Term
|
Definition
physical remains or organics
chemically changed into minerals or rock
mineralised by the replacement of organics with new inorganic materials |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
ex: corals and marine creature shells
very small fossils |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| study of fossils in general |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the study of extinct humans and their ancestors |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
'laws of burial'
the study of what happens to an organism's remains after death
describes necessary circumstances for fossilization to occur |
|
|
Term
| How to read the fossil record |
|
Definition
dental formula
cusp morphology
present post-orbital bar
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
isolation from large parent population
rapid change
out-competition |
|
|
Term
| Continental Drift / Plate Tectonics |
|
Definition
Early Mesozoic (225 mya)
Panagaea
Late Mesozoic (~135 mya)
Laurasia and Gondowanaland
Cenozoic (65 mya)
drifting continents |
|
|
Term
Nicolaus Steno
Steno's law of superposition |
|
Definition
rock layers (strata) that are deeper are older
(except for 'cuts' that tear rocks and infill )
a 'relative' order of rock layers |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
mapped geo. strata
recognized fossils as time markers by strata
'principle of faunal succession' |
|
|
Term
| Stratigraphic Correlation |
|
Definition
developed by William Smith
matching chemical and physical signatures of rock to the fossils in them |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
accumulation of a chemical (ex. flourine) in fossils over time
requires soils that contain the relevant chemical |
|
|
Term
| Biostratigraphic (Faunal) Dating |
|
Definition
(relative dating)
organisms change over time
know the origin, extinction and development to be able to date specific form found
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
nuance based dating
stone tools = hominids
tool type (metal vs stone)
tool style (mould, glaze, embellishment)
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
(chronometric dating)
tree ring dating = true calendar years |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| other reliable chronometric techniques that provide regular and measurable changes |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
occupation/use area, or the redeposited remains of by humans and other hominids
ex: villages, mines, campsites |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
non-portable features at a site
includes post moulds, walls, floors, pits, etc. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
disturbs sites
natural churning up (by worms, roots, etc.) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
all those materials in use at a
site or by a community or (sub)group of
people |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| all materials pertinent to a human community |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the place of a thing or person in time or space set against a historical and spatial backdrop of people, beliefs, environment, structures, etc. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
more specific type of 'context'
where is a site an artefact is found
based on a grid or other reference system |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
digging in a way that conforms to visible soil and sediment layers and feature edges
|
|
|
Term
| single and multi component |
|
Definition
site used by a group for a short time
or
site reused many times/ for different purposes |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| associating and dating an artefact with a similar artefact at a different site |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
absolute dating that uses radioactive disintegration (decay rate)
requires calibration |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| using genetics between species/lineages |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| microorganisms that take up oxygen in their shells |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
absolute dating for organic remains
(bones shells)
amount of change in amino acid structure measured |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
kind of light used in amino acid dating
allows amino acid changes to be observed and measured |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
chemical reaction
(bones, shells)
conversion of L amino acids to D amino acids
for amino acid dating |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
absolute dating
(volcanic rock)
measurement of Uranium-328 |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
absolute dating
(sedimentary rocks)
based on random reversals of Earth's magnetic field |
|
|
Term
| electron spin resonance dating |
|
Definition
absolute dating
(bones, teeth)
microwave spectroscopy measures electrons' spins |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
absolute dating
(volcanic rocks)
measure of potassium-40 levels |
|
|
