Comprehensive Anthropology & Archaeology: Key Concepts and Methods

Anthropology

The study of humans, human ancestry, and close relatives (primates); literal definition: the study of man ("man" referring to all humans, not just males).

Four fields of anthropology

Cultural anthropology, biological (or physical) anthropology, linguistic anthropology, archaeology.

Understanding past human behaviour from material remains

Basic definition of archaeology

Cultural anthropology

Study of a living culture of which the researcher is not a member

Sociology

Study of a living culture of which the researcher is a member

Biological anthropology

Study of human biology, including genetics, skeleton, evolution, living primates, forensic sciences, etc.

Linguistic anthropology

Study of languages that traditionally had no written form or of ancient writing systems

Archaeology

Study of past human behaviours from material culture

Mechanisms of culture change

Attempting to explain why cultures (including material culture) changes through time.

Material culture

The objects created and used by humans; the "stuff" we use all the time, ranging from clothing to electronics to houses to transportation, etc.

Science

a means of obtaining reliable, factual, objective information about the world around us.

Pseudoscience

heavily biased, though convincing-sounding, attempts to offer nonsensical explanations for events in the world around us.

Underlying reasons for claims about extraterrestrial aliens in the past

Extraterrestrial and other fantastic claims often have thinly veiled racist motivations

Darwin's concept of evolution and its influence on archaeology

Idea of biological evolution (change due to variability and adaptation); provided the first sound basis for believing in humanity having any antiquity, rather than simply being created "as is."

Uniformitarianism

The principals that apply today also applied in the past. Example: if a landslide creates a lake where a river once flowed today, the same forces would have been present - with the same outcome - in the past.

The Marxist origins of archaeological theory

V. Gordon Childe had strong Marxist leanings; explained major cultural changes as the result of "revolutions".

The direct historic approach to culture history

Assuming that the immediate predecessors of modern (or historic) groups of people had generally the same way of life as those who could actually be observed.

Processual (or "new") archaeology

A way of explaining the past, rather than describing it. Relied on deductive reasoning, scientific methods, and hypothesis testing.

Analogous reasoning

It is impossible to observe the past directly, so we use modern behaviours / events as "analogues" - comparables. Example: if a modern campfire results in a blackened ring of rocks, an ancient ring of blackened rocks is likely the remains of a campfire.

Ethnographic analogy

Using a documented history of a particular group of people as a comparative way to explain the patterns found in archaeological materials. Example: if Group X is recorded as having always waited until summer to hunt for birds, it is assumed that the presence of bird remains in an archaeological site indicates summer hunting.

Ethnoarchaeology

Archaeologists directly observing - and often excavating - modern groups of people who have similar ways of life to ancient people. Example: archaeologists observe how people make and maintain stone tools, and document what is left behind; when similar patterns of refuse are discovered in an archaeological site, it is considered to be the result of a similar activity.

Behavioural archaeology

The study of past human behaviours (ancient or recent) from observing the material culture traces left behind, taking formation processes into account.

Artifact

A portable object manufactured or modified by humans or human ancestors / cousins

Ecofact

Non-artifactual organic or environmental remains which have cultural relevance

Feature

A non-portable object manufactured or modified by humans or human ancestors / cousins

Site

A concentration of evidence for past human activities in a particular location; legal definition varies by jurisdiction

Systemic context

An object that is in use or is anticipated to be used by humans

Archaeological context

An object that has been lost or abandoned, and is unlikely to be continually used by humans

Cultural transformation processes (AKA C-Transforms)

Changes and alterations to archaeological materials (sites, artifacts, features, ecofacts) brought on by humans or human ancestors / cousins

Natural transformation processes (AKA N-Transforms)

Changes or alterations to archaeological materials (sites, artifacts, features, ecofacts) brought on by the natural (non-human) world

Abandonment

Moving away from an activity area with no plan to return to it

Re-use

Using an object or location multiple times, often resulting in multiple layers of evidence for its past use

Refuse disposal

Removing or destroying refuse (garbage) from an activity area

Site occupation

Living at or otherwise utilizing a physical space for some period of time

Repeated occupation

Living at or otherwise utilizing a physical space multiple times

Construction and reconstruction

Building a structure of some kind and rebuilding / altering / repairing the same structure

Intentional remodeling

Deliberately changing the appearance of a physical object, most commonly a building or similar type of structure (such as a mound)

Intentional destruction

Deliberately destroying or defacing a physical object; often occurs in ritual activities, but not exclusively

Unintentional destruction

Accidental destruction or defacing of a physical object

Modern impacts

Impacts to archaeological materials and sites that are the result of modern activities; may or may not occur as deliberate actions

Taphonomy

Name given to the study of all the factors that impact ecofacts between the time of death of the organism and the time of analysis by the archaeologist. Only organics are subject to taphonomic processes

Taphonomic stages (general sequence only)

Different stages of impact to ecofacts following the death of the organism and continuing up to the time of analysis and curation by the archaeologist. Only organics are subject to taphonomic processes

Bioturbation

Disturbance / destruction of archaeological deposits by living entities; common forms include burrowing animals and tree roots

Bone burning stages

Blackening, calcining, mixed burning

Lithic artifacts

Stone tools

Bulb of percussion

Distinctive feature of flaked stone appearing just below the point of impact

Conchoidal fracture

Shell-shaped fracture

Patterning in tools

Patterned breakage occurs whenever humans produce stone tools, not when these break naturally

Artifact mimic

Naturally occurring object that resembles a human-produced object; naturally occurring breaks in stone sometimes closely resemble stone tools

Ceramic artifact

Fired object made of clay and temper of some sort

Bone artifact

Deliberately shaped object made of bone

Shell artifact

Deliberately shaped object made of shell

Organic artifact

Deliberately shaped object made of other types of organic materials, including wood, plant fibres, feathers, etc.

C-Transforms and artifact modification

Artifacts altered by human activity, whether intentional or unintentional

C-Transforms and ecofact modification

Artifacts altered by non-human factors, whether intentional or unintentional

Gnawing

Chewing by animals (typically rodents or carnivores) resulting in distinctive patterns of destruction to bones or other objects

Bone weathering

Damage to bone caused by exposure to elements, particularly ultraviolet light

Types

Mutually exclusive, clearly defined groups of objects or concepts

Typology

Process of creating mutually exclusive, clearly defined groups of objects or concepts

Groups and subgroups

Broad sorting categories of objects or concepts

Lumping vs. Splitting

Lumping: tendency to overlook minor variations; Splitting: tendency to overemphasize minor variations

Intuitive classification

Sorting objects or concepts into groups without using formal criteria for doing so

Attributes

Characteristics used to describe observed phenomena

Sorting attributes vs. Descriptive attributes

Sorting: characteristics used to define different phenomena; must be mutually exclusive. Descriptive: non-mutually exclusive characteristics used to describe phenomena

Primary Sorting Characteristics

Single, most important attribute for categorizing phenomena; must be mutually exclusive

Secondary Sorting Characteristics

Second most important attribute for categorizing phenomena; must be mutually exclusive

Tertiary Sorting Characteristics

Third most important attribute for categorizing phenomena; must be mutually exclusive

Mutually exclusive categories

Sorting categories or types that do not and cannot overlap in anyway

Maya cache placement

Primary sorting characteristic used in our Maya example

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Combination of computer mapping and database; allows various layers of information to be displayed or turned off for analysis

Legal definition of an archaeological site

Definition varies by jurisdiction

Archaeological survey

Formal process of looking for archaeological sites

Survey methods

Different techniques used to look for archaeological sites; includes walkover, shovel testing, remote sensing, aerial

Accidental discovery

Finding archaeological deposits without meaning to do so

Shovel testing

Extremely small-scale excavation, often accomplished during survey, digging holes the size of a shovel blade

Shovel test pits

Excavation area the size and shape of a shovel blade

Systematic survey

Searching the landscape for evidence of past behaviours using a fixed increment, such as every 30 meters, rather than a probabilistic approach; not every area has an equal chance of being searched

Random survey

Sampling using a probabilistic approach, meaning every area has an equal chance of being selected for search

Random selection vs. Haphazard selection

RS: probabilistic selection of samples, where every sample has an equal chance of being chosen; HS: selecting samples with no apparent bias, but where not all samples stand an equal chance of selection

Stratified-random survey

Employing probabilistic sampling to chose survey targets, but splitting up landscape into different portions, based on likelihood of encountering sites

Remote sensing

Searching for evidence of buried archaeological deposits without excavating

Aerial survey

Looking for archaeological resources from aircraft or aerial photos (drones also count)

LiDAR

Light Detection and Ranging - laser mapping that permits researchers to remove unwanted ground cover such as trees

Google Earth

Computer software that permits researchers to search and view remote areas of the globe

What happens to survey data?

Typically survey data goes into a centralized storage location where records are mapped into GIS, databases, etc.

Recording survey data

Process of recording what is encountered - and what is not - during an archaeological survey

Types of excavation

Describes the scale of excavation project, from small to very large

Availability of excavation results

Different scales of excavation area differentially available; larger excavation projects typically more widely available than smaller projects

Testing

Minimally invasive sub-surface excavation

Goals of testing

Determining: age of deposits, whether deposits are intact, site boundaries, site preservation

Site boundaries

Range of site area, place where there are no more cultural deposits

Test excavation

Small-scale excavation, typically fewer than 10 excavation units

Secondary testing

Additional small-scale excavation, typically undertaken if initial excavation did not answer questions of testing goals

Data recovery

Largest excavation scale; most common in sites that will be or are likely to be destroyed

Salvage excavation

Last-minute excavation, often immediately before site destruction; often occurs with very little warning

Field recording forms

Typical forms - paper or electronic - used to record excavation data

Screening

Process of running excavated soils through small mesh to maximize recovery of small objects

Stratigraphy

Study of different layers of soil in an archaeological site; most easily seen in a profile

Excavating historic sites

In North America: involves excavation using imperial (feet and inches) measurements, rather than metric