Archeology Midterm 1

Archaeology

The scientific study of the human past through material remains.

Material Culture

The physical objects created, modified, or used by humans.

Artifact

A portable object made or modified by humans (e.g., tools, pottery).

Ecofact

Organic remains associated with human activity (bones, seeds, pollen).

Feature

A non-portable human-made structure (hearths, postholes).

Structure

Large built environments such as buildings, roads, or walls.

Context

The relationship between artifacts, features, ecofacts, and their surroundings.

Matrix

The physical material surrounding archaeological remains (soil, sediment).

Association

The spatial relationship between artifacts found together.

Provenience

The exact three-dimensional location where an artifact is found.

Provenance

The place where an object was originally made.

Taphonomy

how organisms decay and become fossilized or preserved

Site Formation Processes

Natural and cultural processes that shape archaeological sites.

Archaeological Site

A concentration of material remains from past human activity.

Region

An area larger than a single site defined by cultural or natural boundaries.

Preservation Bias

Certain materials survive better than others in the archaeological record.

Sampling Bias

Distortions caused by where and how archaeologists excavate.

Science

A systematic process of observation, testing, and revision.

Scientific Method

Hypothesis-driven, testable approach to understanding phenomena.

Hypothesis

A testable explanation for observed patterns.

Inductive Reasoning

Developing general explanations from specific observations.

Deductive Reasoning

"top-down" logical process that moves from general, established premises to a guaranteed, specific conclusion

Equifinality

Different processes can produce the same archaeological pattern.

Processual Archaeology

A scientific, explanatory approach focusing on systems and adaptation.

New Archaeology

1960s movement emphasizing hypothesis testing and scientific rigor.

Lewis Binford

Founder of processual archaeology.

Middle-Range Theory

Links material remains to human behavior.

Systems Theory

views past societies as complex, interconnected, and open systems rather than static collections of artifacts

Cultural Resource Management (CRM)

Archaeology conducted to protect sites threatened by development.

Rescue Archaeology

involves the rapid survey and excavation of archaeological sites threatened by construction, development, or natural hazards

Public Archaeology

Engaging communities and descendant groups in archaeological practice.

Antiquarianism

Early, non-scientific collecting and description of ancient objects.

Cabinets of Curiosities

Early collections of exotic artifacts.

Destructive Antiquarians

Early excavators who damaged sites searching for treasure.

Antiquarian Period

14th–18th centuries.

Uniformitarianism

Geological processes today operated the same in the past.

James Hutton

Early proponent of uniformitarianism.

Charles Lyell

Popularized uniformitarianism.

Stratigraphy

Study of layered deposits.

William Smith

Developed stratigraphic principles.

Charles Darwin

Developed theory of evolution by natural selection.

Natural Selection

Mechanism of evolutionary change based on inherited variation.

Inheritance of Traits

Passing physical traits from parents to offspring.

Thomas Malthus

Influenced Darwin through population theory - population growth will always tend to outrun the food supply and that betterment of humankind is impossible without strict limits on reproduction

Edward Tylor

Proposed unilineal cultural evolution.

Lewis Henry Morgan

Developed stages: savagery, barbarism, civilization.

Ethnocentrism

Judging other cultures by one’s own standards.

Cultural Relativism

Understanding cultures on their own terms.

Elman Service

Band, tribe, chiefdom, state model.

Morton Fried

Egalitarian vs stratified societies.

Neo‑Evolutionism

Focus on social complexity rather than progress.

Three Age System

Stone, Bronze, Iron Ages.

C.J. Thomsen

Developed Three Age System.

W.M.F. Petrie

Introduced systematic excavation & plan maps.

Four-Field Anthropology

Cultural, biological, linguistic, archaeology.

Franz Boas

Championed cultural relativism & historical particularism.

Historical Particularism

Cultures develop through unique histories.

Phenomenology

Focus on human experience and perception.

Gregor Mendel focused on

Inheritance of physical traits

Provenience

The location where data were recovered

Georges-Louis Leclerc

19th‑century naturalist identifying climate change as biological cause

Ethnocentrism

Evaluating cultures using one’s own standards

Antiquarianism peaked during

Renaissance / Enlightenment

W.M.F. Petrie

Making plan maps

Founder of processual archaeology

Lewis Binford

Franz Boas

Champion of four‑field anthropology & historical particularism

New Archaeology associated with

Processualism

Alfred Kroeber

Culture areas developed by