Anthropology
The systemic study of humans in all times and places
What is anthropology?
Small collections of artifacts and antiques popular among the upper class in 17-18th century Europe
Cabinets of Curiosity
Anything portable or modified by humans
What is an artifact?
Term used to describe ways in which humans alter their environment
What are Cultural Formation Processes?
Top 3 strategies used by archaeologists to locate sites
What is documentation, ground reconnaissance, and remote sensing?
The four subfields of anthropology
What is Socio-cultural, Linguistic, Biological, and Archaeology?
Theory that marks the beginning of modern archaeology
The term used to describe the classification of artifacts into groups based on shared physical attributes
Typology
Term used to describe the ways in which the environment, weather, climate, animals, etc. impact the archaeological record
Example of ways in which documentation can help locate an archaeological site
What is biblical archaeology?
This is the term used to describe the material in which artifacts are found.
What is Matrix?
The theory that emphasizes that there are no universal laws and objectivity is unattainable (interpretation > description/explanation)
What is Postprocessual Archaeology?
What is scientific theory?
The four taphonomical factors that affect biological remains
What are temperature & humidity, insect access, burial/water immersion, and animal activity?
Three subfields of archaeology
The archaeological theory modeled on traditional historical methods of grouping past societies in cultural/ethnic grouping based on material culture.
What is Cultural History?
The term used to describe ordering artifact assemblages into relative age sequences
Ways in which water can accelerate decomposition of organic materials
Remote sensing technology that can detect changes in soil and sediment by calculating the depth at which changes occur
What is Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)?
The archaeological theory that puts less emphasis on typology/classification and more emphasis on scientific methodology and inductive reasoning (explanations > descriptions)
What is Processual Archaeology?
Term that describes changes to materials over time due to multiple factors (chemical, physical, and organismal)
What is taphonomy?
Ways in which water can increase preservation of organic materials
Direction of digging for archaeologists interested in space, rather than time
What is horizontal?