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ANTHRO 214 > Test 3 > Flashcards

Test 3 Flashcards

1
Q

True or False: Archaeology hasn’t been able to provide supporting evidence for accurate Indigenous oral histories going back thousands of years

A

False

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2
Q

What is environmental archaeology?

A

The reconstruction of human use of and interaction with plants, animals, and landscapes

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3
Q

What is geology?

A

“Study of the Earth,” looks at how the Earth formed, its structure and composition, and the types of processes acting on it

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4
Q

What is geoarchaeology?

A

Study of earth formation processes

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5
Q

Difference between geology and geoarchaeology?

A

Not much of a difference, they both study how the earth was formed

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6
Q

Uses of geoarchaeology?

A

To reconstruct the environment of the local area (ex: conditions of the terrain, water availability, flooding, erosion) can also be applied to religious contexts

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7
Q

What are glaciers?

A

Bodies of dense ice that is constantly moving under their own weight

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8
Q

What are moraine deposits?

A

They contain foreign rocks carried by the ice from glaciers

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9
Q

What are fossil ice wedges?

A

Soil features caused by when the ground freezes and contracts, opening up the fissures in the permafrost that fill with wedges of ice

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10
Q

Benefits of fossil ice wedges?

A

They are geoarchaeological evidence of past cooling of the climate and the depth of permafrost

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11
Q

What is permafrost?

A

A thick subsurface layer of soil that remains frozen throughout the year, occurring chiefly in polar regions

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12
Q

What are glacial varves?

A

Layers of sediment deposited annually in lakes around the edges of glaciers

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13
Q

Types of glacial varves?

A

Dark layers, thick layers, and thin layers

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14
Q

What does a dark layer (glacial varve) mean?

A

Accumulation of sediment in winter

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15
Q

What does a thick layer (glacial varve) mean?

A

Warm years with increased ice melt

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16
Q

What does a thin layer (glacial varve) mean?

A

Cold years with decreased ice melt

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17
Q

What are meanders?

A

Moving water in a river erodes the outer banks while the inner part of the river has less energy and builds up silt deposits

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18
Q

What is silt?

A

The fine bits of clay and sand that become soil/sediment settling at the bottom of a river or lake

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19
Q

What is geomorphology?

A

Study of soils and sediments in order to understand the formation of landscapes

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20
Q

Types of geomorphology?

A
  • Analysis of the composition and texture of sediments (gravel to clay)
  • Particle size (cobbles to silt)
  • Degree of consolidation (loose to cemented)
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21
Q

What is soil micromorphology?

A

The use of microscopic techniques to study the nature and organization of the components of soil

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22
Q

What are the components studied in soil micromorphology?

A

Sediment sources, soil formation processes, human modifications

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23
Q

What are soils?

A

Vertically weathering profiles that develop in place; soils require time and stability to develop

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24
Q

What are sediments?

A

Particles transported by water, wind, gravity, or humans; sediments are formed by movement

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25
What are thin sections?
Method of obtaining a thin slice of soil or sediment to be analyzed microscopically
26
What is petrography?
Microscopic analysis of soils and sediments
27
What is testing the plasticity of soil?
Tells how well a soil's particles bind together when wet
28
True or False: Clays are more plastic
True
29
True or False: Sands are more plastic
False, they are less
30
What is archaeobotany?
Study of archaeological plant remains
31
What components does archaeobotany study?
* Human movement of plants * Food production and consumption * Agricultural production and consumption * Forest and tree management * Crop storage * Reconstruction of past vegetation
32
What is macrobotany?
The study of seed remains
33
Components of macrobotany?
○ Crop and weed seeds ○ Most often preserved through charring ○ Identification based on species-unique seed size and shape ○ What did people grow and eat? ○ What did animals eat?
34
What is anthracology?
The study of wood charcoal
35
Components of anthracology?
○ Tree species ○ Identification based on species-unique vessel patterns ○ What wood resources did people use?
36
What is palynology?
The study of fossil pollen
37
Components of palynology?
○ Plant species that produce pollen ○ Identification based on species-unique pollen size and shape ○ Off-site data on vegetation patterns ○ What land use practices did people engage in?
38
What are pollen diagrams?
They track regional vegetation change over time
39
What is phytolith analysis?
The study of the silica skeletons of plant cells
40
Components of phytolith analysis?
○ Plant species that absorb silica from ground water ○ Identification based on species-unique phytolith size and shape ○ On-site data on plant use ○ Phytoliths are hardier than charred seeds ○ What plants did people use?
41
What are phytoliths?
They adhere to artifact surfaces, like sickle blades and grinding stones
42
What is zooarchaeology?
Study of archaeological animal remains
43
Components of zooarchaeology?
* Information on human-animal relationships * What animals did people interact with and use? * How did people interact with and use animals?
44
What is butchery analysis?
Study of animal bones for evidence of meat processing
45
What is aging?
The analysis of animal bones for signs of aging
46
Types/signs of aging?
Suture closers, bone fusion, tooth water and eruption
47
What is epiphysis?
The cap at the end of a long bone that develops from a secondary ossification center
48
What is diaphysis?
The shaft of a long bone
49
What is domestication studies?
The analysis of animal bones for signs of adapting wild animals for human use
50
True or False: Humans select for desirable traits
True
51
True or False: Animals get bigger through the domestication process
False, they get smaller
52
What is seasonality?
The analysis of animal bones for signs of seasonal breeding patterns and reconstruct animals' season of death
53
What are herd profiles?
Reconstruction of whether livestock were raised for meat of secondary products, like dairy or wool
54
What is the benefit of herd profiles?
Combines sexing, aging, and seasonality data
55
Takeaways from Environmental Justice (Douglass and Cooper Reading)?
* Histories of colonialism and imperialism matter * Across the globe, colonial practices have made colonized communities more vulnerable to climate change * To adapt to an age of intense climate change, non-colonial and Indigenous practices and lifeways are important sources of knowledge and inspiration
56
What is bioarchaeology?
Study of human remains
57
Difference between bioarchaeology in the US and Europe?
Europe: bioarchaeology encompasses the study of plant, animal, and human remains US: bioarchaeology refers to the specific study of human remains
58
In the US, what things do bioarchaeology analyze?
○ Age ○ Sex ○ Stature ○ Health ○ Cause of death ○ Ancestry ○ Genetic relationships ○ Evolutionary development
59
What is inhumation?
The burial of human remains, refers to the deposition of the body
60
What is cremation?
The burning of human remains, often partial
61
What is primary burial?
The original deposition of human remains, connotes that the human remains are found where they were originally interred
62
True or False: Primary burials can be inhumations or cremations
True
63
What is secondary burial?
The redeposition of human remains, it involves reburying all or some human remains after their original interment
64
What is an ossuary?
A container or room into which bones are places for secondary burial
65
What is sex?
A biological determination of male, female or intersex based on anatomy
66
What is gender?
A matter of individual identity and cultural construction; examples include man, woman, transgender, and non-binary; masculine, feminine, and gender non-conforming
67
True or False: Bioarchaeologists don't determine the biological sex of human remains
False, they do determine
68
What is sexing based on?
Sexual dimorphism
69
What is sexual dimorphism?
Differences of size between male and female anatomies
70
Characteristics of male bones?
Generally bigger, longer and heavier Narrower pelvis and larger skull
71
Characteristics of female bones?
Generally smaller, shorter, and lighter Wider pelvis Shorter rib cage and sternum
72
What is a pelvis?
The best skeletal element for sexing human remains
73
What is ageing based on?
Tooth eruption and wear patterns
74
Benefits of ageing with tooth eruption and wear patterns?
* Tooth eruption patterns can help age an individual up to 25 years old * After age 25, tooth wear patterns can be used to age an individual * Tooth enamel ridges can also be analyzed to determine the age of an individual, ridges form every 7 days
75
Benefits of ageing based on bone fusion?
○ Skull gets thicker with age ○ Ribs get increasingly irregular with age
76
What is bone fusion?
Fusing of the end of long bones (epiphyses)
77
How can height be determined in bioarchaeology?
Stature, finding the length of long bones
78
What is aDNA?
Ancient DNA, molecular genetic material that contains genomic information
79
What is facial reconstruction?
* Using biometrics to recreate the face * CT and 3D scanning technologies also used
80
What are the benefits/components of aDNA?
○ Nuclear DNA formed by the recombination of male and female DNA ○ Information on human evolution, migration, and ancestry ○ aDNA can be extracted from teeth, bone, and hair
81
Limitations of aDNA?
aDNA degrades over time particularly in warm and moist environments
82
What is a great source of preserved aDNA?
The petrous bone
83
What is the petrous bone?
Hard and dense bone in the skull that protects the inner ear
84
What is the Neanderthal Genome Project?
It produced the first whole genome sequence in the Neanderthal genome (DNA is 99.7% identical to present-day human DNA)
85
What is mtDNA?
Mitochondrial DNA, genetic material passed on only by the female
86
Components of mtDNA?
○ Distinct from nuclear DNA, which is formed by the recombination of male and female DNA ○ mtDNA is altered over generations only by mutations ○ mtDNA can be extracted from teeth, bone and hair
87
What is bipedalism?
Development of walking on two legs (4.2 - 3.9 mya)
88
Who is "Lucy"?
The archaeological discovery of "Lucy" in Tanzania in 1974 confirmed the emergence of upright hominins around 3.7 - 3.0 mya
89
What percentage of modern humans are right handed?
90%
90
What is enamel hypoplasia?
Thinning of the tooth enamel that results in the grooving of the teeth, evidence of environmental stress
91
What is osteoporosis?
Loss of bone mineral density, evidence of environmental stress and ageing
92
What are Harris lines?
Growth arrest lines, evidence of malnutrition
93
What is leprosy?
An infectious disease that causes severe skin sores and nerve damage in the arms, legs, and skin
94
What is Isotopic Analysis of Diet?
The ratios of Nitrogen and Carbon can be derived from tooth enamel and bone collagen to determine plant, marine, and animal dietary patterns
95
What is Isotopic Analysis of Movement?
The ratios of strontium through water absorption can be derived from tooth enamel and bone collagen to determine movement across the landscape
96
What is gut analyses?
Soil samples were taken from the gut area of the burial to look for seeds, pollen, phytoliths, or parasites that would provide the information on diet
97
What is intersectionality?
An entanglement of race, class, sexuality, gender, and other forms of difference that simultaneously oppress Black women
98
What is retributive archaeology?
Obtaining justice for the victims and descendants of the Tulsa race massacre (locating the mass graves of race riot victims) also bringing healing to the victims and descendants of the race massacre
99
What is an ally?
A disrupter and educator in spaces dominated by whiteness have a greater likelihood to challenge institutionalized racism
100
What is an accomplice?
Actions are meant to directly challenge institutionalized racism, colonization, and White supremacy by blocking or impeding racist people, policies, and structures
101
True or False: The future of archaeology is antiracist
True

ANTHRO 214 (3 decks)

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