Midterm Flashcards
What is Archaeology
the study of material traces left behind by past people, and the people themselves.
The Nature/Culture Divide
the west says that culture and nature are separate, but indigenous cultures suggest otherwise. John Muir wanted to reduce human impacts on nature (preservation), Henry Ford wanted to extract value from and master nature (Industry), and Gifford Pinchot wanted a sustainable use of resources (Conservation).
Relationship Between Place & People
people shape places shape people - why location is important (can also talk about nature/culture divide)
Uniformitarianism
the idea that the way things are changing now are the way things have always changed
Catostrophism
the idea that the world is consistently stable and changes are due to catastrophes
Punctuated Equilibrium
the idea that the world is steady, then there is a big change, then the word becomes steady again
Epistemology
how we know the world
Archeology & Science
similar to other sciences (research design, data collection, test hypotheses, maintain objectivity)
unlike other sciences (close connection to our subject matter - need to move past biases (ex: religious))
Artifacts & Material Culture
aka “stuff” and byproducts of “stuff”
Ecofacts
environmental samples/environment that humans had impact on (ex: domesticated corn)
Taphonomy
the study of site formation processes - natural processes cover and preserve
Feature
can’t physically be removed without change (in situ)
Primary v. Secondary Refuse
primary refuse is in situ (where it was and remained - activity areas intact - think wallet dropped on ground). secondary refuse was moved to a secondary location - collectively disposed (think landfill)
In Situ
in the original place it was left
The Grid
intentional archaeological survey - map a grid and work in squares, digging at specific points and noting what they find in the grid (including depth)
Pedestrian Survey
walking over the land in an organized fashion, nothing surface features of archaeological importance
Shovel Test Pits
on intervals, dig a hole straight down and check for features
Remote Sensing
there are tools (such as ground penetrating radar) that allow archaeologists to sense if there are things underground without digging
Visibility
things such as vegetation may cover up a site and make it hard to find
Obtrusiveness
some sites may be too large and too hard to get into
Provenience
3D location (spatial context) of an object
Archaeology as Controlled Destruction
controlled destruction - will not be leaving everything as it was, but try to note to the best of its abilities
Ground Penetrating Radar
radio waves go down until they hit an object, then bounce back up. the data is collected and shows where an object may be.
Proton Magnetometer
measures protons to see alterations in soil - if something has been dug and reburied for example