General archaeology

General archaeology

Terms and definitions of archaeology -- the study of human society through the analysis of artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes.

Industry: Archaeology

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General archaeology

Idealist explanation

Archaeology; General archaeology

A form of explanation that lays great stress on the search for insights into the historical circumstances leading up to the event under study in terms primarily of the ideas and motives of the ...

One of the most frequent features accompanying competition, where customs, buildings, and artefacts in one society may be adopted by neighbouring ones through a process of imitation which is often ...

Storage-pit

Archaeology; General archaeology

Circular excavations usually less than 3 m in diameter assumed to have aboriginally functioned as storage "cellars".

Fission-track dating

Archaeology; General archaeology

A dating method based on the operation of a radioactive clock, the spontaneous fission of an isotope of uranium present in a wide range of rocks and minerals. As with potassium-argon dating, with ...

Salvage archaeology

Archaeology; General archaeology

Archaeological research carried out to preserve or rescue sites, materials and data from areas threatened by man-made or natural disturbance. The most common type of archaeological fieldwork ...

Environmental archaeology

Archaeology; General archaeology

A field in which inter-disciplinary research, involving archaeologists and natural scientists, is directed at the reconstruction of human use of plants and animals, and how past societies adapted to ...