Chapter 2: The Variety of the Evidence Flashcards
artifact
any portable object used, made, or modified by humans
e.g., stone tools, pottery, and metal weapons
ecofacts
non-artifactual* organic and environmental remains which have cultural relevance
e.g., faunal and floral materials, soils and sediments
*textbook considers them not artifacts; prof considers them a type of artifact
feature
non-portable artifact
e.g., hearths, architectural elements, soil stains
tell
Near Eastern word for a mound site formed by human occupation over a very long time
regions
large geographic areas, containing archaeological sites, defined by physical or ideational features
matrix
physical material containing or supporting artifacts
e.g., sediment
provenience
- place of origin/(earliest) known history of something
- horizontal and vertical position of an artifact, ecofact, or feature within a matrix
primary context
original position of deposition or discard of an object
secondary context
location of archaeological material that has been moved from its primary context by subsequent human activity/natural phenomena
experimental archaeology
reconstructing past behavioral/archaeological processes through scientific experiment
e.g., trying to fell a tree with different axes to see which they used
hoards
assemblage of valuables that were deliberately buried (e.g., during a time of conflict) and have not been reclaimed
religion
framework of beliefs relating to supernatural or superhuman beings or forces that transcend the everyday material world
electrolysis
Standard cleaning process in archaeological conservation.
1. Artifacts are placed in a chemical solution.
2. A weak current passes between them and the surrounding metal grill.
3. This causes the corrosive salts to move from the cathode (object) to the anode (grill), removing any accumulated deposit and cleaning the artifact.
taphonomy
study of processes that have affected organic materials (e.g., bone) after death; also involves microscopic analysis of toothmarks or cutmarks to asses the effects of butchery or scavenging
australopithecines
earliest hominins ca. 4.5 million ya in East Africa
includes Australopithicus and Paranthropus