Archaeological Terms

The following words are commonly encountered in archaeological literature, especially that of North America.

archaeology / archeology: the scientific study of past human cultures by analyzing the material remains (sites and artifacts) that people left behind.

archaeological site: a place where human activity occurred and material remains were deposited.

artifact: any object made, modified, or used by people.

assemblage: artifacts that are found together and that presumably were used at the same time for similar or related tasks.

attribute: a characteristic or property of an object, such as weight, size, or color.

B.P.: years before present; as a convention, 1950 is the year from which B.P. dates are calculated.

ceramic: pottery, fired clay.

classification: a systematic arrangement in groups or categories according to criteria.

context: the relationship of artifacts and other cultural remains to each other and the situation in which they are found.

culture: a set of learned beliefs, values and behaviors the way of life shared by the members of a society.

diagnostic artifact: an item that is indicative of a particular time and/or cultural group.

excavation: the systematic digging and recording of a site.

experimental archaeology: scientific studies designed to discover processes that produced and/or modified artifacts and sites.

feature: permanent fixtures of a site which are not structures, such as a roasting pit, hearth, or post hole.

grid: a network of uniformly spaced squares that divides a site into units; used to measure and record provenience.

in situ: in the original place.

level: an excavation layer, which may correspond to strata. Levels are numbered from the top to the bottom of the excavation unit, with the uppermost being Level 1.

lithic: stone, or made of stone.

midden: an area used for trash disposal.

pot hunter: a person who removes artifacts from sites for other than scientific reasons, such as to sell or add to a collection. Pot hunting on federal or most state lands is illegal.

pot sherd: a piece of broken pottery.

prehistoric: the period of time before written records; the absolute date for the prehistoric period varies from place to place.

projectile point: a general term for stone points that were hafted to darts, spears, or arrows; often erroneously termed "arrowheads."

rock art: a general term for pecked, incised, or painted figures on rock.

site: a place where human activity occurred and material remains were deposited.

site steward: a volunteer who visits a site and helps to protect it from vandalism and looting.

strata: many layers of earth or levels in an archaeological site (singular: stratum).

stratigraphy: the layering of deposits in archaeological sites. Cultural remains and natural sediments become buried over time, forming strata.

survey: the systematic examination of the ground surface in search of archaeological sites.

test pit: a small excavation unit dug to learn what the depth and character of the stratum might be.

	Copyright © 1996 Society for American Archaeology