ANTH211 Exam 1 study guide

Processualism: Scientific & Objective

emphasizes the use of general principles to explain cultural change and adaptation, focusing on material culture and environmental factors as primary drivers

Post-Processualism

a theoretical movement in archaeology that emerged in the late 20th century as a critique of processual archaeology, arguing that scientific objectivity is impossible and focusing on subjective interpretations, human agency, cultural context, and the diverse social meanings of material culture rather than just functional aspects

Low level theory

-Begins with artifacts and features generates facts and data about them.

-Field work, survey, excavation, artifact analysis

Middle level theory

-Links sets of archaeological data to human behaviors and natural processes that introduced them.

-Ethnoarchaeology: material remains and society

-Experimental archaeology

-Taphonomy: organic remains

High level theory

-Links the mid-level findings to the “big questions”

-”Why….?”

Provenance

the place of origin or earliest known history of something

Geomorphology

the study of landforms, the processes that shape them, and their origin and evolution over time

Law of Superposition

the oldest deposits are at the bottom, and the most recent deposits are at the top

Index fossil

a fossil that lived for a brief, specific geologic period

Giovanni Belzoni

-excavator of Egyptian archaeological sites

-removal to England of the seven-tonne bust of Ramessess II

-clearing of sand from the entrance of the great temple of Abu Simbel

-discovered and documented the tomb of Seti I

Settlement pattern

the distribution of the archaeological remains of human activities across the landscape and the spatial relationship between these remains and features of the natural and social environment

Archaeological context

the information surrounding an artifact of feature, encompassing its provenience, matrix, and association

Fluvial/Alluvial

Sediment deposited by rivers and streams

Aeolian

Sediment transported and deposited by wind, as seen in deserts

Glacial

Sediment dropped by melting glaciers and ice

Deltaic

Deposition of sediment at the mouth of a river

Marine sediment

Deposition in the ocean, from nearshore areas to the deep ocean floor

Classic sediments

Formed from fragmented pieces of other rocks, such as sand, gravel, and mud

Chemical sediments

Precipitated directly from dissolved ions in water, such as halite from evaporating water

Biogenous sediments

Derived from the remains of living organisms, such as the shells and skeletal debris of marine organisms that form carbonate deposits

Lewis Binford

founded Processual Archaeology

Ian Hodder

founded Post-Processual Archaeology

Jens Jacob Asmussen

first archaeologist to excavate to understand questions

Deductive reasoning

“top-down” scientific method process where researchers start with a general theory or principle and apply it to a specific case to make testable predictions

Settlement system

examines the spatial organization of past human communities by studying the distribution, forms, and functions of archaeological sites within a region

In situ

in the original place

Absolute dating methods

-Radiocarbon dating (for organic materials)

-Dendochronology (tree-ring dating)

-Thermoluminescence (for heated materials like pottery)

-Obsidian hydration (for volcanic glass)

Gertrude Caton-Thompson

-first to excavate an ancient Egyptian village

-first to support the idea that Great Zimbabwe was African

H. Marie Worthington

“Artifacts by themselves are not as important as information about people and land.”

Seasonal round

general life patterns specific to each season

Excavation methods

-Grid (squares)

-Stratigraphic (different layers of soil)

-Open-Area

-Trench

-Hand (small tools)

Site mapping methods

-Tape and compass

-GPS

-Total stations

Culture

the shared way of life of a group of people, including their collective beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and social practices

Pleistoscene

the geological period lasting from about 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago, also known as the "Ice Age"

Holocene

the present geologic epoch, which began about 11,500 to 12,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age

Geomorphology

the study of landforms; from their origin and evolution to the processes that continue to shape them

Sedimentary

collections of mineral particles that have been weathered from an original source and redeposited (rock, minerals, organic matter)

Metamorphic

a rock that has undergone a change of form due to intense heat and pressure, transforming it into a new type (marble and slate)

Igneous

rock or mineral artifacts formed by volcanic activity (obsidian, granite)

Stratigraphy

-This relative dating method uses the relative positions of rock and sediment layers (strata) to create a chronological sequence

-Artifacts found in deeper, older layers are considered older than those in shallower, younger layers

Seriation

-Grouping artifacts based on shared characteristics, such as shape, style, or decoration

-Arranging these groups in order from earliest to latest, assuming that styles change over

Biostratigraphy

This relative dating method uses the presence of index fossils (distinctive, widespread fossils that lived for a short period) to correlate and date rock layers

Fluorine dating

-Used primarily for dating fossilized bone

-This relative dating method compares the amount of fluorine absorbed by the bones overtime

Dendrochronology

the process of using the patterns of tree rings to establish precise calendar dates for archaeological wood samples, such as beams from ancient buildings

Antiquarianism

the investigation conducted by scholars on the ancient world through texts and materials (antiques)