Archaeology Exam Notes

Stratigraphy and Harris Matrix

• Stratigraphy: Analyzing layers of earth to understand chronological order.
• Harris Matrix: A tool (seriation chart) used to represent the stratigraphy of an archaeological site.
  • It helps to understand the sequence of events and relationships between different layers or contexts.

Classifying Societies (Elman Service's Model)

• Mobile Hunter-Gatherer Societies:
  • Small groups (<100), egalitarian, nomadic, depend on wild resources.
• Segmentary Societies:
  • Larger groups (<1,000), settled farmers/pastoralists, potential leaders with limited power, permanent/temporary settlements.
• Intermediate Societies/Chiefdoms:
  • 5,000-20,000 people, hierarchical, lineages ranked, central accumulation and redistribution, craft specialization, permanent settlements, ritual centers.
• Early States:
  • >20,000 people, established hierarchy under leader with army, redistribution systems, tribute/tax/bureaucracy, city center, job specialization.

Settlement Analysis

• Settlement archaeology: study of the spatial distribution of human activities and settlements.
• Site Hierarchy: Different sized settlements with a larger center (city).
• Individual Structures: size, internal organization, material, and function vary based on society type.
• Community Organization: examines neighborhoods and special use areas within settlements.
• Nature of Settlements: size, function, and location are key aspects.

Burial Analysis

• Study of Ranking: Used to identify distinctions in wealth and social status.
• Indicators: Human remains, grave-goods (quality, quantity, material).
• Mortuary Traditions: intentionality of treatment at death, messages from the living about the deceased, belief systems about the afterlife.

Spiro Mounds (Example of mortuary analysis)

• Mississippian Culture, Chiefdom.
• Craig Mound: Skeletons, shell bead heap, marine shell cups, wooden masks, copper axes.
• Social Organization: Skeletal articulation, artifacts, bone scattering.

Monuments and Public Works

• Scale & Labor: Reflect social organization.
• Segmentary societies: Wessex monuments. Requires organized labor.
• State societies: Ceremonial centers.

Written Records

• Mainly in state level societies: Mesoamerica, China, Egypt, West Asia.
• Function and purpose of texts.
• Ancient language and social context.
• Khipu: Inka records using knotted ropes.
• Hammurabi's Code: Babylonian society, laws about retaliation, murder, theft, witchcraft, agriculture, taxes, trade, women's rights.

Ethnoarchaeology

• Studying living societies to understand past behaviors.
• Uses of artifacts, buildings, and structures.
• Example: Binford and the Nunamiut hunter-gatherers in Alaska.

Archaeology of the Individual and Identity

• Understanding individual human experience in the past.
• Cultural experience: variable through time and space.

Social Inequality

• Example Five Points slum: variety of artifacts indicate inequality.
• African Burial Ground: DNA analysis, historical data reveal origins and struggles.