Q&A Hero

Q: An archaeological context differs from a systemic context in that: a. An artifact in archaeological context directly reflects the dynamic behavioral system of which it was a part of, while an artifact in a systemic context is a distorted reflection of the behavioral system. b. An artifact in an archaeological context is no longer a part of the dynamic behavioral system. c. An artifact in an archaeological context has seldom been reused, while reuse is common in a systemic context. d. None of the above; archaeological contexts are systemic contexts.

Q: Which of the following is an example of a systemic context? a. An artifact scatter left on the floor of an abandoned pithouse is covered by windblown sediment. b. A projectile point that had been lost while hunting is carried downstream in a flash flood, becoming part of the archaeological record. c. A ceramic vessel is manufactured, decorated, and used to cook with. d. All of the above.

Q: Reverse stratigraphy would result from which of the following situations? a. If a pithouse is constructed in 1000 BP, and in 500 BP another pithouse is constructed on top of the earlier pithouse, and in 300 BP a pueblo is constructed on top of both pithouses. b. If the construction of a pueblo in 500 BP unearths remains of a pithouse constructed in 1000 BP, and the older pithouse remains are brought to the surface. c. If rodent disturbance results in the fill of an earlier feature lying beneath the fill of a later feature. d. Any time natural or cultural disturbance processes act upon an archaeological site.

Q: A B horizon is: a. The upper part of a soil where active organic and mechanical decomposition of geological and organic material occurs. b. A layer below the A horizon where clays accumulate that are transported downward by water. c. A layer above the A horizon marked by the leaching clays and the accumulation of organic matter. d. Unaltered or slightly altered parent material.

Q: The upper part of a soil where active organic and mechanical decomposition of geological and organic material occurs is the: a. A horizon. b. B horizon. c. C horizon. d. All of the above.

Q: Soil development occurs: a. Anytime soils are deposited by wind or water. b. When sediment accumulates quickly and is deeply and rapidly buried. c. When sediments accumulate slowly and undergo in situ chemical and mechanical weathering. d. Anytime sediments are subjected to intense heat or cold over a long period of time.

Q: How does sediment generally enter rockshelters? a. Rocks fall from the shelter's ceiling and dripline. b. Colluvial sediments enter the shelter from the surrounding hillside. c. Fine eolian dust from nearby or distant sources blows into the shelter. d. All of the above.

Q: The Mazama ash has been dated at numerous locations in the western US to 6900 years old. This means that if an archaeologist finds the Mazama ash in a stratified context, he or she knows that everything above it is less than 6900 years old, and everything below it is more than 6900 years old. The Mazama ash is an example of a: a. Colluvial sediment. b. Soil horizon. c. Marker bed. d. Sedimentary deposit that has been disturbed, resulting in reversed stratigraphy.

Q: A marker bed can be useful to archaeologists because: a. If it has been dated in other sites, it can indicate the age of sediments in a new site. b. It is specific to a particular site and can therefore provide a detailed environmental reconstruction of that particular site. c. It generally consists of soft sediments that are easily excavated. d. None of the above; a marker bed is only useful to geologists.

Q: A marker bed is: a. An easily identified stratum that is found in multiple sites in the same region. b. A stratum unique to a particular archaeological site that is not found anywhere else throughout the region. c. A stratum that is easily dated by the potassium-argon dating method. d. A stratum marked by distinctive soil horizons.

Q: Where are the Laetoli footprints today? a. The footprints were stolen by a looter shortly after their discovery, and their whereabouts are still unknown. b. The footprints were covered with sediment and left in place, preserved in the ground where they were discovered. c. The footprints are on display in a Tanzanian museum, where they have been preserved and stabilized. d. They are gone, completely destroyed by root activity.

Q: Most of the strata in Gatecliff rockshelter consist of: a. Sediments brought into the shelter by humans. b. Naturally deposited alluvial and eolian sediments. c. Thick layers of rock from collapse of the shelter roof over time. d. Thick layers of volcanic ash.

Q: The age of the Laetoli footprints was determined by: a. Directly dating the footprints themselves. b. Potassium-argon dating. c. The law of superposition. d. Both B and C.

Q: The footprints at Laetoli were remarkably well-preserved because: a. They were made in an ash slurry that quickly hardened and were then buried by volcanic ash soon after they formed. b. They were slowly buried by volcanic ash after sitting in the open air for a long period of time. c. They are very young; their preservation is thus solely a function of their age. d. They were never buried; the Laetolil Beds that preserve the footprints are the youngest of a series of stratigraphic units.

Q: Mary Leakey's discovery of fossil footprints in volcanic ash at Laetoli was important because: a. It warned locals of the presence of a nearby active volcano. b. Fossil animal footprints had never before been discovered. c. The volcanic ash had preserved the footprints of at least two bipedal hominids. d. It proved that hominids manufactured and used stone tools prior to the origin of bipedalism.

Q: Nicolaus Steno argued in his Preliminary Discourse to a Dissertation on a Solid Body Naturally Contained within a Solid (1669) that fossils came to be laid down inside solid rock because: a. The fossils had grown inside the rock, a common opinion of the time. b. The fossils were older; the rock was originally laid down as a liquid, solidifying around the fossils. c. The fossils were younger; they became trapped inside the rock after the rock had already solidified from its liquid state. d. The fossils and the rock were the same age, both forming together at the same time.

Q: In an undisturbed deposit, a stone tool found in a stratum overlying a stratum containing potsherds is most likely: a. Older than the potsherds. b. Younger than the potsherds. c. The same age as the potsherds. d. It is impossible to determine whether the stone tool is older or younger than the potsherds.

Q: The Law of Superposition states that, in any pile of sedimentary rocks that have not been disturbed by folding or overturning: a. Stratigraphic layers cannot be used to date archaeological sites. b. Stratigraphic layers at the bottom are younger than stratigraphic layers at the top. c. Stratigraphic layers at the bottom are older than stratigraphic layers at the top. d. Soil depth provides a measure of the absolute age of a stratum.

Q: What could account for chronologically older artifacts being found above younger artifacts in a stratigraphic sequence? a. Faunalturbation (e.g., rodent burrows). b. Cultural disturbance (e.g., prehistoric digging of a hearth or pit). c. Graviturbation. d. All of the above.

Q: Archaeological "site formation" refers to: a. The human actions responsible for the creation of an archaeological site. b. The natural actions responsible for the creation of an archaeological site. c. The human and natural actions responsible for the creation of an archaeological site. d. None of the above.

Q: Ice core samples indicate that the global temperature has decreased significantly in the last 100 years.

Q: Graviturbation is an example of a formation process in the systemic context.

Q: A krotovina is evidence of floralturbation.

Q: Formation processes only occur in the archaeological context, not in the systemic context.

Q: By the time an artifact reaches an archaeologist's hand, it has usually long since ceased to participate in the systemic context.

Q: An artifact in systemic context is part of an ongoing, dynamic behavioral system.

Q: The archaeological record is almost always a direct reflection of the human behavior that produced it.

Q: Natural disturbance processes are the only processes that affect the formation of archaeological sites.

Q: Hominins are members of the evolutionary line that contains humans and our early bipedal ancestors.

Q: Archaeological sites result from both human behavior and natural processes.

Q: Artifacts are assigned catalog numbers in the lab after they are excavated because the catalog number is what ties the artifact back to observations made in the field, ensuring that an artifact's provenience is never lost.

Q: Although it has proven useful in the recovery of carbonized plant remains and bone fragments, flotation is an uncommon archaeological technique because it is extremely time consuming and costly.

Q: The design and workmanship of archaeological screens will vary from site to site, and is much less important than mesh size.

Q: Screen size is an important consideration when processing dirt from excavations because the size of the screen affects what is recovered as well as how fast it is recovered.

Q: Because piece-plotting artifacts is a very time-consuming process, the number of artifacts piece plotted during an excavation often depends on how much time you have to excavate, as well as the questions you need to answer.

Q: The use of dry screening devices with 1/4" mesh is employed to find items such as charred seeds, fishbones, and beads in archaeological sites.

Q: Archaeologists prefer to dig in arbitrary rather than natural levels whenever possible to reduce the risk of mixing artifacts from different strata.

Q: It is generally accepted that provenience measurements taken during an archaeological excavation can be taken from either the modern ground surface of the site or from a datum point.

Q: In an archaeological excavation, the point from which all horizontal and vertical measurements are made is termed the datum point.

Q: Archaeologists will generally agree that all trowels are similar in quality, and any brand is just as suitable for excavation as another.

Q: Organic materials can only be preserved in extremely dry or cold conditions, such as in dry cave or a glacial environment.

Q: At the Folsom site in New Mexico, artifacts were discovered between the ribs of modern cow bones, thus establishing the antiquity of human in the Americas.

Q: The key to maintaining information about an artifact's context is to record a. archaeologist's name. b. artifact's material. c. provenience. d. date of discovery.

Q: Provenience is essential to an artifact's a. material. b. age. c. context. d. value.

Q: In archeology, a living floor refers to a. a distinct buried surface on which people lived. b. an indistinct buried surface on which people may have lived. c. a distinct surface on which people still live. d. a distinct surface where living organisms can still be detected.

Q: The difference between a natural level and an arbitrary level is a. natural level is a vertical subdivision and an arbitrary level is a horizontal subdivision. b. natural level is a horizontal subdivision and an arbitrary level is a vertical subdivision. c. natural level is a vertical subdivision based on natural breaks in sediments and arbitrary level is a vertical subdivision used only when natural strata are lacking or more than 10 cm. deep. d. irrelevant. Natural levels are no longer used in archeology, only arbitrary levels are used.

Q: When an archaeologists refers to a datum point he or she means a. the zero point that is not fixed so that it can be used as a moveable reference point. b. the zero point that is fixed, but cannot be used as a reference point. c. the zero point that is fixed and can be used as a reference point. d. that the archaeologist is using an outdated system to record a site.

Q: When digging test pits, archaeologists a. maintain three-dimensional control of the finds. b. record only horizontal coordinates. c. record only vertical coordinates. d. dig round holes.

Q: The following items are necessary in the excavator's tool kit, all except a. toilet paper. b. root clippers. c. toothpicks. d. CD player.

Q: Decomposition is carried out by microorganisms that require a. cold, oxygen, and water to survive. b. warmth, carbon dioxide, and water to survive. c. warmth, oxygen and dry conditions to survive. d. warmth, oxygen and water to survive.

Q: Realizing the significance of tzi, the "Ice Man", archaeologists scoured the site and recovered a. clothing, tools and preserved food. b. clothing, tools and stomach contents. c. clothing, tools and a cedar canoe. d. tools, stomach contents, and animal bones.

Q: When archeologists refer to the place where an artifact, ecofact, or feature was found during survey or excavation, they use the term a. provenience. b. in situ. c. strata. d. position.

Q: The period of the Ice Age known as the Pleistocene ended a. about 25,000 years ago. b. about 100,000 years ago. c. about 10,000 years ago. d. about 1.5 million years ago.

Q: Provenience refers to a. the relationship of an artifact, ecofact, or feature to other artifacts, ecofacts, features, and geologic strata in a site. b. the artifact's location relative to a system of spatial data collection. c. the position of the archaeologist when documenting a site. d. an outdated way to map a site.

Q: A total station, or EDM, is a device that: a. allows the boundaries of archaeological sites to be objectively determined. b. efficiently and accurately analyzes artifacts found during survey. c. uses a beam of infrared light bounced off a prism to determine an artifact's provenience. d. uses triangulation from radio waves received from satellites to determine your position, either in terms of latitude and longitude or the UTM grid.

Q: The importance of plants in prehistoric diets was largely unknown until which of the following techniques was used? a. Total station mapping of in situ artifacts. b. The stratigraphic method. c. Excavation by natural rather than arbitrary levels d. Flotation.

Q: The process of flotation is based on the principle that: a. the most appropriate screen size for recovering carbonized plant remains and bone fragments is 1/4" mesh. b. carbonized plant remains and very small bone fragments will float when submerged in water, while heavier items (including dirt) will not. c. artifact provenience is the most important information an archaeologist can record during an excavation. d. All of the above.

Q: Matrix sorting is a technique: a. that involves hand-sorting of processed bulk soil samples for minute artifacts and ecofacts. b. in which large, obvious artifacts are removed prior to screening to prevent the artifacts from being damaged by the screening process. c. that uses fluid suspension to recover tiny burned plant remains and bone fragments. d. in which sediment is placed in a screen and the matrix is washed away with hoses.

Q: Which of the following were the textbook authors, Thomas and Kelly, interested in mapping at Gatecliff? a. The location of any artifacts found in situ. b. The location of any features, such as hearths c. The location of any large ecofacts. d. All of the above.

Q: Let's say you are excavating a site. You are being pretty careful, and are using 1/4" mesh screens to sieve the dirt after it is removed by a trowel and dustpan from the site. You find a few very small but well-preserved fish bones. The next day: a. you decide to stop using trowels and start using dental tools for the excavation; you are probably not recovering many fish bones because they are being inadvertently destroyed by troweling. b. you conclude that people in the past were not using minnows and you cease excavation. c. you fear that the 1/4" mesh of the screen may allow most of the very small fish bones to pass through; you decide to switch to 1/8" mesh, and maybe even screen a sample of dirt through 1/16" mesh to see if you are finding few bones because they are not present, or because the screening method is systematically losing them d. you realize that fish were not being used prehistorically and decide that a single backhoe trench through the site will probably give you a sufficient amount of remains of other animals to permit you to test your hypothesis.

Q: Water-screening is an especially useful technique when: a. the deposits are coarse-grained and have low clay content. b. artifacts are expected to be large and not easily broken, as water screening can be very destructive. c. artifacts are expected to be small and/or difficult to find without washing. d. tiny fragments of carbonized plant remains must be recovered.

Q: Why are archaeologists concerned about the future of artifact curation? a. Some curation facilities cannot afford to meet federal guidelines, and so archaeological collections are being kept in substandard conditions. b. Some curation facilities have shut their doors because they no longer have room for any more archaeological collections c. Some curation facilities are so strained to catch up on inventories that they cannot afford the time to loan materials to researchers, contradicting the very purpose of the repository. d. All of the above

Q: A total station: a. is accurate to +/- 3 millimeters. b. is easily affordable by students and professionals alike. c. is roughly the same in terms of accuracy as a line level and a measuring tape. d. all of the above.

Q: In addition to an artifact's provenience, archaeologists might also be interested in: a. which side of an artifact was "up" when it was uncovered. b. the compass orientation of an artifact's long axis. c. whether or not the artifact is burned. d. all of the above.

Q: By recording the provenience of all artifacts encountered in situ during Gatecliff's excavations, the archaeologists were trying to: a. document differences in artifact sequences through time. b. obtain information that would allow them to reconstruct the activities that took place on discrete living floors. c. determine the depth of time represented by the deposits in the rockshelter. d. speed up the excavation process without losing important information.

Q: Natural levels are preferable to arbitrary levels because: a. arbitrary levels can potentially jumble together artifacts that come from different natural strata and thus different periods of time. b. the depth of natural levels is determined by statistical sampling strategies, while arbitrary levels are chosen subjectively. c. arbitrary levels follow the natural stratigraphy, which may not be able to distinguish between occupational surfaces. d. natural levels are much simpler and faster to excavate than arbitrary levels.

Q: If an archaeologist is excavating in arbitrary levels: a. he or she is following the natural breaks in the sediments (following the stratigraphy). b. natural strata are probably lacking or difficult to recognize. c. the natural strata may be more than 10 centimeters thick. d. the natural strata are probably lacking or difficult to recognize, and may be more than 10 centimeters thick.

Q: While the vertical excavation strategy at Gatecliff was designed to clarify chronology, the horizontal excavation strategy was designed to: a. expose living floors. b. reinforce the artifact typologies in use at the time. c. clarify the site's stratigraphy. d. also clarify chronology, but on a larger scale.

Q: Why do archaeologists use a datum point rather than simply measuring from the ground surface? a. The datum point provides a universal reference point that can be used across any archaeological site, allowing archaeologists to easily compare data between excavations. b. While vertical provenience could easily be measured from the ground surface, obtaining accurate horizontal provenience would be much more difficult without a datum point. c. The ground surface does not have the same elevation consistently across a site while a datum point provides a fixed reference. d. Use of a datum point is an archaeological tradition established in the early 20th century; while it serves no useful purpose, it is an example of how outdated excavation methodology is still embedded in archaeology today.

Q: When archaeologists dig excavation units, they are concerned with: a. horizontal provenience. b. vertical provenience. c. keeping the walls of the unit straight and perpendicular. d. All of the above.

Q: A test excavation would be most appropriate in which of the following situations? a. When determining whether or not field school students understand archaeological field methods. b. When trying to determine a site's potential for answering a research question. c. When a research question must be answered with a limited amount of time and money. d. When a researcher is already knows what to expect during excavations.

Q: Otzi, the Ice Man of the Alps, provides an example of: a. how cold conditions can inhibit decomposition of organic material by preventing the production of microorganisms that cause decay. b. the peaceful life and death of a Neolithic farmer. c. the importance of archaeological survey in high altitude mountain settings. d. All of the above.

Q: Waterlogged sites such as Ozette on Washington's Olympic Peninsula demonstrate: a. how water can destroy structures and organic remains that would normally be preserved in dry conditions. b. how organic remains can be remarkably preserved if saturated by water and sealed in an anaerobic environment. c. that archaeologists cannot excavate these kinds of sites. d. the relative ease of underwater excavation compared to excavations on dry land.

Q: Organic remains are best preserved in: a. a cave, where conditions remain permanently cool and dry. b. a bog, where conditions remain permanently wet and depleted of oxygen. c. a field, exposed to hot, dry conditions with periodic rainfall. d. Both a permanently dry, cool cave and a permanently wet bog.

Q: The duck decoys of Lovelock Cave, Nevada illustrate: a. that caves were important habitation sites throughout Great Basin prehistory. b. the importance of context in archaeological excavations. c. the amazing degree of preservation possible in dry caves. d. all of the above.

Q: The antiquity of humans in the New World was established by the Folsom site. Why? a. The dry desert environment of northeastern New Mexico allowed for the best preservation. b. Careful provenience that recorded context: the association of a spear point with the skeleton of an extinct form of bison. c. The age of the site, established by radiocarbon dating charred corn recovered during excavation. d. All of the above.

Q: If an artifact is said to be in situ, it is: a. missing. b. in place. c. in the process of being analyzed. d. embedded in an animal bone.

Q: Which of the following is true about the Pleistocene? a. It was a geologic period lasting from 2 million to 10 thousand years ago. b. It was characterized by periods of extensive glaciation. c. Many species of now extinct fauna existed during the Pleistocene. d. All of the above.

Q: The Folsom site is important in the history of American archaeology because: a. it was the first site that was excavated using the stratigraphic method, a breakthrough in archaeological technique that allowed for chronological control. b. it finally disproved the Myth of the Moundbuilders, establishing that Native Americans had indeed built the earthworks of the eastern United States. c. it proved the extent of human antiquity in the Americas. d. at a time when most American archaeologists were concentrating on American prehistory, it demonstrated the importance of historic archaeology.

Q: The Folsom site in New Mexico was discovered by: a. George McJunkin, an ex-slave and rancher. b. Jesse Figgins, director of the Colorado Museum of Nature and Science. c. Boucher de Perthes, a French customs official and naturalist. d. A. V. Kidder, Founder of Anthropological Archaeology.