anth chap. 1

  1. pre-history
    The human past, the time before written records
  2. Archaeology
    The study of the human past, combining the themes of time and change
  3. Era
    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.
  4. m.y.a.
    millions of years ago
  5. Epoch
    A subdivision of geological time, millions of years long, representing units of eras.
  6. Culture
    A uniquely human means of nonbiological adaptation; a repertoire of learned behaviors for coping with the physical and social environments
  7. Evolution
    The process of change over time resulting from the shifting conditions of the physical and cultural environments, involving mechanisms of mutation and natural selection
  8. Biological Anthropology
    The study of the biological nature of our nearest relatives and ourselves
  9. Cultural Anthropology
    The study of living peoples and the shared aspects of the human experience
  10. Anthropological Archaeology
    Archaeology investigations that seek to answer fundamental questions about humans and human behavior
  11. Historical Archaeology
    Archaeology in combination with written record.
  12. Artifact
    Any object or item created or modified by human activity
  13. Site
    The accumulation of artifacts and/or ecofacts, representing a place where people lived or carried out certain activities.
  14. Fieldwork
    The search for archaeological sites in the landscaape through surveys and excavations
  15. Survey
    A systematic search of the landscape for artifacts and sites on the groundd through aerial photography, field walking, soil analysis, and geophysical prospecting.
  16. Excavation
    The exposure and recording of buried materials from the past.
  17. Ground-penetrating Radar (g.p.r.)
    An instrument for remote senseing or porspecting for buried structures using radar maps of subsoil features.
  18. Bioturbation
    Activities of plants and animals in the Earth, causing disturbance of archaeological materials.
  19. Total Station
    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.
  20. Archaeological record
    The body of material and information that survives for archeologists to study
  21. Context
    The association and relationships between archaelogical objects that are in the same place.
  22. Primary context(in situ)
    An object found where it was originally located in antiquity, not redeposited.
  23. Provenience
    The place of origin for archaeological materials, including location, association and context
  24. Shell Midden
    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
  25. Ecofact
    Any of the remains of plants, animals, sediments, or other unmodified materials that result from human activity.
  26. Feature
    An immovable structure or layer, pit or post in the ground having archaeological signifigance.
  27. Ethnography
    The study of human culture through firsthand observation.
  28. Technology
    The combination of knowledge and manufacturing techniques that enables people to convert raw materials into finished products.
  29. Economy
    The management and organization of the affairs of a group, community, or establishment to ensure their survival.
  30. Organization
    The arrangements between individuals and groups oin human society that structure relationships and activities.
  31. Egalitarian
    A term that refers to societies lacking clearly defined status defferences between individuals, except for those due to sex, age or skill.
  32. Rank
    A relationship of inequality between members of society in which status is determined by kinship relations of birth order and lineage.
  33. Class
    A relationship of inequality between members of society in which status is determined by membership in a level or class.
  34. Craft Specialization
    Individuals involved in part or full-time activities devoted to the production of a specific class of goods, often highly valued.
  35. Hierarchical
    A term referring to societies that havve a graded order of inequality in ranks, statuses, or decision makers.
  36. Ideology
    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.
  37. Cosmology
    The worldview of a group or society, encompassing their understanding of the universe, their origins and existence and nature
  38. Pictograph
    Writtenor painted symbol that more or less portrays the represented object.
  39. Petroglyph
    A drawing that has been carved into rock
  40. Shaman
    An anthropological term for a spiritualist, curer or seer
  41. Sodality
    An alliance or association among some members of a society often based on age and sex, with a specific function.
Author
pokers1254
ID
66148
Card Set
anth chap. 1
Description
the study words for the first chapter.
Updated