ANT100Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Looting, Archaeological Site, Soil Chemistry
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Document Summary
The archaeological record is the sum of all physical evidence about the past that survives to the present. Factors that affect the archaeological record: not all behaviour will leave material traces. Because of intervening cultural and natural processes, the archaeological record is not usually a direct reflection of past behaviour. Artifact: any object made or modified by people. Ecofact: natural object used or affected by people. Feature: non-portable material remains resulting from human activity (e. g. , a house, a fireplace, a midden). Archaeological site: a place where evidence of past human activity is preserved. All four stages potentially leave archaeological evidence. Natural factors: climate temperature and humidity, ex, extreme wet, or dry, or cold preserves organics, biological factors e. g. , decay, rodents, carnivores, soil chemistry can destroy (acid) or preserve (fossilize, catastrophic events (volcanoes, earthquakes) Changes the context of materials within the archaeological site. ***as a result of these natural and cultural factors the archaeological record is highly distorted!
