Arcaeology final

Geoarchaeology

The study of archaeology using the methods and concepts of the earth sciences, plays a major role in reconstructing ancient environments and long- and short-term climatic change.

Periglacial

“an area affected by glacial climatic influences.”

Pollen analysis

Holocene Epoch

“The geological epoch since the Ice Age (from the Greek holos, “recent”)”

taphonomy

“The study of the processes by which animal bones and other fossil remains are transformed after deposition.”

sample assemblage

“the part of the fossil assemblage that is actually excavated or collected—is what reaches the laboratory”

number of identified specimens (NISP)

is a count of the number of bones or bone fragments from each species in a bone sample

“minimum number of individuals (MNI”

“a count of the number of individuals necessary to account for all the identifiable bones”

Buthchery

“The fragmentary bones in an occupation level are the end product of the killing, cutting up, and consumption of domestic or wild animals. ”

Macrobotanical remains

“Easily recognized plant remains such as maize cobs or pine nuts preserved in such contests as hearths.”

Flotation

“The method uses water or chemicals to free the seeds, which are often of microscopic size, from the fine earth or occupation residue that masks them; the vegetal remains usually float and the residue sinks. Although this technique enables us to recover seeds from many sites where doing so was once impossible, by no means can it be applied universally, for its effectiveness depends on soil conditions.”

Opal phytoliths

“minute particles of silica from plant cells, are produced from hydrated silica dissolved in groundwater that is absorbed through a plant’s roots and carried through its vascular system (Piperno, 2006). Silica production is continuous throughout the growth of a plant.”

Diet

“What is eaten by humans (or animals).”

nutrition

“the ability of a diet to maintain the body in its environment”

Stable carbon isotope analysis

“involves identifying types of plant foods from the isotopic analysis of prehistoric bone and hair. ”

Anaology

“is a process of reasoning that assumes if objects have some similar attributes, then they will share other similarities as well”

Middle-Range Theory:

“methods, theories, and ideas from the present that can be applied to any time period and anywhere in the world to explain what we have discovered, excavated, or analyzed from the past.”

Ethnoarchaeology

“the study of living societies to aid in understanding and interpreting the archaeological record”

Experimental Archaeology

“controlled, modern experiments with ancient technologies and material culture that can serve as a basis for interpreting the past.”

Selective excavation

Vertical Excavation

“ Excavation undertaken to establish a chronological sequence, normally covering a limited area.”

a reductive (or subtractive) technology

Stoneworking technique in which stone is acquired, then shaped by removing flakes until the desired form is achieved

blade technology

An advanced stone technology that produces parallel-sided stone flakes, normally removed from a carefully prepared core, often by means of a punch.

Pressure flaking

A stoneworking technique in which thin flakes are removed from a core or an artifact by applying hand or chest pressure.

Lithic Analysis

The study of stone tool technology, including replication of said technologies.

reduction sequence

The sequence of actions involved in the manufacture of an artifact by means of reductive technology

debitage

Waste by-products resulting from the manufacture of stone tools.

refitting

The reassembling of stone debitage and cores to reconstruct ancient lithic technologies.

kilns

An oven used for baking clay vessels and other ceramic objects at a high temperature.

Bioarchaeology

“the study of human remains found in archaeological sites”

Paleopathology

“The study of the earliest human beings.

Forensic anthropology

State-organized societies

“A socially stratified society with strongly centralized government, social complexity, and, often, writing.”

Pre-state societies

“An egalitarian society without stratified social classes or centralized government.”

Social ranking

“Social distinctions between individuals, communities, and other units of society.”

archaeology of gender

“The study of gender relations in the past.”

engendered archaeology

“An approach to archaeology that uses a wide diversity of archaeological methods and approaches to find out how gender functioned in ancient societies, to unravel its cultural meanings.

archaeology of inequality

“The study of social inequality in the past.

Exchange systems

“A system for exchanging goods and services between individuals and communities.”

gift exchange

“An exchange system that operates on the basis of gift-giving relationships sustained between individuals or groups”

Reciprocity

“In archaeology, the exchange of goods between two parties.

Redistribution

The dispersing of trade goods from a central place throughout a society, a complex process that was a critical part of the evolution of civilization

Markets

“ A place set aside specifically for trading.”

anatomically modern humans (AMHs)

cosmology

“A society’s view of the universe.”

shamans

An individual with unusual supernatural powers and the ability to communicate with the spiritual world.

cognitive archaeology

“The study of human intangibles using archaeological data.”

Iconography

“The study of ancient beliefs through symbols

Ideology

“The knowledge or beliefs developed by human societies as part of their cultural adaptation.”

Astroarchaeology

The study of ancient astronomical knowledge

Cultural resources

Human-made and natural physical features associated with human activity

environmental impact statements

A document that spells out the impact of modern development on the archaeological record in a specific area

Mitigation

The movement of an entire population from one area to another

compliance process

In cultural resource management (CRM), the process of complying with legislative requirements. Sometimes called the Section 106 process after that section of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.

Curation

Deliberate attempts by prehistoric peoples to preserve key artifacts and structures for posterity. Also used in a modern context to describe the careful management of artifacts and other data recovered in archaeological research

Collections management

The long-term administration of archaeological finds in perpetuity

indigenous archaeology

Archaeology carried out in collaboration with indigenous societies