University of Aberdeen Session 2009/10 Department of Archaeology School of Geosciences AY1001 INTRODUCTION TO ARCHAEOLOGY 1 Thursday 21 January 2010 Time

me allowed: TWO hours. Section A is multiple choice. Please circle answers directly on this page, and leave this along with your written scripts for Sections B and C. Candidates must not leave the examination room during the FIRST and LAST half hour of the exam.
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7-9pm

SECTION A: MULTIPLE CHOICE

Value of this section: 30% Recommended time: 20 minutes (30 minutes maximum) Instructions: circle one answer for each of the following questions 1. The a) b) c) d) e) greatest problem for archaeology from its origins until the mid-20th century was: that archaeologists were only interested in Western cultures the inability to date sites or materials accurately the belief that the earth was only 2000 years old the lack of interest in archaeology the limited number of excavations undertaken

2. The first recogniseable stone artefacts made by hominins: a) appeared around 2.5 million years ago in the Middle Awash Valley in Ethiopia b) appeared in West Africa around 4 million years ago, and consist of rocks used to crack hard-shelled nuts c) date to around 1 million years ago and are from Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania d) were found by Mary Leakey and are known as Acheulean e) are associated with Homo erectus and found only in East Asia 3. After leaving Africa, Homo erectus: a) remained largely identical to its parent species, H. ergaster b) must have needed to use fire, shelter, or clothing to stay warm, although there is little direct evidence c) regressed back to a technology more like Oldowan tools than anything else d) moved rapidly into northern Europe e) began to wear shoes, as seen in the footprints found at Terra Amata 4. Evolution of modern humans is characterised by: a) unusually stable climate conditions, which probably allowed humans time to innovate in the area of technology b) a much warmer climate than is found on earth today c) a much colder climate than is found on earth today d) unstable climate conditions, necessitating rapid biological and cultural evolution

e) an increase in the number of hominin species throughout the Upper Paleolithic 5. The idea that something is older (or younger) relative to something else is the basis of ______ dating. a) chronometric b) tree-ring c) carbon 14 d) absolute e) relative 6. What was invented in 1949 by the American chemist Willard Libby? a) dendrochronology b) radiocarbon dating c) tree-ring dating d) trace-element analysis e) none of the above 7. What is androcentrism? a) male bias b) the hatred of males c) the study of males d) male archaeology e) none of the above 8. Landscape archaeology is a discipline which: a) argues for an explicitly scientific framework of archaeological method and theory b) is concerned only with characterising anthropogenic soils and sediments c) focuses only on single sites d) considers human interactions with the surrounding environment e) considers long-term cultural change 9. Modern flint knapping (the making of stone tools) is a type of: a) ethnoarchaeology b) experimental archaeology c) geoarchaeology d) micromorphology e) lithicology 10. The study of past ways of thought through material remains has been termed what type of archaeology? a) Cognitive b) Reflexive c) Investigative d) Prehistoric e) Linguistic 11. CRM is the safeguarding of the archaeological heritage through the protection of sites and through salvage archaeology (or rescue archaeology), generally within the framework of legislation designed to protect the past. CRM stands for: a) b) c) d) cultural cultural cultural cultural resource resource resource resource methodology manner management managing

e) cultural resource methods 12. Humans and apes share which of the following characteristics: a) bipedalism b) a curved lower spine c) an enhanced sense of smell d) opposable toes e) lack of a tail 13. Early Acheulean hand axes appear abruptly at the same time as which hominin species: a) Homo habilis b) Homo garhi c) Homo heidelbergensis d) Homo ergaster e) Autralopithecus aethiopicus 14. Material culture is: a) the material remains of past societies b) socially transmitted patterns of behaviour c) language and symbolic communication d) pottery vessels and stone tools, but nothing else e) material unaltered by past societies 15. Which of the following are inorganic materials? a) textiles b) hazelnut shells c) bone tools d) stone tools e) wooden implements 16. Processual Archaeology, as advocated by Lewis Binford, focused on understanding: a) the rise of ethnic groups and nation states b) human perceptions of monuments and landscape c) the relationship between natural environments and general patterns in past human behaviour d) the relationships between rock art and prehistoric spirituality e) the expression of gender and identity in the archaeological record 17. The Monte Verde site in Chile: a) proves that the Americas were colonised from Europe b) proves that the first settlers relied only on large game c) suggests that Clovis settlers may not have been the first humans to enter the Americas d) proves that Clovis cultures were the first humans to enter the Americas e) suggests that a meteorite impact in Siberia pushed the first settlers into the New World 18. Clovis points are distinctive stone tools and were first discovered at: a) Clovis, Alaska, USA b) Clovis, British Columbia, Canada c) Clovis Junction, Monte Verde, Chile d) Clovis, New Mexico, USA e) Clovis Cave in Italy

19. What sequence of steps is involved in the production of pottery? a) obtain moist clay, mix in temper, shape, dry, fire. b) obtain moist clay, shape, dry, decorate, fire. c) obtain moist clay, shape, decorate. d) a and b e) b and c 20. ________ is the classification system devised by C.J Thomsen, which established the principle that by classifying artefacts according to the material of which they are made, one could produce chronological ordering. a) Uniformitarianism b) the Three Age system c) cultural ecology d) processualism e) classification system 21. Waterlogged sites, as found in lakes, swamps, marshes, fens and peat bogs, effectively seal organic material in an environment that is: a) aerobic b) anoxic c) water-tight d) dry e) cold 22. Who were some of the key figures in the development of a sound methodology of scientific archaeology in the late 19th and early 20th centuries? a) General Pitt-Rivers and Sir Mortimer Wheeler b) Dorothy Garrod and Sir William Flinders Petrie c) Max Uhle and Alfred Kidder d) all of the above e) a and b only 23. Anthropogenic sediments are sediments that have been: a) made or altered by human activity b) untouched by humans c) made or altered by animal activity d) uncovered on an archaeological site e) developed in situ next to an archaeological site 24. _____________ of bones and teeth is a technique which can be used to determine longterm patterns of consumption. a) radiocarbon dating b) phosphate analysis c) stereo microscopy d) ethnographic analysis e) isotopic analysis 25. Dendrochronology is a dating method based on: a) genetic mutations in DNA b) the decay of carbon isotopes in organic materials c) the annual growth of tree rings d) changes in attributes of artefacts

e) the principle that underlying layers were deposited first 26. Which of the following are NOT techniques employed by landscape archaeologists: a) aerial survey b) excavation c) pollen studies d) field walking e) DNA analysis 27. In burial a) b) c) d) e) 1874, who conducted one of the first controlled, stratigraphic excavations on a small mound in Virginia? Thomas Jefferson William Stukeley Caleb Atwater Samuel Haven General Pitt-Rivers

28. Which of the following is NOT a general theory of culture change: a) social evolution b) cultural ecology c) reflexive archaeology d) agency e) evolutionary archaeology 29. Early Acheulian hand axes: a) appear abruptly with Homo habilis around 2.5 million years ago b) appear abruptly with Homo ergaster around 1.75 million years ago c) are associated only with Homo erectus in southeast Asia d) were made by Neanderthals in northern Europe e) are tools made by early Homo sapiens 30. Studies focused on ___________ stress the roll of the individual as an actor in history and an agent for change. a) gender b) evolution c) cultural change d) status e) agency

SECTION B: SHORT ANSWERS

Value of this section: 40% (10% per question) Recommended time: 1 hour (15 minutes per question) Instructions: Choose four questions in total from this section. Use examples and case studies of your choice to support your answers. 1. When did bipedalism first develop in early hominins? Discuss the theories suggested to explain the development of this method of locomotion. 2. What are the competing hypotheses used to explain the origin of modern Homo sapiens? In your opinion, which are better supported by the available evidence and why? 3. How, when and via which routes was the New World colonised? Discuss, citing relevant case-studies. 4. Where and when were the first ceramic containers invented and why did this technology spread? Discuss drawing on relevant case-studies from different world regions. 5. How do environment and burial conditions influence the preservation of materials? Use examples to illustrate your answer. 6. What are stratigraphy and seriation and how do they contribute to the dating of archaeological sites and artefacts? Use examples to illustrate your answer. 7. What is meant by the biography of a place or landscape? Discuss drawing on relevant case studies. 8. What is meant by an inclusive archaeology? Who or what does such a perspective seek to include? 9. What is meant by postprocessual archaeology? What archaeological perspectives did it critique?

SECTION C: LONG ESSAY

Recommended time: 30 minutes Value of this section: 30% Instructions: Answer one of the following questions. Use examples and case studies of your choice to support your answers. 1. Using relevant archaeological evidence, discuss the probable subsistence strategies of early hominins and evaluate the interrelationships between diet, stone tool development and the course of human evolution. 2. Using relevant archaeological evidence, discuss the main features of Neanderthal physiology, subsistence and social life, and develop an explanation as to why this species was eventually replaced by early humans. 3. What are anthropogenic soils and sediments and how do they provide information about past societies? Use examples and case studies to support your answer.

4. Drawing on relevant case studies of your choice, discuss the different ways in which the past is communicated to the public. In your opinion, which is the most successful and why.