| Absolute Dating |
methods
that determine age in number of years |
| Archaeologist |
a scientist
trained to do archaeology |
| Archaeology |
the
scientific study of material remains of human activity to reconstruct cultures |
| Archaic |
the
cultural period in Indiana between 8000 B.C. and 750 B.C. |
| Artifacts |
objects
produced or used by people (spear points, flint chips, pottery, china and
glass, gun parts, bricks, food remains) |
| Associations |
two
or more archaeological items (such as artifacts or features) that occur
together |
| Atl-atl |
a spear-throwing
tool |
| Catalog |
a record
of collected specimens |
| Chert |
a type
of smooth, fine-grained stone that was used for making stone tools |
| Context |
understanding
how artifacts were deposited |
| Culture |
patterns
of behavior that human groups invent, learn, and teach |
| Diagnostic |
artifacts
are described as diagnostic when they are typical of a particular culture |
| Excavation |
the
careful digging that archaeologists do to collect information by uncovering
and recording artifacts, features, and associations |
| Features |
material
remains that cannot be transported such as fire pits, storage pits, wall
foundations, and post holes |
| Flint |
same
as chert (see above), but refers to a high-quality stone for flaking into
tools and other objects |
| Grid |
a set
of evenly spaced north-south lines that cross a set of evenly spaced east-west
lines |
| Historic |
existing
after written history |
| Interpretation |
making
a reconstruction or explanation of life in the past |
| Knapping |
the
flaking of chert, flint, or other stone to shape it into tools or other
objects |
| Mississippian |
In Indiana,
the cultural period between A.D. 1050 and 1650 |
| Mound |
a man-made
hill of earth |
| Paleo Indian |
the
earliest cultural period in Indiana, existing from 10,000 to 8,000 B.C. |
| Plaza |
a central
open area within a village |
| Prehistoric |
existing
before written records |
| Preservation |
taking
care of something to make sure it is not accidentally or intentionally
damaged or destroyed |
| Projectile Point |
a pointed
object used as the tip of a spear or arrow |
| Radiocarbon Dating |
method
for determine the age of organic remains |
| Sherds |
broken
pieces of pottery |
| Sites |
places
where human activity resulted in features or deposits of artifacts, such
as hunting camps, mills, farmsteads, villages, towns, battlefields, etc. |
| Spear |
a weapon
having a pointed tip attached to a long handle or shaft |
| Stockade |
a defensive
wall made from a line of posts |
| Stratigraphy |
cultural
and geological layers in the ground |
| Thatch |
a roof
covering made from bundles of grass or straw tied to poles or rafters |
| Wattle and Daub |
a method
of wall construction |
| Woodland |
In Indiana,
the cultural period from 750 B.C. to A.D. 1000 |