Lecture 3: The Archaeological Record Flashcards
what is the archaeological record?
the totality of the remains of the past that are preserved in the world
what are the three data types?
- artifacts
- ecofacts
- features
what is an artifact?
a portable object that was used or made by humans (e.g. pottery, textiles, tools)
what is an ecofact?
organic material resulting from human behaviour or related to humans (e.g. seeds, wood, bones, soil)
what separates an ecofact from an artifact
INTENTIONALITY
-> if you make a tool out of bones = artifact
-> if you have bones left over from butchering = ecofacts
what are the three conditions best for preservation?
- very cold
- very wet
- very dry
what is a feature?
nonportable objects created by/modified by humans (e.g. walls, wells, tombs)
what is an archaeological structure?
multiple features together (e.g. a house)
what is an archaeological site?
a set of features, structures, ecofacts and artifacts
what is an archaeological culture?
a shared set of normative material culture in time and space
what is an archaeological region?
geographical area associated with a culture
what is an archaeological chronology?
a time period associated with a culture
what doe MAP stand for in terms of context?
- matrix
- association
- provenience
what is a matrix?
the physical material found surrounding an object (e.g. soil)
what is an association?
the items relationship to other finds
what is provenience?
the items location in time and space
what is Lewis Binford’s Pompeii premise?
sites are frozen in time, the record accurately represents the past
what is Michael Schiffer’s behavioural archaeological ideology?
- that sites are influenced by both cultural and natural processes
- the record is a distortion of the past
- assemblage reflects behaviour
what are examples of natural and cultural processes?
cultural: looting, plowing, building, farming
natural: fire, flood, erosion, decomposition, deforestation
what is the systemic vs archaeological context?
systemic: “life history” of a material while it is in use
archaeological: at the end of life, becomes a refuse
what are the 5 stages of the systemic and archaeological context?
- procurement (raw materials)
- manufacture
- use
- recycle/maintenance
- discard
what is a De Facto item?
it enters the archaeological record without being discarded (lost or abandoned)
