
A system developed by Danish antiquarian Christian Jurgensen Thomsen that catalogues artifacts into relics of three periods - the Stone Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age - based on the material of manufacture.
43
Thunderstones
Objects such as ground stone axes that people in Medieval Europe believed were formed in spots where lightning struck the earth.
43
Acheulian
Lower Paleolithic stone tool industry dated in Africa between 1.7 million and 200,000 years ago, characterized by bifacial tools including hand axes and cleavers
44
Ardipithecus ramidus
An early species in the hominin lineage. This species which lived approx 4.5 million years ago is known from fossils discovered in 1992 at the site of Aramis in Ethiopia
45
Australopithecene
A hominin genus that lived in Africa between 4 million and 2.5 million years ago
46
Bifaces
Characteristic tools of the Acheulian. Bifacial include handaxes and cleavers
47
Chesowanja
Site located in Kenya and dated to 1.4 million years ago that has produced tentative evidence for the use of fire by early hominins
48
Dispersal
An event where a single species dramatically extends its range
49
DK
E site at Olduvai Gorge where a stone circle was found, suggesting evidence of a temporary structure built on a home-base site
50
Dmanisi
The oldest known Archaeological site outside of Africa located in the Republic of Georgia and dated between 1.7 and 1.8 million years ago
51
East African Rift Valley
A geological feature stretching from East Africa to the Middle East that is the richest context for the recovery of early hominin archaeological sites.
52
FLK North
The site in Olduvai Gorge where the remains of an elephant were found together with stone tools.
53
Hafar
Location in the East African Rift Valley where many important fossils including the near complete fossil of an australpithecine, and the earliest known stone tools have been discovered
54
Home-base/food-sharing model
Model developed by Glynn Isaac that sees the sharing of meat at base camps as fundamental part of the lives of early hominins
55
Hominin
The members of the human lineage after it split from the chimpanzee lineage
56
Homo erectus
The first hominin found on sites outside of Africa. The earliest known Homo erectus fossils date to the period between 1.9 and 1.5 million years ago
57
Homo habilis
This hominin is the earliest species to be assigned the genus Homo
58
Laetoli
Location in Tanzania where tracks if australopithecine footprints were found showing that australopithecine a walked upright
59
Lokalalei
An archaeological site in Kenya dating to 2.3 million years ago. Analysis of refit cores from the site indicates that stone tool manufacture at this early date was more complex than anticipated
60
Lower Paleolithic
The period when hominins began producing stone tools
61
Nihewan Basin
Location in northern ChinA where there is solid evidence of human occupation around 1.6 million years ago
62
Oldowan
Lower Paleolithic stone tool industry dated between 1.9 and 1.15 million years ago, characterized by choppers and flakes.
63
Olduvai Gorge
The most impressive and important location in East Africa Rift Valley for the study of human evolution.
64
Palimpsest
An archaeological site produced by a series of distinct brief occupations..
65
Radiation
A period in which there is. Rapid increase in the diversity of a single lineage. During the period between 4 million and 2 million years ago there was radiation in the hominin lineage
66
Sahelanthropus tchadensis
A possible early member of the hominin lineage. Fossils of the species were discovered in Chad in levels dating to 7 million years ago.
67
Sangiran and Perning
Sites on the island of Java where fossils of Homo erectus dating to 1.8 million years ago were found.
68
Tai forest
Location where chimpanzees use stone hammers and anvils to break open hard nuts. The tools are not manufactured but rather used as found.
70
Ubeldiya
One of the earliest archaeological sites outside of Africa located in Israel south of the Sea of Galillee and dated between 1.4 and 1. 0 million years ago
71
Amud Cave
The location where Neanderthal child was found buried with the upper jaw of a red deer.
72
Beeches Pit
A site in England dating to 400,000 years ago that has produced compelling evidence for the use of fire in the lower Paleolithic
73
Blache Saint Vaast
The site in France where the oldest known fossil of a Neanderthal dated to 175,000 years ago was found.
74
Bose
A site in southern China that produced a stone tool industry that includes handaxes dated to 800,000 years ago
75
Boxgrove
One of the oldest known Acheulian sites in Europe; located in England and dates to 500,000 years ago
76
Clactonian
A simple flake tool industry contemporary with the Acheulian in England
77
Eurasian Acheulian
A stone tool industry found on sites throughout the Middle East and Europe beginning 500,000 years ago. The handaxe is the characteristic too of this industry.
78
Frison effect
Due to resharpening the process through which the shape of stone tools changes during their use-life
79
Gesher Benot Ya'akov
An Acheulian site in Israel dating to 780,000 years ago that has produced limited evidence for the use of fire and for cracking nuts.
80
Gran Dolina, Atapuerca
A cave in Spain where stone tools and hominin remains dated to 800,000 years ago were found. These artifacts are the oldest reliable evidence of human occupation in Europe.
81
Kebara Cave
A site in Israel where excavations have produced important evidence about the nature of Neanderthal occupation of caves as well as one of the most complete skeletons of a Neanderthal.
82
La Cotte de St. Brelade
The location on the Jersey Islands where evidence of Neanderthals hunting mammoths by stampeding them off a cliff was found.
83
Levallois method
A particular prepared-core technology used during the Middle-Paleolithic that can often be recognized on the basis of tortoise-shaped cores.
84
Mezmaiskaya Cave
The location that has produced the most recent Neanderthal fossil, dated 30,000 years ago.
85
Middle Paleolithic
The archaeological period during which Neanderthals occupied Europe.
86
Oxygen Isotope Curve
The record of fluctuations in global climate during the Pleistocene.
87
Pleistocene
The geological era that began 1.8 million years ago, characterized by the frequent buildup and retreat of continental ice sheets.
88
Prepared-core technology
The dominant approach to tool manufacture during the Middle Paleolithic; a technique in which the person making the tools carefully shaped the core to control the forms of the flakes produced.`
89
Schoningen
The location in Germany where 400,000 year old wooden spears were discovered
90
Zhoukoudian
A series of caves in Longgu-shan or Dragon Bone Hill, outside of Beijing (Peking), China where the remains of more than forty Homo erectus individuals and over 100,000 stone choppers and flakes were recovered.
91
Abrigo Lagar Velho
A site in Portugal where the skeleton of a modern human child dating to 24,500 years ago was discovered. The discovery is thought by some to support the hybridization model.
92
Arcy-sur-Cure
A site in northern France where excavators discovered a rich collection of ornaments, bone tools, and Chatelperronian stone tools.
93
Aterian
A North African stone tool industry distinguished by the presence of points with a pronounced tang - a small projection located at the base of the point and used to secure the point to a spear handle.
94
Aurignacian
The earliest Upper Paleolithic period. Aurignacian industries have been found on sites across Europe and the Middle East.
95
Blombus Cave
A site in South Africa where pieces of ochre with incised decoration were found in a Middle Stone Age level dated to 77,000 years ago.
96
Border Cave
One of the South African sites where fossils of modern humans dated to between 120,000 and 70,000 years ago were discovered.
97
Chatelperronian
An archaeological industry found in France and northern Spain identified as transitional between the Middle Paleolithic and Upper Paleolithic.
98
Chauvet Cave
The earliest known painted cave, dated to between 38,000 to 33,000 years ago. It is located in France.
99
Gravettian
The 2nd major Upper Paleolithic archaeological period in Europe. 26,000-23,000 years ago.
100
Herto
A site in Ethiopia where the oldest known fossil of a modern human was discovered, dating between 160,000 and 154,000 years ago
101
Hohle Fels
A site in Germany where bones flutes and a female figurine have been discovered in levels dating to the Aurignacian.
102
Hohlenstein
A site in Germany where a lion-headed figure was found in levels with an Aurignacian industry.
103
Homo sapiens
The species name for modern humans.
104
Howiesons Poort
A Middle Stone Age industry found in southern Africa that is characterized by small crescent shaped stone tools.
105
Katanda
A Middle Stone Age site in the Democratic Republic of Congo where bone harpoons have been found.
106
Klasies River Mouth
A Middle Age site in South Africa that has produced remains of modern humans and that offers evidence of hunting and the intensive use of fire.
107
Middle Stone Age
The archaeological period of the earliest modern humans in Africa.The Middle Stone age began between 300,000 and 200,000 years ago and ended around 40,000 years ago.
108
Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition
The archaeological period that saw the appearance of modern humans in Europe. It includes the development of new types of stone and bone tools and the dramatic appearance of a wide range of symbolic artifacts.
109
Modern Human
Members of the species Homo sapiens which includes all living humans
110
Pestera cu Oase Cave
The site in Romania where the oldest modern human remains in Europe dating to 36,000 years ago were found.
111
Pinnacle Point
A site on the southern coast of South Africa that has produced evidence that mollusks were part of the diet of modern humans as early as 160,000 years ago.
112
Qafzeh Cave
One of the sites in Israel where modern human skeletons were found in a Middle Paleolithic context.
113
Sangoan/Lupemban
A Middle Stone Age Industry found in Central and East Africa. Characterized by very crude heavy-duty tools, the Sangoan/Lupemban might be indicative of an adaptation to a heavily wooded envrionment.
114
Skhul Cave
One of the Middle Paleolithic sites in Israel where modern human skeletons have been found.
115
Szeletian
An archaeological industry found in Eastern Europe during the transition between Middle Paleolithic and Upper Paleolithic. Bifacially retouched tools are characteristic of the Szeletian.
116
St. Cesaire
A site in France where a Neanderthal was found dating to 36,000 years ago.
117
Ulluzian
An archaeological industry found in eastern Europe during the transition between the Middle Paleolithic and Upper Paleolithic. Arched backed knives are characteristice of the Ulluzian.
118
Upper Paleolithic
The archaeological period that saw the earliest occupation of Europe by modern humans. 50,000-10,000 years ago.
119
Venus figurines
Portable art objects that are found with the Gravettian industry and that depict the female body.
120
Vindija Cave
A site in Croatia where the discovery of Neanderthal remains have been dated to 29,000 years ago.
121
Zafarraya Cave
A site in Spain where the discovery of Neanderthal remains dated between 33,000-27,000 years ago suggests that at least in this area Neanderthals survived long after the arrival of modern humans in Europe.
