Ch. 7 - Taphonomy, Experimental Archaeology, & Ethnoarchaeology Flashcards

1
Q

Principle of uniformitarianism

A

The principle asserting that the processes now operating to modify the Earth’s surface are the same processes that operated long ago in the geologic past.

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2
Q

Faunal

A

In archaeology, animal bones in archeological sites.

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3
Q

Analogy

A

Noting similarities between two entities and inferring from that similarity that an additional attribute of one (the ethnographic case) is also true of the other (the archaeological case).

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4
Q

Kiva

A

A Pueblo ceremonial structure that is usually round (but may be square or rectangular) and semi-subterranean. They appear in early Pueblo sites and perhaps even in the earlier (pre-1300 BP) pithouse villages.

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5
Q

Sipapu

A

A Hopi word that loosely translates as “place of emergence.” The original sipapu is the place where the Hopi are said to have emerged into this world from the underworld. Sipapus are also small pits in kivas through which communication with the supernatural world takes place.

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6
Q

Formal analogies

A

Analogies justified by similarities in the formal attributes of archaeological and ethnographic object and features.

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7
Q

Relational analogies

A

Analogies justified on the basis of close cultural continuity between the archaeological and ethnographic cases or similarity in general cultural form.

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8
Q

Bonebed

A

Archaeological and paleontological sites consisting of the remains of a large number of animals, often the same species, and often representing a single moment in time – a mass kill or mass death.

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9
Q

Experimental archaeology

A

Experiments designed to determine the archaeological correlates of ancient behavior; may overlap with both ethnoarchaeology and taphonomy.

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10
Q

Heat treatment

A

A process whereby the flintknapping properties of stone tool raw material are improved by subjecting the material to heat.

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11
Q

Flake

A

A thin, sharp sliver of stone removed from a core during the knapping process.

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12
Q

Core

A

A piece of stone that is worked (“knapped”). Cores sometimes served merely as sources for raw materials; they can also serve as functional tools.

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13
Q

Flute

A

Distinctive channel on the faces of Folsom and Clovis projectile points formed by removal of one or more flakes from the points base.

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14
Q

Channel flake

A

The longitudinal flake removed from the faces of Folsom and Clovis projectile points to create the flute.

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15
Q

Ethnoarchaeology

A

The study of contemporary peoples to determine how human behavior is translated into the archaeological record.

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16
Q

Slash-and-burn

A

A horticulture method, used frequently in the tropics, in which a section of forest is cut, dried, and then burned. This returns nutrients to the ground and permits the land to be farmed for a limited amount of years.

17
Q

Taphonomy

A

Refers to the study of how organisms become part of the fossil record. Archaeologists use the term to refer to the study of how natural processes contribute to the formation of archaeological sites.