Archaeological Field Methods

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This covers most of Prof. Toumazou's lecture notes on the archeological field methods and lists salient points from the AAP textbook. Again, super props goes out to David Massey (AAP '02), without whom this text would not be possible.

CHAPTER 1

archaeology - study of human behavior and cultural change in the past
anthropology - study of humankind 'in the broadest sense'

CHAPTER 2

cultural materialism - technology pushes cultural evolution
functionalist society - one that believes that if something exists, it has a function
materialistic society - society is defined by conflict (supply and demand)
idealistic society - society is governed by symbols
diachronic - focused on change over time
synchronic - focused on a specific period of time
holistic - assumption that all aspects of a culture fit within context of environment

CHAPTER 3

research design - 6-stage process composed of formulation, implementation, data aquisition, data processing, analysis, and interpretation
sample - portion of site (can be natural or arbitrary)
nonprobabilistic sampling - technique that provides contextual information about an area, features or site -- not designed for quantative measurements
probabilistic sampling - sampling technique that assumes that samples are mathematically related to original population
target population - who you're looking at (universe)
sampled population - who you've tested

HOW TO CHOOSE A SAMPLING STRATEGY

• use nonprob when looking just for features
• if you want to coorelate samples mathematically with an original population, use prob
• if covering 100% of area
  • use cluster technique (look at distribution of different type of objects)
  • use nested technique (look at how objects are represented in varying areas)

simple random sampling - all points in 2d grid are chosen randomly (pros: easy, cons: portions may be under/over-represented; people say that this method is inappropiate when universe being sampled is structured)
systematic sampling - chose every other SMU (can be a problem when dealing with horizontally-oriented settlements)
stratified random sampling - divide area into 2D portions (strata), which then are randomly sampled

CHAPTER 4

intensive survey -survey people walking over site are close together (Argolia Explor proj)
extensive survey - survey people walking over site are far away (Canadian Polyphos)
transect - a linear formation (linear survey unit) which kids arrange themselves in order to walk
artifact - natural thing modified by humans
theodolite - precise instrument that measures angles (helps in site survey)

SURVEY METHODS = walking, digging test pits
REMOTE SENSING METHODS = magnetic surveying, resistivity surveying, ground-penetrating radar, aerial survey, infrared photography

CHAPTER 6

site context - how an object was found in relation to surroundings
cache - cluster FIND HEIGHT OF OBJECT = use stadia rod with transit
statigraphy - natural and cultural layering of soil at site

CHAPTER 9

longitude - north-to-south pole lines (prime meridian is at Greenwich)
latitude - east-to-west pole lines (equator is 0 degrees) UTM Grid System = has easting and northing
United Public Land Survey System = townships (6 miles square), section (1 mile square)
Site Records = either use radial method (start from one center and go like a bicycle wheel outward) or or intersection method (use 2 points to calibrate a 3rd)

CHAPTER 10

uniformatism - geological processes that were present in the past work the same way now
law of superposition - oldest soil layers are on top, youngest are on bottom
law of association - if two objects are found next to each other, they are in same time
horizon marker - something that exists in one strat but not the other
ABERRATIONS - on riverbeds, stuff on top of heap is oldest. wierd

CHAPTER 14

Fluorine Dating

• Fluorine is absorbed into bones from groundwater
• Fluorine combines with bone hydroxyapatite to form flourapatite
• USED TO FIND WHETHER ONE BONE IS SAME AGE AS OTHER (see Piltdown age)

C¹⁴ Dating

• range is modern to 100,000 BC
• when alive, animals have a stable ratio of Carbon-12 to Carbon-14
• Over time, the C14 in the animal decays exponentially
• technique enhanced by technique called accellerator mass spectography
• stuff coming from lab is given as 2000 +- 50 BP (BP = Before Present)
• PROBLEMS: c14 content of organisms has changed over time
• PROBLEMS: sunspot, cosmic radiation, burning of fossil fuels
• GOOD: c14 can be calibrated against dendrochronology

MISCELLANEOUS MATERIALS

This stuff is from lecture notes (I think ^_^)

• thermoluminscence
  • once an object is fired to a high level, it glows, and releases all its energy
  • after fired (counter reset), the object collects energy from radioactive stuff
  • range 50-20,000 years
• potassium-argon dating
  • dates time when the rock was last melted
  • people reheat rock and collect argon gas, which is descendent of radio potassium
  • half-life of 40000 years (vs. 5730 years for C14) (not as accurate)
• archaeomagnetic dating
  • dates big kilns [features] that isn't reheated clay
  • magnetic minerals orient themselves with world magnetic field when fired
• relative dating - not absolute dating
  • statigraphy
  • cross-dating - compare one object to another dated thing (based on typo, ash, etc.)