Archeology Flashcards
4 sources of archeological evidence
artifact, ecofact, fossils, feature
What are artifact, ecofact, fossils, and feature?
Artifacts-anthing modified by humans, portable; lithics, ceramics
Ecofacts-natural objects that human have used;grains, burned seeds, organic material
Fossils-harderned remains,impressions
Features-like an artifact but is not portable; burial,midden, posthole, living floor
Stratigraphy
refers to the process of reading or interpreting the stratification. Based on principal of superposition, which states that older items are always found at the bottom and more recent at the top. Chronology can be created.
Stratum-a layer or a series of layers of rock in the ground; Plural-strata
Pedestrian Survey
involves walking the surface of an archaeological site or large region in stratified patterns, and either marking the location of identified artifacts, or collecting a sample for further investigation.
• Transect method- linear corridors that cover the particular study area. Each transect has a standard width and may be designated by sequential numbers. The use of a table of random numbers selects particular transects in the study area. The selected transects are then excavated.
• Quadrant method- the quadrat sampling strategy subsequently divides the study area into cubic blocks. The dimensions of the blocks can range from one to ten meters depending on the spatial resolution desired and the size of the study area. The blocks are then chosen randomly using a random number table or some other method and are sampled accordingly. The quadrat sampling strategy may be implemented in areas where a site is defined and a further investigation of the subsurface integrity is needed.
Relative dating
Evaluates the age of one item in comparison with another
• Stratigraphy- refers to the process of reading or interpreting the stratification. Based on principal of Law of Superposition, which states that older items are always found at the bottom and more recent at the top. Chronology can be created.
• Seriation- is set of methods for creating a chronology by using appearance or morphology, the frequency of items or popularity, and by the absence/presence of an item or items. Example: cars were arranged from oldest to most recent by using the appearance of each
What is a site?
Any location that demonstrates past human activity, as evidence by the presence of artifacts, features, ecofacts, or other material remains
What is Context?
the artifact’s vertical and horizontal relationship to other artifacts, features, etc.
Never want to take any archeological evidence out of context
Where to find sites?
Usually through landowners previous experience either by plowing or accidental find.
Geomagnetic Sensing
Type of Remote Sensing
measures variance in magnetics of soil, useful for finding metal, ceramics, ditches
Passive Technique
Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)
Type of Remote Sensing
sends signal down into ground provides hyperboles or change sin signal demonstration
Active Technique
Conservation
Process of treating items form an archeological site in order to stop decay and even possible reverse it
Reconstruction
Process in attempting to replicate past cultural traits and activities to better understand lifestyle; Experimental Archeology
How do we study artifacts?
Shape and Form-Typology
Metric data
How was it made?
Typology
Classifying artifacts into categories consisting of things with similar shape and form
Use-wear analysis
Method used to determine the amount of wear an artifact contains to better understand its usage
Residue Analysis
Method to test and identify remnants of something left in things such as pots and baskets
Absolute or Chronometric Dating
More specific but does not give exact age but provides range or timeframe +,- years. Generally uses decay of radioactive isotopes
North America
Half Life
Rate at which a radioactive element decays
Radiocarbon Dating
Carbon 14 Organic material, developed by Willard Libby
An unstable (radioactive) isotope of carbon with atomic mass 14 that is produced in the atmosphere by cosmic radiation. It is the basis for radiocarbon dating, the method most frequently used in archaeology. It acts like C12, being taken into the organic compounds of all living matter. The proportions of radioactive and inert carbon are identical throughout the vegetable and animal kingdoms’ carbon cycle. When organic matter dies it ceases to exchange its carbon, as carbon dioxide, with the atmosphere, so its C14 dwindles by decay and is not replenished. Determination of the radioactivity of carbon from a sample will reveal the proportion of C14 to C12, and this will in turn, through the known rate of decay of C14, give the age of, or more accurately the time elapsed since the death of the sample
Half Life of Carbon 14
5,730 years
Potassium-Argon Dating
K 40-Ar 40 East Africa mainly on fossils
Radioactive Decay Dating Method
Method is testing the surrounding rocks around fossils because the process is destructive.
Requires High heat/volcanic rock
Half Life of K 40- Ar 40
1.26 billion years
Uranium Series Dating
Looks at two different types of Uranium-U235-U238 which both decay into Thorium, used from surrounding groundwater that runs off onto fossils
Useful for dating materials form South Africa where you cant use K-Ar
Repatriation
Returning remains/ artifacts to living descendants
Looting
Taking artifacts from archeological sites
