Anthro 219 Midterm 1 | Study Guide &
Practice Questions
Anthropology-Answer: the study of all aspects of humanity, its past and present
Depends on where you are:
1) North America (archaeology, bioanthropology, linguistic anthropology, cultural anthropology)
2)Europe (Anthropology is just [cultural/social)]
A product of colonialism
UofA has a traditional 4–field approach:
1) Archaeology (also, History and Classics, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, & Anatomy)
2) Biological anthropology
3) Cultural anthropology
4) Linguistic anthropology
Archaeology-Answer: study of humanity’s past; includes analyses of cultural materials (ex. stone
artifacts, animal bones, ancient art, settlements, etc)
Also defined as the study of the human past through its material remains
Artifacts-Answer: individual objects intentionally modified by human
Features-Answer: multiple things accumulated or built by humans, not individual objects
,Ecofacts-Answer: objects, places, sediments modified or moved by humans, often unintentionally
Biological Anthropology-Answer: study of humans as biocultural spp (and their relatives, both past and
current), particularly through the study of their bodily remains
Also known as: bioanthropology, physical anthropology, or human osteology
Paleoanthropologist-Answer: specialists who study the human fossil record
Forensic Anthropologist-Answer: applying biological anthropology methods to address current practical
problems, particularly crime scene investigation
Piltdown Man-Answer: Most famous fraud in paleoanthropology
1912, Sussex, human skull and mandible reported by Charles Dawson; claimed to be 400,000–500,000
years old
Dr. Kenneth Oakley (1953): found that Piltdown was a fake created from 3 distinct spp: human cranium,
orangutan mandible, and chimpanzee fossil teeth
Stained with an iron solution and chromic acid to make them look older
Fluorine dating used to show parts weren’t contemporaneous
,Radiocarbon dating: found the skull was 600 years old, orangutan jaw was modern
Collaborative Archeology-Answer: umbrella term for indigenous archaeology, community–based
archaeology, community archaeology, public archaeology
Indigenous Archaeology-Answer: combines archaeology with the value and knowledge sets and
concerns of Indigenous peoples whose ancestors built on, lived in, and used the landscape
Ethics-Answer: Respect the dead and their remains:
1) Custody of the dead (repatriation)
2) Archaeologists may speak for the dead
3) Many legal statutes governing treatment of human remains, varies by province, country, etc
NAGPRA-Answer: USA
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act 1990
In law, all organisations receiving federal funding have to conduct an inventory of their holdings:
1) Human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony
2) Sets process for return of items to lineal descendants, and culturally affiliated with Indian tribes and
Native Hawaiian organizations
Policy #128-Answer: Canada
Official University on reparations: The Museum acknowledges that all First Nations’ material is part of
the intellectual and cultural heritage of the respective First Nation
Archaeological sites-Answer: locations that contain material evidence of the human past (fossils,
artifacts, built structures, features, modified landscapes, etc)
, Ex. Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, Sagan–Zaba II in Siberia, Paisley Cave in Oregon
Surveys-Answer: process of locating sites
Land and underwater surveys
Remote sensing-Answer: (aerial and satellite) a range of techniques used in archaeology associated with
imagery
Ex. photography, satellites)
Ground survey-Answer: Can be guided by documents, oral history
Accidental finds (by hikers, construction, farmers)
Ground surface = walking, looking, recording
Aerial photography-Answer: Planes, hot–air balloons, helicopters, drones
Shadow sites, crop anomalies, soil marks
Sometimes taken for other reasons and used secondarily for archeologists
Satellite Imagery-Answer: NASA’s LANDSAT
Google Earth
Far more zoomed out than aerial photography
LiDAR-Answer: Light Detection and Ranging
Useful in areas with dense vegetation cover (forested regions)
Practice Questions
Anthropology-Answer: the study of all aspects of humanity, its past and present
Depends on where you are:
1) North America (archaeology, bioanthropology, linguistic anthropology, cultural anthropology)
2)Europe (Anthropology is just [cultural/social)]
A product of colonialism
UofA has a traditional 4–field approach:
1) Archaeology (also, History and Classics, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, & Anatomy)
2) Biological anthropology
3) Cultural anthropology
4) Linguistic anthropology
Archaeology-Answer: study of humanity’s past; includes analyses of cultural materials (ex. stone
artifacts, animal bones, ancient art, settlements, etc)
Also defined as the study of the human past through its material remains
Artifacts-Answer: individual objects intentionally modified by human
Features-Answer: multiple things accumulated or built by humans, not individual objects
,Ecofacts-Answer: objects, places, sediments modified or moved by humans, often unintentionally
Biological Anthropology-Answer: study of humans as biocultural spp (and their relatives, both past and
current), particularly through the study of their bodily remains
Also known as: bioanthropology, physical anthropology, or human osteology
Paleoanthropologist-Answer: specialists who study the human fossil record
Forensic Anthropologist-Answer: applying biological anthropology methods to address current practical
problems, particularly crime scene investigation
Piltdown Man-Answer: Most famous fraud in paleoanthropology
1912, Sussex, human skull and mandible reported by Charles Dawson; claimed to be 400,000–500,000
years old
Dr. Kenneth Oakley (1953): found that Piltdown was a fake created from 3 distinct spp: human cranium,
orangutan mandible, and chimpanzee fossil teeth
Stained with an iron solution and chromic acid to make them look older
Fluorine dating used to show parts weren’t contemporaneous
,Radiocarbon dating: found the skull was 600 years old, orangutan jaw was modern
Collaborative Archeology-Answer: umbrella term for indigenous archaeology, community–based
archaeology, community archaeology, public archaeology
Indigenous Archaeology-Answer: combines archaeology with the value and knowledge sets and
concerns of Indigenous peoples whose ancestors built on, lived in, and used the landscape
Ethics-Answer: Respect the dead and their remains:
1) Custody of the dead (repatriation)
2) Archaeologists may speak for the dead
3) Many legal statutes governing treatment of human remains, varies by province, country, etc
NAGPRA-Answer: USA
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act 1990
In law, all organisations receiving federal funding have to conduct an inventory of their holdings:
1) Human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony
2) Sets process for return of items to lineal descendants, and culturally affiliated with Indian tribes and
Native Hawaiian organizations
Policy #128-Answer: Canada
Official University on reparations: The Museum acknowledges that all First Nations’ material is part of
the intellectual and cultural heritage of the respective First Nation
Archaeological sites-Answer: locations that contain material evidence of the human past (fossils,
artifacts, built structures, features, modified landscapes, etc)
, Ex. Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, Sagan–Zaba II in Siberia, Paisley Cave in Oregon
Surveys-Answer: process of locating sites
Land and underwater surveys
Remote sensing-Answer: (aerial and satellite) a range of techniques used in archaeology associated with
imagery
Ex. photography, satellites)
Ground survey-Answer: Can be guided by documents, oral history
Accidental finds (by hikers, construction, farmers)
Ground surface = walking, looking, recording
Aerial photography-Answer: Planes, hot–air balloons, helicopters, drones
Shadow sites, crop anomalies, soil marks
Sometimes taken for other reasons and used secondarily for archeologists
Satellite Imagery-Answer: NASA’s LANDSAT
Google Earth
Far more zoomed out than aerial photography
LiDAR-Answer: Light Detection and Ranging
Useful in areas with dense vegetation cover (forested regions)
