What is anthropology?
True or False: Race, ethnicity, and nationality are essentially the same thing.
False; Race, ethnicity, and nationality are all distinct concepts with specific meanings and implications re: membership. Please review module 1 materials if you need to review these concepts.
______________ is the written text by anthropologists that is the end-product of ethnographic fieldwork.
An ethnography
What are the two defining aspects of archaeological surveys?
-It involves the unknown
-It is done systematically
What does the neolithic revolution refer to?
A concept articulated by V. Gordon Childe arguing that agriculture first occurred in the Levant 10,000 years ago and then spread to Europe.
True or false: V. Gordon Childe is associated with BOTH the Neolithic Revolution and the Urban Revolution.
True
What is the definition of anthropology?
Anthropology is the study of humans, human behavior, and societies in the past and present
True or false: Cultural Relativism evaluates other people from one’s own vantage-point, casts value judgements, and describes others in one’s own terms.
False, Cultural Relativism seeks to understand different societies as they appear from the inside. The definition provided in the questions is for Ethnocentrism.
What are the three sampling methods utilized by archaeologists?
- Random sampling
- Targeted sampling
- Systematic sampling
True or False: To uncover the full sequence of occupations at a site, you would perform a horizontal excavation.
False, you would perform a vertical excavation to uncover the full sequence of occupations at a site.
What is archaeology?
Archaeology is the study of the past through the systematic recovery and analysis of material culture (objects).
How/when did anthropology originate?
Anthropology is broadly recognized as a product of the Enlightenment era. However, humans have been documented trying to understand “the other” as early as the ancient Greeks.
What does "space" mean in the context of cultural anthropology?
Space is the physical location and geography of a place. Be sure not confuse space for place. You can review the distinct definitions for these concepts in module 3.
True or false: Dendrochronology is the first scientific absolute dating method that was developed.
True
What are the three theoretical frameworks/concepts we often see applied in postprocessual archaeology?
-Etic & emic approaches
-Agency theory
-Feminist archaeology
When looking at a stratigraphic profile where the stratigraphy has not been disturbed, which layer is the oldest and which layer is the youngest?
The earliest (i.e. oldest) layer is on the bottom, while the most recent (i.e. youngest) layer is on the top.
Why is anthropology important?
Attention to root causes of outcomes
Attention to impact of globalization on health, culture, technology, and more
Linking of global and local issues
Facilitate interaction between global and local actors
Assessing local impact of global policies
Documenting the human
Individual stories, patterns of suffering, new forms of social organizations
What is "the field" in cultural anthropology?
Bounded spaces where ethnographic fieldwork and descriptions have been based.
What are the non-invasive survey methods we covered in this course?
Aerial Survey
Metal Detectors
LiDAR
Magnetometers
Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR)
What are the three categories of attributes of you would analyze when creating a typology of an artifact (or artifacts)?
-Stylistic
-Form
-Technological
True or false: You do not need an explicit research questions and a clear research design in order to perform an archaeological excavation.
False, excavation is destructive, unpredictable, and extremely expensive. Therefore it is extremely important to have explicit research questions and clear research design before excavating.
What are the four* subfields of anthropology?
-Cultural Anthropology
-Physical/biological Anthropology
-Archaeology
-Linguistic Anthropology
*Unofficial fifth subfield is Applied Anthropology*
What is one way in which anthropologists situate themselves both spatially and culturally in their interpretation of information?
By engaging in reflexivity - a practice in which the researcher highlights their presence and reflects on how their own background has influenced the research process.
What type of dating method would you likely use on a piece of volcanic glass (i.e. obsidian) from a site that is estimated to have been occupied roughly 75,000 years ago?
Fission track dating.
What are the names and date ranges of the three major stone ages?
- Paleolithic – Old Stone Age (2.5 mya – ca. 15,000ya)
-Mesolithic – Middle Stone Age (15,000 ya – 10,000 ya)
-Neolithic – New Stone Age (10,000 ya – 5,000 ya)
What are the secondary characteristics of places undergoing the Urban Revolution?
Monumental public works
Long-distance trade
Monumental artwork
Writing
Sciences