melc unit 3

philology

the study of language and ancient texts to understand their meaning, history, and culture

four goals of archaeology

form, function, process, meaning

absolute dating

assigns specific numerical dates in calendar years

relative dating

orders items sequentially w/o calendar dates; determines whether smth is older or younger than smth else but not its exact age

carbon-14 dating

absolute dating technique measuring the radioactive decay of c-14 isotopes in organic material

speech community

a group of people who share the same language or similar ways of speaking and communicating

tell

an artificial mound formed by centuries of human occupation, construction, and rebuilding on the same site

artifact

portable human-made objects

feature

non-portable human structures

assemblage

groups of artifacts + features found together in context

law of superposition

archaeological principle stating that in undisturbed layers, older strata lie beneath younger strata

incantation against toothache

ancient cuneiform text attributing tooth pain to the “worm” that petitioned the gods for human blood/gums and includes a spell meant to get rid of it