Archeology Final Exam

ANTH0582

bioarcheology

the study of human remains in the archeological record

mortuary arch

study of mortuary traditions (cultural)

osteo arch

focus on bones

osteo bio

what the bones say about how they lived

disease, malnutrition, stress, injury, development

what bio archeologists tell from bones using paleo path

Watoro Ex-Slave Settlements (Kenya)

Approach: Historical archaeology, oral history.
Findings: These settlements were established by freed slaves (Watoro) in East Africa after the abolition of the slave trade.
Conclusion: Showcases resilience, cultural adaptation, and community-building by formerly enslaved peoples.

Oval Site

Context: A Hopewell ceremonial site in the USA (Ohio Valley).
Approach: Landscape archaeology, ritual use of space.
Findings: Used for ceremonial gatherings and burials.
Conclusion: Important for understanding Hopewell religious and social com- plexity.

Kilkenny Union Workhouse

Approach: Bioarchaeology and mortuary archaeology.
Findings: Mass burials of famine victims during the Irish Great Hunger. Conclusion: Reveals structural violence and health impacts of 19th-century poverty.

Easter Island/Rapa Nui

Approach: Environmental archaeology, ecocide hypothesis.

Findings: Moai statues, deforestation, resource collapse.

Conclusion: Debate over whether societal collapse was due to ecological mis- management (ecocide) or colonial impacts.

NYC African Burial Ground

Approach: Mortuary archaeology, community archaeology.
Findings: 18th-century cemetery for enslaved Africans.
Conclusion: Evidence of African cultural practices, harsh labor, and community resilience.

Panga ya Saidi

Approach: Paleoanthropology, stratigraphy.
Findings: Human remains and tools spanning 78,000 years.
Conclusion: Key for understanding early modern human behavior in Africa.

SYZ, China

Approach: Geoarchaeology, paleoenvironments.
Findings: Han dynasty village buried by a flood.
Conclusion: Offers a "snapshot" of life in ancient China—economic activities, agriculture.

Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex

Location: Central Asia.
Findings: Urban centers, fortifications, unique material culture.
Conclusion: Shows complexity of non-Indo-European cultures in early Eurasia

Hohokam, USA

Approach: Irrigation archaeology.
Findings: Extensive canal systems in Arizona.
Conclusion: Enabled large-scale agriculture and population growth in desert environments.

Ayawiri, Peru

Approach: Bioarchaeology and isotope analysis.
Findings: Burial data and indicators of diet and mobility.
Conclusion: Suggests societal transformations during the Inka period.

Jemez Villages, USA

Approach: Isotope analysis, oral history.
Findings: Mobility and demographic changes during Spanish colonization. Conclusion: Evidence of population resilience and migration.

Otzi, Switzerland

Approach: Ice patch/glacial archaeology.
Findings: Well-preserved 5,300-year-old body.
Conclusion: Provides rare insight into Copper Age life—tools, diet, health, tattoos

Kennewick Man, USA

Approach: Ancient DNA, NAGPRA controversy.
Findings: ~9,000-year-old remains, originally considered not Native American. Conclusion: Genetic evidence confirmed Native ancestry; repatriated under NAGPRA.

Atari Video Game Burial Site

Approach: Contemporary archaeology, archaeogaming.
Findings: Buried Atari cartridges in New Mexico landfill.
Conclusion: Shows how even recent tech becomes archaeological material.

The Benin Bronzes

Approach: Colonial/postcolonial archaeology.
Findings: Advanced metalwork looted during British invasion. Conclusion: Focus of debates on restitution and cultural heritage.

Fort Center, Florida

Approach: Indigenous archaeology, community collaboration.
Findings: Mounds and possible early maize cultivation.
Conclusion: Challenges assumptions about early agriculture in the Southeast.

Kakapel Rockshelter, Kenya

Approach: Rock art, community archaeology.
Findings: Rock paintings and early settlement layers.
Conclusion: Important for local heritage and understanding of symbolic tradi- tions.

Cahokia, USA

Approach: Urban archaeology, complexity studies.
Findings: Mound complex, evidence of centralized power.
Conclusion: Shows early North American city-scale society and chiefdom.

Inland Niger Delta Sites

Approach: Urban archaeology, trade.
Findings: Early city without central power.
Conclusion: Demonstrates heterarchy and non-hierarchical complexity.

Salish Culture, Vancouver

Approach: Indigenous archaeology, oral traditions.
Findings: Plank houses, shell middens, ritual sites.
Conclusion: Demonstrates long-term settlement and resource management.

Catalhoyuk, Turkey

Approach: Household archaeology, gender studies.
Findings: Dense housing, wall paintings, burials under floors. Conclusion: Evidence of non-hierarchical Neolithic community.

Inca Empire

Approach: State archaeology, imperial infrastructure.
Findings: Road systems, quipu, agricultural terraces.
Conclusion: Shows centralized administration and ecological adaptation.

environmental arch

studies human-environment interactions

ecocide hypothesis

societies collapse due to environmental overuse

resilience

long-term adaptation strategies

Geographic Information Systems

mapping tool for spatial data; used to model landscapes, settlements, or trade routes

geo arch

uses geo and earth science to study sites, formation, and environment. how past humans adapted to surroundings

paleosols

ancient buried soils

anthrosols

soils modified by humans

geo chem

chemical composition of earth

key elements: phosphorous, carbon, lead

paleomalacology

ancient mollusks, indicate diet and environment

anthracology

ancient charcoal; fire use and vegetation

Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction

characterize past environments

oxygen isotopes

ice cores and shells

O16 evaporates first, 18 rains first, snow has more 16

pollen

tracks vegetation changes

niche construction

organisms, through their own behaviors, alter the environment and create their own circumstances

indicators of niche construction

terraces, irrigation, animal domestication

why archeologists interested in niche construction

shows long term impacts on environments

southern Kenya “hotspots”

deep time settlement and cultural heritage, target for heritage preservation and community partnerships

Glacial Arch

melting glaciers

Ice Patch Arch

alpine ice patches

heterarchy

A system of organization where the elements of the organization are unranked (non-hierarchical) or where they possess the potential to be ranked a number of different ways

anarchic organization

cooperative system with no formal heirarchy

hypotheses of hierarchy

irrigation, trade, war, resource stress

alternative forms of heirarchy

heterarchy, anarchic, segmentary societies

colonial history of arch

Eurocentric methods, extractive practices, ignored Indigenous communities

post colonial arch

seeks to decolonize interpretations and methods

community arch

local collab; mutual benefit

Dr. Douglass’s Madagascar project

works with communities to preserve coastal heritage and traditions

indigenous arch

a subfield of archaeology that prioritizes Indigenous knowledge, values, and goals in research, aiming to engage and empower Indigenous peoples in the preservation of their heritage and to correct perceived inequalities within the discipline

Dr Million’s project

knowledge sharing, community-led interpretation

Fort Center

Model for indigenous arch and local collab

knowledge sharing

archaeologists disseminating their research findings to other archaeologists and the public through various channels, including reports, publications, and public outreach activities, to ensure the information is accessible and contributes to a broader understanding of the past

early anthropocene

human influence on environment began thousands of years ago

modern anthropocene

Industrial Revolution (fossil fuel use)

wet rice agriculture

cultivation of rice by planting in dry land, transfer seedlings to flooded field, and draining field before harvest; large source of methane

early Anthropocene proposals

early agriculture, ruddiman hypothesis, fire use, urbanization, and irrigation

climate impacts to archeological sites

sea levels, glacier melt, wind erosion

CRM

protects heritage in construction/development, triggered by federal projects or permits

NAGPRA

repatriation of native remains and cultural items, requires consultation and return to tribes

NHPA/Section 106

laws requiring arch surveys before federal projects

conditions that initiate CRM

no awareness, denial, vague awareness, preplanning, preparation, initiation, stabilization, confirmation/expansion, professionalism

CRM phases

research/planning, site testing, excavation/mitigation

NAGPRA rules

governs the return of Native American remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony to lineal descendants, culturally-affiliated In- dian Tribes, and Native Americans

space arch

using satellites to detect sites ex. Moon Landing site

moon landing site arch

studying human remains/footprints on moon

archeogaming

Study of games as archaeological material and how archaeology is depicted in games

themes of archeogaming

looting, exploration, colonialism

categories of archeogaming

excavation IN and OF games

no man’s sky survey

community led recording of planetary landscapes and ruins

how enslavement is detected in archeological record

settlement patterns, artifacts, bio arch trauma

local vs nonlocal goods and styles

Local vs. imported beads (e.g., clay vs. glass in East Africa); Housing layouts, refuse deposits, diet indicators

Creolization

The blending of African, European, and some Amerindian cultural elements into the unique sociocultural systems found in the Caribbean.

Used isotopes

Ayawiri, Peru

Jemez Villages

Used mort arch

NYC African Burial

Kilkenny Warehouse

Used oral

Jemez

Salish

Watoro

used indigenous

Salish

Fort Center