History 8 Archaeology Vocabulary

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Vocabulary

• artifacts-

Things that have been modified by human beings. They can be of stone, clay, bone, wood, or any other naturally occurring material. (Manual for Cultural Foundations of Ancient Civilization, page 5)

• define types of artifacts:
  • technic- artifacts which are strictly useful (CF page 5)
  • ideotechnic- artifacts which show a relationship (CF page 5)
  • sociotechnic- artifacts which show social class (CF page 5)

• ecofacts- "Ecological items that become associated with a site through natural processes, such as pollen deposition or natural preservation of insect remains. This includes seeds, wood remains, pollen...anything that provides information on the ecological setting of the site." (CF page 5)
  • Ecofacts are anything found that is related to the ecology of that site. (CF page 12)
    • If you would like to learn more about ecofacts, go to [1]
• features- “Things that cannot be taken back to the laboratory for analysis because they are actually part of the earth or because moving will alter or destroy them are called features.” (CF Manual p5)
  • Examples of features are “…postholes, pits, house floors, mounds, cairns, middens...”.
  • http://web.ku.edu/~hoopes/methods/methods.html

• relics- see artifacts posted above or read here: A relic is anything made made/modified by a human.

• records- A record is a written or printed document. All records are artifacts, but artifacts are only classified as records if they are written. Examples of records are books, murals, documents, and even cave paintings. Unlike relics, records express ideas. There are usually more records about the recent past than the distance because the invention of writing happened in the recent past. Records are often lost or destroyd, and this is one reason that history is an interpretation. For example, the Great library of Alexandria was lost, and many writings of Aristotle are missing. For more information, visit pages 9 and 12 in your manual.

• source-

The definition of a source is anything that survives from the past or tells us about the past. Sources can be records (written/printed documents), relics (artifacts), features (monuments, buildings), or ecofacts (natural things left behind). Sources help historians learn about the past. According to http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/source, a source is anything or place from which something comes. In Bone From A Dry Sea, the digging site could be a source, or the bone found by Vinny could be a source.

• Define primary sources and the types of things that might be a primary source.-

A primary source is an object or document which is most closely related to the person or idea being studied. These were written or created in the time period and were present at the time. They provide us with more explanations and details on the concept. Examples of a primary source include original documents (papers, letters, etc.), creative works (drama, art, books, etc.), and relics or artifacts (fossils, pottery, tools, buildings, etc.)

• Define a secondary source.-

A secondary source interprets and analysis primary sources. They are reports about the primary source. Some examples of secondary sources are textbooks, magazine articles, histories, criticisms, commentaries, and encyclopedias. Historians often must make assumptions based on a few pieces of information, which does not invalidate their conclusions.

• bias Give the criteria to identify it.-

According to [2], bias is "a preference or inclination, especially one that inhibits impartial judgement." Bias exists because of the authors. Documents often reflect the view of the upper class because most documents were written by men who were more educated and intelligent than averge. Bias can have many causes. They include intentional bias, limited access to information, the purpose behind the source, and the the belief and feelings of the producer behind the source. To help identify bias one can ask himself/herself three simple questions that have to do with language, knowledge and background. First, does the word choice make some things sounds good or bad without saying it direcctly? Second, is there a balance in the selection of facts, and if you know a little about the subject, which facts were ommitted? Third, what are the views of the person or people who created the source you are observing? Click on the link for more about the criteria for identifying bias. [3] Also, a section on bias can be found on page 8 in the manual, and even more can be found under the Lectures section on the history homepage.