Term
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Definition
Hawkes' "ladder of inference"
Levels are connected and mutually influencing; non-material aspects of past can be reflected in material remains such as...
-Important changes a lot and measures evolution is what the pyramid thinks as in archaeological record.
-> Nowadays it's actually the degree of preservation is what makes up the archaeological record |
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Term
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Definition
| Portable object whose form is modified in whole, or in part by human activity |
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Term
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Definition
| Non-portable object modified in whole or in part by human activity; cannot be removed without being altered or destroyed |
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Term
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Definition
| Special category of feature containing human/animal remains and sometimes associated artifacts |
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Term
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Definition
(A)biotic remains relevant to explaining human behavior
-May/may not be modified by human activity
-Floral ecofacts = seeds, pollen. Faunal ecofacts = animal bones
-Soils and sediments |
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Term
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Definition
Spatial clusters of artifacts, features, and/or ecofacts (in all combos)
-Often classified by function: habitation, cemeteries, kill sites, ports, trading centers, quarry, workshop or resource extraction site
-Defining site boundaries can be a major issue. |
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Term
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Definition
Spatially-temporally bounded area containing two or more archaeological SITES
-Geographical: well-defined geographic features
-Ecological: well-defined ecological community
-Cultural region: well-defined cultural features |
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Term
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Definition
ALL the potential archaeological data contained within a bounded area of study (known and unknowns)
-Maximum data universe usually is a region
-Note: archaeologists usually describe their speciality according to their data universe. |
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Term
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Definition
What they can study in a data universe- time and money
-Non-arbitrary: not determined by chance
-Arbitrary: determined by chance. |
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Term
Original Human Behavior
Life History Model |
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Definition
Artifacts, features, sites and regions progress through as a series of distinct stages
4 major activities, in the case of a tool:
1. Acquisition
2. Manufacture
3. Use (distribution)
4. Disposal (steps 2 and 3 repeated if recycled)
-Different life-history combine different stages- acquisition and discard are the most common. |
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Term
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Definition
| Serve as excellent places that are preserved if not disturbed by major weather changes or people. |
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Term
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Definition
| Preserving things from the water is good, better than not because it saves the shape more. |
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Term
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Definition
| Most destructive; heavy rains, acid soils, warm temp, high humidity, erosion, wealth of vegetation and insect life |
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Term
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Definition
| Not beneficial to organic materials but variable temp and fluctuating precipitation combine to accelerate the processes of decay. |
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Term
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Definition
| Most destructive; heavy rains, acid soils, warm temp, high humidity, erosion, wealth of vegetation and insect life |
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