Q&A Hero

Q: A surface collection is comprised of all the materials found lying on the unexcavated surface of the site.

Q: Using a metal detector is one form of geophysical survey.

Q: Ground penetrating radar is more accurate than electrical resistivity.

Q: Geophysical survey includes non-invasive and non-destructive techniques for discovering buried features within sites.

Q: Archaeological surveys help to contextualize individual sites within a landscape.

Q: Remote sensing refers to never having to physically survey the area of interest.

Q: Archaeological survey and excavation is physically demanding.

Q: Historically, all archaeological survey has been systematic.

Q: Some of the most important and/or interesting archaeological sites have been found accidentally.

Q: GPS was the technology that helped Levy make sense of the Jordan "manufactury."

Q: The ruins of Angkor Wat __________. A) are in Vietnam B) were covered by a mudslide. C) were looted by the government to generate cash D) were well-known to Europeans before the 1800s E) are in Japan

Q: Which is the most dynamic force in altering the archaeological record? A) human action B) animals C) plants D) geologic processes E) mud slides

Q: Which of the following are primary agents of bioturbation? A) wind B) water C) burrowing animals D) plants E) microbes

Q: What is the purpose of ethnoarchaeology? A) Increase understanding of taphonomic processes. B) Study ecofacts and geofacts. C) Reduce the threat that humans pose to the archaeological record. D) Excavate sites with fully preserved architectural. E) Increase acceptance of archaeological excavation by native peoples.

Q: Which frequently causes compaction of soil making excavation difficult? A) wind B) mudslides C) earthquakes D) water E) volcanoes

Q: The actions of _______ and _______ typically affect site formation. A) humans; animals B) wind; water C) plate tectonics; fire D) plants; microbes E) volcanoes; earthquakes

Q: All sites are initially produced as the result of __________. A) cultural action B) earthquakes C) warfare D) floods E) transformation processes

Q: Human bone in the archaeological record __________. A) should be treated with care B) is never preserved C) is only found in cemetery sites D) is only associated with more recent archaeological sites E) is rarely of scientific importance

Q: An ossuary contains __________. A) geofacts B) hearths C) features D) middens E) human remains

Q: Structures made from which of the following materials preserve best in the archaeological record? A) brush B) mud C) wood D) stone E) bone

Q: Which of the following is an example of a feature? A) pollen B) an awl C) fire-affected rock D) rock art E) a composite tool

Q: Hearths __________. A) are an example of geofacts B) are commonly found in the archaeological record C) can be used for radiocarbon dating D) are found exclusively in outdoor sites E) are rarely found in pits

Q: Ecofacts differ from artifacts because ecofacts __________. A) are manufactured by humans B) are unmodified remains that are still representative of human activity C) include bone needles and knives D) are rarely cultural in origin E) do not reflect human diet and health

Q: Which of the following is an ecofact? A) bone needle B) hand ax C) knife D) charcoal E) ceramic pot

Q: Manuports__________. A) clearly show evidence of modification B) cannot be items that were brought to a site by the owner C) depict no evidence of use D) do not include fire-affected rock E) are not cultural in origin

Q: Middens __________. A) are sometimes called "bathrooms" B) contain only unused items C) are generally not located away from the habitation area D) may contain living floors, house foundations, burials, hearths, and other remains of everyday life E) rarely contain darkly pigmented soils

Q: Tell es-Safi has been settled continuously since about what time period? A) 4,000 BC B) 6,000 BC C) 8,000 BC D) 10,000 BC E) 12,000 BC

Q: What was found at the site at Laetoli? A) stone tools B) a new species of dinosaur C) fossilized hominid footprints D) the first evidence of the use of fire E) the earliest domesticated goats

Q: The significance of the footprints at Laetoli is that they __________. A) are the earliest irrefutable evidence of bipedalism B) demonstrate early hunting techniques C) refute theories of early bipedalism among hominids D) were made by the earliest known domesticated animal E) are indicative of early human warfare

Q: Examples of special purpose sites include __________. A) camps. B) towns. C) cities. D) villages. E) cemeteries.

Q: When a site is classified by its function, it is defined by __________. A) the activities that took place at that site B) its age C) the name given that site by its inhabitants D) its geographic location E) its physical shape

Q: What is the first distinction made when classifying a site according to its geographic context? A) Whether or not it is a surface site B) Whether the site is underwater or on land C) Whether it is open or protected D) Whether or not it is well-preserved E) Whether it has shallow or deep deposits

Q: One of the three major criteria for classifying sites is __________. A) cultural associations B) preservation quality C) function D) architectural features E) presence of human remains

Q: Site components are generally defined in terms of which of the following? A) human remains associated with them. B) the site features C) their architecture D) the preservation conditions of the site E) their artifacts

Q: Archaeological sites are renewable resources.

Q: Decomposition has two basic causes - biological activity and inorganic action.

Q: Ethnoarchaeology and experimental archaeology contribute to our understanding of taphonomic processes.

Q: Roman coliseums and Mayan ballcourts are examples of architectural structures.

Q: Every society, past and present, employed some type of architecture.

Q: Features are portable and can be moved easily without compromising their overall integrity.

Q: Palynology deals with ecofacts.

Q: Fire-cracked rock used as a cooking stone or hearth is not an artifact.

Q: The debris left over from the manufacture of tools can also be called artifacts.

Q: A knife with a wooden handle and metal blade is an example of a simple tool.

Q: Casual tools are often recognized and recovered by archaeologists.

Q: An artifact that has been moved since its original deposit is in a primary context.

Q: Strata might be vertical, horizontal, or perhaps both.

Q: At Laetoli in Tanzania, palaeoanthropologists found fossilized footprints from a hominid and a domesticated bovine.

Q: Cemeteries are specialized sites.

Q: Although archaeological sites are always classified based on their function, they are rarely classified by age.

Q: Site components are always found in the same layer of stratigraphy.

Q: Material remains within a site are distributed non-randomly across that site.

Q: The majority of materials present in the archaeological record are broken, worn out, and no longer useful.

Q: Speculations about exoarchaeology originally came from concern about possible architecture on __________. A) Antarctica B) Mars C) South America D) the ocean floor E) the moon

Q: GIS programs allow archaeologist to __________. A) assign absolute dates to artifacts B) determine the material used to make an artifact (e.g., bone vs. stone) C) generate models to predict site locations D) interact with local indigenous communities E) identify microscopic plant remains in soils

Q: Evolutionary ecology takes as its starting point __________. A) a consideration of the environmental conditions that might influence the development of a particular technology B) an evaluation of the evolution of a particular environment C) that all cultures are fundamentally variations on the same set of adaptations D) a genetic basis for cultural behavior E) a genetic basis for gender roles

Q: Human ecology holds that __________. A) all human cultures are in balance with their environment B) cultural behavior is the primary mechanism of adaptation C) humans are most perfectly adapted to live in the rainforest D) human behavior determined exclusively by the environment E) humans evolved as vegetarians

Q: The Marxist approach is similar to __________ in that it is materialist. A) processualism B) postprocessualism C) culture history D) ethnoarchaeology E) evolutionary archaeology

Q: __________ has expanded archaeology to consider gender, social stratification, ideologies, and minorities. A) Processualism B) Marxism C) Liberalism D) Postprocessualism E) Culture history

Q: When did postprocessualism develop as an archaeological paradigm? A) During the Renaissance (1600s) B) During the American Civil War (1860s) C) During World War II (mid-20th c.) D) The 1980s E) The 21st century

Q: The authors of this book are best characterized as __________. A) historians B) processualist archaeologists C) postprocessualists D) Marxist archaeologists E) diffusionists

Q: Criticisms of processual archaeology by postprocessualists include all of the following except __________. A) science is subjective and dehumanizing B) voices of previously unconsidered people must be added to interpretations of the past C) an archaeology of gender is impossible D) they have failed to consider issues of inequality E) they have underanalyzed power

Q: Which of the following helps lessen the Western bias in archaeology? A) processual archaeology B) cognitive archaeology C) indigenous archaeology D) cultural resource management E) culture history

Q: Postprocessualism __________. A) arose prior to World War II B) argues that culture can be explained through adaptation C) argues that science is self-correcting and ultimately objective D) arose in the early 1980s E) has been discounted as a valuable approach to archaeology

Q: Cultural materialism __________. A) is an indigenous approach to archaeology B) investigates the role of the individual in cultural change C) explains the composition of a particular peopleʹs material culture through time D) holds that all cultural institutions can be explained by direct material payoff E) incorporates the perspectives of indigenous archaeologists

Q: Woods and Titmus tried to quarry limestone with flaked stone bifaces. This is an example of __________. A) exoarchaeology B) experimental archaeology C) behavioral archaeology D) cognitive archaeology E) ethnoarchaeology

Q: Conducting experiments with ancient materials and techniques is called __________. A) ethnoarchaeology B) ethnographic analogy C) exoarchaeology D) experimental archaeology E) processual archaeology

Q: Which of the following is an example of experimental archaeology? A) Trying to build a pyramid B) Observing contemporary hunter-gatherers C) Developing extensive culture histories D) Incorporating satellite imagery into archaeological research E) Creating computer maps of sites with GPS technology

Q: In the course of his research among the Nunamiut, Binford learned __________. A) perspectives of indigenous archaeologists B) how kinship affected migration patterns C) how ancient Nunamiut moved about the landscape, using GIS data D) how gender roles of "masculine" and "feminine" differ from Western societies E) how ancient populations hunted large game, like mammoths

Q: According to Hudson's research among the Aka, what factors contribute to the eventual distribution of animal bone across a habitation site? A) which parts of the animal are cooked and eaten B) extreme weather C) differences in cleaning methods D) water flow and flooding E) warfare

Q: William Rathje used ethnoarchaeology to __________. A) determine how dogs damage and re-distribute animal bone B) gain a better understanding of possible Palaeolithic butchering techniques C) determine if it was possible to quarry limestone with flaked stone bifaces D) investigate contemporary patterns of garbage contents E) understand Upper Paleolithic cave painting techniques

Q: What is the first step of research design? A) Excavating a test site B) Conducting a field survey C) Forming a general hypothesis D) Stating the research methods to be employed E) Listing the kinds of data needed

Q: __________ has primarily been developed through the use of ethnographic analogy, experimental archaeology, and ethnoarchaeology. A) Marxist archaeology B) Indigenous archaeology C) Evolutionary theory D) Postprocessualism E) Middle-range theory F)

Q: Middle-range theory __________. A) links the materials within the archaeological record to human behavior B) definitively informs the archaeologist of past behaviors C) eliminates the need for chronological control D) identifies individual human behaviors E) links populations from different world regions by focusing on trade networks

Q: The New Archaeology is another name for __________. A) processualism. B) postprocessualism. C) cultural materialism D) postmodernism E) exoarchaeology

Q: Louis Binford called for __________. A) archaeology to be closer to history in its approach and methods B) archaeologists to be less ethnocentric C) archaeology to make full use of scientific technology D) archaeology to make more effective use of written sources E) archaeology to take greater account of gender

Q: A dating technique that was developed and used after WWII (mid-20th c.) was __________. A) stratigraphy B) general artifact types C) cross-dating estimates D) radiocarbon dating E) seriation.

Q: Two of the biggest innovations in archaeological method since World War II are __________. A) radiocarbon dating and computers B) computers and tree-ring dating C) radiocarbon dating and exoarchaeology D) grid excavation and seriation E) radiocarbon dating and seriation

Q: NASA has an exobiology branch.

Q: Exoarchaeology is practiced by archaeologists today.