ANSC 301 EXAM 1 STUDY MATERIAL

Topic 1 and 2

Archaeology

The study of human culture from their discarded remains. Classified as anthropology in the US but can be considered history in other parts of the world.

Holistically

How does anthropology look at things?

Culture

It’s a system of knowledge, beliefs, patterns of behavior, artifacts, and institutions learned and shared by a group of people. - Ken Guest (2013)

Surveying

Finding and mapping the site.

Lab analysis

One of the most important parts because it’s where you get the most information.

Domesticated

Means that that thing has a dependency on something (humans in this case) for survival.

Agatha Christie Reading

Gives us an idea of what archaeology is actually like. The moving around, not finding things you were specifically looking for, dealing with differences in culture, and moving around from place to place with a low budget and getting sick. Elements of colonialism.

Devon Bidal

Talks about how caves are able to preserve material. Also gives a general idea of the 4 components of the archaeological record.

The archaeological record

It’s all the discarded material culture. It’s very fragmentary sometimes and a majority of archaeological sites haven’t been excavated and not everything can be preserved.

Artifacts, features, ecofacts, and sites.

What are the components of the archaeological record?

Artifacts

any human made thing that is portable (typically pottery/ sherds)

features

any human made non portable objects. Includes, hearths, post holes, and sometimes architecture.

ecofacts

any environmental remains (plant or animal) that reflects human behavior. For example, finding cut marks on animal bones.

sites

A combination of the other three components. Can find some or all the other components.

Understanding context

Very important thing to do after finding the site. Answers the questions: What was found and what was found with it? What was it used for?

Matrix

What am I digging through? More specifically, the physical sediment surrounding artifacts.

Provenience

Special grid coordinates of where something was found.

Site context

Finding things at a site and using context to figure out why it’s there.

Regional context

do we see this in other places near the site we found?

Archaeological cultures

A pattern of material cultural evidence. Researchers might tend to assume that it shows some sort of norm.

Formation processes

Simply put, it’s wanting to know what happened to an artifact.

Processual

A school of thought that wanted to make archaeology as scientific as possible. Started by Lewis Binford.

Natural formation processes

Something that happens normally or in nature.

Examples of natural formation processes

Decay, Sediment deposition, and bioturbation

Decay

Happens to organic things.

Sediment deposition

How sediments are transformed or move the materials from their original location

Bioturbation

What the earth / environment does to an artifact, ex insecting moving things around in the dirt.

Cultural formation processes

Some that happens to a site, etc due to human activities

Original human behavior

Stages include: acquisition, manufacture, use, and discard

Acquisition

Where did they get the materials from? Was it close, etc?

Manufacture

trying to understand and the tools they had at their disposal

Use

How was it actually used?

Discard

You have to throw things away, ex when it breaks. Deliberate burial, ppl dig stuff out and put more things in.

Reuse

Something that’s already there being reused for something else.

Disruption

anyonw qho comes around latter to disturb the dirt

Abberation

something rare or unusual that happens in archaeology where they find very well-preserved materials / artifacts

Periodization

Different time periods and their impacts on the discipline. Also deals with how things are categorized.

Different periods

Speculative, late speculative, descriptive period, classistory historical period, and the modern period

The speculative period

800 BC to 1849 AD - people are finding stuff but they don’t know where it comes from and why. Hesiod came up with terms, ex age of gods, silver, bronze, heros, iron, etc.

Late Speculative Period

Trying to find stuff and not speculate on context or etc.

Classificatory

Travel is faster and cheaper, publishing helps, and people are discovering new things. Find out about Mayan history.