Renfrew & Bahn pp37-56

Question 1

Archaeology remains

Answer 1

1. Deliberate constructions > built to last
2. Primarily to impress the observer > scale of the enterprise
3. Discarded garbage frm daily activities of human existence (most)
4. Preserved by extremes of temp and humidity / natural disasters
   (e. g. volcanic eruption)
5. Varied lvl of preservation: Most sites not in areas subjected to extremes of climate

Question 2

*Artifacts

Answer 2

*- Objects used, modified, or made by ppl
- e.g. stone tools, pottery, metal weapons
- Evidence to hp answer ALL key questions, e.g. single clay pot:
1. Date of the pot, date of location where it was found
2. Find the source of clay
3. Evidence for range and contacts of group that made the pot
4. Pictorial decoration
> form / related to sequence of design styles + ancient beliefs
5. Shape / food / other residues > pot’s use

Question 3

*Ecofacts

Answer 3

*- Organic and environmental remains not made by humans
- e.g. human skeletons, animal bones, plant remains, soils, sediments
> Can still be very revealing abt many aspects of past human activity
> e.g. what ppl ate. Environmental conditions under which they lived

Question 4

Archaeological research

Answer 4

• Analysis of artifacts + ecofacts (found tgt on sites)

+ surrounding landscapes + grouped tgt into regions

Question 5

*Features

Answer 5

*- Non-portable artifacts
- e.g. hearths, postholes, storage pits
- Simple features as postholes in combination with remains of hearths, floors, ditches
> Evidence for complex features / structures, e.g. houses, granaries, palaces, temples
- Some researchers broaden the term ‘artifact’ to include features

Question 6

Relationship btw artifacts, features, structure

Answer 6

• Artifacts and features are found in association with the structure

Question 7

*Sites

Answer 7

*- Places where artifacts, ecofacts, features are found tgt

Question 8

*Matrix

Answer 8

*- Material surrounding a find (an artifact, ecofact, or feature)

Question 9

*Provenience

Answer 9

*- Exact (horizontal and vertical) position of a find within the matrix

Question 10

*Association

Answer 10

*- A find’s relationship with other finds, usually in the same matrix

Question 11

*Context

Answer 11

*- W/o context, an artifact loses much of its archaeological value
> e.g. looters dig up sites indiscriminately looking for rich finds
> W/o recording matrix, provenience, or associations
> All contextual info is lost

Question 12

Primary context

Answer 12

• Looters shift aside material they are not interested in

> Destroy that material’s primary context

Question 13

Secondary context

Answer 13

• If archaeologists subsequently excavate that shifted material (primary context got destroyed)
  > Need to be able to recognize that it is in a secondary context

Question 14

More difficult for a site disturbed in antiquity, human activity

Answer 14

• e.g. Ten of thousands of years of the Old Stone Age

- OR Paleolithic period > forces of nature > encroaching seas or ice sheets, wind and water action

Question 15

Taphonomy

Answer 15

• The study of formation processes
  > Formation processes: which may have affected:
  
  1. Which finds came to be buried
  2. What happened to them after they were buried

Question 16

Formation processes

Answer 16

• Affect:
  
  1. Which finds came to be buried
  2. What happened to them after they were buried
• 2 types:
  
  1. Cultural formation processes
  2. Natural formation processes

Question 17

Cultural formation processes

Answer 17

• Involve deliberate / accidental activities of human beings as they
  make / use artifacts, build / abandon buildings, plow their fields

Question 18

Natural formation processes

Answer 18

• Natural events that govern BOTH burial + survival of archaeological record
• e.g. :
  > Sudden fall of volcanic ash @Pompeii (exceptional)
  > Gradual burial of artifacts / features by wind-borne sand / soil
  > River action, activities of animals

Question 19

Experimental archaeology

Answer 19

• Instructive abt some of the formation processes that affect physical preservation of archaeological material
• e.g. replica stone tools to cut meat off bones
  > Differentiate cutmarks on bones made by stone tools frm those made by teeth of animal predators

Question 20

Separate cultural formation processes

Answer 20

1. Reflect original human behavior and activity before a site became buried
2. Came after burial (e.g. plowing / looting)
   > Most sites = complex sequence of use, burial, reuse > repeat
   > Goal: Attempt to reconstruct original human behavior

Question 21

4 Major activities of original human behavior

Answer 21

1. Acquisition
2. Manufacture
3. (Storage) Use
4. Disposal
   > Remains enter record at any 1 of these stages

Question 22

1. Deliberate burial / hoards

Answer 22

• Prime source of evidence for original human behavior
• Times of conflict / war: ppl deposit prized possessions in ground
  > Intend to reclaim them later > BUT fail to do so for reasons
• e.g. @European Bronze Age - hoards of metal goods; @later Roman Britain - treasures of silver

Question 23

2. Burial of the dead

Answer 23

• Another major source of evidence
  > In simple graves, elaborate burial mounds, giant pyramids
  > Usually + grave goods (e.g. ceramic vessels / weapons), + painted tomb-chamber walls (e.g. in ancient Mexico / Egypt)

Question 24

Human destruction of archaeological record

Answer 24

1. Caused by burials of the dead (+ceramic vessels / weapons) being dug into earlier deposits
2. Rulers destroy monument / erase inscriptions belonging to previous chiefs
3. Burning (NOT always destroy)
   > e.g. on plants, clay, timbers > improve chances of survival of remains

Question 25

Survival of materials under natural formation

Answer 25

1. Inorganic materials (usually survive better than organic)

2. Organic materials

Question 26

Survival of inorganic materials (3 categories)

Answer 26

1. Stone tools - survive very well
2. Fired clay (pottery) - survive very well
3. Metals - gold, silver, lead survive very well; copper corrode depending on soil conditions; iron rarely survive in uncorroded state
   * - Inorganic materials (stone tools + pottery) equalled / superseded in abundance and importance by objects that usually do NOT survive (wooden tools / baskets)

Question 27

Influence on inorganic materials by sea

Answer 27

• Potentially very destructive
  > Underwater remains = break + scatter by currents, waves, tidal action
• Preserve artifacts
  > Metals coat with thick, hard casing of metallic salts
  > Simply taken out = + acid > destroy remaining metal
  > If use electrolysis > leave metal artifact clean + safe

Question 28

Survival of organic materials (3 main factors)

Answer 28

1. Matrix: conditions of soil / sediment surrounding material
   > ONLY special circumstances preserve organic material
2. Climate: local + regional weather
   > Affect soils, erosion, flora fauna
3. Natural disasters: volcanic eruptions, extremes of dry, cold, wet climates

Question 29

1. Matrix

Answer 29

A. Chalk: preserve bone well
B. Acid soils: destroy bones + wood within a few years; leave telltale discoloration where postholes / hut foundations once stood
C. Sandy soils: brown / black marks = skeletons
D. Copper: favor preservation of organic remains (prevent destructive micro-organisms activity)
(E.g. @southeast Europe - copper mines with remains of wood, leather, and textiles)
E. Combination of salt + oil - preserve animal + fruits (prevent decomposition frm bacteria) (e.g. La Brea, Los Angeles)

Question 30

2. Climate

Answer 30

A. Local climate
I. Cave: protect frm outside climatic effects; limestone cave - alkaline condition > preserve bones or even footprints
B. Regional climate (more important)
I. Tropical climates = heavy rains + acid soils + warm temp + high humidity + erosion + wealth of vegetation + insect
> Most destructive, hinder looters (e.g. southern Mexico)
II. Temperate climates = relatively warm, variable temp, fluctuating rainfall
> Accelerate decay (e.g. Europe, North America)
> Local conditions can counteract these processes
> e.g. clay compacted btw layers > create oxygen-free pockets
> + chemicals produced by bracken, bone > sterile the locality

Question 31

3. Natural disasters

Answer 31

• Sometimes preserve sites

- e.g. violent storms, mudslide, volcanic eruption

Question 32

Extreme conditions

Answer 32

1. Dry environments
2. Cold environments
3. Waterlogged environments

Question 33

1. Dry environments

Answer 33

• Shortage of water
  > Prevent destructive micro-organisms to flourish
• e.g. Egypt, American Southwest, central and southern Peru

Question 34

Land archaeology

Answer 34

• As opposed to archaeology beneath the sea
• Can be drawn btw dry land and wetland sites
  1. Wetland sites (e.g. lakes, swamps, marshes, fens, peat bogs)
  > seal organic materials in wet and airless environment effectively
  > 75-90%, even 100% finds = organic
  2. Dryland sites: decompose organic materials
  > If wet site dries out seasonally > decomposition
• Acidic peat bogs preserve wood and plant remains, destroy bone, iron, pottery
• Famous lake sites: alpine regions of Switzerland, Italy, France, southern Germany

Question 35

Wetland archaeology

Answer 35

• Peat bogs: northern latitudes (e.g. southern England, continent of Europe, Ireland)
• Bog bodies: individuals frm violent death, executed as criminals, killed as sacrifice
  > Threw into bog e.g. Denmark’s Tollund Man
  > Within skin, disappeared bones and most internal organs, except stomach and its contents
  > e.g. Prehistoric human brains @Florida
• Lake-dwellings rival bog bodies
  > Contributions: preserve timber for study of tree rings, old waterfronts of towns and cities
• Major prb of wetland archaeology: deteriorate rapidly once uncovered
  > Dry and crack