The Historian/ The Archaeologist Flashcards
History
Study of the past
Prehistory
The period of time before writing
Archaeology
The study of remains left from the past
Historical consciousness
Being able to place ourselves in a time of history
Cross checking
more than one source is used to make sure the information is correct.
historical repository
a place where evidence of the past can be stored and maintained, for example artefacts, government documents, manuscripts or photographs.
Archive
a place that catalogues and stores a collection of written and other sources.
Museum
a place that collects and displays objects for public education and appreciation.
Primary source
is a source from the time in question; a first-hand account of what happened.
Secondary source
is a source from a later date, after the time in question.
Artefact
is any human-made object, e.g. pottery, a tool or a weapon, such as a spear.
Census
is an official survey of a population.
Biography
is an account of a person's life written by
someone else.
Autobiography
is an account of a person's life written by the person themselves.
Handling box
a box containing replicas (copies) of artefacts, so that anyone can examine them without damaging an original.
Accuracy
judging how correct the information you are using is.
Bias
when an account is not balanced, but unfairly favours one side.
Exaggeration
when something is represented as better or worse than it actually was.
Propaganda
information that has been designed to influence the attitudes and behaviours of the general public.
Chronology
put events into the sequence in which they happened.
Excavation
when archaeologists dig up the ground to find evidence left by people in the past
Aerial photograph
a photograph taken of the ground from an elevated position, for example from a helicopter or drone
Radio carbon dating
a method of dating based on the falling levels of carbon-14 in tissue over time
Mesolithic
of the Middle Stone Age
Hunter gatherer
someone who hunted animals for food and gathered berries and nuts
Geophysical survey
a survey of what's underneath the ground, like an x-ray of the ground
Neolithic
of the New Stone Age
Pollen analysis
the study of pollen remains to find out what was growing at a site during a particular time period
Stratigraphy
a method of dating artefacts and evidence by how deep in the ground they were when found
Dendrochronology
a method of dating that uses the unique growth patterns of tree rings as a quide
Iron Age
the period of time when people made tools and weapons from iron
Conservation
when historic objects are protected and preserved so that they do not decay
