Deck 11: Archaeology and the Public

Question 1

Archaeological fraud perpetrated by __________,who was found to have planted artifacts at all of the 168 sites he excavated,may have had a serious impact on how we understand the Early Paleolithic in _________

A)Ignatius Donnelly;Greece
B)Heinrich Schliemann;Turkey
C)Thomas Jefferson;The United States
D)Shinichi Fujimura;Japan
E)Piltdown Man;China

Answer 1

Shinichi Fujimura;Japan

Question 2

NAGPRA,a significant piece of legislation passed in the United States in 1990,stands for

A)National Archaeological Grant Program Record Agency
B)Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
C)National Archaeological Graves Purchasing and Restoration Act
D)Native American General Program for Recovery Agency
E)Native American Group Program for Recording Archaeology

Answer 2

Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act

Question 3

According to NAGPRA,museums must return specific skeletons,sacred objects,and funerary goods to Native American groups if

A)they ask for them
B)they can no longer afford to store the objects
C)if the Native American group promises to preserve and conserve the remains
D)if cultural affiliation linking the goods to the modern group can be shown
E)if the objects were found to have been removed from native land before 1900 without a permit

Answer 3

if cultural affiliation linking the goods to the modern group can be shown

Question 4

The name of this country comes from the name of an archaeological site

A)Greece
B)Iran
C)Zimbabwe
D)Morocco
E)Vietnam

Question 5

The use of a star symbol that was once the emblem of Alexander the Great led to conflict between which two countries?

A)Turkey and Greece
B)Greece and Macedonia
C)Macedonia and Serbia
D)Serbia and Greece
E)Macedonia and Turkey

Question 6

Many Maori groups in New Zealand as well as some Native American groups prefer that human remains be________ instead of excavated by archaeologists

A)put on museum display
B)sold to collectors
C)removed from their territory
D)destroyed by construction workers and developers
E)allowed to decay naturally

Question 7

On numerous occasions the Greek Government has formally requested that this museum return the Parthenon Marbles to Athens

A)The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York
B)The Pergamon Museum in Berlin
C)The British Museum in London
D)The Skopje Museum in Macedonia
E)The National Museum of Turkey in Ankara

Question 8

When a museum label fails to indicate where exactly an artifact on display came from,that is a good sign that

A)the museum is protecting the site from looters by not letting the public have much information
B)the museum is very disorganized
C)tests are being done on the object to determine its origin
D)the object came from a looted site through illicit or illegal channels
E)the museum is an older-style institution

Question 9

The idea of a lost continent of Atlantis originally came from a story written by

A)Plato
B)Homer
C)Chaucer
D)Shakespeare
E)Ignatius Donnelly

Question 10

Pseudoarchaeology is defined as

A)the practice of methodologically correct archaeology by amateurs
B)the use of archaeology to further the political goals of a state
C)a cross between archaeology and anthropology
D)the creation of extravagant and untrue stories about the past
E)the components of the process of archaeology that do not involve digging

Question 11

An example of religious extremism leading to archaeological destruction,the giant Buddhas carved into the cliffs of Bamiyan were destroyed by

A)the Taliban
B)the Nazis
C)the Crusaders
D)the Romans
E)the Mongols

Question 12

Which of the following is an example of pseudoarchaeology?

A)The claim that a geologically formed hill in Bosnia is actually a man-made pyramid
B)The idea that the Nazca lines of Perú are actually landing strips for UFOs
C)An announcement that the lost continent of Atlantis has been found off the coast of Cuba
D)The idea that the ancient Egyptians built the Maya pyramids
E)All of the above are examples of pseudoarchaeology

Question 13

In 1996 a human body radiocarbon dated to 9300 BP was found in Washington State: this find sparked a decade long battle between archaeologist and Native American groups,mostly because it was so very old.This body is known as

A)Peking Man
B)Kennewick Man
C)The Taung Child
D)Lucy
E)Piltdown Man

Question 14

In the not too distant past ancient and even modern Australian Aborigines were seen by scientists and researchers as

A)laboratory specimens
B)full partners in the quest for preserving the past
C)the legal owners of sites that are important to their religion
D)a highly advanced civilization that rivaled the Greeks and Romans
E)b and c only

Question 15

Lord Elgin is best known for

A)discovering the site of Troy from descriptions in the Iliad
B)removing the Parthenon marbles from Athens to the U.K.
C)discovering the spectacular city of Pompeii buried in volcanic ash
D)proving that the moundbuilders were actually the ancestors of Native Americans
E)deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics

Question 16

There are certain areas where archaeological reality and evidence clashes with harmless popular belief,and archaeologists must question whether they should respect these beliefs or focus on refuting.An example of just such an ethically challenging situation is

A)when an author is trying to sell a book that makes false claims about the past and accuses archaeologists of keeping secret information about the public
B)when false ideas about the ancient past are being used to fuel racism and hate
C)when a major archaeological site is destroyed because those in charge of the country belong to an extremist religion
D)when aboriginal and Indigenous religions or oral history are at odds with archaeological interpretation
E)none of the above

Question 17

Excavation of human burials is a complex ethical issue in archaeology because

A)human remains contain diseases that can make archaeologists sick
B)many modern and ancient cultures frown on the disturbance of the dead
C)burials are usually quite hard to locate and archaeologists have to do a lot of digging to find them
D)legally,ancient remains,like modern ones,must be thoroughly investigated for foul play by the local police force
E)the body might be protected by an ancient curse that could endanger archaeologists

Question 18

The science of morals is called

A)law
B)theory
C)conscience
D)theology
E)ethics

Question 19

It is important that archaeological information be disseminated to the wider public.Which of the following have been used by archaeologists to popularize the human past

A)museum exhibits
B)the internet
C)television
D)all of the above
E)a and c only

Question 20

The reason the illegal excavation of antiquities is so devastating for archaeological research is

A)illegally excavated antiquities lack contextual information
B)archaeological sites are destroyed to extract these antiquities
C)no published record of the excavations exist
D)objects held in private collections are often not accessible for scientific research
E)all of the above

Question 21

The return of human remains or other artifacts to their country of culture of origin is called

A)colonialism
B)repatriation
C)preservation
D)restoration
E)reconstruction

Question 22

When antiquities are purchased or accepted by a museum there is a strong need for careful investigation of where exactly the object came from.Such an investigation is part of buyer

A)investigative reporting
B)characterization
C)context
D)importation
E)due diligence

Question 23

Respect for the dead in Ancient Egypt was so great that the rich tombs of the Pharaohs were not looted until modern times.

Question 24

The main way that the Mimbres Foundation has sought to protect Mimbres sites from looting is

A)by actually purchasing surviving Mimbres archaeological sites
B)to perform 100% excavation on every single Mimbres site that is known
C)by vigilantism: several people have been shot on sight
D)plant fake Mimbres artifacts for looters to find
E)all of the above

Question 25

Thanks to the efforts of dedicated aboriginal groups in Australia,some human remains that were exhumed in the past by archaeologists without permission have been returned.

Question 26

Public museums,as bastions of culture and guardians of the past,have never tolerated archaeological destruction or the looting of archaeological sites.

Question 27

The fundamental purpose of archaeology is to provide people with a better understanding of the human past.

Question 28

Archaeology and the study of the past is a serious business and should never be considered a form of popular entertainment.

Question 29

Archaiokapiloi,huaqueros,and tombaroli are all regional terms for

A)the looters of archaeological sites
B)archaeologists
C)archaeological site museums
D)museum curators
E)believers in Indigenous religions

Question 30

Archaeology still faces a variety of ethical dilemmas and thus the study of archaeological ethics is on the rise.

Question 31

Who owns the past?

A)archaeologists
B)museums
C)Indigenous people
D)collectors
E)there is no clear answer to that question

Question 32

The destruction of archaeological remains during war is always purely religious,not ethnic or nationalistic.

Question 33

Artifacts produced by the Mimbres culture in the American Southwest are sought by collectors and the sites of that culture have been heavily looted to meet the demand.The type of Mimbres artifact that is most valued by collectors is

A)stone idol carvings
B)painted bowls
C)intricate textiles
D)gold jewelry
E)human mummies

Question 34

The Italian government tried Marian True,the former Curator of Antiquities of the J.P.Getty Museum in Los Angeles,on charges of

A)theft from a museum in Rome
B)falsely impersonating a trained archaeologist
C)knowingly purchasing antiquities that were illegally excavated in Italian territory
D)displaying fake antiquities as real
E)all of the above

Question 35

When antiquities collectors buy looted archaeological objects they

A)are innocently perusing a hobby that doesn't hurt anyone
B)are doing their part to help preserve the past
C)are indirectly funding the looting of archaeological sites
D)are indirectly preventing the looting of archaeological sites
E)none of the above

Question 36

Looters have destroyed a full 90% of sites from the Classic period of the Mimbres culture in the American Southwest.

Question 37

The process of excavation inherently entails destruction.

Question 38

Because of the ethical and legal issues that come up during archaeological investigation of Indigenous traditional cultures,especially with regard to human remains,much archaeological work now depends on

A)ignoring local concerns and continuing to excavate
B)suing Native American groups for complete access to archaeological sites
C)disregarding federal legislation that interferes with archaeological goals
D)secrecy
E)compromise

Question 39

The Sevso Treasure,an assemblage of late Roman silver,was acquired by the Marquess of Northampton,but is considered too obviously looted to be sold.The Sevso Treasure has been claimed by

A)Russia
B)Hungary
C)The U.K.
D)France
E)Italy

Question 40

The beliefs of the modern Druids and their use of Stonehenge for rituals are not supported by archaeological evidence.

Question 41

Some archaeologists believe "Collectors are the real looters." What does this mean? Describe the connection between the collection of antiquities and the destruction of archaeological sites.Use specific examples to support your answer.

Question 42

The introduction of NAGPRA has caused some friction between archaeologists and Native Americas.Define NAGPRA and describe a specific controversy involving this act.

Question 43

Why is the question "Who owns the past?" so difficult to answer?