Deck 13: The Archaeology of People

Question 1

Maya commoners were shorter than nobles, almost certainly a result of what differences?

A) ethnic
B) nutritional
C) medical
D) dietary

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The Ice Man suffered through several periods of malnutrition during his lifetime; this was identified through marks on the ends of his limb bones called

A) varves.
B) ridge lines.
C) Harris lines.
D) refractive lines.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which discipline studies the medical conditions and injuries of people of the past?

A) paleoethnobotany
B) paleopathology
C) paleomortality
D) paleontology

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which isotope ratio of the water you drink depends on the source of the water; the distance from the coast; and the altitude, latitude, and local temperature of the rainfall?

A) oxygen
B) carbon
C) fluoride
D) strontium

Question 5

Archaeologists study three important phenomena that reflect social interactions: social ranking; relationships between individuals, households, communities, and the wider society; and

A) social diversity (ethnicity).
B) cultural diversity.
C) family relationships.
D) cognitive interactions.

Question 6

Evidence of which of the following can sometimes be inferred from buildings and community layout?

A) social inequality
B) social ranking
C) individual differences
D) family ties

Question 7

For archaeologists, the most important source of information about prehistoric social organization and ranking is

A) evidence of wealth.
B) ceremonial centers.
C) human burials.
D) living spaces.

Question 8

Archaeological discoveries have revealed multiple examples of the ways in which people have exercised economic and social power over others. Notable examples of these are all of the following EXCEPT

A) control of trade routes.
B) building of elaborate palaces.
C) authority to redistribute resources.
D) reciprocity.

Question 9

Archaeologists can use material objects to study how people resisted the submergence of their own culture. An example of these objects among slaves in the American South is

A) Colono wares.
B) crocodile-skin shrouds.
C) cotton mantles.
D) stone grinding querns.

Question 10

Gender is not the same as sex; sex refers to male or female

A) ethnicity.
B) culture.
C) sociology.
D) biology.

Question 11

To engender the past means to focus not only on major material achievements like metallurgy or pot-making, or on ancient environments, but also on interpersonal relations and the social dynamics of

A) religion and ritual.
B) the wider society.
C) craft specialization.
D) fundamental skills.

Question 12

Which are autonomous and self-sufficient groups that usually consist of only a few families?

A) chiefdoms
B) tribes
C) civilizations
D) bands

Question 13

Which of these societies, which are headed by individuals with unusual ritual, political, or entrepreneurial skills, are often hard to distinguish from tribes?

A) civilizations
B) states
C) chiefdoms
D) bands

Question 14

The mutual exchange of goods between two individuals or groups is at the heart of much gift-giving and barter trade. This exchange is called

A) reciprocity.
B) redistribution.
C) market exchange.
D) giving.

Question 15

Markets are both places and particular styles of administering and organizing trade that encourage people to set aside one place for trading and offering relatively stable, almost fixed prices for

A) consumer items.
B) consumables.
C) basic commodities.
D) by-products.

Question 16

Research into the sources of raw materials involves identifying the characteristic properties of the distinctive raw materials used to fashion, say, stone axes. Besides being called characterization, this research is also referred to as

A) identification.
B) distribution.
C) sourcing.
D) forensic archaeology.

Question 17

Neutron activation analysis and x-ray spectrometry are two of the techniques that archaeologists have used to find the sources of raw materials such as

A) obsidian.
B) crop seeds.
C) maize.
D) bones.

Question 18

The interactions that can result from trading range from simple contact between individuals to trading by professional traders. The archaeologist Colin Renfrew identified at least how many types of interactions?

A) five
B) six
C) eight
D) ten

Question 19

Religious beliefs extend back at least 70,000 years; evidence of human burial practices has been found that dates to the time of

A) early modern humans.
B) the Neanderthal.
C) Ice Age humans.
D) late Stone Age Africans.

Question 20

Gender roles, social organization, ancient trade practices, religious beliefs-all are intangible parts of the archaeological record that archaeologists must treat as

A) integral.
B) predictable.
C) distinctive.
D) ornamentation.

Question 21

What does the body of Ötzi, the Ice Man, tell us about Bronze Age technology and diet? What have you learned about the abilities of modern archaeology in reconstructing ancient diet, lifeways, and nutrition?

Question 22

There were striking differences in second and third molar strontium levels between the men and women in ancient Ban Chiang, China. How can this be? The author suggests one possible interpretation. Are there others?

Question 23

The chapter recounts a chronicle of ethnic resistance from an archaeological investigation of the route taken by a small group of northern Cheyenne when they broke out of Fort Robinson, Nebraska, on January 9, 1879. What does this tell us about the power of oral history and the potential of archaeological technology?

Question 24

Gender is socially and culturally constructed. Gender roles and relations acquire meaning in culturally and historically meaningful ways; therefore, gender is a vital part of human social relations and a central issue in the study of ancient human societies. Using our own society as the model, how are gender roles assigned and how are individuals trained to assume them?

Question 25

Religious beliefs can sometimes be discerned from traditional histories, and also from art traditions and through the decipherment of early scripts, such as Maya glyphs. How is this done?