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

Uranium series dating

Archaeology; General archaeology

A dating method based on the radioactive decay of isotopes of uranium. It has proved particularly useful for the period before 50,000 years ago, which lies outside the time range of radiocarbon ...

Cultural relativism

Archaeology; General archaeology

The ability to view the beliefs and customs of other peoples within the context of their culture rather than one's own.

Secondary deposit

Archaeology; General archaeology

A body of natural or cultural sediments which have been disturbed and re-transported since their original deposition.

Light-table

Archaeology; General archaeology

A glass-topped table illuminated from underneath, used in the laboratory photography of archaeological specimens.

Processual archaeology

Archaeology; General archaeology

An approach that stresses the dynamic relationship between social and economic aspects of culture and the environment as the basis for understanding the processes of culture, change. Uses the ...

Probabilistic sampling

Archaeology; General archaeology

Sampling method, employing probability theory, designed to draw reliable general conclusions about a site or region, based on small sample areas. Four types of sampling strategies are recognized: ...

The study of regularities in the way in which quantities of traded items found in the archaeological record decline as the distance from the source increases. This may be plotted as a falloff curve, ...