Chapter 1 - Data in Archaeology

Absolute Dating

• Includes methods that provide calendar dates for archaeological sites or fossil finds
• Examples: dendrochronology, radiocarbon dating, potassium-argon dating
• Except for dendrochronology, these methods yield dates with standard deviations, resulting in a time range for a site or fossil

Agency

• Theoretical perspective discussing the role of the individual in shaping change in cultures and societies
• Focuses on the actions and decisions of individuals in shaping cultural and social change

Archaeology

• Study of humanity’s past
• Includes analyses of cultural materials such as flaked stone artifacts, animal bones, prehistoric art and personal ornamentations
• Examines settlement systems, taphonomy of archaeological sites, past social and political systems

Archaeomagnetism

• Absolute dating method using variation in the Earth’s magnetic pole over time
• Iron particles in heated clay features are aligned to the magnetic north pole at the time of firing
• Orientation of iron particles is compared to a magnetic north pole sequence to determine an age for the firing of the feature
• Can be used for sites that are 10,000 years old or younger

Archaeometallurgy

• Study of the production and use of metals in the past
• Includes the analysis of metal artifacts and production techniques

Bioarchaeology

• Examines human bones to identify features of individuals and populations
• Includes the study of diet, disease, and mortality rates

Macrobotanical Remains

• Plant remains recovered from archaeological sites
• Includes seeds and wood charcoal
• Useful in reconstructing plant use, including plant foods, and local environments

Microfauna

• Small animals such as mice, moles, and snails
• Valuable indicators of paleoenvironments due to their sensitivity to changes in local temperature and moisture

Multidisciplinary Approach

• Collaboration with specialists from multiple disciplines to interpret cultural materials and natural features of archaeological sites
• Includes specialists from archaeology, geochemistry, geology, ethnography, and chronology laboratories

Networks and Boundaries

• Theoretical framework focusing on the creation and maintenance of alliances and the definition of political and community groups
• Examines the ways in which individuals and groups interact and define their boundaries

Niche Construction Theory

• Humans actively change or manipulate features of the landscape around them and resources in those landscapes
• Applied to explain the origins of food production and of domesticated plants and animals in human societies

Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating

• Absolute dating technique using quartz grains extracted from sediment samples
• Measures the light emitted from the quartz grains to calculate the last time they were exposed to sunlight
• Provides dates for the past 10,000 to 100,000 years

Paleoanthropology

• Study of human cultural and biological evolution
• Includes the study of early hominin fossils and biological anthropology

Paleoenvironment

• Types of environments and habitats characteristic of regions during the past
• Developed due to changes in climate and human manipulation of vegetation and animal communities

Paleomagnetism

• Absolute dating technique using reversals in the Earth’s magnetic pole
• Measures the alignment of magnetic particles in rock to determine the age of the layer
• Useful for sites dating to 780,000 years ago and older

Palynology

• Study of plant pollen to better understand past environments, human impact on environments, hominin diet, and climate change

Phytoliths

• Microscopic plant parts composed of silica or calcium oxalate
• Shapes and sizes specific to particular plants
• Preserve well and can lend insight into plant use, plant foods, and local environments at archaeological sites

Postprocessual Archaeology

• Theoretical perspective emphasizing the study of particular cultures and their histories
• Focuses on the role of ideology and the actions of individuals
• Does not stress the use of scientific methodology

Potassium-Argon Dating

• Radiometric dating technique providing absolute dates based on the half-life decay rate of 40K into 40Ar
• Used in dating inorganic materials such as lava flows or tuff beds
• Provides bracket dates for archaeological sites and hominin fossil finds

Processual Archaeology

• Theoretical perspective using social, economic, and environmental dynamics to interpret cultural changes over time
• Based on the use of scientific methodology

Radiocarbon Dating

• Absolute dating method using the decay rate of 14C to calculate the age of organic materials
• Dates materials from the past 40,000 years, and possibly up to 60,000 years ago
• Requires calibration due to fluctuations in the amount of 14C in the Earth’s atmosphere over time

Radiometric Techniques

• Dating techniques using the principle of a known rate of decay of specific radioactive isotopes into stable isotopes over time
• Examples include radiocarbon dating and potassium-argon dating

Relative Dating

• Techniques providing a sequence of “older” and “younger” rather than calendar dates
• Examples include stratigraphy and seriation

Remote Sensing

• Uses technology such as satellite images, ground-penetrating radar, and LiDAR to aid in the location of archaeological sites and buried or vegetation-covered features of sites