EVANTH Final: Dating/Ecology

Absolute/chronometric dating

provides an actual chronological date

physical correlation

linking of geological layers based on physical characteristics

features

products of human activity that cannot be removed as a single entity

context

spatial and temporal associations of artifacts/features in a site

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Relative dating

provides a relative ordering of sites

site survey

process of discovering archaeological site location

Artifacts

physical objects modified by humans

Archaeological sites

location of past human activity

Ecofacts

natural materials that give environmental information and are NOT identified by humans

What is the half life of 14C and what can does it decay to? What can it date?

5730 years, N-14 anything that is 1000 to 70,000 years old

The Law of Faunal Succession

strata that contain fossils of the same animals are of the same age

stratigraphy

study of the sequential layering of deposits

Principle of super positioning

lower layers are deposited before upper layers

Terrestial quadrupeds

reduced tail, short, digits, posteriorly extended process, robust radius, short digits, long, similar length, forelimb/hindlimb

What factors have a negative effect on terrestiality?

frugivory, terrestrial predators, brachiation, population density, habitat

What factors have a positive effect on terrestiality?

quadrupedal, group size, body mass, max temperature, primate richness, distance from roads

Arboreal quadrupeds

long tail, deep ulna, grasping foot, short similar length, forelimb, hindlimb

Suspensory arborealists

Long curved fingers, longer forelimbs, shorter olecranon process, dorsally placed scapula, often no tail, mobile hip joint