Deck 3: The Development of Contemporary Archaeology

Question 1

After World War II, archaeologists began asking what type of questions for the first time?

A) When?
B) Why?
C) Who?
D) What?

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Two of the most important modern innovations in archaeological method since World War II are ________.

A) grid excavation and tree-ring dating
B) radiocarbon dating and exoarchaeology
C) radiocarbon dating and computer modeling
D) dendrochronology and virtual reality

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Archaeologist Lewis Binford in the 1960s argued that archaeology should be more ________.

A) scientific and quantitative
B) subjective and humanistic
C) psychological and behavioral
D) evolutionary and gender-focused

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The New Archaeology movement is also called ________.

A) postmodernism
B) postprocessual archaeology
C) cultural materialism
D) processual archaeology

Question 5

Which of the following is not one of the major aspects of constructing a research design?

A) stating research methods
B) formulating a general hypothesis
C) explaining theoretical approach
D) comparing similar archaeological sites

Question 6

The application of logic, analogy, and theory in archaeology is called ________.

A) middle-range theory
B) processual archaeology
C) cultural materialism
D) postprocessual archaeology

Question 7

Archaeologists who live among a group of contemporary people to compare their societies with those of the past are engaged in ________.

A) cultural materialism
B) experimental archaeology
C) ethnoarchaeology
D) postprocessual archaeology

Question 8

The controled replication of artifacts to help understand how they came to be made is called ________.

A) ethnographic analogy
B) ethnoarchaeology
C) experimental archaeology
D) cultural materialism

Question 9

The study of animal bones among food remains at a prehistoric site usually has to take into account the possibility of ________.

A) artistic expression
B) scavenging by animals
C) usage in religious ceremonies
D) extreme weather or flooding

Question 10

A theoretical framework based on the idea that "human social life is a response to the practical problems" of existence is called ________.

A) experimental archaeology
B) middle-range theory
C) ethnographic analogy
D) cultural materialism

Question 11

Postprocessualism expanded archaeology to include examinations of all of the following except for ________.

A) climate patterns
B) gender roles
C) minorities
D) social stratification

Question 12

Which of the following is not a major branch of postprocessual archaeology?

A) behavioral archaeology
B) evolutionary archaeology
C) indigenous archaeology
D) exoarchaeology

Question 13

Cultural materialism ________.

A) is an indigenous approach to archaeology
B) investigates the role of the individual in cultural change
C) holds that all cultural institutions can be explained by direct material payoff
D) explains the composition of a particular peopleʹs material culture through time

Question 14

Someone who studies the ancient symbolism and supernatural beliefs is probably what type of archaeologist?

A) exoarchaeologist
B) cognitive archaeologist
C) evolutionary archaeologist
D) behavioral archaeologist

Question 15

What theory makes use of ethnographic analogy, experimental archaeology, and ethnoarchaeology?

A) postprocessualism
B) indigenous archaeology
C) evolutionary theory
D) middle-range theory

Question 16

Criticisms of processual archaeology by postprocessualists include all of the following except for this belief.

A) science is subjective and dehumanizing
B) voices of previously unconsidered people must be added to interpretations of the past
C) an archaeology of gender is impossible
D) the failure to consider issues of inequality

Question 17

Evolutionary archaeology is focused on ________.

A) the spiritual evolution of the human species
B) the environmental conditions that might influence adaptation and change in a particular culture
C) how gender roles bring about cultural change
D) the geologic change of a particular environment

Question 18

Collaborative efforts between archaeologists and contemporary peoples is part of ________.

A) cultural materialism
B) experimental archaeology
C) ethnoarchaeology
D) indigenous archaeology

Question 19

GIS programs allow archaeologists to ________.

A) assign absolute dates to artifacts
B) determine the material used to make an artifact (e.g., bone vs. stone)
C) generate models to predict site locations
D) identify microscopic plant remains in soils

Question 20

Past speculation about canals on Mars is an example of ________.

A) experimental archaeology
B) middle-range theory
C) indigenous archaeology
D) exoarchaeology

Question 21

Of the following modern archaeological techniques, which is the oldest?

A) radiocarbon dating
B) GIS, GPS, and 3-D technology
C) virtual reality
D) DNA analysis of ancient humans

Question 22

Common careers in archaeology would not include which of the following?

A) museum specialist
B) science fiction writer
C) teacher or professor
D) field and laboratory worker

Question 23

How has the development of modern technologies changed the practice of archaeology since World War II?

Question 24

Describe the major components of research design in scientific archaeology.

Question 25

What are advantages and disadvantages to experimental archaeology?

Question 26

Briefly describe some of the new areas of focus in postprocessual archaeology.

Question 27

Can there ever be only one approach to archaeology? Why or why not?