Archeology - Exam #2

Research Design

- The plan for investigating the archeological project

- These investigations exist at 2 levels: region and site

Region

Corresponds with settlement pattern and systemic correlate which is the regional system; looking for the site

Site

a loci of human activity; looking for activity areas

Sampling

used to define the region or the site to be excavated

Purpose Sampling

preconceived idea of where to look for sites or activity areas

Problem with Purpose Sampling?

Preconceived notion is wrong

Probabilistic Sampling

use of statistical sampling techniques

Simple Random Sampling

Use a table of random numbers to determine sampling units

Systematic Sampling

sampling units are placed at even intervals to maximize coverage

Problem with Simple Random Sampling?

Spatial clustering of sampling units

Problem with Systematic Sampling?

Sampling units might correlate with cultural special patterning

Stratified Sampling

Combinations of purpose and probabilistic sampling

Pedestrian Survey

Walk over the sampling area looking for artifacts on the surface

Problem with Pedestrian Survey?

Vegetation obscures surface visibility

Exposures

Look for disturbances in a region that exposes the surface of subsurface of an area (Example: Road cuts, animal burrows, animal paths, construction, tree falls)

Problem with Exposures?

Limited area - forced to go where you can see and necessarily where you want to be

Remote Sensing

Use of technology to discover sites and activity areas

Remote Sensing - Examples

- Aerial Photography

- Panchromatic Photography

- Black and White Photography

- Infrared Photography (uses heat)

- Radar

- LiDAR

- Sonar

- Magnetometry

Radar

Radio wave energy beamed onto an area and look for patterns of returned energy

- includes Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)

LiDAR

Light Detection And Ranging

- uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges

- very accurate

Sonar

Sound is reflecting to reveal artifacts and sites under water (Example: shipwrecks)

Magnetometry

Use the magnetic intensity of the area to determine sites and activity areas

Electrical Resistivity

Measure the intensity of electric flow through areas of a site to look for activity areas

Natural Reflected Energy

Aerial Photography and Magnetometry

Generate Energy

Radar, LiDAR, Sonar, Electric Resistivity

Historic Resources

Maps, Landowner's information, Written Sources

Subsurface Probes

Small excavations below the surface of the archaeological site/area (Sometimes called a shovel test pit)

Archaeologists are NOT actually digging below the surface

Pedestrian Survey, Exposure, Remote Sensing, Historical Sources

Archaeologists ARE physically digging below the surface

Subsurface Probes

Excavation

Goal - Intercept and isolate floors and occupational surfaces

Smithsonian Trinomial

Unique identifier assigned to archaeological sites in the U.S. compromised of: State code, county/county-equivalent code, Site number for the county.

Example of Smithsonian Trinomial

41HR1241

- Texas state code = 41

- Harris County = HR

- Site number = 1241

Provenience

Location of artifacts at an archaeological site. 3 Types:

- Bulk/General

- Point Provenience

- Feature Provenience

Bulk Provenience

the approximate 3D location of an artifact at a site

Point Provenience

the exact 3D location of an artifact at an archaeological site

Feature Provenience

Group of artifacts or distinct

Spatial Provenience

Block Excavation - a series of contiguous excavation squares (can be 2x2, 1x1, etc)

Vertical Provenience

- Natural Layering: Stratification

- Cultural Layering: Stratigraphy

Natural Layering/Stratification

Layering/superposition of natural sediments at a site (Geological)

Cultural Layering/Stratigraphy

Layering/superposition of artifacts at a site (Cultural)

Control Test Pit

Place near, but off site

Purpose

To determine the natural stratification in the site area

Zone

Use Roman Numerals/solid lines

Levels

Use Arabic Numerals/dotted lines

Vertical Datum

- Benchmark = 10 meters

- Reading = 1.5 meters

- Height of Instrument (HI) = 11.5 meters

Goals of Excavation

Intercept and isolate floors and occupational surfaces

Practice Problem

- Benchmark = 12m

- Stadia Rod Reading = 1.5m

- HI = 13.5m

- Stadia Rod = 1.35m

What is the elevation?

13.5m - 1.35m = 12.15m

In Situ

The actual location of an artifact and its stratigraphy

- This IS screened

- Most important deposit type

Deposit Types

- Rubble

- In Situ

- Fill

- Midden

- Burials

- Caches

Rubble

Architectural debris from roofs and wall

- NOT screened

Fill

sediments brought in to raise the level of buildings or fill them in

- NOT screened

- Least important deposit type

Midden

Secondary refuse

- This IS screened

- 2 types: sheet (thin) and dump (pile like)

Burials

These are VERY useful

- This IS screened

Caches

Offerings placed in the ground

- This IS screened

Harris Matrix

a tool that archaeologists use to keep track of stratigraphy and stratigraphic units

Screening

separating archaeological materials from archaeological sediment obtained through excavation of a site

Screen which Deposit Types?

Cache, Burial, In Situ, Middens

Flotation

Method of separating very small objects from excavated sediments using water

Relative Dating

Artifacts/deposits are younger or older than other artifacts/deposits

Chronometric Dating

Here time is measured.

- Measurement is only a statistical approximation

Absolute Dating

You get a precise measurement of time

Stratigraphic Dating

based on the Law of Superposition

Law of Superposition

Undeformed stratigraphic sequence. The oldest strata will be at the bottom of the sequence, where newer materials stack upon the surface

Seriation

Based on increase and decrease of styles through time

Cross Dating

Artifacts of known age are used to date archaeological sites where the age is not known

Age-Area Hypothesis

Farther away from point of origin the more time has passed

Chronometric Dating Techniques

- Actually obtain a measurement of time

- However, your date (measurement) is only a statistical approximation, it is not precise

- Some archaeologists will only publish ranges as a result

Who developed Carbon 14/Radio Carbon Dating in the late 1940s?

Willard Libby

Decay Clock

Starts when organism is no longer alive

Accelerator Mass Spectroscopy (AMS)

Actually measures the ration of C14 to C12

Radio Carbon Dating

Must associate the death of the organism the sample came from with its context in the archaeological site

"Rule of Thumb"

-Only branches with diameters less than a thumb

- A branch/limb that diameter is about 5 years old

Obsidian Hydration

Volcanic glass that is hydroscopic (absorbs water)

Archaeomagnetism

Takes advantage of the fact the magnetic north moves around through time.

2 Norths

- True/Geographic north

- Magnetic north

Dendrochronology

Tree ring dating

According to Dr. Feder, Cahokia...

is the largest Native American mound site

According to the textbook, ecofacts are:

Organic and environmental remains that were not made/modified/used by humans

Which of the following is least likely to affects the rate at which an obsidian sample hydrates?

Atmospheric humidity

Which of the following assumptions is not correct with respect to the radiocarbon dating technique?

The ratio of C14/C12 remains constant in the earth's atmosphere over time

The only reason that chronometric dating techniques are only age estimates is that:

They are statistical approximations and therefore they are not exact

Which of the following types of analysis cannot be obtained from 4-ounce (100ml) soil sample?

Stratigraphic

Stratification at a site is best determined by the use of:

A control test pit dug near, but off of the site

Goal of Excavation is:

The interception and isolation of floors and occupational surfaces

A provenience which is thought to be behaviorally distinctive enough to be kept separate from other proveniences is:

A feature

Purposive Sampling Techniques

Have a preconceived notion of where to look

Probabilistic Sampling Techniques

Incorporate statistical methods to search areas for archaeological sites

What type of dating technique is Dendrochronology?

Absolute

What type of dating technique is Obsidian Hydration?

Chronometric

What type of dating technique is Seriation?

Relative

Research Design is...

The archaeological problem and the plans/procedures to carry it out

Match the archaeological discovery techniques with its general type: Small excavations below leaf litter layer

Subsurface Probes

Match the archaeological discovery techniques with its general type: Asking farmers or ranchers where sites are located

Historical Sources

Match the archaeological discovery techniques with its general type: Walking and looking at the ground for artifacts

Pedestrian Survey

Match the archaeological discovery techniques with its general type: Inspecting tree falls

Exposures