Chapter 6 Flashcards
archaeology
A cultural anthropology of the human past focusing on material evidence of human modification of the physical environment.
archaeological record
All material objects constructed by humans or near-humans revealed by archaeology.
site
A precise geographical location of the remains of past human activity.
artifacts
Objects that have been deliberately and intelligently shaped by human or near-human activity.
features
Nonportable remnants from the past, such as house walls or ditches.
ethnoarchaeology
The study of the way present-day societies use artifacts and structures and how these objects become part of the archaeological record.
survey
The physical examination of a geographical region in which promising sites are most likely to be found.
excavation
The systematic uncovering of archaeological remains through removal of the deposits of soil and other material covering them and accompanying them.
subsistence strategy
Different ways that people in different societies go about meeting their basic material survival needs.
band
The characteristic form of social organization found among foragers. Bands are small, usually no more than 50 people, and labor is divided ordinarily on the basis of age and sex. All adults in band societies have roughly equal access to whatever material or social valuables are locally available.
tribe
A society that is generally larger than a band, whose members usually farm or herd for a living. Social relations in a tribe are still relatively egalitarian, although there may be a chief who speaks for the group or organizes certain group activities.
sodalities
Special-purpose groupings that may be organized on the basis of age, sex, economic role, and personal interest.
chiefdom
A form of social organization in which a leader (the chief) and close relatives are set apart from the rest of the society and allowed privileged access to wealth, power, and prestige.
status
A particular social position in a group.
state
A stratified society that possesses a territory that is defended from outside enemies with an army and from internal disorder with police. A state, which has a separate set of governmental institutions designed to enforce laws and to collect taxes and tribute, is run by an elite that possesses a monopoly on the use of force.
**feminist archaeology
A research approach that explores why women’s contributions have been systematically written out of the archaeological record and suggests new approaches to the human past that include such contributions.
**gender archaeology
A research approach that addresses the needs of contemporary gender studies for an understanding of how people come to understand themselves as different from others; how people represent these differences; and how others react to such claims.
**historical archaeology
The study of archaeological sites associated with written records, frequently the study of post-European contact sites in the world.
cosmopolitanism
Being at ease in more than one cultural setting.
tons of shit missing
in this hizzouse
ecofacts
Plant residues or animal bones connected with food provisioning, which are not themselves artifacts but appear to be the by-products of human activity
Provenance
The precise three-dimensional position of the find within the matrix
Matrix
Immediate environment/substance in which object is found (e.g. gravel, sand, or clay)
**Processual Archaeology
“sought to make archaeology an objective, empirical science in which hypotheses about all forms of cultural variation could be tested. Integrated mathematics and statistics into work, etc.
**Post-Processual Archaeology
Stresses the symbolic and cognitive aspects of social structures and social relations. Emphasizes human agency and the power of ideas and values in construction of ancient cultures. Non-objective.
Archaeology as Civic Engagement
Involvement and participation in public life, especially in directing people’s attention to “the historical roots and present-day manifestations of contemporary social justice issues.” Connecting archaeologists and their work to the communities connected in one way or another.
