The National Historic Preservation Act was passed in reaction to the destruction of
historic buildings that was resulting from a push to “clean up” American urban centers.
Piltdown Man was important because he was the Missing Link.ʺ ʺ
The urban center of Harappa shows evidence of city planning.
When cultural differences disappear, syncretism has occurred.
Images which have become simplified and generalized to stand for ideas rather than
things are called pictographs.
Iron tools can be directly dated by extracting carbon introduced to the metal alloy
during forging.
Archaeological survey and excavation is physically demanding.
Maya writing was not deciphered until the 1970s, and is still subject to revisions.
Features are portable and can be moved easily without compromising their overall
integrity.
It is possible to radiocarbon date organic materials used to make paint for certain rock
art sites.
An artifact that has been moved since its original deposit is in a primary context.
The three age system is an example of relative dating.
It can be much more difficult to detect migrations of new people into areas already
occupied by other people.
Osteologists are specialists concerned with the analysis of human soft tissue remains.
There is a difference between sex and gender.
Egyptian mummification was reserved for only the wealthiest people.
Adopting intensive agriculture as a subsistence strategy has been universally beneficial
to human health.
Controlled burning probably was the most widely used method of environmental
manipulation in the human past.
Critics of processualism have claimed that science is subjective and dehumanizing.
In some cases, lithic materials from completely different sites can be refitted and used
to reconstruct the specific movements of people.
Shell artifacts are only found in coastal sites.
There is evidence that some Palaeolithic rock art may be calendrical in nature.
It is easy to know the meaning of prehistoric art.
Every society, past and present, employed some type of architecture.
Every archaeological site that is found is excavated.
Evolutionary archaeologists believe that cultural traits are subjected to selective
pressures.
Using a metal detector is one form of geophysical survey.
Test excavations are often necessary to help determine whether a site should go on the
national registry.
Native American disputes with archaeological practice include which of the following
A) They are being misrepresented with a false or incomplete history.
B) The handling of possession of dead relatives can result in illness, bad luck, and even
death among living populations.
C) Archaeologists have treated tribal concerns with indifference.
D) all of the above
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
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
The archaeological record at Puerto Escondito suggests __________.
A) that agriculture was never invented there
B) that the Olmec people colonized the Puerto Escondito area
C) that the people were likely involved in a long distance trading network with the
Olmec
D) that obsidian was prized for ritual purposes
E) that feathers were being traded for fish from the Olmec coast
The inhabitants of urban centers are most likely to depend upon which of the following
subsistence systems?
A) intensive agriculture
B) horticulture
C) pastoralism
D) foraging
E) none of the above
Obsidian, jade, and turquoise are all materials that__________.
A) originated near a volcanic source
B) are relatively easy to source geochemically
C) can be worked to a sharp edge
D) are perishable in acid soils
E) occur only in Inca sites
The Elgin Marbles __________.
A) were returned to Greece in the 1920s
B) are still on display in the British Museum
C) were taken as part of an act of war
D) originally stood outside of the Coliseum
E) were the key to deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics
Obsidian hydration analysis provides estimates of __________.
A) when the obsidian was formed.
B) when tools made of the glassy stone were made.
C) when a volcano erupted.
D) where the obsidian was formed.
E) all of the above.
Excavations are undertaken when?
A) at every finding of an archaeological site
B) to save what is left after development has begun
C) to increase understanding of a past culture
D) when funding allows for payment of at least 10 archaeologists
Bog bodies are preserved by naturally occurring __________.
A) acids
B) tannins
C) bacteria and fungi
D) oxides
E) resins
The primary mechanism by which humans adapt to their environment is __________.
A) technology
B) culture
C) biological adaption
D) equilibrium
E) ecology
Some people have the incorrect idea that archaeology includes __________.
A) documenting modern garbage patterns
B) digging up dinosaurs
C) studying shipwrecks
D) understanding cultures
E) reconstructing past environments
Relative dating involves __________.
A) the law of superposition.
B) placing materials and events in real time
C) analysis of radioactive isotopes
D) only organic material
E) prehistoric materials
Some of the earliest innovations in archaeological field methods include __________.
A) use of stratigraphy to establish chronology
B) relying upon local folklore to explain archaeological findings
C) the use lasers and surveying to create a level and accurate grid system
D) water dowsing
E) tabulated data processing and analysis
The primary focus of the earliest archaeology in Australia was __________.
A) the populating of Polynesia
B) the origin and antiquity of the Aborigines
C) the meaning of Australian rock art
D) the origins of agriculture on the continent
E) the earliest European settlers
Frozen human bodies _____.
A) are surprising common archaeological finds
B) comprise the primary source of archaeologists knowledge about past people’s healthʹ
C) are spectacular and rare archaeological finds
D) are found only in the highlands of Peru
E) are found only in Europe
Investigating subsistence involves identifying __________.
A) diet
B) technology
C) organization
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
Most material culture recovered from the archaeological record __________.
A) contains some symbolic expression of cultural meaning
B) is purely utilitarian
C) consists of faunal remains
D) cannot be interpreted
E) none of the above
Examples of special purpose sites include __________.
A) camps.
B) towns.
C) cities.
D) villages.
E) cemeteries.
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
The Moche were an early civilization of farmers and fishers who thrived along the
north coast of __________.
A) France
B) Mexico
C) Peru
D) Chile
E) Canada
Subsistence includes __________.
A) building shelters
B) storing food
C) eating
D) food preparation
E) all of the above
The overall director of an archaeological project is called__________.
A) the professor
B) the Principal Investigator
C) the Head Archaeologist
D) the Supervisor
In compliance archaeology, the next step after nomination to the NRHP is __________.
A) to redesign the proposed project so it will not endanger the site
B) to design a data recovery program
C) A or B
D) none of the above
The first step in fieldwork is usually __________.
A) survey
B) excavation
C) artifact analysis
D) flotation
E) establishing a grid
The earliest known archaeological work was conducted by __________.
A) ancient Greeks
B) ancient Romans
C) ancient Egyptians
D) ancient monks looking for King Arthur
E) Medieval Ottomans
Archaeological models are designed to be flexible in light of new data.
Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry are both methods used to
perform__________.
A) use-wear analysis
B) aDNA analysis
C) geochemical sourcing
D) residue analysis
E) carbon dating
Use-wear analysis is most helpful in determining an object’s __________.
A) original size
B) source
C) age
D) cultural significance
E) composition and function
A bioarchaeologist observing traits in the human skeleton to determine sex would not
be concerned with what feature?
A) shape of the forehead
B) morphology of the pelvic bones
C) general robusticity of the skeleton
D) epiphyseal union
E) the sacrum
Dendrochronology __________.
A) is less accurate than radiocarbon dating.
B) can be used on any site.
C) can only be used in very cold climates.
D) requires a comparative collection.
E) is only possible with petrified wood.