Chapter 2: The Variety of the Evidence Flashcards

1
Q

artifact

A

any portable object used, made, or modified by humans

e.g., stone tools, pottery, and metal weapons

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2
Q

ecofacts

A

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

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3
Q

feature

A

non-portable artifact

e.g., hearths, architectural elements, soil stains

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4
Q

tell

A

Near Eastern word for a mound site formed by human occupation over a very long time

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5
Q

regions

A

large geographic areas, containing archaeological sites, defined by physical or ideational features

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6
Q

matrix

A

physical material containing or supporting artifacts

e.g., sediment

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7
Q

provenience

A
  1. place of origin/(earliest) known history of something
  2. horizontal and vertical position of an artifact, ecofact, or feature within a matrix
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8
Q

primary context

A

original position of deposition or discard of an object

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9
Q

secondary context

A

location of archaeological material that has been moved from its primary context by subsequent human activity/natural phenomena

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10
Q

experimental archaeology

A

reconstructing past behavioral/archaeological processes through scientific experiment

e.g., trying to fell a tree with different axes to see which they used

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11
Q

hoards

A

assemblage of valuables that were deliberately buried (e.g., during a time of conflict) and have not been reclaimed

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12
Q

religion

A

framework of beliefs relating to supernatural or superhuman beings or forces that transcend the everyday material world

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13
Q

electrolysis

A

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.

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14
Q

taphonomy

A

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

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15
Q

australopithecines

A

earliest hominins ca. 4.5 million ya in East Africa

includes Australopithicus and Paranthropus

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16
Q

systemic context

A

behavioral system in which artifacts are part of the ongoing process of manufacture, use, reuse, and discard

17
Q

archaeological sites

A

locations showing significant traces of human activity (artifacts + features)

18
Q

context

A

an artifact’s matrix, provenience, and association with other nearby artifacts

19
Q

association

A

how an artifact is associated with other nearby artifacts

20
Q

formation processes

A

processes affecting the burial and survival of archaeological materials

21
Q

cultural formation processes

A

formation processes that are human in origin

e.g., a farmer plowing a field over an archaeological site

22
Q

Which survives better, inorganic or organic materials? Why?

A

inorganic

Organic materials decay in all but extreme conditions.

23
Q

The survival of organic materials depends on which two factors?

A
  1. the matrix
  2. the climate
24
Q

What environment is most destructive to organic materials?

A

tropical climates with acidic soils

25
Q

What environment(s) best preserve(s) organic materials?

A
  • dry, desert
  • extremely cold
  • waterlogged
26
Q

List six types of artifacts.

A
  1. lithics (stone artifacts)
  2. ceramics
  3. metals
  4. ecofacts
  5. jewelry/adornments
  6. organics
27
Q

stratigraphy

A

the study and validation of stratification

stratification = analysis of how sediment strata got deposited over time

28
Q

assemblage

A

group of artifacts recurring together from a time and place, representing the sum of human activities

29
Q

natural formation processes

A

formation processes stemming from nature

e.g., erosion