2. Archaeology Vocabulary Get ready to dig…Like in the DIRT!!

3. archaeology The study of past civilizations by examining artifacts and other remains

4. anthropology The study of human beings and their culture

5. paleoanthropology The study of prehistoric human beings and how they lived

6. geology The study of the earth and its composition

7. history A record of what happened in the past, or an explanation of the past

8. prehistory History BEFORE the invention of writing (adj. prehistoric)

9. primary source A source produced during the same time period as it describes; a firsthand or eyewitness account

10. secondary source A source produced at a later date by those studying primary sources

11. artifact An object that was made by humans and that is of archaeological importance

12. fossil The remains or imprint of a plant or animal from a past age

13. oral tradition History that is passed down by word of mouth, or storytelling

14. cultural diffusion The spreading of ideas from one group of people to another

15. excavation The act of digging out a site by removing dirt; can also refer to the site itself (verb excavate)

16. stratum A layer of the earth, especially in an archaeological dig

17. stratigraphy The act of removing one stratum at a time, especially in looking for artifacts

18. “in situ” “in the place” where an artifact was found

19. chronological order In order of time, from earliest to latest

20. dating The act of determining when an artifact or fossil was made; there are many methods of dating an object

21. radiocarbon dating Determining the date of an object by measuring the amount of carbon decay