Vocabulary

Vocabulary
"Looking into the Past"

Archaeology - The scientific study of human behavior based on the material remains of past activities.

Artifact - Any object made by humans for their use.

Carbon 14 Dating - Process which measures amount of radio-carbon left in organic materials

Dendrochronology - Dating process using tree-ring growth

Excavation - The systematic digging up of an archaeological site.

In Situ - In the original place or site

Grid - System of 5 m squares laid out at an archaeological site

Law of Superposition - For any pile of deposits, the order of succession form bottom to top is the order of deposition

Layers - Levels of civilization uncovered on a dig

Potassium-argon dating - Process used on volcanic rocks which measures the amount of radioactive argon in the rock

Seriation - System of arranging objects from least to most advanced

Sherd - Fragment of pottery

Stratigraphy - The study of rock layers, their composition, and their interrelationships.

Site - Location of an archaeological digs; place where there is evidence of ancient human habitation

Tell - Mound which shows evidence of human habitation; from Arabic word meaning "hill"

Theory - The logical employment of laws in offering a formal explanation of nature.