Chapter 7 Flashcards
principle of uniformitarianism
the principle asserting that the processes now operating to modify the Earth’s surface are the same processes that operated long ago in the geological past
faunal
animal bones in archaeological sites
analogy
noting similarities between two entities and inferring from that similarity that an additional attribute of one (the ethnographic case) is also true of the other (the archaeological case)
formal analogies
analogies justified by similarities in the formal attributes of archaeological and ethnographic objects and features
relational analogies
analogies justified on the basis of close cultural continuity between the archaeological and ethnographic cases or similarity in general cultural form
bonebed
archaeological and paleontological sites consisting of the remains of a large number of animals, often the same species, and often representing a single moment in time–a mass kill or mass death
Characteristic of Middle-Level Theory
Middle-level theory creates bridging arguments that link material remains to human behavior or natural processes
It uses the structure of analogy, but adds the element of the principle of uniformitarianism
The principle of uniformitarianism argues that relationships observed in the present were true of the past because they are inherent to the objects or actions being observed
The principle of uniformitarianism is essential to giving middle-level theory its power of inference
experimental archaeology
experiments designed to determine the archaeological correlates of ancient behavior; may overlap with both ethnoarchaeology and taphonomy
ethnoarchaeology
the study of contemporary peoples to determine how human behavior is translated into the archaeological record
slash-and-burn
a horticultural method, used frequently in the tropics, in which a section of forest is cut, dried, and then burned. This returns the nutrients to the ground and permits the land to be farmed for a limited number of years
