Deck 1: Acquiring and Interpreting Data in Archaeology

Question 1

____________________ is the study of animal bones found at archaeological sites.

A) Geoarchaeology
B) Human osteology
C) Vertebrate anatomy
D) Zooarchaeology

Answer 1

D

Question 2

____________________ is a discipline that focuses on the study of pollen from archaeological sediments to reconstruct earlier environments.

A) Ethnoarchaeology
B) Paleoanthropology
C) Palynology
D) Remote sensing

Answer 2

C

Question 3

____________________ is the study of human cultural and biological evolution, especially early hominins, by archaeologists and biological anthropologists.

A) Archaeology
B) Ethnobotany
C) Paleoanthropology
D) Zooarchaeology

Answer 3

C

Question 4

____________________ is a specialty in which researchers study humanity's past, including analyses of cultural materials such as flaked stone artifacts, animal bones, prehistoric art, and personal ornamentations.

A) Archaeology
B) Biological anthropology
C) Cultural anthropology
D) Linguistic anthropology

Question 5

Which of the following is a limitation of written records?

A) They may be biased.
B) They are a relatively recent development in the human past.
C) They rarely record the activities of everyday people.
D) All of the above.

Question 6

One of the basic truths in archaeology is that _________________ is everything.

A) context
B) excavation
C) pedestrian survey
D) technology

Question 7

Archaeologists who work in the field of _______________ have projects that are based on recovering data about areas that will be impacted by new construction.

A) AD
B) BCE
C) CRM
D) NAGPRA

Question 8

Archaeobotanists explore the past using remains of plant materials. Which of the materials below is not a plant remain?

A) Macrobotanical remains
B) Microfauna
C) Phytoliths
D) Pollen

Question 9

Site taphonomy refers to:

A) classifying archaeological sites based on physical appearance.
B) the natural and cultural processes that affect archaeological sites.
C) a special type of precision instrument with a telescope that can be flipped.
D) the layers or levels at an archaeological site.

Question 10

_________________ dating techniques provide a sequence of "older" and "younger" rather than calendar dates.

A) Absolute
B) Chronometric
C) Radiometric
D) Relative

Question 11

This relative dating technique relies on recognizing styles of artifacts that have changed in abundance over time.

A) Archaeomagnetism
B) Dendrochronology
C) Potassium-argon dating
D) Seriation

Question 12

This dating technique looks at soil layers-like a layer cake-with the oldest layers being at the bottom.

A) Archaeomagnetism
B) Stratigraphy
C) Optically stimulated luminescence dating
D) Thermoluminescence dating

Question 13

Which absolute dating method is the most precise, usually to a specific calendar year?

A) ¹⁴C dating
B) Carbon dating
C) Dendrochronology
D) Paleomagnetism

Question 14

If an event occurred in 2000 BC, it occurred approximately _______________ years ago.

A) 1000
B) 2000
C) 4000
D) 6000

Question 15

This theoretical viewpoint focuses on the complex interactions between humans, other species, and their environment.

A) Ecological archaeology
B) Human behavioral ecology
C) Processual archaeology
D) Postprocessual archaeology

Question 16

An approach to archaeology that is heavily reliant on hypothesis testing and the scientific method is _________________________.

A) Ecological archaeology
B) Niche construction theory
C) Processual archaeology
D) Postprocessual archaeology

Question 17

A theoretical approach that focuses on different possible interpretations of evidence and a critique of pure scientific objectivity is ______________________________.

A) Processual archaeology
B) Postprocessual archaeology
C) Scientific method
D) Three Age System

Question 18

___________________ is an approach that focuses on the complex interplay of human agency and the environment.

A) Agency
B) Darwinian
C) Gender
D) Ecodynamics

Question 19

_______________________ emphasizes the role of Native communities as active participants in archaeological interpretation.

A) Geoarchaeology
B) Human behavioral ecology
C) Indigenous archaeology
D) Paleoanthropology

Question 20

The most common method of finding archaeological sites is:

A) processual archaeology.
B) pedestrian survey.
C) written records.
D) submarines.

Question 21

How do archaeologists make use of LiDAR technology?

A) LiDAR can quickly excavate through rocky soils.
B) LiDAR can accurately date archaeological materials.
C) LiDAR can extract DNA samples from human bone.
D) LiDAR can "see through" dense vegetation.

Question 22

When mapping a site, archaeologists establish a _____________________, or reference point on the ground with known spatial coordinates.

A) datum
B) total station
C) transit
D) UTM

Question 23

Which of these materials could potentially be dated using ¹⁴C dating?

A) Charcoal
B) Stone tool fragment
C) Human bone
D) A and C

Question 24

Which of these dating methods extends the farthest into the past?

A) Dendrochronology
B) ¹⁴C dating
C) Potassium-argon dating
D) Written records

Question 25

A specialist who could look at ancient bones to tell whether a dog was domesticated or wild would be a _____________________________.

A) Paleocanidologist
B) Zooarchaeologist
C) Paleobotanist
D) Biological Anthropologist

Question 26

Regardless of theoretical perspective, most modern archaeologists would agree that the discipline should be _______________________________.

A) processual
B) ethnocentric
C) multidisciplinary
D) postprocessual

Question 27

Which of these steps should occur first in archaeological research?

A) Excavation
B) Interpretation
C) Publication of results
D) Research design

Question 28

______________________: a theoretical perspective that discusses the role of individual and group decisions in shaping change in cultures and societies.

A) Agency
B) Evolutionary archaeology
C) Landscape archaeology
D) Processual archaeology

Question 29

A theoretical approach to archaeology rooted in the idea that gender is a social construct would most likely be described as:

A) Agency
B) Culture history approach
C) Postprocessual archaeology
D) Processual archaeology

Question 30

_______________________ was a central theme of Chapter 1: Acquiring and Interpreting Data in Archaeology.

A) The Akkadian Empire
B) Cultural heritage
C) Ecodynamics
D) The Neanderthal genome

Question 31

The three-age system is an example of absolute dating.

Question 32

Since recent advances in remote sensing, pedestrian surveys are generally not used to find archaeological sites.

Question 33

The site of Great Zimbabwe is indigenous in construction and was not built by outsiders.

Question 34

As novelist Leslie P. Hartley (1895-1972) noted, the past is much like an alien planet.

Question 35

For archaeological dating purposes, when we say "before present" we measure the time as years before 1950.

Question 36

Thermoluminescence is useful in dating ceramic materials found at archaeological sites.

Question 37

Landscape archaeology uses cues from the landscape to better understand symbolism and ritual in past cultures.

Question 38

Unlike modern cultures, prehistoric cultures had few if any activities that were gender-specific.

Question 39

Before the rise of computer technology, people were unable to develop personal networks.

Question 40

Sites where soft organic tissue is preserved tend to be very dry, very cold, or lack oxygen.

Question 41

Why is context so critically important in archaeological research?

Question 42

How does archaeology benefit from being multidisciplinary?

Question 43

Why is site taphonomy a necessary part of archaeological interpretation?

Question 44

What is the value of paleoenvironmental research to modern societies?

Question 45

What are the three dimensions of the Cartesian coordinate system?

Question 46

What is the purpose of cultural resource management (CRM)?

Question 47

What are some differences between human behavioral ecology (HBE) and niche construction theory (NCT)?

Question 48

Briefly describe what geoarchaeologists study.

Question 49

How do archaeologists fulfill their ethical responsibility regarding cultural heritage?

Question 50

Plenty of YouTube videos, and people without experience in archaeology, will tell you that carbon dating "doesn't work." Can you briefly explain why ¹⁴C dating does work, as well as its limitations as a dating method?

Question 51

There are many possible answers to the question "Who owns the past?" What's your answer? Why has this historically been such a complex question to answer?

Question 52

Do you consider archaeology to be a science? Answer yes or no, and give at least two reasons for your answer. Take into consideration the disagreements between processualists and postprocessualists about the proper role of science in archaeology.

Question 53

Identify two threats to the archaeological record and our cultural heritage. What do you think we can (or should) do to protect against these threats?

Question 54

Many modern archaeological projects combine pedestrian survey with remote sensing techniques. What are some practical benefits of this combination? Do you think technological improvements will ever make survey obsolete?

Question 55

Cultural anthropologists argue that gender is a social and cultural construction, and that the idea that there are exactly two universally agreed human genders goes against anthropological evidence. How might a gender archaeologist address this issue?

Question 56

Site taphonomy includes all of the processes that lead to the preservation (or destruction) of archaeological sites. What are some present-day processes that may complicate site taphonomy for archaeologists in the future? Is this something we should worry about today? Why or why not?