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Archaeology Vocabulary
Get ready to dig…Like in the DIRT!!
archaeology
• The study of past civilizations by examining artifacts and other remains
anthropology
• The study of human beings and their culture
paleoanthropology
• The study of prehistoric human beings and how they lived
geology
• The study of the earth and its composition
history• A record of what happened in the past,
or an explanation of the past
prehistory
• History BEFORE the invention of writing (adj. prehistoric)
primary source
• A source produced during the same time period as it describes; a firsthand or eyewitness account
secondary source
• A source produced at a later date by those studying primary sources
artifact
• An object that was made by humans and that is of archaeological importance
fossil
• The remains or imprint of a plant or animal from a past age
oral tradition
• History that is passed down by word of mouth, or storytelling
cultural diffusion
• The spreading of ideas from one group of people to another
excavation
• The act of digging out a site by removing dirt; can also refer to the site itself
(verb excavate)
stratum• A layer of the earth, especially in an
archaeological dig
stratigraphy• The act of removing one stratum at a
time, especially in looking for artifacts
“in situ”
• “in the place” where an artifact was found
chronological order• In order of time, from earliest to latest
dating
• The act of determining when an artifact or fossil was made; there are many methods of dating an object
radiocarbon dating
• Determining the date of an object by measuring the amount of carbon decay