Archaeology in History

Vocabulary Review

What is Archaeology

• Archaeology is the study of the past using what was left behind by people.

• It can be artifacts, buildings (normally material possessions)

What is Paleontology?

• Paleontology is the study of bones to try to understand the past.

• Paleontologists are often remembered to be the people who study dinosaurs, but it can be any bone.

What is anthropology?

• Anthropology is the study of people, their society, how they interact with each other and how they behave.

What is an artifact?

• An artifact is something that has been left behind. (spear, bone, bullets, …)

What is Radiocarbon Dating

• Radiocarbon dating uses the knowledge that carbon breaks down at a steady rate and measures the decay and compares it to the original amount.

• Scientists then use math to figure out how long ago it happened based on this steady decay.

• Only things that have been living can be dated in this way.

What are Paleoindians?

• Paleoindians is the term used to call the First Peoples in North America

What are (Who are) Clovis?

• Clovis was named for a group of people who lived in Clovis, New Mexico from 11 500 BP to 11 000BP.

• This has been the earliest evidence of people uncovered and became known as the Clovis era.

• All theories, time frames use clovis as a time frame (Pre Clovis, Post Clovis) when explaining their theories.

What is a paradigm bias?

• Is a problem in archaeology where some theory has become so ingrained in people, that archaeologists may not look any further for an explaination.

• Eg. Many archaeologists reach the clovis level of dirt and do no did past that layer thinking that they will find no human remains below it.