Chapter 4 Flashcards
Why does context matter? How is it recorded?
Context matters because information comes from what artifacts are associated with each other, with features, and with particular strata. It’s not enough to know that an artifact came from a particular site; we need to know how it relates to everything else found at the site.
Context is recorded by the provenience of artifacts, features and ecofacts.
What determines a preservation?
Preservation is enhanced in continuously wet, and/or very cold environments - anyplace where conditions prevent the existence of the microorganisms that promote decay.
Diverse excavation strategies respond in part to different preservation conditions, constrains, and objectives in order to record provenience. From test pit to full-scale excavation, archaeologists maintain records of the three-dimensional provenience of the objects being recovered.
Archaeological records an excavation in such way that another archaeologist can see what the original excavator saw.
What is the difference between arbitrary (αυθαίρετος) and natural levels? Why do these matter?
Natural levels follow the site’s geologic stratigraphy; arbitrary levels are normally 5 or 10 cm thick and are based on depth below the datum point. Arbitrary levels are normally used only in test pits when the natural stratigraphy is unknown or when natural layers are more than 10 cm thick.
Arbitrary levels could mix artifacts from different natural levels, of different geologic contexts.
How do archaeologists recover the smallest artifacts and ecofacts?
We use screening, flotation and bulk matrix processing to recover extremely small artifacts and ecofacts.
