archaeology

Taphonomy

the way in which finds came to be buried and what happened to them after they were buried.

cultural formation process

The human processes that lead to the creation of archaeological sites such as deliberate discard, abandonment, and loss

natural formation process

natural events that govern both the burial and the survival of the archaeological record

four ways human behaviors are reflected in a tool

1 acquisition of the raw material; 2 manufacture; 3 use (and distribution); and finally, 4 disposal or discard when the tool is worn out or broken or abandoned/lost. They may also be cached or hoarded (store it). Or ritually buried things.

Inorganic

Not formed from living things or the remains of living things. stone, clay, and metals. 16,000 years

organic

of, relating to, or derived from living matter. Bones, plants, just anything that was once alive

What inorganic and organic remains were preserved King Tut's tomb?

with skin, hair, and nails, without any artificial mummification or coffins—t

Clothing (from fiber sandals to string aprons) also remains, together with a wide range of goods, such as basketry, feathered ornaments, and leather. Some far earlier sites in the same region also contain organic remains: Danger Cave, Utah (occupied from 9000 bce onward), yielded wooden arrows, trap springs, knife handles, and other wooden tools, while caves near Durango, Colorado, had preserved maize cobs, squashes, and sunflower and mustard seeds. Plant finds of this type have been crucial in helping to reconstruct ancient diet.

-dried flowers, leather, food, wood, papyrus, body (organic)

Culture=

primary (non-genetic) means by which humans adjust or adapt to their environment. Mimicking, shared, learned behavior. We share something. Culture for humans is necessary for our survival. We become more dependent on it as we evolve.

Three aspects of culture

technology, social systems, ideology.

Technology

tools, techniques, and knowledge that we develop and share to interact directly with the environment (taking raw materials and transform them into useful objects) physical like an arrowhead or knowledge can be technology, knowing what you are doing something for.

Social systems

the ways we have learned to organize ourselves as individuals and as groups; how we interact and work with one another to survive as a collective. It is not possible to survive alone in a group from birth until death. Family and family relations are a key part of anthropological studies.

Egalitarian

promoting equal rights for all people

Hierarchical

arranged in order of rank

Ideology

shared ideas we have been taught to make sense of our lives, our relations with other people, and the natural and supernatural worlds. Things that we cannot explain through science. We must explain and make sense of things somehow. SYMBOLS

Archaeological record

the body of data that archaeologist's study in order to understand the past human behavior. Material remains, context, formation process

Material remains

artifacts, features, ecofacts, sites, regions

Artifacts

portable objects made or modified by past human activity

Features

non-portable objects made or modified by past human activity (architecture, buildings, walls) (if things are removed, they can still be features; pits, mining shafts, quarries, postholes)

Ecofacts

remains of plants, animals, sediments, or other unmodified materials that help us understand a past culture. (What they tell us about the culture that interacted with them) (animal's bones, plant remains, silds and sediments, skeletal remains)

Sites

= clusters of artifacts, features, and ecofacts that define places where ancient human activity occurred in the past. (residential/settlement or ceremonial or lithic workshop) (live, worship, work)

Regions

= a geographically defined area containing archaeological sites that are related to each other. (e.g., Maya region is just a bunch or Mayan sites) (region of ancient Egypt) (ancient Mesopotamia region)

Context

= the spatial and chronological setting of an archaeological find:

-Its location on a site, its relationship through association with other artifacts, its chronological position as defined through stratigraphy.

Matrix

- the material surrounding the artifact, ecofact, or feature

Provenience

- the horizontal and vertical position of an object within the matrix

Association

- co-occurrence of different archeological remains usually in the same matrix, which allows us to develop even more inferences about the past

Formation processes-

the archaeological record is a contemporary phenomenon; it is rarely if ever a direct reflection of past human behavior. Both humans and nature are responsible for first producing and later altering the archaeological record. = the human and natural events that create the archaeological record. There are two kinds: cultural and natural formation processes

-taphonomy

(study of formation processes)

-1. Acquisition 2. manufacture 3. use/distribution 4. disposal/discard