Archaeology Exam 3 Questions With 100%
Correct Answers
Analogy
Noting similarities between two entities and inferring from that similarity that an additional attribute
of one (the ethnographic case) is also true for the other (the archaeological case).
Principal of Uniformitarianism
The principle asserting that the processes now operating to modify the earth's surface are the same
processes that operated long ago in the geological past.
faunal
in archaeology, animal bones in archaeological sites
Kiva
A Pueblo ceremonial structure that is usually round (but may be square or rectangular) and semi-
subterranean. They appear in early Pueblo sites and perhaps even in the earlier (pre-AD 700) pithouse
villages.
Sipapu
A Hopi word that loosely translates as "place of emergence." The original is the place where the Hopi
are said to have emerged into this world from the underworld. also small pits in kivas through which
communication with the supernatural world takes place.
formal analogies
Analogies justified by similarities in the formal attributes of archaeological and ethnographic objects
and features.
relational analogies
Analogies justified on the basis of close cultural continuity between the archaeological and
ethnographic cases or similarity in general cultural form.
Bonebed
Archaeological and paleontological sites consisting of the remains of a large number of animals, often
of the same species, and often representing a single moment in time—a mass kill or mass death.
Experimental Archaeology
Experiments designed to determine the archaeological correlates of ancient behavior; may overlap
with both ethnoarchaeology and taphonomy.
heat treatment
A process whereby the flintknapping properties of stone tool raw material are improved by subjecting
the material to heat.
flake
A thin, sharp sliver of stone removed from a core during the knapping process.
, core
A piece of stone that is worked ("knapped"). Sometimes serve merely as sources for raw materials;
they also can serve as functional tools.
flute
Distinctive channel on the faces of Folsom and Clovis projectile points formed by removal of one or
more flakes from the point's base.
channel flake
The longitudinal flake removed from the faces of Folsom and Clovis projectile points to create the
flute.
Ethnoarchaeology
The study of contemporary peoples to determine how human behavior is translated into the
archaeological record.
Slash-and-burn
A horticultural method, used frequently in the tropics, in which a section of forest is cut, dried, and
then burned. This returns nutrients to the ground and permits the land to be farmed for a limited
number of years.
Taphonomy
The study of how bones and other materials come to be buried in the earth and preserved as fossils.
What is the difference between analogy and middle-level theory?
- Both seek to make inferences about human behavior from archaeological remains.
- analogy: one way to construct the past by comparing to contemporary societies. The greater number
of similarities, the greater the probability of the analogy being correct.
- middle-level: uses modern data from taphonomy, experimental archaeology, and ethnoarchaeology
to explain why particular natural processes or human behaviors can be inferred from particular
material remains. Relied on the principle of uniformitarianism.
What is the principle of uniformitarianism?
- studying ongoing processes and their consequences
- Assumes the processes of the past and the present are the same.
What do taphonomy, experimental archaeology, and ethnoarchaeology study?
Taphonomy studies the natural processes that help produce archaeological sites.
-Experimental archaeology re-creates behaviors that no longer exist today, such as stone tool
manufacture, or replicates behaviors, events, or processes that need controlled observation.
-Ethnoarchaeology studies living peoples to see how human behavior is translated into material
remains.
faunal assemblage
the animal remains recovered from an archaeological site
Correct Answers
Analogy
Noting similarities between two entities and inferring from that similarity that an additional attribute
of one (the ethnographic case) is also true for the other (the archaeological case).
Principal of Uniformitarianism
The principle asserting that the processes now operating to modify the earth's surface are the same
processes that operated long ago in the geological past.
faunal
in archaeology, animal bones in archaeological sites
Kiva
A Pueblo ceremonial structure that is usually round (but may be square or rectangular) and semi-
subterranean. They appear in early Pueblo sites and perhaps even in the earlier (pre-AD 700) pithouse
villages.
Sipapu
A Hopi word that loosely translates as "place of emergence." The original is the place where the Hopi
are said to have emerged into this world from the underworld. also small pits in kivas through which
communication with the supernatural world takes place.
formal analogies
Analogies justified by similarities in the formal attributes of archaeological and ethnographic objects
and features.
relational analogies
Analogies justified on the basis of close cultural continuity between the archaeological and
ethnographic cases or similarity in general cultural form.
Bonebed
Archaeological and paleontological sites consisting of the remains of a large number of animals, often
of the same species, and often representing a single moment in time—a mass kill or mass death.
Experimental Archaeology
Experiments designed to determine the archaeological correlates of ancient behavior; may overlap
with both ethnoarchaeology and taphonomy.
heat treatment
A process whereby the flintknapping properties of stone tool raw material are improved by subjecting
the material to heat.
flake
A thin, sharp sliver of stone removed from a core during the knapping process.
, core
A piece of stone that is worked ("knapped"). Sometimes serve merely as sources for raw materials;
they also can serve as functional tools.
flute
Distinctive channel on the faces of Folsom and Clovis projectile points formed by removal of one or
more flakes from the point's base.
channel flake
The longitudinal flake removed from the faces of Folsom and Clovis projectile points to create the
flute.
Ethnoarchaeology
The study of contemporary peoples to determine how human behavior is translated into the
archaeological record.
Slash-and-burn
A horticultural method, used frequently in the tropics, in which a section of forest is cut, dried, and
then burned. This returns nutrients to the ground and permits the land to be farmed for a limited
number of years.
Taphonomy
The study of how bones and other materials come to be buried in the earth and preserved as fossils.
What is the difference between analogy and middle-level theory?
- Both seek to make inferences about human behavior from archaeological remains.
- analogy: one way to construct the past by comparing to contemporary societies. The greater number
of similarities, the greater the probability of the analogy being correct.
- middle-level: uses modern data from taphonomy, experimental archaeology, and ethnoarchaeology
to explain why particular natural processes or human behaviors can be inferred from particular
material remains. Relied on the principle of uniformitarianism.
What is the principle of uniformitarianism?
- studying ongoing processes and their consequences
- Assumes the processes of the past and the present are the same.
What do taphonomy, experimental archaeology, and ethnoarchaeology study?
Taphonomy studies the natural processes that help produce archaeological sites.
-Experimental archaeology re-creates behaviors that no longer exist today, such as stone tool
manufacture, or replicates behaviors, events, or processes that need controlled observation.
-Ethnoarchaeology studies living peoples to see how human behavior is translated into material
remains.
faunal assemblage
the animal remains recovered from an archaeological site
