Archaeology Vocabulary

Ascertaining the age of an object with reference to a fixed and specific time scale (as opposed to ascertaining its age relative to the age of other objects in the same or a related context).

A

Soil deposited by running water, such as streams, rivers, and flood waters.

A

To re-fill a trench once an excavation has been completed.

B

A heap of earth placed over one or more prehistoric tombs, often surrounded by ditches.

B

Stone tools that have been worked on both sides or faces, meaning that flakes have been intentionally (not naturally) chipped off from both sides of the stone.

B

A mound of stones erected as a memorial or marker.

C

A stone or metal axelike instrument with a bevelled edge.

C

Information relating to where an artifact or feature was found and what it was found in association with.

C

Any change to an archaeological site due to events which occurred after the site was laid down.

D

Artificial changes in land level, typically made from piles of artificially placed or sculpted rocks and soil.

E

The science of reconstructing the relationships between past societies and the environments they lived in.

E

The exposure, processing, and recording of archaeological sites, including uncovering and recording the provenience, context, and three-dimensional location of archaeological finds.

E

Detailed, written accounts of archaeological research, excavation, and interpretation made during an ongoing project.

F

Material that has accumulated, or been deposited, within a negative feature such as a cut, ditch, or a hollow in a building.

F

A fragment removed by chipping or hammering from a larger stone used as a tool or weapon.

F

The application of archaeological techniques and theory in a legal context.

F

An object which has been deliberately broken or damaged in such a way as to make it unusable.

K

The physical material in which finds and other cultural remains are found, e.g. soil or rock.

M

A site that is anomalously large in comparison to others from the same period and region.

M

An absolute dating technique used to determine the age of organic materials less than 50,000 years old by examining the loss of the unstable carbon-14 isotope, which is absorbed by all living organisms during their lifespan.

R

The preparation of finds from an excavation for storage or further specialist analysis, typically including washing, labelling, sorting and listing in an inventory.

P

The use of screens and meshes to improve the recovery rate of artifacts from excavated sediments.

S

Loose sediment excavated from a trench.

S

A rapid and relatively inexpensive method of archaeological evaluation used to estimate the archaeological potential of a site.

T

The classification of objects according to their physical characteristics.

T