ANTH 202.01 Exam
faunal assemblage - ANS-the animal remains recovered from an archaeological site
kill sites - ANS-places where animals were killed in the past
Zooarchaeologist - ANS-An archaeologist who specializes in the study of the animal
remains recovered from archaeological sites.
faunal analysis - ANS-identification and interpretation of animal remains from an
archaeological site
Element - ANS-in faunal analysis, a specific skeletal part of the body
taxon - ANS-In faunal analysis, the classification of a skeletal element to a taxonomic
category—species, genus, family, or order.
size classes - ANS-A categorization of faunal remains, not to taxon, but to one of five
categories based on body size.
comparative collection - ANS-a skeletal collection of modern fauna of both sexes and
different ages used to make identifications of archaeofaunas
Number of Identified Specimens (NISP) - ANS-the raw number of identified bones
(specimens) per species
minimum number of individuals (MNI) - ANS-the smallest number of individuals
necessary to account for all identified bones
axial skeleton - ANS-the head, mandibles, vertebrae, ribs, sacrum, and tail of an animal
skeleton
appendicular skeleton - ANS-all parts of an animal, excluding the axial skeleton
Seasonality - ANS-An estimate of what part of the year a particular archaeological site
was occupied.
, Puna - ANS-Native American (Quechua) term for the treeless, windswept tablelands
and basins of the higher Andes
ch'arki - ANS-Native South American (Quechua) term for freeze-dried llama and alpaca
meat
macro botanical remains - ANS-non-microscopic plant remains recovered from an
archaeological site
Paleoethnobotanist - ANS-an archaeologist who analyzes and interprets plant remains
from archaeological sites in order to understand past interactions between human
populations and plants
coprolite - ANS-Desiccated feces, often containing macrobotanical remains, pollen, and
the remains of small animals.
palynology - ANS-the study of fossil pollen grains and spores to reconstruct past
climates and human behavior
pollen diagram - ANS-a chart showing the changing frequencies of different identified
pollens through time from samples taken from archaeological or other sites
Clovis - ANS-The earliest well-established Native American culture, distributed
throughout much of North America and dating 12,900 to 13,200 BP
Phytoliths - ANS-Tiny silica particles contained in plants. Sometimes these fragments
can be recovered from archaeological sites even after the plants themselves have
decayed.
wood rats (pack rats) - ANS-rodents that build nests of organic materials and thus
preserve a record, often for thousands of years, of changing plant species within the
local area of the nest
Holocene - ANS-the post-Pleistocene geological epoch that began about 10,000
radiocarbon years ago and continues today
Lipids - ANS-organic substances-including fats, oils, and waxes-that resist mixing with
water; found in both plant and animal tissue
faunal assemblage - ANS-the animal remains recovered from an archaeological site
kill sites - ANS-places where animals were killed in the past
Zooarchaeologist - ANS-An archaeologist who specializes in the study of the animal
remains recovered from archaeological sites.
faunal analysis - ANS-identification and interpretation of animal remains from an
archaeological site
Element - ANS-in faunal analysis, a specific skeletal part of the body
taxon - ANS-In faunal analysis, the classification of a skeletal element to a taxonomic
category—species, genus, family, or order.
size classes - ANS-A categorization of faunal remains, not to taxon, but to one of five
categories based on body size.
comparative collection - ANS-a skeletal collection of modern fauna of both sexes and
different ages used to make identifications of archaeofaunas
Number of Identified Specimens (NISP) - ANS-the raw number of identified bones
(specimens) per species
minimum number of individuals (MNI) - ANS-the smallest number of individuals
necessary to account for all identified bones
axial skeleton - ANS-the head, mandibles, vertebrae, ribs, sacrum, and tail of an animal
skeleton
appendicular skeleton - ANS-all parts of an animal, excluding the axial skeleton
Seasonality - ANS-An estimate of what part of the year a particular archaeological site
was occupied.
, Puna - ANS-Native American (Quechua) term for the treeless, windswept tablelands
and basins of the higher Andes
ch'arki - ANS-Native South American (Quechua) term for freeze-dried llama and alpaca
meat
macro botanical remains - ANS-non-microscopic plant remains recovered from an
archaeological site
Paleoethnobotanist - ANS-an archaeologist who analyzes and interprets plant remains
from archaeological sites in order to understand past interactions between human
populations and plants
coprolite - ANS-Desiccated feces, often containing macrobotanical remains, pollen, and
the remains of small animals.
palynology - ANS-the study of fossil pollen grains and spores to reconstruct past
climates and human behavior
pollen diagram - ANS-a chart showing the changing frequencies of different identified
pollens through time from samples taken from archaeological or other sites
Clovis - ANS-The earliest well-established Native American culture, distributed
throughout much of North America and dating 12,900 to 13,200 BP
Phytoliths - ANS-Tiny silica particles contained in plants. Sometimes these fragments
can be recovered from archaeological sites even after the plants themselves have
decayed.
wood rats (pack rats) - ANS-rodents that build nests of organic materials and thus
preserve a record, often for thousands of years, of changing plant species within the
local area of the nest
Holocene - ANS-the post-Pleistocene geological epoch that began about 10,000
radiocarbon years ago and continues today
Lipids - ANS-organic substances-including fats, oils, and waxes-that resist mixing with
water; found in both plant and animal tissue
