Archaeology Final Exam Questions And
Answers (Updated And Verified)
What is faunal assemblage?
The animal remains recovered from archaeological site (different from paleontological b/c humans
might have a hand in it)
What is a kill site?
Places where animals were killed in the past
What is an zooarchaelogist what do they perform usually?
An individual who studies the faunal (animal) remains recovered and faunal analysis = identification
and interpretation of animal remains
What is the significance of Agate Basin Site?
Showed the seasonality of the site being used and determined/reconstruction of human behavior
using bones
What are the 3 steps in identifying bones?
1. Element - skeletal part of the body (humerus/sternum)
2. Taxon (species, genus, family, order)
3. Size classes (1-5 category based on size)
What are the 2 ways that zooarchaeologists count bones?
1. Number of Identified Specimens (NISP) - the raw number of identified bones (specimens) per
species (ex: 100 bison, 25 antelope)
2. Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI) - the smallest number of individuals necessary to account
for all identified bones (ex: 4 right radial - determine if different number of animal or same animal)
What is the axial skeleton?
head, mandibles, vertebrae, ribs, sacrum, and tail
What is the appendicular skeleton?
all the parts of an animal excluding the axial skeleton
What is a paleoethnobotanist?
An archaeologist who analyzes and interprets plant remains from archaeological sites to understand
the past interactions between human populations and plants
What is the significance of the Chavin de Huantar site?
Shows the relative abundance of the major animal groups and how the Llamas has taken over when it
came to bones
Paleoethnobotanist
an archaeologist who specialize in recovering and identifying these plant remains, focusing on the
world of plant-people interaction
, Clovis
The earliest well-established Native American culture, distributed throughout much of North America
coprolite
desiccated feces, often containing macrobotanical remains, pollen and the remains of small animals
What is palynology?
The technique through which the fossil pollen grains and spores from archaeological sites are studied.
What is bioarchaeology?
The study of the human biological component evident in the archaeological record.
What is burial population?
A set of human burials that come from a limited region and a limited time period. The more limited
the region and the time period, the more accurate will be inferences drawn from analysis of the
burials
What is paleopathology?
The study of ancient patterns of disease and disorders.
What plants did people eat in the Stillwater marsh
bulrush/cattail which they brought to the site
What is osteology
Study of bones
What is charnel house?
A structure that eastern Native Americans used to lay out the dead where the body would
decompose. The bones would later be gathered and buried or cremated
What is bundle burial?
Burial of a person's bones, bundled together, after the flesh has been removed or allowed to decay
off the bones
Sciatic notch
a U-shaped indentation in each -- tis wider for women than that of men
What are the skeletal difference between male and female?
Male skulls = more robust/heavier brow ridges over the eyes, squarer chins and eye orbits
Why is the sex of the child hard to determine?
The sexually distintive characteristics of bone do not develop until young adulthood (didn't have
puberty yet)
Answers (Updated And Verified)
What is faunal assemblage?
The animal remains recovered from archaeological site (different from paleontological b/c humans
might have a hand in it)
What is a kill site?
Places where animals were killed in the past
What is an zooarchaelogist what do they perform usually?
An individual who studies the faunal (animal) remains recovered and faunal analysis = identification
and interpretation of animal remains
What is the significance of Agate Basin Site?
Showed the seasonality of the site being used and determined/reconstruction of human behavior
using bones
What are the 3 steps in identifying bones?
1. Element - skeletal part of the body (humerus/sternum)
2. Taxon (species, genus, family, order)
3. Size classes (1-5 category based on size)
What are the 2 ways that zooarchaeologists count bones?
1. Number of Identified Specimens (NISP) - the raw number of identified bones (specimens) per
species (ex: 100 bison, 25 antelope)
2. Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI) - the smallest number of individuals necessary to account
for all identified bones (ex: 4 right radial - determine if different number of animal or same animal)
What is the axial skeleton?
head, mandibles, vertebrae, ribs, sacrum, and tail
What is the appendicular skeleton?
all the parts of an animal excluding the axial skeleton
What is a paleoethnobotanist?
An archaeologist who analyzes and interprets plant remains from archaeological sites to understand
the past interactions between human populations and plants
What is the significance of the Chavin de Huantar site?
Shows the relative abundance of the major animal groups and how the Llamas has taken over when it
came to bones
Paleoethnobotanist
an archaeologist who specialize in recovering and identifying these plant remains, focusing on the
world of plant-people interaction
, Clovis
The earliest well-established Native American culture, distributed throughout much of North America
coprolite
desiccated feces, often containing macrobotanical remains, pollen and the remains of small animals
What is palynology?
The technique through which the fossil pollen grains and spores from archaeological sites are studied.
What is bioarchaeology?
The study of the human biological component evident in the archaeological record.
What is burial population?
A set of human burials that come from a limited region and a limited time period. The more limited
the region and the time period, the more accurate will be inferences drawn from analysis of the
burials
What is paleopathology?
The study of ancient patterns of disease and disorders.
What plants did people eat in the Stillwater marsh
bulrush/cattail which they brought to the site
What is osteology
Study of bones
What is charnel house?
A structure that eastern Native Americans used to lay out the dead where the body would
decompose. The bones would later be gathered and buried or cremated
What is bundle burial?
Burial of a person's bones, bundled together, after the flesh has been removed or allowed to decay
off the bones
Sciatic notch
a U-shaped indentation in each -- tis wider for women than that of men
What are the skeletal difference between male and female?
Male skulls = more robust/heavier brow ridges over the eyes, squarer chins and eye orbits
Why is the sex of the child hard to determine?
The sexually distintive characteristics of bone do not develop until young adulthood (didn't have
puberty yet)
