anth chap. 1

The human past, the time before written records

The study of the human past, combining the themes of time and change

A major division of geological time, tens or hundreds of millions of years long, usually distinguished by significant changes in the plant and animal kingdoms. also used to denote later archaeological periods, such as the prehistoric era.

millions of years ago

A subdivision of geological time, millions of years long, representing units of eras.

A uniquely human means of nonbiological adaptation; a repertoire of learned behaviors for coping with the physical and social environments

The process of change over time resulting from the shifting conditions of the physical and cultural environments, involving mechanisms of mutation and natural selection

The study of the biological nature of our nearest relatives and ourselves

The study of living peoples and the shared aspects of the human experience

Archaeology investigations that seek to answer fundamental questions about humans and human behavior

Archaeology in combination with written record.

Any object or item created or modified by human activity

The accumulation of artifacts and/or ecofacts, representing a place where people lived or carried out certain activities.

The search for archaeological sites in the landscaape through surveys and excavations

A systematic search of the landscape for artifacts and sites on the groundd through aerial photography, field walking, soil analysis, and geophysical prospecting.

The exposure and recording of buried materials from the past.

An instrument for remote senseing or porspecting for buried structures using radar maps of subsoil features.

Activities of plants and animals in the Earth, causing disturbance of archaeological materials.

A computerized surveying and mapping instrument that uses a laser beam or radio waves to measure the distance and angle between the instrument and the target and then calculates the exact position of the target.

The body of material and information that survives for archeologists to study

The association and relationships between archaelogical objects that are in the same place.

An object found where it was originally located in antiquity, not redeposited.

The place of origin for archaeological materials, including location, association and context

A mound of shells accumulated from human collection, and disposal, a dump of shellsfrom oysters, clams, mussels, or other species found along coasts and rivers, usually dating to the holocene

Any of the remains of plants, animals, sediments, or other unmodified materials that result from human activity.

An immovable structure or layer, pit or post in the ground having archaeological signifigance.

The study of human culture through firsthand observation.

The combination of knowledge and manufacturing techniques that enables people to convert raw materials into finished products.

The management and organization of the affairs of a group, community, or establishment to ensure their survival.

The arrangements between individuals and groups oin human society that structure relationships and activities.

A term that refers to societies lacking clearly defined status defferences between individuals, except for those due to sex, age or skill.

A relationship of inequality between members of society in which status is determined by kinship relations of birth order and lineage.

A relationship of inequality between members of society in which status is determined by membership in a level or class.

Individuals involved in part or full-time activities devoted to the production of a specific class of goods, often highly valued.

A term referring to societies that havve a graded order of inequality in ranks, statuses, or decision makers.

A conceptual framework by which people structure their ideas about the order of the universe, their place in that universe, and their relationships among themselves and with objects and other forms of life around them.

The worldview of a group or society, encompassing their understanding of the universe, their origins and existence and nature

Writtenor painted symbol that more or less portrays the represented object.

A drawing that has been carved into rock

An anthropological term for a spiritualist, curer or seer

An alliance or association among some members of a society often based on age and sex, with a specific function.