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Chapter 1
ANTH 201 - McGill University
97
Anthropology
Undergraduate 1
12/05/2011

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Term
8 ethical principles of archaeology
Definition
stewardship, accountability, commercialization, public education and outreach, intellectual property, public reporting and publication, records and preservation, and training and resources.
Term
principles of excavating sacred sites
Definition
respect spiritual bond, acknowledge significance of human remains, respect governing protocols of investigation with human remains
Term
survey
Definition
maps the physical remains of human activity. GOAL: gain complete understanding at lowest possible cost.
Term
statistical sampling
Definition
selected sampled used to represent larger area
Term
in situ
Definition
archaeological material found in the place where is was originally deposited
Term
remote sensing
Definition
aerial and satellite photography
Term
geophysical techniques
Definition
magetometry and ground penetrating radar - to look into the ground without penetrating it.
Term
GPS (global positioning system)
Definition
precise location of archaeological sites can be determined
Term
Geographical information systems
Definition
a suite of software applications that allow spatial data to be brought together and consolidated: hydology, streets, elevation..etc. exact longitude and latitude needed.
Term
georeferencing
Definition
use of geographical information system
Term
digital image
Definition
image all who whose points are digitalized
Term
raster image
Definition
scanned picture
Term
law of stratigraphy
Definition
the lowest layer in an undisturbed depositional setting it the oldest
Term
continuous sequence
Definition
sediments and rocks are continuous
Term
discontinuous sequence
Definition
clear breaks in rock type or sediments in depositional sequences
Term
discrete layers
Definition
also known by the name stratas - identifiable layers in depositional circumstances
Term
strata
Definition
classified by rock or sediment type, or the fossils they contain
Term
anthropogenic unit
Definition
the amterial deposited at a site at a aprticular point in time. also known as locus or depositional feature
Term
formation of archaeological site
Definition
erosion or depositions are two ways this could happen
Term
stratigraphy
Definition
refers to the accumulation of strata that results from a combination of geological and anthropogenic deposits
Term
tel
Definition
middle-eastern term for a mound made by repeated flattening of mud brick houses
Term
provenlence
Definition
the precise context in which an object is recovered in an excavation. vertical reference as compared to the datum point
Term
datum point
Definition
linchpin of excavations, a fixed unmoving point to which the location of every object is compared
Term
theodolite
Definition
the usual datum point used - to measure both distance and depth
Term
grid
Definition
used to measure objects on the horizontal axis in terms of the datum point
Term
baulk
Definition
0.5 meter area left standing in every excavation square to provide stratigraphic reference
Term
wet screening
Definition
the process of spraying water onto a sieve to break up sediments and make sure all artificial are recovered during the excavation
Term
flotation
Definition
process used to recover botanical material - mix sediments with water to allowed charred material to float while the dirty settles.
Term
artifact
Definition
objects that show traces of human manufacturing
Term
ecofacts
Definition
objects recovered from an archaeological context that are either remains of biological organisms or the results of geological processes
Term
lithic analysis
Definition
study of animal bones
Term
paleothnobotany
Definition
study of plant material
Term
human osteoarchaeology
Definition
study of biological characteristics of skeletal material
Term
post depositional process
Definition
events that take place after the site was occupied
Term
taphonomy
Definition
study of the process that affects organic remains after death
Term
quantification
Definition
method used by archaeologists to represent the large quantities of material recovered in excavations and surveys
Term
NISP
Definition
relative frequencies of bones of different animals
Term
MNI
Definition
each skeletal element is measure individually thus the element that has the largest number tells us how many of that animal was present.
Term
typology
Definition
list of artifacts for a particular archaeological context - used to draw up an inventory of types of artifacts found by archaeologists
Term
ethnoarchaeology
Definition
research done by archeaologists living with and observing communities (living today) in order to make a contribution to archaeology
Term
ethnographic analogy
Definition
making hypotheses of the functions of society, hunting practices, economy of old peoples based on observation of current ones
Term
experimental archaeology
Definition
replication of technology/features and objects to get a better understanding of their level of complexity and function
Term
attribute
Definition
particular characteristics of an artifact
Term
absolute chronology
Definition
artifacts with a known date of manufacture stated in calendric years
Term
relative chronology
Definition
based on artifact typology - places assemblages in temporal sequence but without direct calendric dates
Term
seriation
Definition
comparing relative frequency of artifact types between contexts. as popularity increases, so does frequency, and decreases the way. - Seriation: the method of comparing the relative frequency of artifact types between contexts. As popularity increases, so will the frequency of an object, and after its peak it will decrease over time. Make an assumption and use it as relative dating. Layers that are contemporary have the SAME relative frequencies.
Term
radiocarbon dating
Definition
measure the decay of carbon isotopes in organic material. younger than 40.000. the use of the accelerator mass spectrometer is the same method that can date EXTREMELY small samples
Term
potassium argon dating
Definition
identifies the time of volcanic eruptions (before 40 000) - sites can be dated between layers of volcanic ash
Term
paleomegnetism
Definition
measures reversals in the eraths magnetic field.
Term
luminescence
Definition
optically stimulated, electron spin, themo
Term
optically stimulated luminescence
Definition
dating type used on soil
Term
electron spin resonance
Definition
dating type used on tooth enamel
Term
thermoluminescence
Definition
dating type used on eat altered materials such as tools or pottery
Term
dendrochronology
Definition
using tree rings to date wood at archaeological sites
Term
obsidian hydration
Definition
measures decay of the surface of obsidian artifacts - good for several thousand years or younger
Term
intrasite comparisons
Definition
having to do with the context of a single site - comparisons within a site to one another
Term
intersite
Definition
having to do with the context of multiple sites - comparisons between sites (in a region)
Term
synchronic studies
Definition
comparisons of a society within a single time period, understand the working of a society at a given point in time.
Term
diachronic studies
Definition
comparisons between different time periods. to understand processes that change throughout time.
Term
community archaeology
Definition
giving up partial control of the excavation to members of the surrounding community.
Term
anthropology
Definition
archaeology is part of this field, whose goals is to describe and explain human behaviour throughout the world, including understanding the variability of cultures.
Term
culture
Definition
is patterned learned behaviour of the members of a society that is passed on primarily through language. It is an adaptive system of a society to both physical and cultural environment (White said that). It is not random. Two sub categories: technology, economy, political or social organization, and ideology.
Term
material culture
Definition
refers to ALL objects produced or modified by a society i.e. artifacts, food, remains, structures…etc.
Term
technological culture
Definition
easiest to study, includes tools, pots and you can do tests to see: how hot the fire was, what tools were sued…etc. this area involves technomic artifacts.
Term
political and or social culture
Definition
increasingly abstract, many opinions. This area involves socio-technic artifacts.
Term
ideological culture
Definition
without the written word almost impossible to know. Need more context to interpret ideo-technic artifacts: a cross or magen david. This area involves ideotechnic artifacts.
Term
Ethnographic culture
Definition
a group of people sharing a common material culture, economy, social organization, ideology and language. Usually share territory and can be roughly associated with an “ethnic group”.
Term
Ethnographic culture limitations
Definition
definition assumes basic human behaviour patterns remain unchanged throughout prehistory. Example: Acheulian culture shared a common technology for 1.3 million years – better understood as a technological tradition. Also unlikely they had the same language across Africa and Europe or that they were even the same species of early human.
Term
technological tradition
Definition
continual use of a technology for a prolonged period of time.
Term
archaeological culture
Definition
group of similar assemblages that are restricted in time and space
Term
assemblage
Definition
all archaeological material from a single occupation of a site
Term
ethnographic analogy
Definition
match your archaeological data to the behaviour of modern or historically recorded peoples to help you infer the behaviour that the archaeological data represents. MOST IMPORTANT SOURCE OF MODELS FOR INTERPRETATION BUT THEY ARE NOT EXPLANATIONS. Sourced for hypotheses. Criteria for this created by Ascher are: similar economy, technology or environment.
Term
uniformitarianism
Definition
earth was shaped by a process of uplift, erosion and deposition. This concept was an influence on Darwin.
Term
unilinear evolution
Definition
19th century. Progress was inherent in human nature because culture is cumulative. savagery, barbarism, civilization. Tyler, Morgan
Term
invention
Definition
method of cultural change through creation of a new idea or artifact, usually through modification of an existing one. This is the change in one element of material culture, with the rest remaining constant.
Term
diffusion
Definition
method of cultural change where Spread of ideas or technologies between societies without permanent movement of people. Must prove use of technology occurred earlier in certain areas.
Term
migration
Definition
method of cultural change where Spread of culture through movement of entire peoples.
Term
Middle range research
Definition
search for the material results (patterning) of observable behaviour and the use of those patterns as the basis of testable hypotheses.
Term
cultural property rules
Definition
all artifacts are the property of the country of origin and no sale of antiquities
Term
native peoples concerns
Definition
consult BEFORE digging regarding remains, conserve, don't assume control and publication.
Term
survey
Definition
to attain an accurate picture of number, types and distribution of sites on the landscape
Term
shovel testing
Definition
walk in transects and at set intervals use shovel to see soil. These produce test pits.
Term
total survey
Definition
1. surveying the entire area of an archaeological site – very uncommon, usually sites are very large: financial, time and personnel limitations. The ability to identify artifacts is crucial.
Term
proportional random stratified sampling
Definition
could be stratified by environmental zones. The ability to identify artifacts is crucial.
Term
predictive model
Definition
concentrates your survey in areas with a high probability for sites based on current knowledge. These will never find new types of sites. The ability to identify artifacts is crucial.
Term
arbitrary sampling model
Definition
can underestimate population if population distribution was structured and your transects miss all key points. The ability to identify artifacts is crucial.
Term
activity area
Definition
places where a single type of behaviour was taking place. These can only be present with habits and habitual behaviour.
Term
feature
Definition
a group of associated artifacts representing a single activity over a defined period od time. Hearth, structure, burials.
Term
related dating
Definition
dates objects by references to their position in time relative to other objects. This tells you in the ordinal sense, if an object is earlier, the same age or later than another object.
Term
strata identified by fossils
Definition
layers in two different sites that contain similar artifacts or fossils are roughly contemporary - marker fossils
Term
indirect analogy
Definition
need other evidence of climate and available food supply to infer that animals were probably there.
Term
catchment area
Definition
largest possible area that early humans could have exploited from a site. This is defined as a 2 hour walk or ride from a site. If land is uniform it is 15 km if not the circle is warped. This method only shows economic opportunities, discovery of bone and food remains is essential.
Term
site exploitation territory
Definition
the area routinely exploited by a site as defined by a one hour walk or ride or 5 km. This method only shows economic opportunities, discovery of bone and food remains is essential.
Term
tephonomic bias
Definition
because plant food is found less, people think they ate meat more. This can cause an over emphasis on male activities.
Term
hominin
Definition
any fossil or living member of the human evolutionary line as distinct from apes or hominids
Term
hominid
Definition
apes
Term
hominoid
Definition
ancestor of ape or ape. Earliest ancestor was probably small insectivore that cause insects with its teeth who used adaptive radiation after the dinosaurs died 65 MYBP. They won the ‘tree’ niche.
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