ANTH 115: Cake Archaeology

In January 2008, the students in ANTH 115 were called to investigate a curious, minature Archaeological Site discovered, oddly enough, in their classroom. To get to the bottom of this, they select their tools and begin a methodical excavation.

Terminology

stratigraphy (strata)
artifacts and features
post-depositional forces
taphonomy
grave goods and burials
intrusive and extrusive features

The Archaeological Record at Site 24SB595

	Questions to consider: 1. In each layer, who built the various features ? 2. What forces left the artifacts in the archaeological record ? 3. How did you decide when to change the numbers of the layers ? 4. How many layers did you identify ?
Rare footage of a tomb worker (working on Layer 3)
5. List the order that features were created within each layer. 6. What order should the features be excavatd in ? (how do you take artifacts out in the reverse order from which they were deposited)
	Level 1: Junkyard Layer 1. Which was the earliest portion of this layer ? 2. Look up "dendrochonology" and come to class with a brief definition. 3. What did you find within this layer ? 4. What do you think caused this layer to be abandoned ?
Layer 2: Jamestown Period 1. What features were visible at the top of this layer ? Did you sketch them on your original map ? 2. List all of the features from this layer 3. What do you think happened here ? Why was the site abandoned ? For reference, photos of the features and artifacts from Layer 2 are provided below.

How would you classify the artifacts from this layer ?	What is the association (if any) among the features and artifacts in this layer ?

Why do archaeologists dig square trenches ?	He's missing his leg!!
Questions for Layer 3: Egyptian Tomb
	1. How many layers were within the tomb? 2. What were the white artifacts ? 3. Were their any associated artifacts ? 4. Associated features ?
Photos are provided below for reference.
	5. How could you have excavated this layer to keep track of the various sub-layers ? 6. What numbering system could you have used to label each associated artifact correctly ?
What was in the muffin midden ?
Level 4: Paleolithic
What did you reach in the lowest level ?
What do you do after you dig ?
What is the next step ?
What was missing from the archaeological record ? What behavior could account for this ?
Ironically, what happened to site 24SB595 at the end of the dig ?

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