Archaeology

Paleoanthropologist

An anthropologist who studies human evolution from fossil remains.

Artifact

Any object fashioned or altered by humans.

Fossil

The preserved remains of plants and animals that lived in the past.

Unaltered fossil

Remains of plants and animals that lived in the past that have not been altered in any significant way.

Altered fossil

Remains of plants and animals that lived in the past that have been altered, as by the replacement of organic material by calcium carbonate or silica.

Site

In archaeology, a place containing remains of previous human occupants.

Soil marks

Stains that show up on the surface of recently plowed fields that reveal an archaeological site.

Provenience

The three-dimensional location of an artifact or feature within an archaeological site, measured by two horizontal dimensions, and a vertical elevation.

Provenance

The ORIGINAL location or origin of an artifact or fossil; where it is from.

Context

The relationship of artifacts and other cultural remains to each other and the situation in which they are found.

Grid system

A system of recording data from an archaeological excavation.

Datum point

Starting, or reference point for a grid system.