Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Historical Archaeology > History of the Field > Flashcards

History of the Field Flashcards

1
Q

Who developed the laws of stratigraphy, and when?

A

Nicholas Steno, 1669

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Who produced the first geological map of England, and when?

A

William Snitch, 1799

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What was Charles Lyell’s contribution to archaeology?

A

in 1830, published “Principles of Geology,” bringing uniformitarianism to a wider audience, allowing this idea to be applied to the human past

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Who introduced the three-age system, and when?

A

C.J. Thomsen, 1816

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What are the three conceptual foundations for studying the past?

A
  • the antiquity of humankind
  • the principal of evolution
  • the three-age system
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

When did historical archaeology begin to develop in North America?

A

1850s

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Who were the pioneers of historical archaeology, and what made their excavations unique? (2)

A
  • Father Felix Martin and James Hall set themselves apart by informing themselves with historical accounts before excavating
  • the excavations were meant as a means for substantiating what their documents told them
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Who was Father Felix Martin, and what major excavation did he perform? (4)

A
  • Jesuit priest from Montreal
  • investigating documents concerning a mission in St. Marie
  • the mission had been evacuated after 10 years of occupation due to attacks by the Iroquois and waves of smallpox
  • by documenting his findings in the excavations, he was able to create an accurate map of the site
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What excavation did James Hall perform? (3)

A
  • excavated Myles Standish House in 1856
  • meticulous notes
  • datum points
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Which federal policies support archaeological sites? (2)

A
  • the Antiquities Act of 1906 established legal protection and public support for the nation’s archaeological and historic sites
  • the Historic Sites Act of 1935 made it official U.S. policy to preserve historic sites, and it empowered the National Parks Service to obtain, preserve, and restore these sites for the public
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

When did the formative period of historical archaeology begin, who initiated it and what did it focus on? (3)

A
  • J.C. Harrington
  • 1930s
  • architectural focus; sites of historical significance
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

When did the professional period of historical archaeology begin, who initiated it and what did it focus on? (3)

A
  • Dr. John Cotter and the National Historic Preservation Act
  • 1966
  • anthropological/artifact focus
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What did early excavations for historical archaeology focus on? (2)

A
  • sites belonging to notable historical figures or nationally important historical events
  • this is still common today
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What is theory?

A

the set of principles on which historical archaeology is based

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What are the two major theories of archaeology?

A
  • processual

- post-processual

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What questions does theory address? (4)

A
  • How do we order the facts?
  • What should be studied?
  • What can be studied?
  • What is the role of archaeology?
17
Q

Who was Franz Boas, and what was his contribution to archaeology? (4)

A
  • father of modern American anthropology
  • German-born American 1858-1942
  • moved the field from ‘armchair anthropology’ to fieldwork and the scientific method
  • anthropology as ‘science’
18
Q

What is 19th-century ‘unilinear evolutionism,’ and what did it assume? (2)

A
  • all societies evolve through the same stages to ‘civilization’
  • assumed that human society had evolved through a series of stages: savagery to barbarism to civilization
19
Q

What did Franz Boas propose in response to unilinear evolutionism? (2)

A
  • no one culture ‘more evolved’ than another

- historical particularism: each society is a product of its own history

20
Q

What is functionalism?

A

cultural traits generally have an adaptive function

21
Q

Who proposed configurationalism?

A

Margaret Mead and Ruth Benedict

22
Q

What is configurationalism?

A

modification to functionalism and historical particularism proposing that cultures are subject to their own historical past and the diffusion of cultural traits, but also traits are integrated

23
Q

What is a good case study of configurationalism? (6)

A
  • diffusion of the horse among Native Americans
  • an example of a relative advantage
  • background: Spanish invaded 1519, introduced the horse to Plains Native Americans
  • chased buffalo into other tribes’ lands
  • caused warfare
  • warring tribes on horseback utilized new fighting technologies like tomahawks and headdresses
24
Q

How did anthropology and archaeology eventually overlap? (2)

A
  • around the time that Boas was developing his four-field approach, archaeologists and historical archaeologists were still largely historians
  • when more and more archaeologists joined anthropology departments in the 1920s-50s, this ushered in anthropological archaeology as we know it today
25
Q

What did Lewis Binford propose in 1962?

A

archaeology is anthropology

26
Q

What is processualism?

A

using archaeology to explain findings in terms of cultural and social processes that caused them

27
Q

What are the seven characteristics of processualism?

A
  • explanatory
  • cultural processes
  • deductive
  • testing
  • project design
  • quantitative
  • optimism
28
Q

What is Neo-Marxist post-processual archaeology? (2)

A
  • purports that archaeologists have a responsibility to use what they learn about the past to change the present for the better
  • this is a strong contrast to the scientific objectivity that the processual approach requires
29
Q

What is post-positivist post-processual archaeology? (2)

A
  • rejects the systematic approach of the scientific method, which is key to processualism
  • instead, recognizes possible effects of biases and therefore incorporates both quantitative and qualitative approaches
30
Q

What is phenomenological post-processual archaeology?

A

stresses individual experiences as the best way to understand the past

31
Q

What is hermeneutic post-processual archaeology? (2)

A
  • the focus is the uniqueness and diversity of each culture
  • purports there is never a ‘correct’ interpretation of a culture; each observer is entitled to their own unique interpretation of the past

Historical Archaeology (18 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions