Archaeology Vocabulary
What is an artifact?
An ancient object made by a human being.
What is a hypothesis?
An initial educated guess that provides a starting point for an investigation.
Which technique compares similar objects found at different archaeological sites?
Comparison.
Name one thing archaeologists can learn about people's lives by studying artifacts.
They can learn about people's food, clothing, shelter, or environment.
Who were the Amazons?
An ancient tribe made up of fiercely independent, horse-riding warrior women.
What is a shard?
A piece of broken pottery.
What should an archaeologist decide before beginning to collect evidence?
They should define the question — what they want to know and what they think they can prove with evidence.
Which technique involves making accurate counts of different types of remains found at an archaeological site?
Statistical analysis.
What four areas should you consider when trying to understand what an artifact tells us about people's lives?
Food, clothing, shelter, and environment.
What was the name of the Amazon Queen?
Hippolyte.
What is an excavation?
The process of digging up an archaeological site.
Put these steps in the correct order:
Make a hypothesis — Collect evidence — Test your hypothesis — Define the question — Examine the evidence
Which technique could help archaeologists discover that a person may have died from lead poisoning?
Chemical analysis.
Archaeologists discover an artifact made from thick animal fur. What could this suggest about the people who used it?
They may have lived in a cold environment and used animal fur to keep warm.
What can a bow and arrow found with the Iceman tell archaeologists about him?
It suggests that he may have been a hunter and relied on animals for food.
What is the difference between an archaeologist and an anthropologist?
An archaeologist studies ancient things, while an anthropologist studies human beings and human society.
An archaeologist finds many animal bones at a site. Before deciding what the bones tell us, what should the archaeologist do with the evidence?
Examine and analyze the evidence, organizing the information and looking for patterns or meaning.
Archaeologists want to determine approximately when an ancient person died. Which technique could they use?
Carbon-14 dating.
Archaeologists discover a caribou hide artifact. What could this tell them about the people who made and used it?
They may have lived in a cold or snowy environment and depended on caribou for food, clothing, blankets, or shelter.
The Iceman had fur and leather clothing, a wooden axe, and hunting tools. Give two things you can infer about his life
Possible answers:
A group of ancient people lived in one area and built homes there. What term could archaeologists use to describe the place where they lived?
A habitation, or human settlement.
An archaeologist believes that an ancient group depended on animals for food. What could the archaeologist do to test this hypothesis?
They could collect and examine evidence such as animal remains, count the different types of bones, compare the evidence with other sites, or gather additional information to see whether it supports the hypothesis.
Archaeologists want to find hidden roads, fields, or buildings without digging up the entire area. Which technique could they use, and how does it work?
Remote sensing. Satellites can measure light reflecting off Earth's surface, which can help reveal previously hidden features such as roads, fields, and buildings.
You discover an unfamiliar artifact made from animal hide. Give two inferences you could make about the people who used it and explain the evidence that supports each inference.
Possible answers include:
Artifacts can either be kept in a museum or left at the site where they were discovered. Give one advantage of each choice and explain which choice you would prefer.
Museum: Artifacts can be protected and preserved by experts, and many people can learn from them.
Original site: People can see the artifact in its historical setting and better understand how it relates to the place where it was found.