Question 1

Soil development occurs:

Accepted Answer

A)  anytime soils are deposited by wind or water. 
B)  when sediment accumulates quickly and is deeply and rapidly buried. 
C)  when sediments accumulate slowly and undergo in situ chemical and mechanical weathering. 
D)  anytime sediments are subjected to intense heat or cold over a long period of time. 
A)  anytime soils are deposited by wind or water. 
B)  when sediment accumulates quickly and is deeply and rapidly buried. 
C)  when sediments accumulate slowly and undergo in situ chemical and mechanical weathering. 
D)  anytime sediments are subjected to intense heat or cold over a long period of time.

Question 2

Geoarchaeology is the geological study of landforms and landscapes, for instance, soils, rivers, hills, sand dunes, deltas, glacial deposits, and marshes.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 3

Archaeological sites result from both human behavior and natural processes.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 4

A marker bed can be useful to archaeologists because:

Accepted Answer

A)  if it has been dated in other sites, it can indicate the age of sediments in a new site. 
B)  it is specific to a particular site and can therefore provide a detailed environmental reconstruction of that particular site. 
C)  it generally consists of soft sediments that are easily excavated. 
D)  None of the answers; a marker bed is only useful to geologists. 
A)  if it has been dated in other sites, it can indicate the age of sediments in a new site. 
B)  it is specific to a particular site and can therefore provide a detailed environmental reconstruction of that particular site. 
C)  it generally consists of soft sediments that are easily excavated. 
D)  None of the answers; a marker bed is only useful to geologists.

Question 5

Mary Leakey's discovery of fossil footprints in volcanic ash at Laetoli was important because:

Accepted Answer

A)  it warned locals of the presence of a nearby active volcano. 
B)  fossil animal footprints had never before been discovered. 
C)  the volcanic ash had preserved the footprints of at least two bipedal hominids. 
D)  it proved that hominids manufactured and used stone tools prior to the origin of bipedalism. 
A)  it warned locals of the presence of a nearby active volcano. 
B)  fossil animal footprints had never before been discovered. 
C)  the volcanic ash had preserved the footprints of at least two bipedal hominids. 
D)  it proved that hominids manufactured and used stone tools prior to the origin of bipedalism.

Question 6

The "Law of Superposition" is also known as "Steno's Law."

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 7

The Mazama ash has been dated at numerous locations in the western US to 6900 years old. This means that if an archaeologist finds the Mazama ash in a stratified context, he or she knows that everything above it is less than 6900 years old, and everything below it is more than 6900 years old. The Mazama ash is an example of a:

Accepted Answer

A)  colluvial sediment. 
B)  soil horizon. 
C)  marker bed. 
D)  sedimentary deposit that has been disturbed, resulting in reversed stratigraphy. 
A)  colluvial sediment. 
B)  soil horizon. 
C)  marker bed. 
D)  sedimentary deposit that has been disturbed, resulting in reversed stratigraphy.

Question 8

Sediments deposited primarily through the action of gravity on geological material lying on hillsides are called

Accepted Answer

A)  eolian sediments. 
B)  marker beds. 
C)  colluvial sediments. 
D)  soil. 
A)  eolian sediments. 
B)  marker beds. 
C)  colluvial sediments. 
D)  soil.

Question 9

What could account for chronologically older artifacts being found above younger artifacts in a stratigraphic sequence?

Accepted Answer

A)  Faunalturbation (e.g., rodent burrows) 
B)  Cultural disturbance (e.g., prehistoric digging of a hearth or pit) 
C)  Graviturbation 
D)  All of the answers are correct. 
A)  Faunalturbation (e.g., rodent burrows) 
B)  Cultural disturbance (e.g., prehistoric digging of a hearth or pit) 
C)  Graviturbation 
D)  All of the answers are correct.

Question 10

A krotovina is evidence of floralturbation.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 11

The age of the Laetoli footprints was determined by:

Accepted Answer

A)  directly dating the footprints themselves. 
B)  potassium-argon dating. 
C)  the law of superposition. 
D)  both potassium-argon dating and the law of superposition. 
A)  directly dating the footprints themselves. 
B)  potassium-argon dating. 
C)  the law of superposition. 
D)  both potassium-argon dating and the law of superposition.

Question 12

Nicolaus Steno argued in his Preliminary Discourse to a Dissertation on a Solid Body Naturally Contained within a Solid (1669) that fossils came to be laid down inside solid rock because the fossils:

Accepted Answer

A)  had grown inside the rock, a common opinion of the time. 
B)  were older; the rock was originally laid down as a liquid, solidifying around the fossils. 
C)  were younger; they became trapped inside the rock after the rock had already solidified from its liquid state. 
D)  and the rock were the same age, both forming together at the same time. 
A)  had grown inside the rock, a common opinion of the time. 
B)  were older; the rock was originally laid down as a liquid, solidifying around the fossils. 
C)  were younger; they became trapped inside the rock after the rock had already solidified from its liquid state. 
D)  and the rock were the same age, both forming together at the same time.

Question 13

Imbrication is a process that results in:

Accepted Answer

A)  an extremely well-preserved archaeological record that directly reflects human behavior. 
B)  clay-rich soils pushing artifacts upward as the sediment swells and then moves them down as cracks form during dry cycles. 
C)  stones in a riverbed lying with their upstream ends slightly higher than their downstream ends. 
D)  stones in a riverbed lying with their upstream ends slightly lower than their downstream ends. 
A)  an extremely well-preserved archaeological record that directly reflects human behavior. 
B)  clay-rich soils pushing artifacts upward as the sediment swells and then moves them down as cracks form during dry cycles. 
C)  stones in a riverbed lying with their upstream ends slightly higher than their downstream ends. 
D)  stones in a riverbed lying with their upstream ends slightly lower than their downstream ends.

Soil development occurs:

Geoarchaeology is the geological study of landforms and landscapes, for instance, soils, rivers, hills, sand dunes, deltas, glacial deposits, and marshes.

Archaeological sites result from both human behavior and natural processes.

A marker bed can be useful to archaeologists because:

Mary Leakey's discovery of fossil footprints in volcanic ash at Laetoli was important because:

The "Law of Superposition" is also known as "Steno's Law."

Sediments deposited primarily through the action of gravity on geological material lying on hillsides are called

What could account for chronologically older artifacts being found above younger artifacts in a stratigraphic sequence?

A krotovina is evidence of floralturbation.

The age of the Laetoli footprints was determined by:

Nicolaus Steno argued in his Preliminary Discourse to a Dissertation on a Solid Body Naturally Contained within a Solid (1669) that fossils came to be laid down inside solid rock because the fossils:

Imbrication is a process that results in:

Meet Some New Archaeologists

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Doing Fieldwork Why Archaeologists Dig Square Holes

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The Dimensions Of Archaeology Time Space And Form

Taphonomy Experimental Archaeology And Ethnoarchaeology

People Plants and Animals In The Past

Bioarchaeological Approaches To The Past

Reconstructing Social And Political Systems Of The Past

The Archaeology Of The Mind

Understanding Key Transitions In World Prehistory

Historial Archaeology Insights On American History

Caring For Our Cultural Heritage

Archaeology Apos S Future

Filters

Exam 5: Geoarchaeology and Site Formation Processes

Soil development occurs:

Geoarchaeology is the geological study of landforms and landscapes, for instance, soils, rivers, hills, sand dunes, deltas, glacial deposits, and marshes.

Archaeological sites result from both human behavior and natural processes.

A marker bed can be useful to archaeologists because:

Mary Leakey's discovery of fossil footprints in volcanic ash at Laetoli was important because:

The "Law of Superposition" is also known as "Steno's Law."

Sediments deposited primarily through the action of gravity on geological material lying on hillsides are called

What could account for chronologically older artifacts being found above younger artifacts in a stratigraphic sequence?

A krotovina is evidence of floralturbation.

The age of the Laetoli footprints was determined by:

Nicolaus Steno argued in his Preliminary Discourse to a Dissertation on a Solid Body Naturally Contained within a Solid (1669) that fossils came to be laid down inside solid rock because the fossils:

Imbrication is a process that results in:

Meet Some New Archaeologists

The Structure Of Archaeological Inquiry

Doing Fieldwork Surveying For Archaeological Sites

Doing Fieldwork Why Archaeologists Dig Square Holes

Chronology Building How To Get A Date

The Dimensions Of Archaeology Time Space And Form

Taphonomy Experimental Archaeology And Ethnoarchaeology

People Plants and Animals In The Past

Bioarchaeological Approaches To The Past

Reconstructing Social And Political Systems Of The Past

The Archaeology Of The Mind

Understanding Key Transitions In World Prehistory

Historial Archaeology Insights On American History

Caring For Our Cultural Heritage

Archaeology Apos S Future

Filters