Which of the following is considered an archaeological indicator of ritual:
a) a focus of attention (such as on a specific building)
b) detection of a boundary zone between this world and the next
c) symbols that indicate the presence of a deity
d) presence of offerings
e) all of the above
Explanations based on testing hypotheses derived from general laws is known as
a) deductive-nomological (D-N) explanation
b) hypothetico-deductive (H-D) explanation
c) monocausal explanation
d) multivariate explanation
e) none of the above
Broadly speaking, excavation techniques may be divided into those which emphasize
the vertical dimension, by cutting into deep deposits to reveal stratification, and those
that emphasize the __________ dimension
a) stratified
b) time-space
c) fourth
d) horizontal
e) perpendicular
After retrieving a core, the layers may be analyzed in two ways. First, scientists study
the presence or absence and fluctuations of different foraminiferan species. Second,
using a mass spectrometer, they analyze the
a) fluctuations in the ratio of stable oxygen isotopes 18 and 16 in the calcium carbonate
of the foraminiferan shells
b) fluctuations in the ratio of nitrogen isotopes 15 and 14 in the calcium carbonate of
the foraminiferan shells
c) fluctuations in the ratio of pollens to foraminifera through time
d) fluctuations in the amino acids of bone collagen in the foraminifera
e) all of the above
We know that the Aboriginal hunter-gatherers had a portable toolkit thanks to
a) the historical writings of Australia’s first white settlers
b) the inscriptions on ancient rock shelters
c) recent ethnographic evidence
d) extensive isotopic analysis
e) all of the above
At the site of Mohenjodaro in the Indus Valley, a series of carefully worked cubes of
colored stone are recognized as a system of weights. This discovery allows us to infer
that
a) they had developed a concept equivalent to our own about weight
b) there was a system of numeration involving hierarchical numerical categories
c) the weight system was probably used for practical purposes
d) all of the above
e) a and c only
NISP is a gross counting technique used in the
a) quantification of animal bones
b) quantification of diatoms
c) estimation of pollen grains
d) estimation of fossil cuticles
e) None of the above
For many years, archaeologists puzzled over the method used to create the flute or
channel on Folsom points, a Paleo-Indian tool of North America. Based on textual
observations and experimentation, it was determined that the flute was created by
a) the block-on-block technique
b) pressure flaking using a small, pointed tool
c) an antler billet
d) pressure flaking using a T-shaped crutch, placed against the chest
e) an unknown process
The study of the form and development of the landscape is known as
a) geomorphology
b) palynology
c) archaeozoology
d) taphonomy
e) ethnoarchaeology
First emerging in East Africa, Homo erectus were hominids with larger brains than H.
habilis, and manufactured bifacial teardrop-shaped stones tools (Acheulian hand axes).
H. erectus is known as early as _________ in East Africa
a) half a million years ago
b) 1.6 million years ago
c) 16 million years ago
d) 60 million years ago
e) just under 90 million years ago
In order to smooth out local irregularities and highlight the main geographic
distribution of objects, archaeologist might use
a) XTENT modeling
b) site catchment analysis
c) trend surface analysis
d) isotopic analysis
e) fall-off analysis
Microscopic abrasion on human teeth provides clues to general types of food intake.
Abrasive particles in food leave striations on the tooth enamel which
a) on meat eaters, leave vertical striations on lateral surfaces of teeth
b) on vegetarians, leave both vertical and horizontal striations
c) leave striations on the biting surfaces (which also can be the result of food
preparation)
d) answers a and c only
e) Answers a, b, and c are correct
___________________ is based on the counting, measurement, and patterning of
annual growth rings in known species of trees
a) Radiocarbon
b) Varve analysis
c) Botanical dating
d) Dendrochronology
e) Amino acid racemization
One of the main benefits of the Portable Antiquities Scheme is
a) the data produced has given us a lot of information about the distribution of sites and
of artifact types
b) it encourages metal detectorists to give up that destructive hobby
c) it keeps the public out of the archaeological process, thereby protecting
archaeological sites
d) it was able to totally replace the Treasure Act
e) it helps public museums fill their display cases
A society that has a ruler with authority to establish and enforce laws, stratified classes,
administrative officials for collecting revenue, and the practice of redistribution would
probably be considered a(n)
a) mobile hunter-gatherer group
b) segmentary society
c) chiefdom
d) early state
e) none of the above
Societies such as chiefdoms and states, whose members have unequal access to status
and prestige, are known as
a) egalitarian societies
b) ranked societies
c) tribal societies
d) archaic societies
e) bands
In a study of Telarmachay, a prehistoric site in the Peruvian Andes, Jane Wheeler found
that at around 3000 BC there was a significant increase in remains of fetal and newborn
camelids such as llamas and alpacas (from about 35% to about 73%). She interprets this
as evidence that
a) these were young wild animals hunted and brought to the site
b) these were young wild animals that were easily scavenged because of high mortality
in the herd
c) these were domesticated animals experiencing high mortality as a result of life in
dirty, muddy corrals
d) these were imported young animals, brought from the south for ritual slaughter
e) all of the above are correct
At Khok Phanom Di, study of the 154 burials found no evidence for
a) thalassemia
b) tooth wear
c) joint degeneration
d) trauma or injuries from violence or warfare
e) dental disease
At the site of Tell Abu Hureyra, Syria, Epipaleolithic (10th/9th millennia BC) layers
contained only morphologically “wild” forms of einkorn and rye, and lacked the
common, toxic-seeded weeds that become abundant later in the Neolithic levels.
However cultivation came about, once farming was fully established, the spectrum of
seed-based foods
a) dropped from 150 species to a mere 8
b) dropped from 150 species to about 120
c) increased from about 150 species to many hundreds
d) increased from about 8 species to almost 200
e) remained relatively steady, despite minor fluctuations
Robert Carneiro, a major proponent of ______________, emphasized the importance of
environmental constraints and territorial limitations to explain the origins of the state
a) ecological determinism
b) environmental circumscription
c) punctuated equilibria
d) structuralist approaches
e) systems thinking
Early anthropologists regarded the ____________ as little more than laboratory
specimens, and their graves, even very modern ones, were routinely desecrated to
produce scientific collections
a) Australian Aborigines
b) the Berbers of North Africa
c) the Mestizos of Mexico
d) the convict settlers of Australia
e) the people of eastern Siberia
The idea that the Classic Maya collapse happened in multiple stages and was due to a
combination of factors including environmental factors, overpopulation, and warfare, is
an example of a:
a) monocausal explanation
b) multivariate explanation
c) critical theory
d) systems approach
e) compounded explanation
A comprehensive analysis of ancient DNA, from both mtDNA and nuclear DNA
samples, from a prehistoric Oneota cemetery at Norris Farms in Illinois, dating to about
AD 1300, suggests a
a) “single wave” hypothesis for the peopling of the Americas, around 37,000-23,000
years ago
b) “single wave” hypothesis for the peopling of the Americas, around 14,000-12,000
years ago
c) “multi-wave” hypothesis for the peopling of the Americas, at about 6,000 years ago,
14,000-12,000 years ago, and 37,000-23,000 years ago
d) “multi-wave” hypothesis for the peopling of the Americas, at about 37,000-23,000
years ago, and 54,000-61,000 years ago
e) “single wave” hypothesis for the peopling of the Americas, around 100,000-60,000
years ago
It seems likely that in some cases the scale of an area in which _____________ was
influential in determining the scale of the ethnic group that came to be formed
a) a particularly pottery motif came into use
b) a certain tool assemblage came into use
c) a language came to be spoken
d) a particular clothing style came to be worn
e) a society came to develop agriculture
On Easter Island, the most isolated piece of inhabited land in the world, the loss of
timber due to the cutting down of trees by humans resulted in
a) termination of stone head
b) cessation of canoe manufacture
c) soil erosion
d) lower crop yields
e) all of the above
Although film is still generally used in air photography in the last few years
___________ have become sufficiently good to be used by airborne archaeologists
a) handheld digital cameras
b) webcams
c) mobile phone cameras
d) all of the above
e) none of the above
A remote sensing technique, SLAR, stands for _______________ and was used
successfully to suggest that Maya agriculture was more intensive than previously
believed
a) sideways-looking airborne radar
b) sidereal longitudinal airborne radar
c) satellite land to air radar
d) standard laser assisted radar
e) standard longitudinal aerial radar
Small fragments of bone may be examined for bone microstructure. With increasing
age, circular structures called _________ become more frequent
a) otoliths
b) osteons
c) osteoliths
d) ostrakons
e) ephiphyses
Although the physical remains of most of the people who died at Pompeii have
disappeared, archaeologists have been able to study these ‘bodies’ in the form of
a) census lists
b) plaster casts
c) cremated ashes
d) statues and other carvings
e) myths and legends
The most notable feature of the work of the York Archaeological Trust has been its
success
a) in producing the earliest archaeological carbon dates for England
b) in developing groundbreaking isotopic techniques for wet environments
c) in appeasing the local druids who did not like the project at first
d) in using new method to involve the public in the project
e) in establishing a clear pottery sequence for the British Neolithic period
Which of the following is an example of “original human behavior” at an
archaeological site?
a) the plowing of a field that is located over the archaeological site
b) the pillaging of the archaeological site by looter
c) the excavation of the site by archaeologists
d) the disposal of the debris produced from making a tool at the site
e) all of these reflect “original human behavior” at the archaeological site
What types of aerial photograph can be used by archaeologists?
a) only vertical images
b) both vertical and oblique images
c) only oblique images
d) neither vertical nor oblique images can be used by archaeologists
One of the objectives sought by Ian Hodder in his renewed excavations at atalhyk was
to
a) allow more local inhabitants to voice their interpretations of the site
b) allow different specialists to have a voice in the site interpretation
c) develop a more flexible and open approach to interpreting stratigraphy in the field
d) all of the above
e) none of the above