Archaeology RQ Chapter 3

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Archaeology Reading Questions Chapter 3 1) What is a projectile point, exactly? Projectile points are arrowheads, dart points or spear points. A projectile point could also be used as a knife, but most are generally sharp, pointed objects made of stone, bone, antler, or ivory, that are/were hafted to weapons that are capable of being projected, or thrown, such as spears and arrows. 2) What is the fallacy of the typical site (hint: include settlement system or pattern as part of your answer)? No site is typical of the entire settlement system, or the movements and activities reconstructed from a settlement pattern and the distribution of sites across a region will each yield different data and/or artifacts because the pattern of movement between different places is timed to the availability of food and resources. 3) Explain the Smithsonian or trinomial numbering system. The Smithsonian number is a unique catalog number given to sites, consisting of a number (the state’s position alphabetically), a letter abbreviation of the county, and the site’s sequential number within the county. For example: 26CH798 26 = Nevada, the 26 th state listed alphabetically CH = Churchill county 798 = the 798 th site recorded in the county 4) OK, it we’re all about finding sites in this chapter, how can such a thing as non- site archaeology exist? Non-site archaeology is the analysis of archaeological patterns manifested on a scale of kilometers or hectares, rather than of patterns within a single site. 5 & 6) What is the right way to do a survey? OK, that was trick question. For two questions’ credit, list all the methods of survey, perhaps even making a chart of their pros and cons. Make sure to include: walking or surface collection, shovel testing, remote sensing, magnetometer, resistivity, and GPR.

There is no one “right” way to do a survey. There are many different techniques that can be used and utilized. Walking or surface collection - collecting samples or artifacts from the surface Plow zone archaeology – walking through plowed fields after tilling or rainfall because the plow or rain turns up shallow buried remains Shovel testing – entails digging shallow, systemic pits across the survey unit Subsurface testing – checking under the top surface Remote sensing – the use of some form of electromagnetic energy to detect and measure characteristics of an archaeological target Proton magnetometer – a remote sensing technique that measures the strength of magnetism between the earth’s magnetic core and a sensor controlled by the archaeologist Soil resistivity survey – monitors the electrical resistance of soils in a restricted volume near the surface of an archaeological site - Changes in the amount of resistance registered by the resistivity meter can indicate buried walls or features GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) – a remote sensing technique in which radar pulses directed into the ground reflect back to the surface when they strike features or interfaces within the ground, showing the presence and depth of possible buried features 7) Summarize the St. Catherines Island survey. Surface survey began with random sampling – 30 east-west transects, each 100 meters wide, providing a 20% sample of the island. The systematic archaeological survey on St Catherines Island was difficult due to the terrain and dense vegetation. Sites were almost always buried and were searched for using probes – 135 sites were recorded, and each site was investigated with several 1-meter square test units and more than 400 such test pits were excavated. Subsurface testing, remote sensing, a proton precession magnetometer and soil resistivity surveying led to the eventual discovery of the well-preserved ruins of Mission Santa Catalina de Guale and two decades were spent excavating the church ruins. 8) Again, if we are all about digging up things in archaeology, how can something like non-invasive archaeology exist? Some form of non-invasive archaeology can work anywhere, and it is becoming more affordable. Non-invasive archaeology permits the construction of robust linkages between walls, structures and features and the way that they are remotely perceived by the sensors. Non-invasive archaeology transcends archaeology “by capture” utilizing a noninvasive, conservation-oriented approach.

9) Explain what landscape archaeology is. Why might it be a difficult thing to do? Landscape archaeology is the study of ancient human modification of the environment. It is concerned with how people use and modify their environment and can help test hypotheses about how ancient peoples used a landscape, but landscapes carry symbolic meanings as well as economic potential and GIS cannot predict the locations of roads or explain what they were exactly used for. 10) Describe Chaco Canyon as a site itself (in terms of the 5 W’s). Then briefly describe the Chacoan Roads. Chaco Canyon was the center of a vast social and political network between 950 and 850 years ago and large, formal ancestral Pueblo towns were developed throughout the Four Corners region of the U.S. along with an elaborate system of roadways that were used for social, economic and political purposes. The Chacoan Roads linked the great houses of the ancestral Pueblo peoples to other communities and outlying peoples and villages.

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Archaeology RQ Chapter 3

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