˗ˏˋ exam three´ˎ˗ Flashcards
what are horizontal excavations?
- an excavation for which the goal is to excavate a broad area in order to expose the remains of a single point in time
- more shallow
what is vertical excavation?
- an excavation for which the goal is to excavate a significant depth of deposits in order to expose the record of a sequence of occupations
- deeper
what are artifacts?
- objects that show traces of human manufacture
- examples include tools and vessels, as well as the waste resulting from a manufacturing process
lithic analysis is the study of stone tools - ceramic analysis is the study of pottery and other objects made of fired clay
- metallurgy is the study of metal artifacts and the by-products of smelting
what is archaeological theory?
ideas that archaeologists have developed about the past and about the ways we come to know the past.
what is the paleolithic period?
- about 2.5 million years ago to 10,000 B.C.
- where humans lived with now-extinct animals
- also called the old stone age
what is the neolithic revolution?
time of rapid change to human cultures due to the invention of agriculture, starting around 12,000 years ago.
what is emic?
- an approach to archaeological or anthropological analysis that attempts to understand the meanings people attach to their actions and culture
- em, me, insider perspective
what is natufian?
societies in the middle east that practiced a broad-spectrum subsistence strategy that relied on a wide range of resources.
what are longhouses?
long rectangular structures, measuring up to 30 meters (98 feet) long, and housing extended families.
what is mesopotamia?
- a region along the course of the tigris and euphrates rivers centered in modern iraq
- lots of wetlands, that have become arid climates
- because most of the neolithic homes were made of organic materials, they are not found in the archaeological record
what is cuneiform?
- a writing system in which signs were impressed in wet clay
- was used to write a range of languages, including sumerian and akkadian
what is the pharoah’s curse?
- pharaoh tutankhamun, aka “king tut”
- tomb was discovered and opened in 1923, by howard carter (british archaeologist) and team
- there was no curse discovered in this tomb, however there had already been rumors of curses on anyone that would rob a pharaoh’s tomb
- about 6 weeks after the opening of the tomb, lord carnarvon (who financed the expedition) died of an infected mosquito bite
- 8 people (of the original 58) who entered the tomb, died of various causes over the next decade
- carter either survived the curse, or the curse took a very long time because he died in 1939
what is the thera/santornini?
- a cycladic island that was devastated by a major volcanic eruption during the bronze age
- volcano erupted around 1600-1500 BCE
- many gorgeous frescos of life in a minoan society including ships for trade and combat
who is gordon v. childe?
- 1892-1957, australian archaeologist
- powerful visual memory allowed him to make comparisons and recognize patterning in the archaeological collections across europe
- shifted the focus from artifacts to societies of people living in a network of social and economic relations
- was a politically active marxist who emphasized the social organization of production and revolutionary change in human societies
- inspired by working with soviet archaeologists, as well as the work of US ethnographer lewis henry morgan
- helped steer archaeology towards the study of ancient cultures, rather than just the recovery of objects
what are ecofacts?
objects recovered from an archaeological context that are either the remains of biological organisms or the results of geological processes.
