AROL 211 Final, Fall 1999

ARCHAEOLOGICAL METHODOLOGY (AROL 2Ny. Final examination Two hour paper llam January 31* Prof. D. Perring fe b {a Ve Please answer three questions only. What is an archaeological site? Who wins your award as ‘field archaeologist of the millennium’ and why? (nominees might include Pitt-Rivers, Binford, Wheeler or Petrie ~ but the choice is yours. NB. All AUB professors are disqualified!). What arguments would you use to justify the archaeological excavation of a cemetery to a modern community concerned about the treatment of its dead? Describe the main stages in the archaeological research cycle. Is it possible to maintain such an ideal approach in the real world? Which prospection techniques would you use to characterise an archaeological site before excavation and what might they tell you? You have been sent onto site and told to ‘excavate the next layer you can find’. What procedures might you follow, and in what order, to ensure a proper standard of recording and finds recovery? Which techniques would you use to give relative and absolute dates to a Classical or medieval site? What contribution can the study of animal bone make to archaeological research, and which factors limit the utility of animal bone assemblages?