Chapter 1: Getting Started in Archaeology

Question 1

Archaeology - quiz 1

Answer 1

a science that examines the depths of the human past

Question 2

Survey

Answer 2

• an archaeological survey maps the physical remains of human activity
• must be designed with goals of project in mind

Question 3

Purpose of survey

Answer 3

• to discover sites
• to understand the distributions in regions and where activities took place
• to determine whether sites will be destroyed by construction

Question 4

In situ

Answer 4

archaeological material considered to be in situ when found in the place where it was originally deposited

Question 5

Geographical info systems (GIS)

Answer 5

suites of software apps that allow spatial data to be brought together and combined

Question 6

Horizontal excavation

Answer 6

goal is to excavate a broad area in order to expose the remains of a single point in time

Question 7

Vertical excavation

Answer 7

• goal is to excavate a significant depth of deposits in order to expose the record of a sequence of occupations
• analyze the sequence of deposits or stratigraphy of the site

Question 8

Law of superposition

Answer 8

• in any undisturbed depositional sequence, each layer of sediments is younger than the layer beneath it
• continuous and discontinuous sequences
• does not necessarily apply to metamorphic or igneous rocks

Question 9

Strata

Answer 9

discontinuous layer in a stratigraphic sequence which include rocks, sediments and fossils

Question 10

Stratigraphic section/profile

Answer 10

the exposure left by a cut or by natural erosion

Question 11

Buried archaeological sites

Answer 11

form in depositional environments

Question 12

Anthropogenic deposits

Answer 12

produced by human activities ranging from building fires on temporary hunter-gatherer camp sites to building the palaces and fortifications of great cities

Question 13

Provenience

Answer 13

the precise context in which an object is recovered in an excavation

Question 14

Datum point

Answer 14

• the linchpin for the control of excavation
• serves as a reference point for all depth measurements on the site

Question 15

Grid square tools

Answer 15

• theodolite
• digital surveying equipment

Question 16

Theodolite

Answer 16

measure both distance and elevation relative to a given point

Question 17

Digital surveying equipment

Answer 17

allows precise recording and automatic storage of spatial data

Question 18

Baulk

Answer 18

• half-meter area standing around each excavation square to provide profiles
• allow movement to not walk on newly exposed deposits
• keeps records of the stratigraphy

Question 19

Wet screening

Answer 19

the process of spraying water onto a sieve to break up sediments and move them through the mesh to make sure that all artifacts are recovered during an excavation

Question 20

Flotation

Answer 20

• the process used to recover botanical material (wood and seeds) that involves mixing sediments vigorously in water
• in the process, charred remains of seeds and wood float to the surface, while the mineral sediments settle to the bottom
• the charred botanical material can then be skimmed off and dried for analysis

Question 21

Depositional unit - quiz 1

Answer 21

• aka locus/stratigraphic feature
• the material deposited at a site at a particular point in time
• individual recording sheets which includes: maps at various stages of excavation, stratigraphic sections and descriptions of contents
• include walls, floors and infill of pits
• walls and buildings treated separately

Question 22

Cultural resource management (CRM)

Answer 22

public archaeology carried out with the goal of mitigating the effects of development on archaeological resources

Question 23

3 phases in CRM

Answer 23

identification, evaluation and treatment

Question 24

Ecofacts

Answer 24

objects recovered from an archaeological context that are either the remains of biological organisms or the results of geological processes

Question 25

3 biological analysis

Answer 25

• faunal analysis
• paleoethnobotany
• human osteoarchaeology

Question 26

Photogrammetry

Answer 26

is software that creates a similar 3D model using multiple images taken with a digital camera

Question 27

Postdepositional processes

Answer 27

events that take place after a site has been occupied

Question 28

Taphonomy

Answer 28

the study of the processes that affect organic remains after death

Question 29

Typology

Answer 29

a list used to draw up an inventory of types of artifacts found by archaeologists in a particular archaeological context

Question 30

Attribute

Answer 30

a particular characteristic of an artifact

Question 31

Absolute chronology

Answer 31

calendar years

Question 32

Relative chronology

Answer 32

places assemblages in a temporal sequence not directly linked to calendar dates

Question 33

Intrasite

Answer 33

comparisons of contexts within a single site

ex. comparing sizes and contents of different houses to determine the social structure of a society

Question 34

Intersite

Answer 34

comparisons of contexts between two or more sites

ex. comparing the number of houses between sites in a region

Question 35

Quantification

Answer 35

represent the large quantities of material recovered in excavations and surveys

Question 36

Seriation

Answer 36

comparing the relative frequency of artifact types between contexts