Archaeology Then and Now

Which details from the video are the most unrealistic representations of what a modern archaeological dig site is like?

• The dig occurs many years in the past.

• The workers excavate without keeping detailed records.

• There are many people at the dig site.

• Henry accompanies archaeologists into the tomb.

• The site is near the Egyptian pyramids.

Think about the section "Archaeology: Then and Now" from Intrigue of the Past, Part 1: Fundamental Concepts Introduction and answer questions 2 and 3.

Part A:

Based on the section, which is the most reasonable claim?

• Modern archaeologists most important role is to provide accurate information about the past.

• B. Modern archaeologists do not have to focus on specialities like archaeologists of the past did.

• Most artifacts would have been preserved at dig sites in the 1800s and 1900s if only archaeologists performed excavation.

Part B:

Which quotation best supports the answer to Part A?

• “Excavation techniques were brutal as hired laborers shoveled out dirt to search for precious objects to display in museums and private collections.”

• “This means archaeologists have to be comfortable assuming roles like photographer, digger, surveyor, recorder, soil scientist, and supervisor.”

• “After they synthesize the information, archaeologists test the hypotheses they formed at the project’s start to help explain the history of the site or region.”

Read the excerpt from Intrigue of the Past, Part 1: Fundamental Concepts Introduction and answer question 3.

Archaeological excavations require precise implementation of find-recovery systems that keep artifacts in order from the moment they are found until they are taken to the laboratory for analysis. Keeping track of provenience is crucial. In other words, the sense of what went on at a site can only be gleaned when the exact location and relationship of things like artifacts, botanical remains, and dwellings in the site is known.

What does the word provenience mean as it as used in the text?

• original condition

• original location

• original owner

Think about the section "Archaeology: Breadth and Goals" from Intrigue of the Past, Part 1: Fundamental Concepts Introduction and answer question 4.

According to this section of the text, what are the three goals of archeology that are generally agreed upon by archaeologists?

• to determine why cultures have ended

• to study human history

• to reconstruct past lifeways

• to manage archaeological dig sites

• to generalize about how human cultures change

Think about the section "Archaeology: Breath and Goals" from Intrigue of the Past, Part 1: Fundamental Concepts Introduction and “Archaeology 101” to answer question 5.

Part A:

What is the most likely reason that there are so many branches, or subfields, of archeology?

• Different kinds of archaeologists are only interested in certain types of artifacts.

• The entire field of archaeology covers many thousands of years.

• An archaeologist can only be an expert on one single culture.

Part B:

Which quotation from the section “Archaeology: Breadth and Goals” best supports the answer to Part A?

• “Because no one can be expert for the entire time span covered by archaeology, archaeologists specialize."

• “The human history of a place emerges by studying sites and the artifacts, structures, and other debris people left there.”

• “Among those, some study pottery, some study the origins of agriculture, and some study animal bones or some other remnants of past life.”