Archaeology

Q: Which of the following statements characterizes relative dating techniques? a. They allow archaeologists to assign a range of calendar years to artifacts and deposits. b. They can be expressed on a number of different time scales. c. They include dendrochronology. d. They include seriation.

Q: Which of the following is an absolute dating method? a. relative chronology b. seriation c. radiocarbon d. regional chronology

Q: What is a list of artifact types for a particular archaeological context called? a. typology b. chronology c. taphonomy d. attribute

Q: In zooarchaeology, MNI estimates are calculated by __________. a. counting the most numerous unique skeletal element of each species b. counting the number of identifiable specimens c. estimating the number of bones per excavation unit d. taking the total number of bones and dividing by the number of different species

Q: Which of the following is a method of quantifying animal bone from an archaeological site? a. counting the number of identifiable specimens (NISP) b. calculating the maximum number of species present (MNS) c. determining the season of occupation based on geographic index of seasonality (GIS) d. estimating the age at death for each animal body recovered (AD)

Q: What is the study of the processes that affect organic remains after death? a. paleoecology b. zooarchaeology c. necromodification d. taphonomy

Q: Lithic analysis is the study of __________. a. lithium artifacts b. stone tools c. ceramic dishes d. metal weapons

Q: ________ are natural objects that provide information about the environmental context of past human activity. a. Artifacts b. Ecofacts c. Features d. Fossils

Q: Any object that shows traces of human manufacture is referred to as a/n. __________. a. ecofact b. artifact c. site d. feature

Q: To recover the charred botanical remains (wood & seeds) it is often necessary to employ a method known as __________. a. filtration b. flotation c. dry screening d. piece plotting

Q: The ________ is used as a reference for all vertical measurements on an archaeological site. a. datum point b. ground surface c. keystone d. stadia rod

Q: The sequence of depositional units at a site is referred to as the siteÊ¹s __________. a. archaeology b. geology c. occupation d. stratigraphy

Q: Geological strata can be classified by the __________. a. the type of rock they consist of b. the diversity of fossils found within them c. the length of time it took to dig through the layer d. the moistness of the soil

Q: Which of these statements best describes the law of superposition? a. Sediments will be deposited in horizontal layers. b. In any undisturbed sedimentary deposits, each layer is younger than the layer beneath it. c. In any undisturbed sedimentary deposits, each layer is older than the layer beneath it. d. The uppermost sediments are the most important for archaeological analysis.

Q: The goal of vertical excavation is to __________. a. collect as many artifacts as possible b. dig as deeply as possible c. expose the sequence of occupation at a site d. obey the law of superposition

Q: ________ refer to software applications that allow spatial data to be brought together and consolidated. a. U.S. Geodetic Surveys (USGS) b. Geographic Positioning Systems (GPS) c. Universal Transverse Mercators (UTM) d. Geographic Information systems (GIS)

Q: Artifacts that are found in the place where they were originally deposited are said to be __________. a. in situ b. commonplace c. ex post facto d. geologically stable

Q: An archaeological survey maps the distribution of __________. a. the oldest stones in the region b. only sites over 100 years old c. the physical remains of human activity d. only those sites deemed to beÊºsignificantÊº

Q: The goal of archaeology is to __________. a. find treasure b. dig square holes c. understand past human lives by studying the objects they left behind d. more fully understand dinosaurs

Q: Because of periodic subtle changes in the pattern of the Earth's orbit around the sun, it may technically be correct to label the current warm phase we are living in as an interglacial, rather than calling it the postglacial.

Q: Fortunately, the bubonic plague of the 14th century, which perhaps originated in China, did not spread far and so population losses were minimal.

Q: In Mesopotamian records we find references to a period of salination and loss of fertility in the late 3rd millennium bc, perhaps caused by excessive irrigation.

Q: Around 6200 bc, evidence from the Greenland ice core shows that global climate went into a sharp cold phase that lasted for around 200 years. The cause is thought to be: a) the sudden emptying of Lake Agassiz, a vast freshwater lake on the US/Canadian border, into the North Atlantic b) the extinction of the megafauna c) huge increases in forest burning by humans d) a sudden and dramatic change in the orbit of the Earth round the sun e) natural cycles in the climate of the Earth

Q: The process by which domesticated animals and plants have been transported to new areas and become widespread around the globe today is known as: a) colonization b) emulation c) conquest d) biological exchange e) "Columbian exchange"

Q: Why might agriculture be seen to have a down side? a) because studies have shown the health of early farming populations was poorer than that of their hunter-gatherer predecssors, at least in some cases b) because the risk of an unbalanced diet or dietary deficiencies increased c) because the impact of crop failures due to the weather became severe d) because of the risk of infectious diseases transmitted from domesticated animals e) all of the above

Q: The crucial innovation in human demographic history that allowed populations to grow dramatically was: a) warfare b) forest burning c) pottery making d) agriculture e) stone architecture

Q: At the end of the last Ice Age, the population of the world may have numbered: a) no more than 1000 people b) perhaps only a few million c) between 15 and 20 million d) none " modern humans had become extinct e) an unknown number because we have no means of even estimating it

Q: The Norse settlement of L"Anse aux Meadows was long-lasting and established a permanent Norse presence in the region.

Q: Potlatch is a competive ceremony accompanied by a feast, in which many items were distributed and destroyed to enhance the prestige of the individual giving the feast.

Q: Nomadic, horse-riding bison-hunters on the Great Plains were a long-established feature of the region stretching back before Columbus' arrival in the New World.

Q: The Southwest Cult was a pan-regional religious ideology tied to water control and agricultural fertility based on social inclusiveness.

Q: There is evidence that chocolate was consumed at some sites in the American Southwest prior to European contact, hinting at long-distance and costly trade with Mesoamerica.

Q: Another term for tree-ring dating is dendrochronology.

Q: It is clear that the Mississippian societies of the American Midwest and South East had completely different and separate belief systems: the iconography on artifacts from different sites is not comparable.

Q: Chiefdoms are societies with permanent leadership positions that are firmly embedded in kinship relations.

Q: Hopewell people engaged in long-distance trade as can be seen by the diverse elite grave goods found in Middle Woodland Period mounds.

Q: Explain the scientific basis of the term, global climate change, in terms of the current situation.

Q: Burial mounds were the only type of earthworks built by the Early and Middle Woodland Period peoples of Ohio and Kentucky.

Q: Discuss the effects of the population growth from the Industrial Revolution to the present.

Q: The Thule people of the Arctic, despite the harsh conditions, were able to enhance the availability of critical resources through: a) peaceful trade with the Dorset people b) sophisticated technology that included specialized harpoons and skin-covered boats c) successful farming d) a system of transhumance e) bison hunting

Q: Discuss the effects of the earliest farmers and cities that arose with the so-called Neolithic revolution.

Q: The Norse called the indigenous people they encountered in Greenland and the North American mainland: a) Chumash b) potlatch c) Newfoundlanders d) parkas e) skraelings

Q: How have humans become a threat to themselves, to other living things and the earth itself?

Q: In the historic period of the Pacific Northwest, social status was marked by: a) the size of houses and their position in the village b) gold paraphernalia c) the number of cattle owned d) possession of large amounts of coinage e) the furniture and furnishings of the house

Q: Which of the following is NOT the name of a hunting-gathering-fishing society of the Pacific Coast: a) Chumash b) Tlingit c) Arikara d) Kwakiutl e) Haida

Q: Why does Jared Diamond say agriculture was "the worst mistake in the history of the human race?"

Q: Describe the lives of hunter-gatherers over the past couple of million years in terms of biocultural evolution.

Q: One reason that mounted hunters on the Great Plains were less vulnerable than settled villagers to newly introduced diseases was that: a) they could reach a hospital more easily b) they only had irregular contact with each other, so there was less chance for disease to spread c) village people had no medicines d) they had no contact at all with the diseases e) a and c only

Q: Define the concept, Anthropocene, and what it implies

Q: Characteristic features of historic period groups on the Plains, such as the Mandan and Arikara, were that: a) they lived in permanent villages consisting of large, earth-covered structures b) they grew crops, including maize c) they participated in annual bison hunts d) their villages were politically and socially autonomous e) all of the above

Q: One theory for the dramatic decline in the overall population of farmers in the Southwest between ad 1300 and 1500 is that it could have been the result of: a) a severe shortage of agricultural land b) volcanic eruption c) extreme climate change d) competition from non-farming groups e) mass migration by European settlers

Q: The Pueblo III period site of Mesa Verde is an example of a type of large village set along the rim of a canyon and known as a: a) kiva b) long house c) hogan d) cliff dwelling e) mound center

Q: List the threats to the Great Barrier Reef.

Q: During the Pueblo II Period, communal "great houses" were built in the San Juan Basin, some of which contained hundreds of rooms and were up to four stories high. The building of these great houses and the society that surround them have been termed: a) the Chaco Phenomenon b) the Anasazi Phenomenon c) the Hohokam Phenomenon d) the Navajo Phenomenon e) the Mesa Verde Phenomenon

Q: Discuss the two points upon which scientists agree concerning global climate change.

Q: In modern Pueblo villages a __________ is a multi-purpose room used for religious, political, and social functions. a) ayllu b) maize c) hogan d) kiva e) ansazi

Q: Our digestive systems are well adapted to processed food and sedentary behavior. a. True b. False

Q: __________ are residential groups that cooperate in basic economic activities and retain control over land, surplus, and other resources by restricting sharing to members. a) States b) Households c) Moieties d) Pueblos e) Mound centers

Q: Human activity in the last two centuries is not the most significant cause of this climate change. a. True b. False

Q: Shifting farming, which was the characteristic farming strategy of the northern Southwest throughout the prehistoric period, involved: a) constructing complex irrigation systems so that larger groups could live together in long-term villages b) switching between three core crops so that fields never experienced diminished productivity c) slashing the jungle and burning the vegetable refuse to create fertile soils d) using only local wild plants for cultivation purposes and never adopting squash or maize e) family groups cultivating small plots in frequently changing residential locales

Q: Early farming practices North Africa ensured that many areas remained productive for thousands of years. a. True b. False

Q: Some researchers believe that Hohokam ballcourts suggest and entirely local ball game, while others suggest they represent a Southwestern version of the famous __________ ball game. a) Andean b) Northeastern c) Mesoamerican d) African e) Spanish

Q: Measles became prevalent only with the emergence of larger urban centers, making it the "disease of civilization." a. True b. False

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