Key Terms

Question 1

Stratigraphy

Answer 1

The study and validation of stratification; the layers within the soil

Question 2

Provenience

Answer 2

The horizontal and vertical position of an artifact, ecofact or feature within a matrix

Question 3

Reconnaissance Survey

Answer 3

A broad range of techniques involved in the location of archaeological sites; the recording of surface artifacts and features, and the sampling of natural and mineral resources

Question 4

Ecofact

Answer 4

Non-artifactual organic and environmental remains that have cultural relevance

(i.e. Faunal and floral material, as well as soils and sediments)

Question 5

Site

Answer 5

A distinct spatial clustering of artifacts, features, structures, and organic and environmental remains - the residue of human activity

Question 6

LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging)

Answer 6

A remote sensing technique using the same principle as radar. The instrument transmits light to a target, some of which is reflected back to the instrument. The time for the light to travel out to the target and back is used to determine the range to the target

Question 7

New Archaeology

Answer 7

A new approach advocated in the 1960s that argued for an explicitly scientific framework of archaeological method and theory, with hypothesis rigorously tested, as the proper basis for explanation rather than simply description (process yap archaeology

Question 8

Coprolites

Answer 8

Fossilized feces; these contain food residues that can be used to reconstruct diet and subsistence activities

Question 9

Context

Answer 9

An artifact’s context usually consists of its immediate matrix (soil, clay, gravel) its provenience (horizontal and vertical position in the matrix), and its association with other artifacts (with other archaeological remains, usually in the same matrix)

Question 10

Association

Answer 10

The co-occurrence of an artifact with other archaeological remains, usually in the same matrix

Question 11

Biological Anthropology

Answer 11

A subdiscipline of anthropology dealing with the study of human biological or physical characteristics and their evolution

Question 12

Experimental Archaeology

Answer 12

The study of past behavioral processes through experimental reconstruction under carefully controlled scientific conditions

Question 13

Ethnography

Answer 13

A subset of cultural anthropology concerned with the study of contemporary cultures through first-hand observation

Question 14

Radiocarbon Dating

Answer 14

An absolute dating method that measures the decay of the radioactive isotope of carbon in carbon material

Question 15

GIS (Geographic Information Systems)

Answer 15

Software based systems designed for the collection, organizing, storage, retrieval, analysis, and displaying of spatial/digital geographical data held in different “layers”

Question 16

Dendrochronolgy

Answer 16

The study of tree-ring patterns; annual variations in climatic conditions that produce differential growth can be used both as a measure of environmental change, and as the basis for a chronology

Question 17

Taphonomy

Answer 17

The study of processes that have affected organic materials, such as bone after death; it also involves the microscopic analysis of tooth marks or cut marks to assess the effects of butchery or scavenging activities

Question 18

Three Age System

Answer 18

(Stone, Bronze, Iron)
A classification system devised by C.J. Thomsen for the sequence of technological periods (stone, bronze, and iron) in Old World prehistory. It established the principle that by classifying artifacts, one could produce a chronological ordering

Question 19

CRM (Cultural Resource Management)

Answer 19

The safeguarding of the archaeological heritage through the protection of sites and through salvage archaeology (rescue archaeology), generally within the framework of legislation deigned to safeguard the past

Question 20

Stratification

Answer 20

The laying down or deposition of strata or layers (also called deposits) one above the other. A succession of layers should provide a relative chronological sequence, with the earliest at the bottom and the latest at the top

Question 21

Matrix

Answer 21

The physical material within which artifacts are embedded or supported
(i.e. Clay, gravel, sand)

Question 22

Processual Archaeology

Answer 22

An approach that stresses the dynamic relationship between social and economic aspects of cultural and the environment as the basis for understanding the processes of culture change. Uses the scientific methodology of problem statement, hypothesis formulation, and subsequent testing. The earlier functional-processual archway has been contrasted with cognitive-processual archaeology, where emphasis is on integrating ideological and symbolic aspects

Question 23

Pseudoarchaeology

Answer 23

The use of selective archaeological evidence to put forward nonscientific, fictional accounts of the past

Question 24

Potassium-Argon Dating

Answer 24

A method used to date rocks up to thousands of millions of years old, though it is restricted to volcanic material no more recent than c.100,000 years old. One of the most widely used methods in the dating of early hominid sites in Africa

Question 25

Prehistory

Answer 25

The period of human history before the advent of writing

Question 26

Seriation

Answer 26

A relative dating technique based on the chronological ordering of a group of artifacts or assemblages, where the most similar are placed adjacent to each other in the series

Question 27

Features

Answer 27

A non-portable artifact

i.e. Hearths