Module 1

September 12, 2022 10:17 PM

• Distinguish between science and pseudoscience, using

examples of each.
• Science is a means of obtaining reliable, factual, objective
information about the world around us
○ Relies on observation, reasoning, evaluation of reliability in
conclusions
○ Self correcting, errors are exposed and re-investigated

• Explain how scientists arrive at explanations

• With the scientific method
○ Observe
○ Induce hypothesis
○ Deduce specific things that must also be true if hypo is true
○ Test the hypothesis

• Explain how pseudoscience has racist tendencies.

• Pseudoscience suggests that ancient peoples were not
capable of building pyramids etc., and required help from a
lost civilization or aliens
• Explain and distinguish between cultural anthropology,
linguistic anthropology, biological (or physical) anthropology,
and archaeology.
• Cultural Anthropology: study modern social groups
○ Groups are people of a different cultural background
○ Social behaviours, belief systems, kinship system and ways of obtaining
or producing food.
• Linguistic Anthropology: study of languages
○ These are languages that are strictly verbal, and have no written form
• Biological Anthropology: study of physiology of humans, their ancestors and
relatives
 ○ Studying skeletons, assessing diet, disease, population genetics
• Archaeology: study of human behaviour as reflected in material culture,
specifically artifacts
○ Doesn't necessarily need to study the past
○ Study of past human behaviour from material items left behind

• Provide a definition for archaeology.

• Study of past human behaviour from material items left behind
• Explain what an archaeological site is and how sites are
typically discovered.
• Hunting stands; tool preparation sites; burial sites (whether
burial was intentional or accidental); food processing and
procurement sites; camp sites; rock art sites; and even cities
• Discovered by:
○ Frequently by accident, or systematic survey
○ When sufficient amount of evidence is found in a area,
it is a site
• Discuss and explain concepts of site mapping, excavation, and
the recording process used for stratigraphic profiles.
• Site mapping:
○ Done prior to excavation
○ Remote sensing might be performed for this to
understand where things are buried
• Excavation
○ Done by digging small amounts at a time
○ Often arbitary in depth, such as 10cm at a time (allows
for keeping better record of materials found)
• Stratigraphic Profiles
○ After excavation
○ Careful record are made of different layers of soil, their
colour and consistency

• Explain the principle of stratigraphy.

 • the branch of geology concerned with the order and relative
position of strata and their relationship to the geological time
scale.
• Explain why archaeological materials are separated using
mesh – the concept of screening.
• Excavated soils are run through mesh of different sizes, to ensure that small
items are not missed
• Define and distinguish between the concepts
of artifact and feature.
• An artifact is a portable object that has been modified by
human behaviour
Non-portable artifacts (such as evidence for a fire pit) are
referred to as features or sites
• Explain how artifacts are recognized, with particular emphasis
on lithic artifacts.
• Stone tools are typically referred to as lithic artifacts
• Many times rocks broken by natural agents will appear to
resemble artifacts produces by human manipulation
• The most important means of distinguishing these from
true artifacts lie in:
○ The presence or absence of a "bulb of percussion"
(created only by human activity) and
○ The presence of distinctive patterning
• Explain the concepts of bulb of percussion and conchoidal
fracture.
• Impact of stone upon stone while making a stone tool
produces a distinctive type of fracture
• Vaguely shell-shaped (conchoidal)
• Type of breakage is extremely rate in naturally occurring
• Explain the difference between relative and absolute dating.
• Relative Dating: the process of determining if one object is
older or younger than another, without their specific ages
○ Ex: object A is older than object B, but either age is
 unknown
• Absolute Dating: Actual age can be assigned to an item,
such as stone tool is 100,000 years old
○ Ex: a tablet being 100,000 years old
• Explain in general terms how radiocarbon dating works, the
types of materials suitable for
radiocarbon dating, and the limitations of this technique.
• Carbon dating is measuring the amount of carbon-14 left in
an organic object, which tells us the age of it.
• Carbon dating is used on organic material
• Limits:
○ Decays relatively fast
○ Can only measure specimens dating less than 50,000
years of age
○ Reliable only on specimens up to about 20,000 years of
age
○ Its a statistical estimate
• Explain the concept of an archaeological culture.
• Cultures is defined based on physical traces that we can
actually see
○ House style and shape
○ Types of stone tools and pottery the group made
○ Type of lifestyle (e.g. Hunter/gatherer)
• If the following traces above seem similar they are noted to
be from the same culture
• Culture is refered to often as a way of describing a
particular place and time in prehistory, where material
culture looks the same
• Example:
○ The ancient Maya culture, and how it is generalized in
Mexico
• Explain how archaeological cultures differ from living cultures.
• Archaeologists don't believe that the groups identifying do
not necessarily correspond to actual groups of people-who
would recognize each other as being part of the same
world.
• Define and explain the concept of an archaeological phase.
• Classification system which breaks prehistoric sequence of
the Americas into distinct time periods
○ Sequences are chronological
○ Shows the timing and appearance & disappearance of
different traits
• Explain the term hunter-gatherer.
•
• Distinguish between the terms band, tribe, chiefdom, and early state.
• Offer basic definitional descriptors for each of the levels of society
described above.
• Define and explain the terms context and association.
• Context is the primary importance in interpreting archaeological
data
○ Usually refers to the place an artifact was found
• Context is the spatial relationship between different items
encountered by archeologists
• Association is the relation between items and factors like the soil
they were found in, the part of the site they were in, whether they
were complete, & so on
• Context and association gives artifacts their authenticity and
archaeological significance.
• Explain the concept of site formation processes, and differentiate
between cultural transformations (C-transforms) and natural
transformations (N-transforms).
• Site formation processes are phenomenons which affects a site
before, during, and after human interaction
• N-transforms or natural transformations are changes to a site
brought about by the natural world
○ Weathering
 ○ Burning from forest fires
○ Breakage in artifacts from animals burrowing
• C-transforms or cultural transformations are changes brought by
human activity
○ Bone breakage from marrow extraction
○ Intentional burning of body for ritual
○ Breakage of stone tool during use
• Explain the roles of loss and abandonment in the formation of
archaeological sites.
• Loss: Items unintentionally let behind can result in the creation of
sites
• Abandonment: sites simply abandoned, and never returned to
○ Common among mobile populations
• Define and explain the concepts of archaeological
context and systemic context, clearly distinguishing the two.
• Archaelogical Context: how a site was before it was discovered, no
matter how long ago it was found or how long ago it was existing.
• Systemix context will influence archaelogical content (how we find
it after abandonment)
• The pattern of behaviour during site use will have a great influence
on the nature of the site
• Discuss and explain how factors like refuse disposal, intentional
remodeling, modern reuse, ritual destruction, and other formation
processes form and alter archaeological sites.
• Intentional Remodeling
○ Sites being intentionally changed
○ Easier to see with architecture sites, can be present with
hunter-gatherer sites
• Ritual Destruction
○ Better known for large-scale sites, mainly cities
○ Buildings and entire areas which are abandoned, are
sometimes ritually destroyed
○ Difficult to distinguish from vandalism
• Modern Re-use
○ Sites being regularly altered by modern development
○ Damage can range from minor leaving site undamaged, to
 considerable damage destroying the site
• Refuse Disposal
○ Repeated occupations of an area results in multiple
depositional units, and often mix deposits
 Fire pits
• C-transforms
○ Destroyed through use
○ Breakage is a common way for artifacts to be altered
○ Stone tools were sharpened for re-use
• Modern day use
○ Construction over sites
• Ecofacts
○ Bones being altered in archaeological sites
• Tree Roots
○ Tehy can disturb deposits, and frequently grow directly into
skeletal remains
○ When trees are overturned, this can result in pulling up site
materials
• Wave Action and ground water
○ Wave actions can remove very large areas of archaeological
deposits (coastal sites)
○ Sites along rivers, can be undercut by changing rates of flow
and course
○ Where groundwater is not deep can also result in disturbance
of sites, can destroy organic remains

• Explain and define the concept of cultural resource

management (AKA archaeological resource
management AKA heritage resource management).
• Cultural Resource Management \
○ Managing places, items, and phenomena of archaeological,
architectural, or historical interest in compliance with
environmental and historic preservation laws

• Discuss the role that consulting has within the discipline of

 archaeology.