Final (Early Archaeology - Ch. 5) Flashcards
1
Q
archaeological record
A
- begins around 3.5 mya
- regionally determined
2
Q
artifact
A
objects that have been deliberately and intelligently shaped by human or near-human activity
2
Q
assemblage
A
group of artifacts related in some way
2
Q
site
A
instance of past human behaviour/activity, where humans conducted some activity and left evidence
2
Q
ecofact
A
- plant and animal remains
- used to make inferences about paleo-environments and diet
2
Q
absolute dating (4 methods)
A
- radio-carbon
- potassium argon
- thermoluminescence
- dendrochronology
3
Q
midden (good and bad definition)
A
- a discrete accumulation of refuse (bad)
- a stratified cultural deposit (better)
- trash, animal remains, plant remains, artifacts, food scraps
3
Q
feature
A
areas of a specific past activity
3
Q
garbology
A
archaeological inquiry into current/contemporary waste disposal practices
4
Q
how can you tell if a plant/animal is domesticated?
A
- domesticated plants are bigger
- domesticated animals are smaller
4
Q
archaeological biases
A
- focus on East Africa and Europe
- inorganic materials (stone, ceramic)
- trash and abandoned sites
4
Q
relative dating (4 methods)
A
- typology
- seriation
- stratigraphy
- association
