ch 2- archaeology

Question 1

archaeology

Answer 1

the study of remains left by people in the past

Question 1

reasons for excavating a site

Answer 1

ruins of an old building or structure are still visible above ground

Question 1

excavation

Answer 1

when archaeologists dig up the ground to find evidence left by people in the past

Question 2

reasons for excavating a site

Answer 2

an aerial photo taken of the ground from an elevated position e.g helicopter or drone can reveal lines of ancient structures

Question 3

rescue archaeology

Answer 3

before you get planning permission, you must make sure there is no evidence on site that would be lost forever

Question 4

how evidence is preserved

Answer 4

extreme heat, airtight coffins or sealed tombs, peat bogs preserve extremely well due to cold acidic water and airlessness

Question 5

radiocarbon dating (carbon-14 dating)

Answer 5

all living things contain carbon-14 when they are alive.
after death, the level of carbon-14 drops at a steady rate.
the older the tissue, the less carbon-14 it contains

Question 6

stratigraphy

Answer 6

used to date artefacts by how deep in the ground they were when found; the deeper they are, the older they will be

Question 7

dendrochronology (tree-ring dating)

Answer 7

uses the unique growth patterns of tree rings as a guide. the rings are wide when the tree grew fast e.g when the summer is good.
each ring is a year of growth

Question 8

conservation

Answer 8

when historical objects are protected and preserved so that they do not decay