midterm

Question 1

archaeology

Answer 1

study of artifacts and relics of early mankind

Question 2

catastrophism

Answer 2

theory that states that natural disasters such as floods and volcanic eruptions shaped earth’s landforms and caused extinction of some species

Question 3

charles darwin

Answer 3

english natural scientist who formulated a theory of evolution by natural selection (1809-1882)

Question 4

classcal archaeology

Answer 4

the branch of archaeology that studies the “classical” civilizations of the mediterranean , such as Greece and rome, and the near reast

Question 5

three age system

Answer 5

a way to divide history into periods based on technology from the stone age to the bronze age to the iron age

Question 6

closed context

Answer 6

a tomb, casket, once you put it there it stays permanently

Question 7

four fields of anthropology

Answer 7

biological, cultural, linguistic, archaeology

Question 8

unniformitarianism

Answer 8

a principle that geologic processes that occurred in the past can be explained by current geologic processes

Question 9

grand tour

Answer 9

a piligrirmage of aristocrats, wealthy and diplomatic persons to tour the important area of europe to obtain the knowledge and classical culture

Question 10

prehistoric archaeology

Answer 10

the reconstruction of human behavior in the distant past (before written records) through the examination of artifacts

Question 11

archaeological survey

Answer 11

methods of archaeologists use to acquire data from sites or regions without excavation

Question 12

epistemology

Answer 12

study of knowledge

Question 13

artifact

Answer 13

an object made by a human being, typically an item of cultural or historical interest

Question 14

ecofact

Answer 14

plant or animal remains found at an archaeological site

Question 15

site

Answer 15

• found through satellite data and reconnaissance
• drone reconnaissance

Question 16

primary contexts

Answer 16

artifacts that are found in their original position of deposition

Question 17

secondary contexts

Answer 17

• shifted materials through a variety of modern and ancient mechanisms
• looting, stratigraphic disturbance

Question 18

inorganic materials

Answer 18

materials that do not come from living organisms

Question 19

organic materials

Answer 19

• living things tend to decay
• propagation of micro-organisms
• bones, teeth
• shells

Question 20

ceramics and glass

Answer 20

• production methods vary greatly
• allows archaeologists to interpret glass as the primary source of evidence for raw materials, technology and provenance
• made from same basic method of pyrotechnology
• one uses clay, one uses silica

Question 21

environments of preservation

Answer 21

• water: artifact killerr, essential for life, also causes decay
• works best in extreme conditions
  (waterlogged environments, extreme cold, aridity)

Question 22

reconnaissance

Answer 22

exploration to gain knowledge or information

Question 23

field walking

Answer 23

systematically searching fields for the remains of artifacts and buildings to detect likely settlement areas

Question 24

geophysical prospection methods

Answer 24

• noninvasive, low cost tools that can be used to study, protevt, and conserve archaeological heritage
• methods involve taking measurement of some property of the soil, such as its magnetism
• measurements are then used to create an image that can tell us something about what lies beneath