Question 1

Ethnoarchaeological research suggests that the longer a site was occupied in the past, the farther the distance between habitation structures and trash dumps.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  True

Question 2

If you are observing microwear, or minute, often microscopic evidence of use damage on the surface and working edge of an artifact, you are probably observing:

Accepted Answer

A)   striations.
B)   microflaking.
C)   polish.
D)   All of the answers are correct.E) None of the above
F) C) and D) D

Question 3

The purpose of Binford's ethnoarchaeological research among the Nunamiut Eskimo of Alaska was to:

Accepted Answer

A)   document Nunamiut subsistence strategies in order to determine what prehistoric adaptations in other arctic environments may have entailed.
B)   determine how the kinship system of the Nunamiut differed from the kinship systems of cultures in non- marginal environments.
C)   observe living people and see what remains their activities left behind in an attempt to strengthen inferences from archaeological data.
D)   determine the effect of seasonality on Nunamiut hunting practices.E) B) and C)
F) C) and D)

Question 4

A sipapu is:

Accepted Answer

A)   a small pit in a kiva located along the wall opposite the ventilator shaft.
B)   the place where the Hopis are said to have emerged into this world from the underworld.
C)   the place through which Hopi communication with the supernatural world takes place.
D)   All of the answers are correct.E) C) and D)
F) None of the above

Question 5

Which of the following is true of the Hudson-Meng site in northwest Nebraska?

Accepted Answer

A)   Taphonomic research suggests that humans played little, if any, role in the deaths of the 500 bison at the site.
B)   The presence of hundreds of projectile points among the bison bone strongly suggests the bison were dispatched by human hunters.
C)   The presence of unequivocal cutmarks on many of the bison bone provides strong evidence of butchery by humans.
D)   The fact that most of the bison bones were highly disarticulated and scattered provides evidence of butchering by humans.E) A) and B)
F) C) and D)

Question 6

When discussing projectile points, a "flute" refers to:

Accepted Answer

A)   a distinctive characteristic of Clovis and Folsom projectile points.
B)   a wide, shallow, longitudinal groove on the face of a projectile point.
C)   the feature that is created by the removal of a channel flake.
D)   All of the answers are correct.E) B) and D)
F) None of the above

Question 7

The principle asserting that the processes now operating to modify the earth's surface are the same processes that operated long ago in the geological past is known as

Accepted Answer

A)   analogy.
B)   principle of uniformitarianism.
C)   evolution.
D)   stratigraphy.E) None of the above
F) All of the above

Question 8

Obsidian blades are much sharper than steel scalpels, leaving smaller cuts with clearer edges that heal more quickly and are less likely to scar than steel blades; because of this, obsidian blades have been used in many surgical procedures.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 9

Inferring that prehistoric kivas had the same function as kivas used by Puebloan societies today is an example of:

Accepted Answer

A)   a formal analogy.
B)   a relational analogy.
C)   low level theory interpretation.
D)   both formal and relational analogies.E) A) and B)
F) A) and C)

Question 10

A thin, sharp sliver of stone removed from a larger piece of rock during the flintknapping process is a:

Accepted Answer

A)   projectile point.
B)   core.
C)   flake.
D)   biface.E) C) and D)
F) B) and D)

Question 11

Studying how a large animal carcass decomposes on an African savannah to determine how long it takes the carcass to disarticulate in different seasons and which bones are carried away by carnivores is an example of:

Accepted Answer

A)   ethnoarchaeology.
B)   taphonomy.
C)   experimental archaeology.
D)   geoarchaeology.E) B) and C)
F) A) and C)

Question 12

To create relevant bridging arguments, archaeologists must

Accepted Answer

A)   contact several other archaeologists for their interpretations.
B)   observe the workings of a culture in its systemic context.
C)   research the literature.
D)   consult with a geologist.E) C) and D)
F) None of the above

Question 13

Formal analogies are strengthened if:

Accepted Answer

A)   many ethnographic cases demonstrate the same pattern, and the archaeological and ethnographic cases have many attributes in common.
B)   they can be drawn between cultures with drastically different settlement systems, subsistence practices, or economies.
C)   close cultural continuity cannot be demonstrated between archaeological and ethnographic cases.
D)   All of the answers are correct.E) A) and C)
F) A) and B)

Question 14

The purpose of middle range theory is to create arguments that link human behavior to material remains so that archaeologists can make reliable behavioral inferences from archaeological material.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 15

What happened to the remains of Ishi, the Yahi Indian who lived at the University of California's museum in San Francisco and demonstrated traditional arrow-making and fire-starting for museum visitors?

Accepted Answer

A)   His body was autopsied by the university's medical center after his death in spite of his wishes that no autopsy be performed.
B)   His brain was sent to the Smithsonian Institution so that it could be put "to scientific use," where it sat for nearly 85 years.
C)   His remains were returned to California's Pit River tribe in 2000, and buried in a secret location.
D)   All of the answers are correct.E) A) and B)
F) B) and C)

Question 16

Low power (40X to 60X) microscopic analysis is much more useful in determining stone tool microwear than high power microscopy (up to 400X).

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 17

Don Crabtree's experimental flintknapping research:

Accepted Answer

A)   failed to discover any successful ways in which Folsom projectile points could be fluted in spite of decades of research; flintknappers today still don't understand how to produce a flute.
B)   discovered successful ways in which Folsom projectile points could be fluted, and stimulated additional research resulting in the discovery of more successful fluting methods.
C)   discovered the purpose of the flute in Folsom projectile points; fluting was part of a pre-hunting ritual designed to ensure hunting success.
D)   showed that the fluting of Folsom projectile points was actually a simple process that any minimally skilled flintknapper (by today's standards)  could accomplish with relative ease.E) B) and C)
F) C) and D)

Question 18

Microwear traces on stone tools can be difficult to identify due to which of the following?

Accepted Answer

A)   Prehistoric resharpening of stone tools
B)   Multiple uses of stone tools prehistorically
C)   Brief tool use that did not permit formation of distinctive wear traces
D)   All of the answers are correct.E) A) and D)
F) All of the above

Question 19

Ethnographic analysis makes it clear that it is safe to assume that women in the past always made the pottery, and men always made the stone tools.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  False

Question 20

Archaeologists have tried to replicate, through trial and error with flintknapping, the way in which Folsom points were fluted. This research is an example of experimental archaeology.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Exam 8: Taphonomy Experimental Archaeology And Ethnoarchaeology

Ethnoarchaeological research suggests that the longer a site was occupied in the past, the farther the distance between habitation structures and trash dumps.

Correct AnswerverifiedTrue

If you are observing microwear, or minute, often microscopic evidence of use damage on the surface and working edge of an artifact, you are probably observing:

Correct AnswerverifiedD

The purpose of Binford's ethnoarchaeological research among the Nunamiut Eskimo of Alaska was to:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

A sipapu is:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following is true of the Hudson-Meng site in northwest Nebraska?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

When discussing projectile points, a "flute" refers to:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The principle asserting that the processes now operating to modify the earth's surface are the same processes that operated long ago in the geological past is known as

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Obsidian blades are much sharper than steel scalpels, leaving smaller cuts with clearer edges that heal more quickly and are less likely to scar than steel blades; because of this, obsidian blades have been used in many surgical procedures.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Inferring that prehistoric kivas had the same function as kivas used by Puebloan societies today is an example of:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

A thin, sharp sliver of stone removed from a larger piece of rock during the flintknapping process is a:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Studying how a large animal carcass decomposes on an African savannah to determine how long it takes the carcass to disarticulate in different seasons and which bones are carried away by carnivores is an example of:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

To create relevant bridging arguments, archaeologists must

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Formal analogies are strengthened if:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The purpose of middle range theory is to create arguments that link human behavior to material remains so that archaeologists can make reliable behavioral inferences from archaeological material.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What happened to the remains of Ishi, the Yahi Indian who lived at the University of California's museum in San Francisco and demonstrated traditional arrow-making and fire-starting for museum visitors?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Low power (40X to 60X) microscopic analysis is much more useful in determining stone tool microwear than high power microscopy (up to 400X).

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Don Crabtree's experimental flintknapping research:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Microwear traces on stone tools can be difficult to identify due to which of the following?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Ethnographic analysis makes it clear that it is safe to assume that women in the past always made the pottery, and men always made the stone tools.

Correct AnswerverifiedFalse

Archaeologists have tried to replicate, through trial and error with flintknapping, the way in which Folsom points were fluted. This research is an example of experimental archaeology.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Correct Answer
verified
True

Correct Answer
verified
D

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

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified
False

Correct Answer
verified