Chapter 1: History of Archaeology

Question 1

Archaeology

Answer 1

• the study of past and present humans through its material remains
• studies people’s behaviour from their material culture
• shares methods from different discipline

Question 2

Material Culture

Answer 2

the buildings and tools and other artifacts that constitute as material remains of former societies

Question 3

Culture

Answer 3

non-biological characteristics unique to a particular society

Question 4

Evolution

Answer 4

• the process of growth and development generally accompanied by increasing complexity
• linked to Darwin’s concept of natural selection as the basis of species survival

Question 5

Archaeology in Relation to Other Disciplines

Answer 5

• History
• Palaeontology
• Classics
• Indigenous studies
• Environmental science/studies
• Geography
• Geology

Question 6

Antiquarianism (Speculative Phase)

Answer 6

• 18th and 19th centuries and earlier
• curiosity driven
• often more about “things” than people

Question 7

Major Ideas From the Early Period of
Archaeology

Answer 7

• Cultural Evolution
• 3 Age System (Stone, Bronze, Iron)
• Application of concepts from geology

Question 8

Cultural Evolution

Answer 8

• problematic
• all cultures went through a series of stages (savagery -> barbarism -> civilization)

Question 9

Three Age System (Stone, Bronze, Iron)

Answer 9

• problematic
• does not apply universally

Question 10

Application of Concepts from Geology

Answer 10

• stratification
• uniformitarianism

Question 11

Stratification

Answer 11

• the laying down or deposition of strata or layers (deposits) one above the other
• a succession of layers should provide a relative chronological sequence with the earliest at the bottom and the latest at the top

Question 12

Uniformitarianism

Answer 12

• the principle that the stratification of rocks is due to processes still going on in seas, rivers, and lakes that geologically ancient conditions were in essence similar to, or “uniform with,” those of our own time
• Charles Lyell

Question 13

Thomas Jefferson

Answer 13

first to scientifically excavate mounts

Question 14

General Pitt-Rivers (1827-1900)

Answer 14

systemic about documenting excavations

Question 15

Culture/Description Historical Archaeology

Answer 15

• first half of the 20th century
• organization of archaeological material in time and space and classification systems
• written material remains of past/present societies
• change explained in terms of migration and diffusion

Question 16

Migration

Answer 16

moving for work or economic opportunities, to join family, to study, escape conflict terrorism or human rights violations

Question 17

Diffusion

Answer 17

the process by which knowledge, innovation, language, or cultural characteristics are spread within or between cultures or communities

Question 18

Direct Historic Approach

Answer 18

• working from the present back to the past based on similarities in artifacts
• groups of similar artifacts could indicate a “culture”

Question 19

V. Gordon Childe (1892-1957)

Answer 19

• created neolithic resolution
• came up with explanations

Question 20

Alfred Kidder (1885-1963)

Answer 20

created diagrams of cites based on similar artifacts

Question 21

Processual/New Archaeology

Answer 21

• 1960s to present
• objective
• focussed on explanation instead of description
• searched for generalization (laws) through the scientific method (formulate and test hypotheses) and statistical analysis rather than simple description
• induction

Question 22

What dynamic does processual arch stress?

Answer 22

the dynamic relationship between social and economic aspects of culture and the environment as the basis for understanding the processes of culture change

Question 23

Important Ideas from the Period of Processual Archaeology

Answer 23

• importance of economic and social systems in societies (trade, subsistence, kinship)
• application of scientific methods and statistical analysis
• use of analogy from ethnoarchaeology and experimental archaeology

Question 24

Lewis Binford

Answer 24

• initiated what came to be known as the “New Archaeology,” which champions the use of quantitative methods and the practice of archaeology as a rigorous science
• ethnoarchaeological research

Question 25

Post-processual Archaeology

Answer 25

* 1980s until now * subjective * not focussed on laws, more historical in nature * “individualizing” approach

Question 26

Important Ideas from the Period of Post-processualism

Answer 26

* positionality (the questions studied, methodologies, inferences are influenced by the researchers background) * focus on the experience and agency of the individual

Question 27

Artifact

Answer 27

any portable object used, modified, or made by humans ex. stone tools and pottery

Question 28

Radiocarbon Dating

Answer 28

an absolute dating method that measures the decay of the radioactive isotope of carbon (14C) in organic material

Question 29

Paleolithic (Old Stone Age)

Answer 29

hunters, gatherers, nomadic

Question 30

Neolithic (New Stone Age)

Answer 30

* agriculture * domesticated plants and animals

Question 31

Reconnaissance

Answer 31

* a broad range of techniques involved in the location of archaeological sites such as the recording of surface artifacts and features, and the sampling of natural and mineral resources * Alfred Kidder

Question 32

Assemblage

Answer 32

a group of artifacts recurring together at a particular time and place, and representing the sum of human activities

Question 33

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)

Answer 33

material that carries the hereditary instructions (the “blueprint”) that determine the formation of all living organisms

Question 34

Induction

Answer 34

generalized reasoning from a series of specific observations to get general conclusions

Question 35

Typology

Answer 35

the systematic organization of artifacts into types on the basis of shared attributes

Question 36

Rescue Archaeology

Answer 36

the location and recording (usually through excavation) of archaeological sites in advance of highway construction, drainage projects, or urban development

Question 37

Cultural Resource Management (CRM)

Answer 37

the safeguarding of the archaeological heritage through the protection of sites and through salvage archaeology, generally within the framework of legislation