Chapter 9 Terminology

Question 1

Appendicular skeleton

Answer 1

All parts of an animal excluding the axial skeleton.

Question 2

Axial skeleton

Answer 2

The head, mandibles, vertebrae, ribs, sacrum and tail of an animal skeleton.

Question 3

Ch’ arki

Answer 3

Native South American (Quechua) term for freezed-dried llama and alpaca meat.

Question 4

Comparative collection

Answer 4

A skeletal collection of modern fauna of both sexes and different ages used to make identifications of archaeofaunas.

Question 5

Coprolite

Answer 5

Desiccated feces (Αποξηραμένα περιττώματα), often containing macrobotanical remains, pollen and the remains of small animals.

Question 6

Element

Answer 6

In faunal analysis, a specific skeletal part of the body - for example, humerus or sternum.

Question 7

Faunal analysis

Answer 7

Identification and interpretation of animal remains from an archaeological site.

Question 8

Faunal assemblage

Answer 8

Identification and interpretation of animal remains from an archaeological site.

Question 9

Holocence

Answer 9

The post-Pleiocence geological epoch that began about 10,000 radiocarbon years ago and continues today.

Question 10

Kill sites

Answer 10

Places where animals were killed in the past.

Question 11

Lipids

Answer 11

Organic substances - including fats, oils, and waxes - that resist mixing with water; found in both plant and animal tissues.

Question 12

Macrobotanical Remains

Answer 12

Nonmicroscopic plant that remains recovered from an archaeological site.

Question 13

Minimum number of individuals (MNI)

Answer 13

The smallest number of individuals necessary to account for all identified bones.

Question 14

Number of identified specimens (NISP)

Answer 14

The raw number of identified bones (specimens) per species

Question 15

Paleoethnobotanist

Answer 15

An archaeologist who analyzes and interprets plant remains from archaeological sites in order to understand the past interactions between human populations and plants.

Question 16

Palynology

Answer 16

The study of fossil pollen grains and spores to reconstruct past climates and human behavior

Question 17

Phytoliths

Answer 17

Tiny silica particles contained in plants. Sometimes these fragments can be recovered from archaeological sites, even after the plants themselves have decayed.

Question 18

Pollen diagram

Answer 18

A chart showing the changing frequencies of different identified pollens through time from samples taken from archaeological or other sites.

Question 19

Puna

Answer 19

Native American (Quechua) term for the treeless, windswept tablelands and basins of the higher Andes.

Question 20

Seasonality

Answer 20

An estimate of what part of the year a particular archaeological site was occupied.

Question 21

Size classes

Answer 21

A categorization of faunal remains, not to taxon (ταξινομικής ομάδας), but to one of five categories based on body size.

Question 22

Taxon

Answer 22

In faunal analysis, the classification of a skeletal element to a taxonomic category - species, genus, family, or order.

Question 23

Wood rats (pack rats)

Answer 23

Rodents that build nests of organic materials and thus preserve a record, often for thousands of years, of changing plant species within the local area of the nest.

Question 24

Zooarchaeolostist

Answer 24

An individual who specializes in the study of animal remains recovered from archaeological sites.