Deck 4: Doing Fieldwork Why Archaeologists Dig Square Holes

Question 1

It is essential that archaeologists take abundant, accurate, and detailed field notes during excavations because:

A) archaeology destroys data as it is gathered; once a site is excavated it cannot be re-excavated.
B) federal legislation mandates abundant, accurate, and detailed field notes.
C) archaeology students generally learn field techniques from these notes.
D) none of the above; it is not essential because archaeologists can always go back and reconstruct the excavation later.

Answer 1

archaeology destroys data as it is gathered; once a site is excavated it cannot be re-excavated.

Question 2

The Folsom site is important in the history of American archaeology because:

A) it was the first site that was excavated using the stratigraphic method, a breakthrough in archaeological technique that allowed for chronological control.
B) it finally disproved the Myth of the Moundbuilders, establishing that Native Americans had indeed built the earthworks of the eastern United States.
C) it proved the extent of human antiquity in the Americas.
D) at a time when most American archaeologists were concentrating on American prehistory, it demonstrated the importance of historic archaeology.

Answer 2

it proved the extent of human antiquity in the Americas.

Question 3

The duck decoys of Lovelock Cave, Nevada illustrate:

A) that caves were important habitation sites throughout Great Basin prehistory.
B) the importance of context in archaeological excavations.
C) the amazing degree of preservation possible in dry caves.
D) all of the above.

Answer 3

the amazing degree of preservation possible in dry caves.

Question 4

By recording the provenience of all artifacts encountered in situ during Gatecliff's excavations, the archaeologists were trying to:

A) document differences in artifact sequences through time.
B) obtain information that would allow them to reconstruct the activities that took place on discrete living floors.
C) determine the depth of time represented by the deposits in the rockshelter.
D) speed up the excavation process without losing important information.

Question 5

Waterlogged sites such as Ozette on Washington's Olympic Peninsula demonstrate:

A) how water can destroy structures and organic remains that would normally be preserved in dry conditions.
B) how organic remains can be remarkably preserved if saturated by water and sealed in an anaerobic environment.
C) that archaeologists cannot excavate these kinds of sites.
D) the relative ease of underwater excavation compared to excavations on dry land.

Question 6

A test excavation would be most appropriate in which of the following situations?

A) When determining whether or not field school students understand archaeological field methods.
B) When trying to determine a site's potential for answering a research question.
C) When a research question must be answered with a limited amount of time and money.
D) When a researcher is already knows what to expect during excavations.

Question 7

While the vertical excavation strategy at Gatecliff was designed to clarify chronology, the horizontal excavation strategy was designed to:

A) expose living floors.
B) reinforce the artifact typologies in use at the time.
C) clarify the site's stratigraphy.
D) also clarify chronology, but on a larger scale.

Question 8

If an artifact is said to be in situ, it is:

A) missing.
B) in place.
C) in the process of being analyzed.
D) embedded in an animal bone.

Question 9

If an archaeologist is excavating in arbitrary levels:

A) he or she is following the natural breaks in the sediments (following the stratigraphy).
B) natural strata are probably lacking or difficult to recognize.
C) the natural strata may be more than 10 centimeters thick.
D) the natural strata are probably lacking or difficult to recognize, and may be more than 10 centimeters thick.

Question 10

An artifact's provenience is:

A) the geologic source of the raw material from which the artifact was manufactured.
B) the artifact's location relative to a system of spatial data collection.
C) the facility where the artifact is currently stored.
D) how the artifact was used in the prehistoric past.

Question 11

In addition to an artifact's provenience, archaeologists might also be interested in:

A) which side of an artifact was "up" when it was uncovered.
B) the compass orientation of an artifact's long axis.
C) whether or not the artifact is burned.
D) All of the answers are correct.

Question 12

When archaeologists dig excavation units, they are concerned with:

A) horizontal provenience.
B) vertical provenience.
C) keeping the walls of the unit straight and perpendicular.
D) All of the answers are correct.

Question 13

A total station:

A) is accurate to +/- 3 millimeters.
B) is easily affordable by students and professionals alike.
C) is roughly the same in terms of accuracy as a line level and a measuring tape.
D) All of the answers are correct.

Question 14

Why do archaeologists use a datum point rather than simply measuring from the ground surface?

A) The datum point provides a universal reference point that can be used across any archaeological site, allowing archaeologists to easily compare data between excavations.
B) While vertical provenience could easily be measured from the ground surface, obtaining accurate horizontal provenience would be much more difficult without a datum point.
C) The ground surface does not have the same elevation consistently across a site while a datum point provides a fixed reference.
D) Use of a datum point is an archaeological tradition established in the early 20th century; while it serves no useful purpose, it is an example of how outdated excavation methodology is still embedded in archaeology today.

Question 15

Organic remains are best preserved in:

A) a cave, where conditions remain permanently cool and dry.
B) a bog, where conditions remain permanently wet and depleted of oxygen.
C) a field, exposed to hot, dry conditions with periodic rainfall.
D) both a permanently dry, cool cave and a permanently wet bog.

Question 16

Natural levels are preferable to arbitrary levels because:

A) arbitrary levels can potentially jumble together artifacts that come from different natural strata and thus different periods of time.
B) the depth of natural levels is determined by statistical sampling strategies, while arbitrary levels are chosen subjectively.
C) arbitrary levels follow the natural stratigraphy, which may not be able to distinguish between occupational surfaces.
D) natural levels are much simpler and faster to excavate than arbitrary levels.

Question 17

Otzi, the Ice Man of the Alps, provides an example of:

A) how cold conditions can inhibit decomposition of organic material by preventing the production of microorganisms that cause decay.
B) the peaceful life and death of a Neolithic farmer.
C) the importance of archaeological survey in high altitude mountain settings.
D) All of the answers are correct.

Question 18

The antiquity of humans in the New World was established by the Folsom site. Why?

A) The dry desert environment of northeastern New Mexico allowed for the best preservation.
B) Careful provenience that recorded context: the association of a spear point with the skeleton of an extinct form of bison.
C) The age of the site, established by radiocarbon dating charred corn recovered during excavation.
D) All of the answers are correct.

Question 19

The Folsom site in New Mexico was discovered by:

A) George McJunkin, an ex-slave and rancher.
B) Jesse Figgins, director of the Colorado Museum of Nature and Science.
C) Boucher de Perthes, a French customs official and naturalist.
D) A. V. Kidder, Founder of Anthropological Archaeology.

Question 20

Which of the following is true about the Pleistocene?

A) It was a geologic period lasting from 2 million to 10 thousand years ago.
B) It was characterized by periods of extensive glaciation.
C) Many species of now extinct fauna existed during the Pleistocene.
D) All of the answers are correct.

Question 21

The key to maintaining information about an artifact's context is to record:

A) archaeologist's name.
B) artifact's material.
C) provenience.
D) date of discovery.

Question 22

When digging test pits, archaeologists:

A) maintain three-dimensional control of the finds.
B) record only horizontal coordinates.
C) record only vertical coordinates.
D) dig round holes.

Question 23

Why are archaeologists concerned about the future of artifact curation?

A) Some curation facilities cannot afford to meet federal guidelines, and so archaeological collections are being kept in substandard conditions.
B) Some curation facilities have shut their doors because they no longer have room for any more archaeological collections
C) Some curation facilities are so strained to catch up on inventories that they cannot afford the time to loan materials to researchers, contradicting the very purpose of the repository.
D) All of the answers are correct.

Question 24

Provenience refers to:

A) the relationship of an artifact, ecofact, or feature to other artifacts, ecofacts, features, and geologic strata in a site.
B) the artifact's location relative to a system of spatial data collection.
C) the position of the archaeologist when documenting a site.
D) an outdated way to map a site.

Question 25

Which of the following were the textbook authors, Thomas and Kelly, interested in mapping at Gatecliff?

A) The location of any artifacts found in situ
B) The location of any features, such as hearths
C) The location of any large ecofacts
D) All of the answers are correct.

Question 26

The following items are necessary in the excavator's tool kit, all except:

A) toilet paper.
B) root clippers.
C) toothpicks.
D) a CD player.

Question 27

In archeology, a living floor refers to:

A) a distinct buried surface on which people lived.
B) an indistinct buried surface on which people may have lived.
C) a distinct surface on which people still live.
D) a distinct surface where living organisms can still be detected.

Question 28

Water-screening is an especially useful technique when:

A) the deposits are coarse-grained and have low clay content.
B) artifacts are expected to be large and not easily broken, as water screening can be very destructive.
C) artifacts are expected to be small and/or difficult to find without washing.
D) tiny fragments of carbonized plant remains must be recovered.

Question 29

The difference between a natural level and an arbitrary level is:

A) natural level is a vertical subdivision and an arbitrary level is a horizontal subdivision.
B) natural level is a horizontal subdivision and an arbitrary level is a vertical subdivision.
C) natural level is a vertical subdivision based on natural breaks in sediments and arbitrary level is a vertical subdivision used only when natural strata are lacking or more than 10 cm deep.
D) irrelevant. Natural levels are no longer used in archeology, only arbitrary levels are used.

Question 30

When an archaeologists refers to a datum point he or she means:

A) the zero point that is not fixed so that it can be used as a moveable reference point.
B) the zero point that is fixed, but cannot be used as a reference point.
C) the zero point that is fixed and can be used as a reference point.
D) that the archaeologist is using an outdated system to record a site.

Question 31

The process of flotation is based on the principle that:

A) the most appropriate screen size for recovering carbonized plant remains and bone fragments is 1/4" mesh.
B) carbonized plant remains and very small bone fragments will float when submerged in water, while heavier items (including dirt) will not.
C) artifact provenience is the most important information an archaeologist can record during an excavation.
D) All of the answers are correct.

Question 32

Matrix sorting is a technique:

A) that involves hand sorting of processed bulk soil samples for minute artifacts and ecofacts.
B) in which large, obvious artifacts are removed prior to screening to prevent the artifacts from being damaged by the screening process.
C) that uses fluid suspension to recover tiny burned plant remains and bone fragments.
D) in which sediment is placed in a screen and the matrix is washed away with hoses.

Question 33

The importance of plants in prehistoric diets was largely unknown until which of the following techniques was used?

A) Total station mapping of in situ artifacts
B) The stratigraphic method
C) Excavation by natural rather than arbitrary levels
D) Flotation

Question 34

Provenience is essential to an artifact's:

A) material.
B) age.
C) context.
D) value.

Question 35

Decomposition is carried out by microorganisms that require:

A) cold, oxygen, and water to survive.
B) warmth, carbon dioxide, and water to survive.
C) warmth, oxygen, and dry conditions to survive.
D) warmth, oxygen, and water to survive.

Question 36

When archeologists refer to the place where an artifact, ecofact, or feature was found during survey or excavation, they use the term:

A) provenience.
B) in situ.
C) strata.
D) position.

Question 37

The period of the Ice Age known as the Pleistocene ended about:

A) 25,000 years ago.
B) 100,000 years ago.
C) 10,000 years ago.
D) 1.5 million years ago.

Question 38

Let's say you are excavating a site. You are being pretty careful, and are using 1/4" mesh screens to sieve the dirt after it is removed by a trowel and dustpan from the site. You find a few very small but well-preserved fish bones. The next day:

A) you decide to stop using trowels and start using dental tools for the excavation; you are probably not recovering many fish bones because they are being inadvertently destroyed by troweling.
B) you conclude that people in the past were not using minnows and you cease excavation.
C) you fear that the 1/4" mesh of the screen may allow most of the very small fish bones to pass through; you decide to switch to 1/8" mesh, and maybe even screen a sample of dirt through 1/16" mesh to see if you are finding few bones because they are not present, or because the screening method is systematically losing them.
D) you realize that fish were not being used prehistorically and decide that a single backhoe trench through the site will probably give you a sufficient amount of remains of other animals to permit you to test your hypothesis.

Question 39

Realizing the significance of Ötzi, the "Ice Man", archaeologists scoured the site and recovered:

A) clothing, tools, and preserved food.
B) clothing, tools, and stomach contents.
C) clothing, tools, and a cedar canoe.
D) tools, stomach contents, and animal bones.

Question 40

A total station, or EDM, is a device that:

A) allows the boundaries of archaeological sites to be objectively determined.
B) efficiently and accurately analyzes artifacts found during survey.
C) uses a beam of infrared light bounced off a prism to determine an artifact's provenience.
D) uses triangulation from radio waves received from satellites to determine your position, either in terms of latitude and longitude or the UTM grid.

Question 41

It is generally accepted that provenience measurements taken during an archaeological excavation can be taken from either the modern ground surface of the site or from a datum point.

Question 42

Archaeologists will generally agree that all trowels are similar in quality, and any brand is just as suitable for excavation as another.

Question 43

In an archaeological excavation, the point from which all horizontal and vertical measurements are made is termed the datum point.

Question 44

Screen size is an important consideration when processing dirt from excavations because the size of the screen affects what is recovered as well as how fast it is recovered.

Question 45

Artifacts are assigned catalog numbers in the lab after they are excavated because the catalog number is what ties the artifact back to observations made in the field, ensuring that an artifact's provenience is never lost.

Question 46

The design and workmanship of archaeological screens will vary from site to site, and is much less important than mesh size.

Question 47

The use of dry screening devices with 1/4" mesh is employed to find items such as charred seeds, fish bones, and beads in archaeological sites.

Question 48

Organic materials can only be preserved in extremely dry or cold conditions, such as in dry cave or a glacial environment.

Question 49

Because piece-plotting artifacts is a very time-consuming process, the number of artifacts piece plotted during an excavation often depends on how much time you have to excavate, as well as the questions you need to answer.

Question 50

Archaeologists prefer to dig in arbitrary rather than natural levels whenever possible to reduce the risk of mixing artifacts from different strata.

Question 51

At the Folsom site in New Mexico, artifacts were discovered between the ribs of modern cow bones, thus establishing the antiquity of human in the Americas.

Question 52

Although it has proven useful in the recovery of carbonized plant remains and bone fragments, flotation is an uncommon archaeological technique because it is extremely time consuming and costly.