Question 1

Trying to move stones weighing several tons using only the tools and materials that the ancient Egyptians had available to them, with the goal of determining whether or not Egyptian technology was sufficiently sophisticated to produce monuments like the pyramids, is an example of:

Accepted Answer

A)  experimental archaeology. 
B)  ethnoarchaeology. 
C)  analogy. 
D)  uniformitarianism.

Question 2

In archaeology, plant remains from archaeological sites are known as faunal remains.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 3

Ethnoarchaeological research among the Mikea suggests that the more permanent a settlement is the:

Accepted Answer

A)  greater range of features it will contain. 
B)  closer trash dumps will be to habitations structures. 
C)  more variable posthole diameters will be. 
D)  All of the answers are correct.

Question 4

The purpose of heat-treating stone tool raw material was to:

Accepted Answer

A)  create stone tools by subjecting the raw material to heat, which would cause the material to fracture into usable pieces. 
B)  make it more difficult for the raw material to be flaked and shaped. 
C)  improve the flintknapping properties of the raw material. 
D)  have hot stones that could be used for cooking (e.g., dropped into ceramic vessels).

Question 5

Unlike detectives, archaeologists

Accepted Answer

A)  want to know what happened in the past. 
B)  make inferences about the past based on material remains. 
C)  work on sites that are quickly discovered and immediately protected. 
D)  commonly recover objects with unknown functions and meanings.

Question 6

Analogies justified on the basis of close cultural continuity between the archaeological and ethnographic cases or similarity in general cultural form are known as

Accepted Answer

A)  formal analogies. 
B)  bridging arguments. 
C)  incorrect science. 
D)  relational analogies.

Question 7

Binford's ethnoarchaeological work with the Nunamiut Eskimo of Alaska demonstrated:

Accepted Answer

A)  that it was safe for archaeologists to assume that a difference in artifacts reflects a difference in culture. 
B)  that different artifact assemblages could result from different activities conducted by the same culture. 
C)  the likelihood that different Mousterian tool assemblages were a result of different Neandertal tribes. 
D)  that the same people leave the same kinds of tools at different locations across the landscape.

Question 8

Flutes, or wide, shallow, longitudinal grooves on each face of a point, are made by

Accepted Answer

A)  chipping away the unwanted materials. 
B)  removing channel flakes on both sides of the point's base. 
C)  burning the original core. 
D)  carving the grooves with a sharp instrument.

Question 9

A geologist observes glacial moraines and striations in an area that is today not glaciated. The geologist interprets those features as evidence of past glacial activity. He or she is utilizing:

Accepted Answer

A)  middle level theory. 
B)  the principle of uniformitarianism. 
C)  a relational analogy. 
D)  All of the answers are correct.

Question 10

The "schlep effect" caused Perkins and Daly to explain that throwing away the bones was why upper limb bones were not found at the Neolithic village, Suberde. R.E. Chaplin interpreted the shortage of upper limb bones on a late-ninth century Saxon farm as the result of butchering and dressing the carcasses for market. Upper limb bones missing at American Plains Indian sites were argued by T. White to have been pulverized and boiled to render the grease to make pemmican. These examples exemplify the following:

Accepted Answer

A)  the difficulty of archaeologists to agree on interpretations. 
B)  the lack of validity in archaeological interpretations made from animal bone. 
C)  several competing hypotheses account for the same body of facts. 
D)  you cannot hypothesize from an absence of data.

Question 11

Experimental archaeology has been used to determine how stone tools were used in the past. This research has shown that:

Accepted Answer

A)  different kinds of use produce different kinds of microflakes on different parts of the tools. 
B)  stone tool edge damage varied with the type of material being worked (soft materials versus hard materials). 
C)  different kinds of use result in different kinds of stone tool polish. 
D)  All of the answers are correct.

Question 12

The word taphonomy refers to

Accepted Answer

A)  the fossil record. 
B)  faunal remains in the archaeological record. 
C)  how organisms become part of the fossil record. 
D)  fossil organisms.

Question 13

In geology, the principle of uniformitarianism asserts that:

Accepted Answer

A)  the processes that modified the earth's surface in the past are unknowable because they cannot be directly observed. 
B)  the processes now operating to modify the earth's surface are the same as those of the geologic past. 
C)  the processes now operating to modify the earth's surface cannot simply be assumed to be the same as those of the geologic past, but must be demonstrated to be the same. 
D)  geologic processes are distinct from archaeological processes and that uniformitarianism only applies to geologic processes.

Question 14

Newcomer designed blind experiments to test the accuracy of Keeley's high-power microscopy method of identifying stone tool microwear. These experiments:

Accepted Answer

A)  established the validity of Keeley's high-power microscopic method; Keeley was able to correctly identify the microwear on many of the experimental stone tools. 
B)  determined that while high-power microscopic identifications could always be correctly made on the type of material worked, identifying the area of the tool actually used was much more difficult. 
C)  showed that while high-power microscopic analysis can be useful, it is not as effective as low-power analysis in determining microwear. 
D)  showed that high-power microscopic analysis is useless in determining microwear.

Question 15

Experimental archaeology provides archaeologists with bridging arguments, ways to make inferences about past behavior from material remains. Which of the following is not an example of experimental archaeology?

Accepted Answer

A)  Using British schoolboys to see if they could move stones similar to those used to build Stonehenge. 
B)  Using a stone tool to scrape hide and then examining microwear present on the tool's edge to determine the type of wear caused by hide-scraping. 
C)  Using seriation to construct a way to date archaeological sites based on painted pottery styles. 
D)  Throwing hafted spearpoints into elephant carcasses to determine their capacity for penetration.

Question 16

Analogies must be used cautiously because there is no guarantee that the analogy will accurately describe the prehistoric culture.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 17

If you are conducting archaeological excavation in an area where houses were made in a way similar to that inhabited by Madagascar's Mikea, and you find a house structure that has very consistent post diameters (as determined by the post holes left behind, now filled with decayed wood), what could you infer about the house based on ethnoarchaeological research?

Accepted Answer

A)  Wood resources were sparse. 
B)  It was used as a temporary foraging structure. 
C)  It was likely a permanent house. 
D)  It was a seasonal habitation.

Question 18

The goal of taphonomic studies is to infer the function of prehistoric objects and features based on the similarity of those objects and features to those used by related cultures today.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 19

Taphonomy is useful to archaeology because it:

Accepted Answer

A)  shows that modern human behavior can be extended into the past, strengthening interpretations of the archaeological record. 
B)  helps archaeologists separate the effects of natural processes and human behavior on site formation. 
C)  can determine the most efficient method of tool manufacture, which was most likely the method employed in the prehistoric past. 
D)  reminds ethnoarchaeologists of their responsibility to the living people that they study.

Question 20

Kelly conducted ethnoarchaeological research among the Mikea of Madagascar to answer which of the following questions?

Accepted Answer

A)  Are different lengths of stay in different types of settlements reflected in the material remains left behind at Mikea sites? 
B)  What are the long-term effects of Mikea slash-and-burn horticulture on soil nutrients? 
C)  Are different subsistence practices reflected in the material remains left behind at Mikea sites? 
D)  All of the answers are correct.

Exam 8: Taphonomy Experimental Archaeology And Ethnoarchaeology

Trying to move stones weighing several tons using only the tools and materials that the ancient Egyptians had available to them, with the goal of determining whether or not Egyptian technology was sufficiently sophisticated to produce monuments like the pyramids, is an example of:

In archaeology, plant remains from archaeological sites are known as faunal remains.

Ethnoarchaeological research among the Mikea suggests that the more permanent a settlement is the:

The purpose of heat-treating stone tool raw material was to:

Unlike detectives, archaeologists

Analogies justified on the basis of close cultural continuity between the archaeological and ethnographic cases or similarity in general cultural form are known as

Binford's ethnoarchaeological work with the Nunamiut Eskimo of Alaska demonstrated:

Flutes, or wide, shallow, longitudinal grooves on each face of a point, are made by

A geologist observes glacial moraines and striations in an area that is today not glaciated. The geologist interprets those features as evidence of past glacial activity. He or she is utilizing:

Experimental archaeology has been used to determine how stone tools were used in the past. This research has shown that:

The word taphonomy refers to

In geology, the principle of uniformitarianism asserts that:

Newcomer designed blind experiments to test the accuracy of Keeley's high-power microscopy method of identifying stone tool microwear. These experiments:

Experimental archaeology provides archaeologists with bridging arguments, ways to make inferences about past behavior from material remains. Which of the following is not an example of experimental archaeology?

Analogies must be used cautiously because there is no guarantee that the analogy will accurately describe the prehistoric culture.

The goal of taphonomic studies is to infer the function of prehistoric objects and features based on the similarity of those objects and features to those used by related cultures today.

Taphonomy is useful to archaeology because it:

Kelly conducted ethnoarchaeological research among the Mikea of Madagascar to answer which of the following questions?