Introduction & History
What are 3 reasons why anyone would want to suggest that ancient structures were
built by extraterrestrial aliens, rather than people?
People will think ancient means primitive and don’t have the same intelligence as
we do
Not educated enough on science
General trend to distrust scientist
A good conspiracy is more interesting than actual history
What is the connection between geology, evolution, and archaeology?
Recognition of older and younger layers of rocks, assumption that ancient
geological conditions were uniform to those observed today
Without theory of evolution, there would be no real concept of antiquity
Why did the “new” archaeology of the 1960s argue that archaeologists could do more
than describe ancient cultures?
Archeology should focus more on deductive scientific work
Beside describing ancient cultures, archeologist can also interpret it
Learn more about the people than artifacts
How does ethnoarchaeology relate to middle range theory?
Middle range research allows archaeologists to secure statements about past
dynamics on the basis of observations made on archaeological material
Processes we can observe in the present and analyze the material patterning left
by those processes
Ethnoarchaeology is extremely recent archaeological sites
Observes the behaviours that occured at given site, then excavates to determine
the correlates in the ground
Site Formation Processes
What is an archaeological site?
A place where there are past human behavior
What is an artifact? What is a feature?
Object modified by human, portable
Why are archaeologists concerned with site formation processes?
How the site is formed may affect the result, the site may be reused, reformed
How can humans alter archaeological materials? What is this called?
C-transform
How can nature alter archaeological materials? What is this called?
N-transform
What is taphonomy? Why do archaeologists study taphonomic processes?
Everything that happens between the living thing dies and when archeologist
discover it. It might provide information about human behaviour, for example animal
bones that is burned can provide information about cooking or ritual.
How do archaeologists distinguish between stone tools and broken rocks?
Bulb of percussion
Patterning - if the area has more than a few
Finding & Excavating Sites
How are archaeological sites discovered?
By accident or systematic survey
What happens to a report on a site after analysis is completed?
Level form: record of everything you encounter and recovered or not recovered in
a excavation level. A another form record detailed information of features.
What types of site reports are hardest to obtain? Easiest?
How can techniques like GIS and LiDAR assist archaeologists in understanding the
past?
LIDAR can help archaeologist see the ground form in heavy vegetation, can help
find sites in jungle, large area. GIS helps bring different spatial data and examine
them together, can choose as little and as much information as they need.
Environmental Archaeology, Subsistence
What is the difference between climate and environment?
Climate: temperature and precipitation
Environment: geological and biological surrounding
Name 3 types of data used by archaeologists to reconstruct past climates?
Ecofact: non-artifactual organic or environmental remains which have cultural
relevance.
Indicator Species: species on the planet are restricted to ranges in habitat
because of their physiological requirements.
Historical records: where they exist
Geoarchaeology: non-organic ecofact
Paleobotanists: study of plant remains
Zooarchaeologists: study of animal remains
What are indicator species? How are these useful in archaeology?
Species are restricted to ranges in habitat because of their physiological
requirements. They can only survive in certain climate and environment so
archaeology can get a proxy data of the past.
What is the difference between diet and subsistence?
Diet: specifically what you eat
Subsistence: how you obtain what you eat
What do archaeologists mean by the term “seasonality”? How can this be determined?
The changes that occur in the local, regional, and planet-wide environment
through solar year. From indicator species.
How can mortality curves inform us about ancient herd structure and hunting practices?
The distribution can show if people were selectively hunting down herd or mass
hunting depending on the mortality curve.
What is the difference between catastrophic and attritional mortality? Why is this
important to archaeology?
Catastrophic: shows the distribution of herd, suggesting natural disaster or
unselective slaughtering
Attritional: shows the distribution of herd, shows selective hunting of the young
and old and natural death
Understanding hunting strategy, dietary studies, herd management and effort of
domestication
What stable isotopes are used in carbon and nitrogen analysis?
Carbon: ratio of 13C to 12C
Nitrogen: ratio of 15N to 14N
What kind of isotopes can be used to determine the types of plants used in human
diets?
Carbon can tell between C3, C4 and CAM plant in diet
Stable nitrogen analysis: ratio of 15N to 14N
Allows estimated proportion of plants and animal in diet
What are C3, C4, and CAM plants?
C3: moderate temperature and sunlight, wheat, trees, shrub vegetable, d13C
-27%
C4: hot and dry regions, tropical grasses, corn, d13C -12%
CAM: Adapted to very dry conditions, succulents and cacti
What can stable carbon isotopes tell archaeologists about past human diets?
Can use to estimate the proportion between C3 and C4 plant in human diet, and
distinguish between the consumption of marine versus terrestrial organisms in an
individual's diet
What can stable nitrogen isotopes tell archaeologists about past human diets?
identifies the trophic level of an individual, the proportion of plant and animal in
your diet, Hierarchical level in ecosystem.
Why can it be difficult to recognize domesticated animals in archaeology? How does
this relate to the reasons behind animal domestication?
The reason for selecting what animal to domestic is not preserved in
archaeological context.
What are the social reasons behind maize (corn) domestication in the Americas?
Provide sweetener and can make alcoholic beverage. Production is easy to
increase, mature quickly, does not destroy the plant when harvesting juice.
Social Organization
Why do hunter-gatherer groups (bands) typically have minimalist material cultures?
Because they live in temporary settlement, things that are minimalist are more
likely to be portable.
In which level of social organization do we typically see religious activities that are
based on the calendar?
Tribes and states
Why do we typically see standardization and laws in state level societies?
Because there’s more people in state level societies with a more powerful ruler in
place.
Why does settlement archaeology typically rely on features or sites, rather than
artifacts, for analysis?
Because it’s the study of spatial distribution of archaeological remains and their
interrelationship.
Can we see evidence for social status in houses? Towns? Across the landscape? How?
Houses: different size of houses
Towns:
Landscape: large city with little city around it
Compare and contrast the ecological determinants approach with the locational analysis
approach
Ecological: emphasizes the location of human settlements in response to
specific ecological factors, assume that changes in environment determine the
changes in human society
Locational: the study to determine the relationship between the site and the
environment. the search for additional information from the geographical placing
and spacing of sites
Why does it matter whether status was achieved or ascribed? How do archaeologists
typically think they can see the latter?
From how people achieve their status, archaeologist can get an idea of how the
socioeconomic system is in the ancient society. Ascribed status can be seen in
burial if baby,teens have valuable material in there.
Why would a non-elite try to emulate an elite?
Because non-elite want to be like elite especially during time where different
social status is not that clear.
Why might his having survived a variety of injuries suggest that Shanidar 1 (Neandertal
skeleton) was of high social status?
Because he would not survive on his own and needed help from others, having
one more person to provide food for that cannot hunt would be a burden, so
there’s might be some type of higher status for other to not left him.
Why might infants and children be rare inclusions in burial grounds?
It might be ceremonial ground
Dating
A table has been present longer than the coffee cup sitting on it. Is this an absolute or
relative date?
Relative dating because there’s no accurate time that say when the coffee or
table are placed. We only know that the table came before the coffee.
If an archaeological site is excavated, and materials are recovered, which of the
following can be radiocarbon dated? Stone tools, pottery sherds, animal bones, plant
remains, houses made of stone and mud, charcoal from fire pits.
Animal bones, plant remains, charcoal,
Why do radiocarbon dates need to be calibrated?
Atmospheric levels of radiocarbon have fluctuated through time
Why do so many techniques, such as trapped charge dating or obsidian hydration, exist
when radiocarbon and potassium-argon dating are so accurate?
Both have limitation. Radiocarbon only works on living organism, maximum is
50000 years, reliable up to 20000, statistical estimate. Potassium argon does not
date human remains directly, only works on volcanic area.
Why is it difficult to compare the chronology of events in societies where one has a
calendar and the other does not?
Because an ancient calendar can be translated into an accurate modern
calendar year, while one does not has to be dated with method such as carbon
dating which can be inaccurate.
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