ANT 100 - ARCH WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
LATEST UPDATE
Archaeological record - ANSWER What survives from the past, and how can we
interpret it?
Field work: finding and excavating sites
Dating: how old is it
Sum of all physical evidence about the past that survives to the present
Objects plus their context
Historical Archaeology - ANSWER Archaeology with aid of historic records
Often documents do not give the complete picture, and only archaeology can fill the
gaps
E.g. how did commoners live?
Classical Archaeology- ANSWER Specialized subdiscipline
Classical civilizations of Greece and Rome from about 700BCE - 500BCE
Allied with art history, history
Archaeology and Science- ANSWER Science is the systematic pursuit of knowledge
about natural phenomena
Archaeology interacts with many different sciences:
-Geology - understanding what types if stone were selected for tools
-Biology - identification of bones of extinct species
-Physics and chemistry - radiocarbon dating
-Astronomy - was Stonehenge aligned with the summer solstice?
,Archeology and History - ANSWER Both study the past
History is based in written documents; archeology on material culture
History is limited to at most 5,000 years; less than 100 in some regions
History - limited primarily to literate societies
Written records tend to focus on the rich and powerful
Determinants of the archaeological record - ANSWER Not all behaviour will leave traces
Because all intervening cultural and natural processes, the archaeological record is not
usually a direct reflection of past behaviour
Archaeologists must avoid the "Pompeii Premise"
-Everything is still there, where they were supposed to be
-Gives a perfect record for archaeologists
-Have, in a sense, the people of Pompeii
-Different stores and businesses have been preserved
-Usually poor preservation
Artifact - ANSWER Any object made or modified by people
Archaeologists specialize in particular types: stone tools, ceramics, wood technology
Form (size and shape)
Technology (how it was made)
Style (colour, texture, decoration)
Ecofact - ANSWER Natural objects used or affected by people
Zooarchaeology
-Study of animal remains in the archaeological record
-Domestication, hunting patterns, etc.
Paleoethnobotany
-The study of plant remains in the archaeological records
,-Seeds, pollen, phytoliths
Feature - ANSWER Non-portable material remains resulting from human activity
(houses, fireplaces)
Midden - a concentrated area of refuse (garbage heaps)
Simple features - hearths, burials, storage pits, post holes
Complex features - buildings, houses temples, granaries
Sites - ANSWER A place where evidence of past human activity is preserved
Spatial clusters of artifacts, features, or ecofacts
Boundaries may be well or poorly defined
Site may be complex de - city or simple - kill site
Region - ANSWER Largest and most flexible spatial cluster
Defined
-Geographically - river, drainage, a valley, an island
-Ecologically - boreal forest, arctic
Cultural - area occupied the Huron-Wendat
Regions allow the investigation of whole cultural system
Especially relevant to subsistence, social organisation
Archaeological site - ANSWER A place where evidence of past human activity is
preserved
How do artifacts enter the archaeological record? - ANSWER Acquisition
Raw material acquired either directly through trade
Manufacture
Alteration of raw materials
, Use
Use can mark the artifact; use can also be inferred from where the artifact is deposited
Deposition
entry of the material into the archaeological record through loss or discard
Processes that affect the archaeological record - ANSWER Natural factors
-climate - temperature and humidity
-extreme wet, dry, or cold preservation of organics
-biological factors - decay, rodents, carnivores
-soil chemistry - can destroy-acid or preserve - fossilize
-catastrophic events - volcanoes, earthquakes
Cultural factors
-large scale human events - war
-looting - encouraged by the antiquities market
-Disturbance due to industrial or agricultural development - alters the context of
materials within the archaeological site
The consequence, thus, is an immensely disturbed archeological record
Context - ANSWER The provenience and associations of an artifact or feature in space
and time
Provenience
-Three dimensional location of an artifact or feature
Association
-Two or more items occurring together
-Usually found in the same level, feature, etc.
-E.g. artifacts associated with burial
Context is essential to understanding the archaeological record
LATEST UPDATE
Archaeological record - ANSWER What survives from the past, and how can we
interpret it?
Field work: finding and excavating sites
Dating: how old is it
Sum of all physical evidence about the past that survives to the present
Objects plus their context
Historical Archaeology - ANSWER Archaeology with aid of historic records
Often documents do not give the complete picture, and only archaeology can fill the
gaps
E.g. how did commoners live?
Classical Archaeology- ANSWER Specialized subdiscipline
Classical civilizations of Greece and Rome from about 700BCE - 500BCE
Allied with art history, history
Archaeology and Science- ANSWER Science is the systematic pursuit of knowledge
about natural phenomena
Archaeology interacts with many different sciences:
-Geology - understanding what types if stone were selected for tools
-Biology - identification of bones of extinct species
-Physics and chemistry - radiocarbon dating
-Astronomy - was Stonehenge aligned with the summer solstice?
,Archeology and History - ANSWER Both study the past
History is based in written documents; archeology on material culture
History is limited to at most 5,000 years; less than 100 in some regions
History - limited primarily to literate societies
Written records tend to focus on the rich and powerful
Determinants of the archaeological record - ANSWER Not all behaviour will leave traces
Because all intervening cultural and natural processes, the archaeological record is not
usually a direct reflection of past behaviour
Archaeologists must avoid the "Pompeii Premise"
-Everything is still there, where they were supposed to be
-Gives a perfect record for archaeologists
-Have, in a sense, the people of Pompeii
-Different stores and businesses have been preserved
-Usually poor preservation
Artifact - ANSWER Any object made or modified by people
Archaeologists specialize in particular types: stone tools, ceramics, wood technology
Form (size and shape)
Technology (how it was made)
Style (colour, texture, decoration)
Ecofact - ANSWER Natural objects used or affected by people
Zooarchaeology
-Study of animal remains in the archaeological record
-Domestication, hunting patterns, etc.
Paleoethnobotany
-The study of plant remains in the archaeological records
,-Seeds, pollen, phytoliths
Feature - ANSWER Non-portable material remains resulting from human activity
(houses, fireplaces)
Midden - a concentrated area of refuse (garbage heaps)
Simple features - hearths, burials, storage pits, post holes
Complex features - buildings, houses temples, granaries
Sites - ANSWER A place where evidence of past human activity is preserved
Spatial clusters of artifacts, features, or ecofacts
Boundaries may be well or poorly defined
Site may be complex de - city or simple - kill site
Region - ANSWER Largest and most flexible spatial cluster
Defined
-Geographically - river, drainage, a valley, an island
-Ecologically - boreal forest, arctic
Cultural - area occupied the Huron-Wendat
Regions allow the investigation of whole cultural system
Especially relevant to subsistence, social organisation
Archaeological site - ANSWER A place where evidence of past human activity is
preserved
How do artifacts enter the archaeological record? - ANSWER Acquisition
Raw material acquired either directly through trade
Manufacture
Alteration of raw materials
, Use
Use can mark the artifact; use can also be inferred from where the artifact is deposited
Deposition
entry of the material into the archaeological record through loss or discard
Processes that affect the archaeological record - ANSWER Natural factors
-climate - temperature and humidity
-extreme wet, dry, or cold preservation of organics
-biological factors - decay, rodents, carnivores
-soil chemistry - can destroy-acid or preserve - fossilize
-catastrophic events - volcanoes, earthquakes
Cultural factors
-large scale human events - war
-looting - encouraged by the antiquities market
-Disturbance due to industrial or agricultural development - alters the context of
materials within the archaeological site
The consequence, thus, is an immensely disturbed archeological record
Context - ANSWER The provenience and associations of an artifact or feature in space
and time
Provenience
-Three dimensional location of an artifact or feature
Association
-Two or more items occurring together
-Usually found in the same level, feature, etc.
-E.g. artifacts associated with burial
Context is essential to understanding the archaeological record
