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Intro to Archaeology Exam 2
Old Wood Problems - Answer --Wood might have been scavenged and reused from earlier context. Not really sure of age. Khnumkhuk's Pyramid - Answer --largest in Eygpt at Giza -built under Khufu (2551 B.C.) -2551 BC -AMS Dating of mortar= cement/glue for bricks comes from gypsum and sand: Nakhla and Hawass (1984) -dated to be older that age found through using hieroglyphics -big stone structure but actually have wooden ascpects -dated the wood and get earlier ages
- wood/ash inside pyramids' mortar were from sites that were built long time ago because they needed gypsum and the site was treeless. This is the old wood problem= wood might have been scavenged and reused from earlier context. Not really sure of age
Conservation - Answer --measures archaeologists take to save the state of the artifact when it is removed from the site Subcritical Treatment - Answer --Be careful what you wash! -Loss of important information -May destroy objects -Ceramics will last -Metals and organics need help -Ozette: wood soaked in Carbowax -wall street: brackish water Rev. War canons replaced with fresh water Law of Superposition - Answer --each layer is older than the one above and younger than the layers below Type - Answer -- a class of artifacts defined by a consistent clustering of attributes Ex. Carpenter's workshop: grouping artifacts by attributes/functions Morphological Type - Answer -- types based on overall similairty, not function or chronology -ex. A. Kidder's work at Pecos Pueblo- found clay figurines into groups based on overall limb lengths
-dates give you a range -bone can easily be contaminated -not all plants take in the same amount of C -reservoir effect- when organisms absorb carbon from a source depleted of C Thermoluminescence - Answer -- dating things that have been heated or thrown in fire- pottery, ceramics are heated once again and the electrons are released in the form of light. The amount of light released (amount of radiation) helps gauge age of artifact. Dates ceramics, burnt stone tools. 300kya Argon-Argon - Answer -Used to date volcanic ash. Can date the ash and things surrounding layer of ash. Can date ash much older like at least serveral million years old Dendrochronology - Answer -the science or technique of dating events, environmental change, and archaeological artifacts by using the characteristic patterns of annual growth rings in timber and tree trunks. Index Fossil Concept - Answer --Early 19th c -William "Strata" Smith -Forms of life change over time, different types of fossils=different strata Reservoir Effect - Answer --when organisms absorb carbon from a source depleted of C Principle of Uniformitarianism - Answer -- processes happening today are the same as those that operated in geological past -glaciers Kivas - Answer --religious structures found in american SW -round, semi -subterranean, entered via latter Taphonomy - Answer --the branch of paleontology that deals with the processes of fossilization.
Experimental Archaeology - Answer --is a field of study which attempts to generate and test archaeological hypotheses, usually by replicating or approximating the feasibility of ancient cultures performing various tasks or feats. Heat Treatment - Answer --Heat treatment in stone tool making (or flint knapping) refers to the controlled use of fire on raw lithic material to improve its flaking quality. allowing the resulting fractures to follow the natural grain of the stone, rather than breaking across the grain. Fluted Points - Answer --A projectile point with a distinctive longitudinal groove left after removal of a channel flake; a long, medial channel notched to the base of a flake. Faunal Assemblage - Answer --a group of associated animal fossils found together in a given stratum Zooarchaeologists - Answer --the study of faunal remains. Faunal remains are the items left behind when an animal dies. Agate Basin site - Answer --a Paleoindian archeological site in Niobrara County, Wyoming. The location was discovered by William H. Spencer of Spencer, Wyoming in 1916, who found well-preserved stone blades and points in Moss Agate Arroyo. Taxon - Answer --a taxonomic group of any rank, such as a species, family, or class. Comparative Collection - Answer --Collections of identified bones or other artifacts used for comparison with archaeologically recovered remains. NISP (Number of Identified Specimen) - Answer --estimate of the number of individuals at that location Axial Skeleton - Answer -the part of the skeleton that consists of the bones of the head and trunk of a vertebrate. Seasonality - Answer -a characteristic of a time series in which the data experiences regular and predictable changes which recur every calendar year.
Accelerator Mass Spectrometry - Answer --development for radiocarbon dating -1980's -small sample size -< 45,000 years old -trapped charge dating: how electrons get excited. What material/artifacts they can date and the age range -principle that certain electrons become trapped in minerals=crystal, lattice like structures Typology - Answer --the arrangement of artifacts into types Attributes - Answer --characteristics that distinguish one artifact from another Subculture Area/Tradition - Answer --regions within a culture area whose artifacts differed from one another -mongollon Assemblage - Answer -- collections of artifacts recovered from a defined context Pueblo San Cristobol - Answer --New Mexico -Nels Nelson (1875-1964) -Midden accumulated over long interval
-dug 1' arbitrary= lacked natural level/stratigraphy -applied law of superposition and IFC- looked for time markers -2000 potsherds- plotted depth below surface -type I: below 8', few at 7' (lower strata) -type II: at 7' and above (upper strata) -type III: uppermost strata Seriation - Answer --pottery -European archaeologists Alfred Kroeber (1876-1960) -common in mid 20th c -used now only when absolute dating Technique can not be used One style of artifact slowly replaces an earlier style -sites dated based on frequency of artifact styles Electro Spin Resonance - Answer --TEETH ENAMEL: HYDROXYAPATITE doesn't have to be human Dates bet 10-300kya TEETH EAMEL FORMS IN LAYERS Optically Stimulated Luminescence - Answer --Used to date most sediments but most accurately used for sand Some problems: exposing to light when taking samples for OSL would release electrons and contaminate 300kya
Don Crabtree - Answer --Dean of American flintknappers" he was mostly self-educated, however he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree by the University of Idaho. His 1972 publication An Introduction to Flintworking still serves as one of the primary terminology sources for students of lithic technology. Crabtree is well known for "Crabtree's Law", which states that "the greater the degree of final finishing applied to a stone artifact, whether by flaking, grinding, and/or polishing, the harder it is to conclude the lithic reduction process which produced the stone artifact." Ethnoarchaeology - Answer --the ethnographic study of peoples for archaeological reasons, usually through the study of the material remains of a society. Kill Sites - Answer -Any archaeological site that was primarily used for killing and butchering animals. It is recognized by its distinctive location, tools assemblages, or animal bone evidence. These sites are also recognized through taphonomy. Faunal Analysis - Answer -The study of animal remains in an archaeological site, as by identifying bones or shells, examining butcher marks, and so on. The analysis is used to determine past hunting and dietary practices. Element - Answer -A substance that cannot be broken down any further, made up of atoms with the same atomic number. It joins with other elements to form compounds. Common examples are hydrogen, gold, and iron. The term also means, in faunal analysis, the specific part of the animal (e.g. humerus). Size Classes - Answer -categorizations of faunal remains into categories based on body size: 1) rodent- and rabbit-sized, 2) wolf- and pronghorn antelope-sized, 3) mule deer and bighorn sheep, 4) bison- and elk-sized, and 5) giraffes and elephants Impact Fractures - Answer -where the bones break into several pieces MNI - Answer -A categorization of faunal remains into categories based on body size: 1) rodent- and rabbit-sized, 2) wolf- and pronghorn antelope-sized, 3) mule deer and bighorn sheep, 4) bison- and elk- sized, and 5) giraffes and elephants Appendicular Skeleton - Answer -The bone of the appendages, i.e. arms, legs, tail.
Chain de Huantar - Answer -an archaeological site containing ruins and artifacts constructed beginning at least by 1200 BC and occupied by later cultures until around 400-500 BC by the Chavín, a major pre- Inca culture. Palynology - Answer -The study of fossil and living spores (of lichens and mosses) and pollen (of flowering plants); the technique through which the fossil pollen grains and spores from archaeological sites are studied. Lehner Ranch Site - Answer -Southern Arizona , San Pedro Valley 13,200-12,900 BP Haynes and Meringer Clovis Points and megafauna Pollen mirrors abundance of plant species Reconstruct ancient clovis environment "Black mat" Pllen analysis pine, oak, juniper Clovis climate: cooler and wetter Macrobotanical Remains - Answer -- non microscopic plant remains recovered from an archaeological site -most abundant seed bulrush -what was bulrush ussed for Micro botanical Remains - Answer -Take shapes of cells in which they are deposited -bulrush phytoliths: absent -seeds brought to site to be eaten Hidden Cave Site - Answer --near stilwater marsh , nevada -cache site
