Chapter 4 Flashcards
(144 cards)
1
Q
the Thera Eruption
A
The eruption buried the prehistoric settlement of Akrotiri
2
Q
why was the Thera Eruption the prehistoric Pompeii
A
b. It had well-preserved streets and houses
c. Wall paintings
All buried under meters of volcanic ash
3
Q
What was problematic about the date of the Thera Eruption
A
most recent pottery style relevant to the Minoan palaces was absolutely dated around 1450 BCE but the Akrotiri had no such pottery style
4
Q
Conclusions that were drawn from the Thera eruption
A
Some were drawn that the Thera eruption had nothing to do with the destruction of Minoan palaces
- Others believed the eruption would have been widely felt
5
Q
Why could the Thera Eruption have been widely felt
A
Ash samples from the Thera eruption were identified in samples from the Minoan Crete sites
6
Q
what did tree rings show about the Thera Eruption
A
Was not able to convincingly associate the date from the tree rings (1628-1626 BCE) to the Thera eruption
7
Q
what was studied by the tree rings at the Thera Eruption
A
Tree-ring would have narrow rings from the reduced solar radiation reaching the earth caused by the dust
8
Q
what did ice cores show about the Thera Eruption
A
Revealed a short peak of high acidity for major eruptions on a scale for global effects
9
Q
what did radiocarbon dating show about the Thera Eruption
A
- Concluded the eruption was between 1663 and 1599 BCE until an olive tree placed the eruption between 1627 and 1600 BCE
10
Q
what is the problem with the Dating of the Thera Eruption?
A
The radiocarbon dating dates go against the date set by cross-referencing with Egyptian historical chronology (1520 BCE)
11
Q
Most obvious ways of measuring time:
A
- Alternating light and dark of night and day
Annual cycle of the seasons
12
Q
The main source of error in dating methods
A
Archaeologist
13
Q
To date something in a meaningful way
A
The timescale has to relate to a fixed point in time
14
Q
BCE
A
Before Common Era
15
Q
CE
A
In the Common Era
16
Q
In Paleolithic uses the terms “BP” and “years ago”
A
interchangeably
17
Q
Relative dating
A
First (maybe most important) step archaeological research for ordering things
18
Q
Relative dating include
A
Stratigraphy
Topology
seriation
Linguistic Dating
Changes in earth’s climate
19
Q
Stratigraphy
A
Laying down or depositing of strata or layers (deposits) one above the other
20
Q
principle of superposition
A
a. Provides a relative chronological sequence
b. Oldest and earliest layer is at the bottom
c. Newest and latest layer is at the top
21
Q
why is association important in stratigraphy
A
When artifacts were found in association, they were buried at the same time
22
Q
The most reliable dating of archaeological sites
A
The combination of the stratigraphic sequences and absolute dating
23
Q
Sometimes the deposit itself is important because
A
it also shows human behavior
24
Q
Typology
A
One can make a chronological order of artifacts sometimes by looking at them
25
non-archaeologist way of using typology
a. One artifact looks older than another
b. One artifact's clothing looks more "old-fashioned"
26
Archaeologists define the form of an artifact as an attribute of
a. Material
b. Shape
Decoration
27
how does typology group things together
into types
28
Two ideas underlying the notion of typology in dating
Products of a given period and place have a recognizable style
Changes in style (shape and decoration) of artifacts is often gradual or evolutionary
29
how can artifacts often be identified
by their style and place in the correct typological sequence
30
Particular artifacts produced at about the same time
are often alike
31
the backbone of the chronological system
pottery typologies
32
why is pottery the best chronological system
a. Every area usually has its own well-established ceramic sequence
b. Pottery surface decorations change rapidly
33
what is not useful for typological sequences
stone tools are very slow to change
34
Seriation
The idea of "like goes with like"
35
what does seriation allow
a. Assemblages of artifacts to be arranged in a serial order
b. Used to indicate their ordering in time or relative chronology
36
who was the first to develop a technique for arranging graves in a cemetery in relative order
William Flinders Petrie
37
Battleship curve
a. The idea that an artifact (ex. Ceramic style) will usually start small
b. Rises to a peak as the style gains popularity
c. Declines again after
38
Linguistic Dating
study of languages
39
The basic principle of linguistic dating
If two groups of the same speaking language are separated with no contact, they will continue speaking the same tongue
YET
In each population, with the passage of time, there will be changes.
AS A RESULT
After a few centuries, the groups will no longer be speaking the same language until the languages will be unintelligible to the other
40
Lexicostatistics
study changes of vocabulary
41
Glottochronology
uses a formula to pronounce how many years ago the languages diverged
42
Phylogenetic analysis
the development of tree diagrams from the vocabulary data then systematically comparing unknown dates with points of divergence between languages.
43
Climate and Chronology techniques
1. ice cores
2. deep-sea cores
3. pollen dating
44
Deep-sea cores
Most coherent record of climatic changes on a world-wide scale
45
what do deep-sea cores have
organisms known as FORMANINIFERA
46
what do the organisms know as FORMANINIFERA show in deep-sea cores
A good indicator of the sea temp when the organisms were alive in the variations of the chemical structure of these shells
47
Cold episodes in the deep-sea cores
glacial periods of ice advance
48
Warm episodes in deep-sea cores
interglacial periods of ice retreat
49
ice cores
Annual deposits are represented through the layers of compacted ice
50
what is the max ice cores can date
the last 2000 to 3000 years
51
why do ice cores have a limit to how far back they can date
Earlier time periods are at greater depths
stratification is no longer visible
52
ice cores is a useful tool for the discovery of
preserved volcanic eruption evidence
53
Pollen dating (palynology)
Studying pollen samples from a site, it can often be fitted into a broader pollen-zone sequence and assigned a relative date
54
why is pollen used for dating
Pollen is almost indestructible and survives for many thousand years in all kinds of conditions
55
what is important to note about pollen zones
not uniform across large areas
56
what cannot be used for early periods of dating, such as the interglacial period
radiocarbon dating
57
3 most important and commonly used absolute dating methods
1. Calendars and historical chronologies
2. Tree-ring dating
3. Radiocarbon dating
58
To date population events
1. Genetic dating is used
59
During the Paleolithic period
Uranium-series dating and potassium-argon dating are used
60
Dating almost entirely relies on
connections with chronologies and calendars that people in ancient times established
61
Three points to remember when working with early historical chronologies
a. List of rulers or kings needs to be complete
b. The list shows the number of years in each reign but it still has to be linked with our calendar
c. Artifacts, features or structures to be dated at a site have to be related to the historical chronology
62
Maya Calendar
the most elaborate calendar
63
what is unique about the Mayan calendar
Does not depend on a record of dynasties and rulers like Europe and the Near East
64
what must be understood to understand the Mayan calendar
a. Necessary to comprehend the Maya numerical system
b. Recognize the various glyphs or signs by the various days
c. Follow how the calendar itself was constructed
65
the Calendar Round in Mayan is
for most everyday purposes
66
the Long Count in Mayan is
used for historical dates
67
according to the Mayan calendar, when was the present world going to end
December 23, 2012
68
Terminus post quem
Date after which
69
Terminus post quem means what about the artifact
Means the deposit can be no earlier than the date of the artifact but it can be later than that date
70
Terminus ante quem
Dater before which
71
Terminus ante quem means what for artifacts
The artifact that is buried cannot be more recent than the artifact
72
rivals radiocarbon as the main method of dating the last few thousand years
Dendrochronology
73
Basics of the method (tree-ring dating)
1. The yearly rings of growth can be seen in the cross-section of the trunk
2. Rings are not uniform in thickness
3. A diagram of these rings is developed regarding the thickness of successive rings in a tree
4. Growth can be matched between successively older timbers for the chronology of the area
5. Sequences of living trees matched to old timber produces a long, continuous sequence from the present day
74
Rings become narrower with
increasing age of the tree
75
The amount of tree growth each year is affected
by climate fluctuations
76
Varves
The melting ice sheets each year when the temp rises leads to the formation of annual deposits of sediments in lake beds
77
Radioactive Clocks
Based on the widespread and regular feature of radioactive decay
78
Principle of radioactive decay
Carbon has three isotopes with C14 being unstable with its eight neutrons in the nucleus and not the normal six
79
what is the rate of radioactive decay
a constant rate independent of all enviromental conditions
80
Half-life
The time is taken for the atoms of the radioactive isotope to decay
81
After one half-life there will be
half of the atoms left
82
Radiocarbon's half life is
5,730 years
83
Radiocarbon dating helped
the first time to establish a chronology of world cultures
84
Calibration
comparing radiocarbon dates to known dates
85
what was the problem with Libby's assumption of radiocarbon dating
14C was assumed to be constant in the atmosphere, but it is in fact varying depending on changes in the earth's magnetic field and the sun
86
Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS)
· Requires smaller samples and controls the amount of C14 directly
87
C-14 contamination
organic material can be contaminated by touch
88
Geiger counters were an older way of radiocarbon dating that
had errors by counting daiation
89
what does it mean that in about 50 000 years and all the C-14 will have vanished
can only sample up to 50 000 years because anything after this means there is no meaningful amount left
90
C-14 dating can only be done
on things that are alive because c-14 is only ingested by living things
91
what happens when an organism dies
the C-14 starts to decay
92
how do archaeologists do radiocarbon dating
count the C-14 that's left in the sample
93
Potassium-Argon dating dates from
5 mya to 100 000 years ago
94
what is the standard deviation of potassium-argon dating
30 000 years
95
potassium-argon dating focuses on
potassium 40 and how it decays slowly but consitently
96
Potassium-argon dating is used to date
lava and any lava remains
97
Uranium series dating is used to date
remains with calcium carbonate and teeth
98
Uranium series dating dates from
500 000 to 50 000 ya
99
what dating method is used for cave paintings
uranium-series dating
100
uranium series dating is done through the dating of
radioactive decay of isotopes of uranium
101
fission track dating dates from
usually over 300 000 years ago
102
fission track dating is used to date
minerals and natural glasses that have small amounts of uranium
103
how does fission track dating work
1. find the tracks left in the mineral or glass
2. the tracks are left by decay process
3. counting the fission tracks tells how old it is
104
thermoluminescence dating dates from
500 000 ya to 50 ya (or the present)
105
thermoluminescence dating is used to date
minerals within pottery
106
how does thermoluminescence dating work
1. minerals in pottery store energy by trapping electrons
2. when the pottery is fired, it releases that energy
107
over time, in TL dating the energy in pottery
will build back up again
108
what is TL dating specifically looking for
the date the pottery was fired
109
what is significant about 500 000 ya in TL dating
its the max amount of energy the pottery can have
110
obsidian hydration is used to date
obsidian objects
111
obsidian hydration dates
1 mya to present
112
how does obsidian hydration work
1. when fractured, obsidian absorbs water
2. forms a measurable hydration layer
113
what is important to note in obsidian hydration
the absorption is not uniform so it needs to be calibrated
114
what do TL and obsidian hydration dating have in common
counting what has built up again in the artifacts
115
Archaeomagnetic dating dates up to
2000 ya
116
what is archaeomagnetic dating used for
dating clay
117
how does archaeomagnetic dating work
1. clay is heated and it records the direction, intensity of earth's magnetic field
2. compare known earth magnetic history with the clay's history
118
Egyptian calendars
1. solar
2. lunar
3. religious
4. civic
5. regnal
119
what is confusing about the regnal calendar in Egypt
with a calendar year based on king's reign, kings don't always rule for a full year so we can't count how many reigns of king
120
Julian reforms
turns the 10 lunar month calendar into 12 months
121
Gregorian reforms
adds a leap year to the calendar
122
ante meridiem
AM - before middle of day
123
post meridiem
PM - after middle of day
124
what is a fundamental linguistic rule
Words are suddenly flipped and have the opposite meaning
125
two types of seriation
Contextual
Frequency
126
Contextual seriation
You are looking and dating a bunch of things by showing how types of things are related to similar things of that same period
127
with contextual seriation, what can be proved
the object could be dated to a couple different periods, while a series could only be dated to ONE period
128
what is a flaw in contextual seriation
can't tell what is older without contextual evidence
129
Frequency seriation
Something is introduced and gains in popularity and reaches its peak
Then it declines in popularity and becomes less and less popular
130
frequency battleship curves are based on
percentage
131
____ change over time and ______ changes much more quickly than _____ changes
styles and fashion and technology
132
dating bone deposits
measures nitrogen, fluorine and uranium content of bones
133
what are bone deposits used to figure out
whether or not bones found together date to the same time
134
index fossils
Early ways to date artifacts, fossils that appear over again in the same layers would appear again and again in the same order.
135
index fossils are used to
identify or date the rock or rock later in which it is found
136
Optical dating
Uses data minerals that have been exposed to light rather than hea
137
how does optical dating work
1. Start point = some trapped energy that will be released by exposure to sunlight
2. As the minerals are buried = accumulate electrons again from the radiation in the soil
138
Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) dating
* Used for material that decomposes when heated
139
what is ESR most successful with
tooth enamel
140
Useful for cross-checking other dating methods
Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) dating
141
Genetic Dating
Estimate timespans for human generations that can make inferences about calendar years
142
Global events
Building a relationship between sequences based on the occurrence of the same significance even with widespread geographical repercussions
143
Tephra
volcanic ash
144
Tephrochronology
Distinguish unequivocally in the tephra resulting from different volcanic eruptions present in terrestrial deposits or deep-sea core
