ANTHR206 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Underwater Archaeology, Relative Dating, Soil Horizon

• School: University of Alberta
• Department: Anthropology
• Course: ANTHR206
• Professor: Kisha Supernant

Document Summary

To understand human past, need to find objects and the context. It yields the most reliable evidence for human activities at a particular period in the past and to see the changes in activities from period to period. Sometimes, things are visible from the surface of the ground, but usually it only gives a small snapshot in time from when the object was made. The horizontal approach is used to demonstrate contemporaneity (things that happened at the same time). Living in a place at a certain time creates a specific pattern eventually. When you look below the surface, you can see the history of the occupation of the place. Units: either square or rectangular units used, because it is easier to do the math (harder to do math on a circle). It is easy to record the provenience in a square. It is when you put the soil through a mesh screen.