Introduction to Prehistoric Archaeology					26 October, 2004
Anthrarc: 282								J.M. O’Shea

First Hour Exam

Part 1.  Short Answers:

Answer each of the twelve questions in the space provided, using the back of the page if absolutely necessary.  Each answer is worth 5 points.

1.  What are the three (3) goals of anthropological archaeology?

2.  What is experimental archaeology and why is it important to archaeology?

3.  What is the Pompeii premise?  What is its alternative?

4.  Contrast site vs. non-site archaeology.

5.  Define Relative and Absolute Dating, and give two examples of each.

6.  Identify either MNI or MUI.  How is it used by archaeologists?

7.  What would an archaeologist use coprolites to study?  Provide a strength and a weakness of this evidence for such study.

8.  How would you transform the following lab report into a calendar date:  2000 BP +/- 100?

9.  List three (3) different types of processes that take material from a systemic to an archaeological context.

10.  Name three (3) remote sensing techniques that are used to find or map archaeological sites.

11.  What is isochrestic variation?  How does it come into being?

12.	Define either the Law of Superposition or Worsaae’s Law?  How is it used in archaeology?

Extra Credit:	Identify this quote: “X never, ever marks the spot.”

Part II, Essay Questions:

	Answer any two (2) of the following four questions in the space provided below and on the back of this sheet.  Each question is worth 20 points.  Please indicate which question you are answering.

1. Construct a flow diagram for a consumable item of your choice.  Be sure to label each step and to show the major pathways into the archaeological record.

2. Describe how radiocarbon dating works.  What kinds of materials can it date and what are the potential sources of error.  How do archaeologists control for these potential errors?

3. What can site distribution data tell you about a past society?  What techniques do archaeologists use to draw these conclusions?

4. How is seriation used as a dating technique?  What assumptions underlie the technique, and what are its limitations?