Archeology Chapter 4 Quiz Questions

__________ are cold periods (visible in ice cores) that occurred during a complex sequence of environmental fluctuations during the Pleistocene epoch (Ice Age).

a. Interstadials

b. Stadials

c. Stadiglacials

d. Interglacials

e. Glacials

e. Glacials

Although generally less precise than radiocarbon dating, thermoluminescence (TL) dating has one important advantage over radiocarbon dating. It can date

a. human teeth.

b. pottery.

c. volcanic rock.

d. carbonized botanical remains.

e. bone.

b. pottery

American astronomer A. E. Douglass developed which of the following absolute dating methods based on work he conducted at the pueblos of the American Southwest.

a. varve dating

b. tree-ring dating

c. carbon dating

d. potassium-argon dating

e. seriation

b. tree-ring dating

Archaeomagnetic (paleomagnetic) dating is contingent on a number of factors. If a clay structure is heated beyond a certain temperature (650-700o C), is not reheated, and remains in situ, archaeologists can usethis dating technique to measure the __________________ of the iron particles, which can be verified against a master sequence that has been built up for any given region.

a. magnetic intensity

b. magnetic direction

c. magnetic half-life

d. magnetism

e. magnetic pulses

b. magnetic direction

By 10,000 BCE, the only parts of the world not populated by Homo sapiens were Antarctica, the deserts, and

a. Australia.

b. the Indian subcontinent.

c. Polynesia.

d. South America.

e. North America.

c. Polynesia

Contrary to what Willard Libby originally assumed, radiocarbon dating results must be calibrated. Why?

a. The half-life of 14C samples from wet contexts is twice that of samples from dry contexts.

b. The concentration of 14C in the atmosphere has, in fact, remained the same over time.

c. The concentration of 14C in the atmosphere has, in fact, varied over time.

d. The concentration of 14C in the atmosphere has nothing to do with radiocarbon dating.

e. The half-life of 14C has been seriously modified by pollution in the atmosphere.

c. The concentration of 14C in the atmosphere has, in fact, varied over time.

Creating typologies can help archaeologists understand gradual changes in object design or decoration, but archaeologists must utilize which of the following to discover exactly when these changes occurred?

a. parallels to other artifact typologies

b. stratigraphy

c. relative dating methods

d. local informants

e. absolute dating methods

e. absolute dating methods

Electron spin resonance (ESR) dating is most successful when used to provide dates for

a. ceramics.

b. tooth enamel.

c. volcanic rocks.

d. obsidian.

e. pollen.

b. tooth enamel

If a coin with a date imprinted on it is found in a sealed archaeological deposit, we know that the deposit can be no older than the date on the coin. In that situation, what does the date on the coin represent?

a. terminum ad minore

b. a minore ad maius

c. terminus ante quem

d. a maiore ad minus

e. terminus post quem

e. terminus post quem

One of the major drawbacks of tree-ring dating is that the date recorded corresponds to the felling of the tree. As a result

a. if a tree falls in a forest but no one is around to hear its sound, then that event goes unrecorded.

b. tree rings cannot be used to calibrate carbon dates.

c. tree-ring dating cannot be considered an independent method of absolute dating.

d. timbers may be older or younger than the structures that they were used to build.

e. it is hard to conduct tree-ring dating outside of the tropics, where there are a comparatively greater number of trees.

d. timbers may be older or younger than the structures that they were used to build.

Palynologists study ____________ that, when found preserved in lake or bog sediments, allow(s) them to understand ancient environments and develop ________________ dating sequences.

a. bog bodies; absolute

b. fauna; relative

c. fossils; absolute

d. pollen; absolute

e. pollen; relative

e. pollen; relative

Radiocarbon dating methods can only be used on

a. volcanic rocks.

b. objects exposed to sunlight.

c. inorganic materials.

d. well-fired pottery.

e. organic materials.

e. organic materials

The presence of foreign pottery in a well-dated Egyptian context shows that this type of pottery cannot be more recent than those Egyptian objects. This type of cross-dating establishes a(n) __________ for the manufacture of the foreign pottery.

a. a minore ad maius

b. a maiore ad minus

c. terminus ante quem

d. terminus post quem

e. terminum ad minore

c. terminus ante quem

To obtain absolute dates from volcanic material in very early contexts (older than 1 million years ago), what technique should archaeologists use?

a. dendrochronology

b. uranium-series dating

c. varves.

d. potassium-argon dating

e. radiocarbon dating

d. potassium-argon dating

Which of the following bodies of evidence provides the most complete and coherent record of climate change on a global scale?

a. calendric records

b. deep-sea cores

c. faunal profiles

d. lexicostatistics

e. varves

b. deep sea cores

Which of the following is a compelling reason that pollen is useful for archaeologists?

a. It is exclusively found in areas where past human activities occurred.

b. It disappears very quickly in the absence of particular environmental conditions.

c. It allows archaeologists to construct detailed sequences of past vegetation and climate.

d. It cannot be found underwater, so it helps archaeologists to discover land-based sites.

e. Differences that distinguish one pollen grain from another of a different species are often visible to the human eye without the need of magnification.

c. It allows archaeologists to construct detailed sequences of past vegetation and climate.

Which of the following statements accurately describes the transition to food cultivation from hunting and gathering during world prehistory?

a. It was recorded by the chroniclers of the Middle Ages.

b. It occurred well before the end of the Ice Age.

c. It spread to the entire world from the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East.

d. It occurred independently in several different areas of the world.

e. It did not cause any sort of restructuring of the organization of human society.

d. It occurred independently in several different areas of the world.

Which of the following terms describes layers of sediments deposited in lakes on an annual basis due to the melting of ice sheets?

a. varves

b. tree rings

c. ice cores

d. pollen

e. contextual seriation

a. varves

Archaeologists have shown that the Mayan calendar was very precise: it was used to record exact dates.

True

False

True

Based on recent DNA evidence, it is clear that Homo sapiens did not evolve in Africa.

True

False

False