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Chapter 5
Field Methods in Archaeology and Paleoanthropology
MULTIPLE CHOICE
W 1. The durable aspects of culture such as tools, structures, and art are known as
_______________.
a. fossils
b. artifacts
c. material culture
d. prehistory
e. intangibles
W 2. The finding and cataloguing of ancient artifacts is often thought of by lay people to be the
chief goal of archaeology. While this was true in the ________ century, the situation
changed in the ________ century.
a. 18th, 20th
b. 20th, 21st
c. 19th, 20th
d. 17th, 19th
e. 16th, 15th
W 3. Those physical anthropologists engaged in the recovery and study of fossil evidence for
human evolution are known as _______________.
a. paleontologists
b. geoarchaeologists
c. fossilologists
d. osteologists
e. paleoanthropologists
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4. The study of how bones and other materials come to be preserved in the earth as fossils is
called _______________.
a. fossology
b. relative dating
c. paleoanthropology
d. taphonomy
e. taxonomy
5. Because it is something someone made, archaeologists like to say that a(n)
_______________ is a product of human behavior.
a. article
b. artifact
c. act
d. item
e. fossil
W 6. The first task for the archaeologist is _______________.
a. notify the government
b. obtain permission to dig
c. rent backhoes
d. plan and carry out excavation
e. finding sites to investigate
7. _______________ are a source of information on prehistoric foods and can be analyzed
for dietary remains.
a. Animal carcasses
b. Coprolites
c. Animal bones
d. Pollen samples
e. Pot shards
Field Methods in Archaeology and Paleoanthropology
8. In the case of fossils, the block in which they have been removed from the field is cut
open, and the fossil is separated from the matrix. Which of the following chemicals
would be used in this process?
a. tartaric and phosphoric acids
b. boric and muriatic acids
c. citric and chloritic acids
d. carbonic and sulfuric acids
e. hydrofluoric and hydrochloric acids
9. As pointed out in your textbook, _______________ are casts of the inside of skulls.
a. exocasts
b. endocasts
c. interior casts
d. partial casts
e. full skull casts
10. From the work of _______________ and others, we now know that most stone tools were
made by right-handed individuals.
a. Pavlov
b. Simmons
c. Thompson
d. Semenov
e. Hill
11. The fact that most stone tools were probably made by right-handed individuals, has
implications for _______________.
a. the disappearance of the prehensile tail
b. the appearance of agriculture
c. brain structure
d. skeletal structure
e. aggressive behavior in humans
12. With accurate and detailed records of their excavations in hand, archaeologists and
paleoanthropologists are able to deal with a plausible reconstruction of _______________.
a. culture
b. hidden practices in present day governments
c. secret arrangements in ancient marital practices
d. emotions
e. level of intelligence
W 13. In the original study “Whispers from the Ice,” the remains of historic and prehistoric
houses were uncovered that were part of an old village that predated the modern
community of _______________ near the site.
a. Ukkuqsi
b. Anchorage
c. Fairbanks
d. Barrow
e. Murmansk
14. For the archaeologists, according to the original study “Whispers from the Ice,” having
elders stand beside them and identifying items and providing _______________ is like
hearing the past whispering in their ears.
a. moral support
b. funding
c. encouragement
d. sustenance
e. historical context
13. As pointed out in the original study “Whispers from the Ice,” working with community
elders is not a radical idea to the archaeologists Jensen and Sheehan, whose previous
work in the Arctic has earned them high regard from the local officials who appreciate
their _______________.
a. generosity
b. sense of humor
c. expense account
d. sensitivity
e. status
14. The scientific team mentioned in the article “Whispers from the Ice,” determined by
radiocarbon dating that the girl died about _______________.
a. 1 million B.C.
b. 20,000 B.C.
c. 5,200 A.D.
d. 1,200 A.D.
e. 1,200 B.P.
15. Laboratory tests and analysis of the girl’s frozen body in the original study “Whispers
from the Ice” will not contribute much to which of the following kinds of information?
a. soot damage in her lungs might offer health implications for people who rely on oil
lamps, dung fires, and charcoal for heat and light
b. political ideology
c. genetic tests could illuminate early population movements of Inupiats
d. religious beliefs
e. b and d
16. The purpose of a grid system is _______________.
a. to record the exact location of an artifact or fossil accurately, both horizontally and
vertically
b. to tell relic collectors where to find artifacts to sell to private collections
c. to provide electricity to primitive villages
d. to cook bacon
e. to recover small objects immersed in water
17. Which of the following conditions is most favorable to the preservation of fossils?
a. a cultural practice in which the deceased is placed on a platform open to predators
and weather
b. a wet hillside
c. burial in volcanic ash
d. a moist, warm tropical rainforest
e. a cultural practice in which the deceased is thrown into the mouth of a volcano
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18. A “relative date” _______________.
a. is when you take your cousin out to dinner
b. would be represented by the statement, “This fossil is about 100,000 years old, plus
or minus 10,000 years”
c. is the same as a “chronometric date”
d. would be represented by the statement, “Fossil A has more fluorine in it than Fossil
B, so it is the older one”
e. is based on solar years
W 19. The use of tree rings to assign chronometric dates is called _______________.
a. palynology
b. potassium-argon
c. dendrochronology
d. stratigraphy
e. matrix analysis
W 20. The radiocarbon method can be used to date organic materials up to _____________
years old.
a. 11,460
b. 70,000
c. 5,730
d. 1.3 billion
e. 4.5 billion
W 21. Which of the following was found to be significant in the skulls from peoples of the
Tiwanaku empire?
a. tightly bound skulls of women
b. turtle head tattoos
c. tightly bound skulls of children
d. skulls found in context of interesting geologic formations
e. jaguar skulls in the same context with human skulls
22. Which of the following dating methods are considered to be absolute dating methods?
a. electron spin resonance
b. accelerator mass spectrometry
c. carbon 14 dating
d. potassium-argon dating
e. all of the above
23. Kennewick Man was dated at around _______________ years old.
a. 9.300
b. 6,700
c. 7,900
d. 10,080
e. 12.400
24. Which of the following statements is incorrect?
a. The archaeologist is usually thought of as someone who finds and catalogs material
objects, such as coins, arrowheads, and potsherds.
b. The end result of archaeological research is to interpret artifacts as material
expressions of the ideas of a past culture and to try to reconstruct that culture to add
to our understanding of human behavior.
c. The paleoanthropologist excavates, describes, and organizes the fossil remains of
human ancestors.
d. The end result of paleoanthropological research is to contribute to the reconstruction
of the processes of human biological evolution.
e. none of the above is incorrect (all are correct)
25. The following descriptions are of the remains of organisms that have been subjected to
various conditions. Which of these would you expect to last the longest?
a. feathers of a chicken left on open ground
b. skin of a man buried in a peat bog
c. skin of a mammoth left on an anthill in 90-degree weather
d. DNA of bones buried in a limestone cave
e. soft part of a clam in the open ocean
26. A system for recording data in three dimensions for an archeological excavation is called
a(n) _______________.
a. grid system
b. fossil locality
c. datum point
d. stratigraphic analysis
e. site
27. The term “soil marks” refers to _______________.
a. a place where fossils are found in paleoanthropology
b. a system for recording data from an archaeological excavation
c. stains that show up on the surface of recently plowed fields, indicating an
archaeological site
d. remains of plants and animals whose organic material has been replaced by silica
e. none of the above
28. The starting point, or reference, for a grid is called _______________.
a. flotation
b. stratification
c. a datum point
d. a grid system
e. paleoanthropology
29. Skeletal analyses have become more difficult to carry out, especially in the U.S., where
American Indian communities now often request the return of skeletons from
archaeological excavations for reburial, as required by federal law. _______________
helps to resolve this conflict.
a. Coating it with latex
b. Dissolving it with chemicals
c. 3D digital images of skeletons
d. Cutting it into pieces and saving a few
e. Analyzing its shape
Field Methods in Archaeology and Paleoanthropology
30. You ask your best friend’s mother how old she is. She replies, “I’m younger than your
mother.” You were asking for a(n) _______________ date, but she gave you a(n)
_______________ date.
a. absolute, relative
b. relative, absolute
c. absolute, chronometric
d. relative, chronometric
e. solar, calendrical
W 31. Stratigraphy is based on the assumption that layers are deposited in order; thus, an artifact
or fossil in a lower stratum is _______________ one found in a higher stratum.
a. the same age as
b. older than
c. younger than
d. likely to be descended from
e. likely to be unrelated to
W 32. You are investigating an archaeological site in which there are several clearly
distinguishable layers of earth laid down. You find a piece of finely glazed china in the
fifth (lowest) layer and a piece of unglazed pottery in the first (highest) layer. You
assume that the unglazed pottery was made more recently than the finely glazed pottery. In
making such an assumption you are using the method of _______________.
a. palynology
b. stratigraphy
c. radiocarbon analysis
d. flourine analysis
e. dendrochronology
33. Which of the following conditions must be met for dendrochronology to be used?
a. Climate must fluctuate so that tree rings of variable sizes are grown each year.
b. The amount of radioactive carbon in the atmosphere must remain constant from year
to year.
c. Climate must remain the same all year long so that tree rings remain the same size.
d. Volcanic eruptions must occur on a regular basis.
e. Pollen must be fossilized.
34. You are a paleoanthropologist uncovering fossils in East Africa. Using a certain
technique, you discover that a humanlike fossil is in a stratum between a volcanic
eruption dated at 2.9 million years and another volcanic eruption whose rocks
give a date of 3.6 million years. The fossil is about
midway between these layers, so you assign a tentative date of 3.2–3.3
million years to your fossil. What technique are you using?
a. radiocarbon analysis
b. stratigraphy
c. dendrochronology
d. potassium-argon analysis
e. grid system
35. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act was passed in
_______________.
a. 1964
b. 2006
c. 1990
d. 1887
e. 2001
36. The physical remains of our ancestors, as opposed to the things they left behind, are the
concern of the _______________.
a. paleontolgist
b. ethnologist
c. ethnographer
d. biologist
e. paleoanthropologist
37. Any mineralized trace or impression of an organism that has been preserved in the
Earth’s crust from past geologic time is known as a(n) _______________.
a. context
b. fossil
c. artifact
d. very old thing
e. rock or stone
38. _______________ are garbage disposal areas in an archaeological site.
a. Middens
b. Soil marks
c. Endocasts
d. Refuse heaps
e. Fossils
39. The elaborate tombs of the rulers of dynastic Egypt, often contain wooden furniture,
textiles, flowers, and papyri barely touched by time, seemingly as fresh looking as they
were when deposited in the tomb as long as _______________ years ago.
a. 1000
b. 7000
c. 9000
d. 10,000
e. 5,000
40. _______________ dating consists simply of finding out if an event or object is younger
or older than another.
a. Absolute
b. Chronometric
c. Relative
d. Flourine
e. Comparative
41. The _______________ method of dating was developed to determine the age of recent
materials, such as Greek pottery.
a. potassium argon
b. fission track
c. seriation
d. thermoluminescence
e. radiocarbon
42. If one was attempting to measure the orientation of magnetic particles in stones, and link
them to whether the magnetic field of the earth was pulling toward the north or the south
during their formation, that person would use the _______________ method of dating.
a. dendrochronology
b. seriation
c. paleomagnetic reversals
d. electron spin resonance
e. amino acid racemization
TRUE/FALSE
W 1. In archaeology, as pointed out in your textbook, where problems exist in applying
standard archaeological dating techniques, usually no other specialized methods
are available.
W 2. The importance of the context in which artifacts are found cannot be overstated; without
context, the archaeologist in effect knows nothing.
W 3. The only way to thoroughly investigate our past is to excavate sites where biological and
cultural remains are found. Unfortunately, excavation results in the site’s destruction.
W 4. Even in the absence of extinct animal remains, faunal assemblages may provide clues to
dating.
W 5. Archaeology and paleonanthropology are two totally different specialties within
anthropology. As such each contributes little to the other’s objectives, and seldom would
they share many methods of data recovery.
6. Recently, skeletal analyses have become much more difficult to carry out in the United
States.
Field Methods in Archaeology and Paleoanthropology
7. Seriation is an absolute dating technique.
8. The “Kennewick Man” refers to the 9,300-year-old skeletal remains found in Washington
State.
9. The term prehistoric, while conjuring up images of cavemen and women, does not imply
a lack of history.
10. Most organisms are altered in the process of becoming fossilized.
11. Archaeological sites may be found just about anywhere, the same holds true for fossilized
physical remains.
12. The knowledge that can be derived from physical and cultural remains diminishes
dramatically if an accurate and detailed record of excavation is not kept.
13. The drawback to fluorine analysis is that it is site specific.
Chapter 5
102
MATCHING
Match the dating method to the material on which it is performed.
a. volcanic ash
b. wood
c. organic remains
d. bone
e. pollen
1. ______ radiocarbon
2. ______ fluorine dating
3. ______ dendrochronology
4. ______ potassium-argon dating
5. ______ palynology
SHORT ANSWER
1. Discuss how objects and events from the past can be reliably dated in order to give an
accurate understanding of the age of remains.
2. What is the benefit of taphonomy to the study and interpretation of fossils?
3. What is the meaning of the “half-life” of Carbon 14? With that in mind, how far back is
radiocarbon dating useful?
4. What is the difference between archaeology and paleoanthropology?
5. Why is it said that the biology and culture of our ancestors are reconstructed on the basis
of incomplete and possibly underrepresented samples of physical and cultural remains?
Field Methods in Archaeology and Paleoanthropology
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6. Define a grid system and explain its purpose.
7. How does the Bohannon site in Vermont represent the importance of cultural resource
management?
8. What are two drawbacks of electron spin resonance?
9. Identify and explain the method most commonly used to date sequences of cultural
remains into relative chronological order based on stylistic features.
10. Discuss ways ancient societies used to record dates that enable archaeologists to correlate
with our own calendar.
11. What is the importance of the geomagnetic polarity time scale to archaeologists’ efforts
to date material remains?
12. What has to happen for an organism to become a fossil?
13. Why does the context have such an important role in understanding the past?
14. Why is it said that archeological artifacts are not considered in isolation?
15. What was the controversy surrounding the ¨Kennewick Man¨?
ESSAY
1. Explain each of the absolute dating methods considered in your textbook. What are the
uses and limitations of each?
2. If you were a paleoanthropologist who had just discovered an ancient-looking skull, what
techniques would you use to remove and preserve the find?
3. What do the findings from the autopsy of the frozen girl’s body described in the original
study “Whispers from the Ice” suggest what about her life?
4. The methods used to date archaeological or fossil remains are varied. Why are there so
many different ways to conduct dating analyses? Use examples in your answer.
5. How does an archaeologist identify a site? Outline the steps an archaeologists uses to
study the site. Using a hypothetical example, suggest how the remains that are found
could be dated.
6. Define the recent developments in fossil analysis. Where might you suggest the future
lies in analyses of fossil evidence?
7. Identify and discuss the methods employed by archaeologists and paleoanthropologists to
determine the age of material artifacts or fossil specimens.