Question 1

Archaeologists prefer to dig in arbitrary rather than natural levels whenever possible to reduce the risk of mixing artifacts from different strata.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  False

Question 2

The use of dry screening devices with 1/4" mesh is employed to find items such as charred seeds, fish bones, and beads in archaeological sites.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 3

If an artifact is said to be in situ, it is:

Accepted Answer

A)   missing.
B)   in place.
C)   in the process of being analyzed.
D)   embedded in an animal bone.

Question 4

The following items are necessary in the excavator's tool kit, all except:

Accepted Answer

A)   toilet paper.
B)   root clippers.
C)   toothpicks.
D)   a CD player.

Question 5

Screen size is an important consideration when processing dirt from excavations because the size of the screen affects what is recovered as well as how fast it is recovered.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 6

Let's say you are excavating a site. You are being pretty careful, and are using 1/4" mesh screens to sieve the dirt after it is removed by a trowel and dustpan from the site. You find a few very small but well-preserved fish bones. The next day:

Accepted Answer

A)   you decide to stop using trowels and start using dental tools for the excavation; you are probably not recovering many fish bones because they are being inadvertently destroyed by troweling.
B)   you conclude that people in the past were not using minnows and you cease excavation.
C)   you fear that the 1/4" mesh of the screen may allow most of the very small fish bones to pass through; you decide to switch to 1/8" mesh, and maybe even screen a sample of dirt through 1/16" mesh to see if you are finding few bones because they are not present, or because the screening method is systematically losing them.
D)   you realize that fish were not being used prehistorically and decide that a single backhoe trench through the site will probably give you a sufficient amount of remains of other animals to permit you to test your hypothesis.

Question 7

The key to maintaining information about an artifact's context is to record:

Accepted Answer

A)   archaeologist's name.
B)   artifact's material.
C)   provenience.
D)   date of discovery.

Question 8

In archeology, a living floor refers to:

Accepted Answer

A)   a distinct buried surface on which people lived.
B)   an indistinct buried surface on which people may have lived.
C)   a distinct surface on which people still live.
D)   a distinct surface where living organisms can still be detected.

Question 9

The design and workmanship of archaeological screens will vary from site to site, and is much less important than mesh size.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 10

Which of the following is true about the Pleistocene?

Accepted Answer

A)   It was a geologic period lasting from 2 million to 10 thousand years ago.
B)   It was characterized by periods of extensive glaciation.
C)   Many species of now extinct fauna existed during the Pleistocene.
D)   All of the answers are correct.

Question 11

Provenience is essential to an artifact's:

Accepted Answer

A)   material.
B)   age.
C)   context.
D)   value.

Question 12

Decomposition is carried out by microorganisms that require:

Accepted Answer

A)   cold, oxygen, and water to survive.
B)   warmth, carbon dioxide, and water to survive.
C)   warmth, oxygen, and dry conditions to survive.
D)   warmth, oxygen, and water to survive.

Question 13

At the Folsom site in New Mexico, artifacts were discovered between the ribs of modern cow bones, thus establishing the antiquity of human in the Americas.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 14

An artifact's provenience is:

Accepted Answer

A)   the geologic source of the raw material from which the artifact was manufactured.
B)   the artifact's location relative to a system of spatial data collection.
C)   the facility where the artifact is currently stored.
D)   how the artifact was used in the prehistoric past. B

Question 15

Why do archaeologists use a datum point rather than simply measuring from the ground surface?

Accepted Answer

A)   The datum point provides a universal reference point that can be used across any archaeological site, allowing archaeologists to easily compare data between excavations.
B)   While vertical provenience could easily be measured from the ground surface, obtaining accurate horizontal provenience would be much more difficult without a datum point.
C)   The ground surface does not have the same elevation consistently across a site while a datum point provides a fixed reference.
D)   Use of a datum point is an archaeological tradition established in the early 20th century; while it serves no useful purpose, it is an example of how outdated excavation methodology is still embedded in archaeology today. C

Question 16

Which of the following were the textbook authors, Thomas and Kelly, interested in mapping at Gatecliff?

Accepted Answer

A)   The location of any artifacts found in situ
B)   The location of any features, such as hearths
C)   The location of any large ecofacts
D)   All of the answers are correct.

Question 17

In an archaeological excavation, the point from which all horizontal and vertical measurements are made is termed the datum point.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 18

The importance of plants in prehistoric diets was largely unknown until which of the following techniques was used?

Accepted Answer

A)   Total station mapping of in situ artifacts
B)   The stratigraphic method
C)   Excavation by natural rather than arbitrary levels
D)   Flotation

Question 19

Provenience refers to:

Accepted Answer

A)   the relationship of an artifact, ecofact, or feature to other artifacts, ecofacts, features, and geologic strata in a site.
B)   the artifact's location relative to a system of spatial data collection.
C)   the position of the archaeologist when documenting a site.
D)   an outdated way to map a site.

Question 20

In addition to an artifact's provenience, archaeologists might also be interested in:

Accepted Answer

A)   which side of an artifact was "up" when it was uncovered.
B)   the compass orientation of an artifact's long axis.
C)   whether or not the artifact is burned.
D)   All of the answers are correct.

Exam 4: Doing Fieldwork Why Archaeologists Dig Square Holes

Archaeologists prefer to dig in arbitrary rather than natural levels whenever possible to reduce the risk of mixing artifacts from different strata.

Correct AnswerverifiedFalse

The use of dry screening devices with 1/4" mesh is employed to find items such as charred seeds, fish bones, and beads in archaeological sites.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

If an artifact is said to be in situ, it is:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The following items are necessary in the excavator's tool kit, all except:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Screen size is an important consideration when processing dirt from excavations because the size of the screen affects what is recovered as well as how fast it is recovered.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Let's say you are excavating a site. You are being pretty careful, and are using 1/4" mesh screens to sieve the dirt after it is removed by a trowel and dustpan from the site. You find a few very small but well-preserved fish bones. The next day:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The key to maintaining information about an artifact's context is to record:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

In archeology, a living floor refers to:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The design and workmanship of archaeological screens will vary from site to site, and is much less important than mesh size.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following is true about the Pleistocene?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Provenience is essential to an artifact's:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Decomposition is carried out by microorganisms that require:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

At the Folsom site in New Mexico, artifacts were discovered between the ribs of modern cow bones, thus establishing the antiquity of human in the Americas.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

An artifact's provenience is:

Correct AnswerverifiedB

Why do archaeologists use a datum point rather than simply measuring from the ground surface?

Correct AnswerverifiedC

Which of the following were the textbook authors, Thomas and Kelly, interested in mapping at Gatecliff?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

In an archaeological excavation, the point from which all horizontal and vertical measurements are made is termed the datum point.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The importance of plants in prehistoric diets was largely unknown until which of the following techniques was used?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Provenience refers to:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

In addition to an artifact's provenience, archaeologists might also be interested in:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Correct Answer
verified
False

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified
B

Correct Answer
verified
C

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified