Deck 10: Explanation in Archaeology

Question 1

Thomas Malthus has argued that human population tends to grow to the limit permitted by

A)the leaders of society
B)religion
C)the food supply
D)our genetics
E)sanitation

Answer 1

the food supply

Question 2

The idea that the human mind evolved under the selective pressures faced by the hunter-gatherer lifestyle of Ice-age humans is an important aspect of

A)the hydraulic hypothesis
B)cataclysm studies
C)Marxist archaeology
D)evolutionary archaeology
E)the empathetic method

Answer 2

evolutionary archaeology

Question 3

Some Processualists have accused Critical Theorists of believing that one person's idea is as good as any other person's idea: basically that fringe and alternative beliefs are as good as those produced by experts and trained professionals.Such a belief is also called

A)relativism
B)positive feedback
C)the multiplier effect
D)superiorism
E)Marxism

Answer 3

relativism

Question 4

When the Spanish reached Mexico in the early 16th century they found

A)dense populations of Maya-speaking people
B)sparse Maya-speaking small settlements
C)no people and the ruined remains of the Maya collapse
D)an empty landscape
E)the Classic Maya civilization at its height

Question 5

Change in the archaeological record is sometimes attributed to struggles between social classes,a result of contradictions that arise between the forces of production and the relations of production (mainly the social organization).Such an approach to understanding the past would be considered

A)Critical theory
B)culture-historical archaeology
C)postprocessual archaeology
D)Marxist archaeology
E)processual archaeology

Question 6

If,in your explanation for a cultural change (for example,the origin of the state),you stress the importance and interaction of several different factors operating at the same time,this would be considered a(n)

A)monocausal explanation
B)multiplier effect explanation
C)idealist explanation
D)multivariate explanation
E)none of the above

Question 7

The Classic Maya kings portrayed themselves as great guarantors of prosperity and stability,but during the critical 8th and 9th centuries leading up to the Maya collapse they were unable to deliver on these promises because of

A)the superior technology of the conquering Spanish
B)the degradation of an ecosystem already pushed beyond its limits by overpopulation
C)the superior technology of the conquering Aztec
D)the introduction of new diseases causing massive depopulation of the region
E)the arrival of Quetzalcoatl from central Mexico who brought a new religious cult to the area

Question 8

The controversial framework developed by Carl Hempel and adopted by some New Archaeologists and heavily criticized by other New Archaeologists is based on the development of universal statements and

A)cognitive maps
B)diffusion diagrams
C)religious interpretations
D)personal observations
E)natural laws

Question 9

______________ is a theoretical approach developed by the "Frankfurt School" of German social thinkers.This approach stresses that all knowledge is historical,biased communication,and thus all claims to objective knowledge are illusory

A)Critical Theory
B)Conjunctivist Theory
C)Catastrophe Theory
D)Structuration Theory
E)Scientism

Question 10

Robert Carneiro,a major proponent of ______________,emphasized the importance of environmental constraints and territorial limitations to explain the origins of the state

A)ecological determinism
B)environmental circumscription
C)punctuated equilibria
D)structuralist approaches
E)systems thinking

Question 11

Relying on a single dominant explanatory factor to account for a cultural change is known as a(n)

A)idealist explanation
B)multivariate explanation
C)hypothetico-deductive explanation
D)monocausal explanation
E)postprocessual explanation

Question 12

Which of the following has been put forth as a monocausal explanation for the origins of a state

A)the hydraulic hypothesis
B)population growth
C)warfare
D)all of the above
E)none of the above

Question 13

______________ archaeologists stress that human actions are guided by beliefs and symbolic concepts,and that the proper object of study is the structures of thought-the ideas-of the human actors who made the artifacts and created the archaeological record

A)Marxist
B)Structuralist
C)Processual
D)Historiographic
E)Conservative

Question 14

The argument that large-scale irrigation alone leads to urbanization is known as the

A)evolutionary hypothesis
B)hydraulic hypothesis
C)New Archaeology
D)systems theory
E)culture-historical approach

Question 15

In migrationist and diffusionist explanations of the past,a "people" is defined as

A)a human grouping that is smaller than a band
B)a sense of personal identity that cannot be seen in the archaeological record
C)a well-defined ethnic group
D)individuals who are genetically related to one another
E)none of the above

Question 16

Before the New Archaeology,changes observed in the archaeological record were often explained by the idea of

A)migration
B)the environment
C)class struggle
D)cognition and identity
E)all of the above

Question 17

A notable feature of Lewis Binford's work on the origins of farming was its generality: he was seeking to explain the origins of agriculture worldwide.His is an example of a _________ approach to archaeology

A)post-modern
B)Marxist
C)diffusionist
D)processual
E)all of the above

Question 18

The theoretical position in archaeology that nearly all archaeologists believe in and commands widespread respect is

A)diffusionism
B)The New Archaeology
C)post-Processualism
D)neo-Marxism
E)no theoretical position commands widespread respect

Question 19

One explanation for the emergence of state societies in the Maya lowlands is based on the lack of basic raw materials in the area,forcing the Maya to develop an intricate system of

A)trade
B)industrialization
C)irrigation canals
D)oxcart roads
E)intense mining

Question 20

In the 1960s,the "loss of innocence" that came with the realization that there was no well-established body of theory to underpin current archaeological methods sparked the development of

A)Cognitive Archaeology
B)Post-Processual Archaeology
C)the culture-historical approach
D)the Diffusionist approach
E)the New Archaeology

Question 21

Around the 12th century BC,the Phoenicians developed a simplified phonetic script to write their Semitic language.By the early 1st millennium BC,the script was adapted by the Greeks to write their language,and the Greek alphabet was later modified in Italy to write Etruscan and Latin.It was through Latin that our own alphabet (known as the Roman alphabet)came to much of Europe,and later the rest of the world.This is a positive example of ____________

A)Marxism
B)diffusion
C)praxis
D)postmodernism
E)environmentalism

Question 22

While New Archaeology was fast to investigate social structures it was slow to explore

A)how science could be used in archaeology
B)the symbolic aspects of culture
C)the impact of the environment on people in the past
D)the origins of agriculture
E)all of the above

Question 23

Ian Hodder is considered to be a ________________ archaeologist

A)post-processual
B)processual
C)migrationist
D)diffusionist
E)Marxist

Question 24

A common criticism of the early New Archaeology (functional-processual archaeology)was that the importance of ideological and symbolic aspects of societies was ignored or undervalued.

Question 25

Using a traditional Migrationist approach,it is argued that each archaeological culture is the manifestation,in material terms,of a specific

A)people or ethnic group
B)environmental event
C)religious tradition
D)distribution of resource
E)social inequality

Question 26

Post-processual archaeology has completely replaced the New Archaeology.

Question 27

Despite its name,evolutionary archaeology has very little to do with the ideas of biological evolution.

Question 28

The concept of __________ has been introduced to permit discussion of the role of the individual in promoting change

A)agency
B)cognition
C)symbol
D)critical theory
E)structuralism

Question 29

In contrast to the functional-processual approach that seeks to create generalizing explanation,a _________________ explanation,influenced by structuralism,critical theory,and neo-Marxist thought,favors an individualizing approach

A)postprocessual
B)culture-historical
C)refutationist
D)hypothetico-deductive
E)none of the above

Question 30

Marxist archaeology seeks to understand processes of change in human history through the study of contradictions between the forces of production and social organization.

Question 31

Emphasizing the scientific methodology of problem statement,hypothesis formulation,and subsequent testing,______________ is an approach that stresses the dynamic relationship between the social and economic aspects of culture and the environment in understanding culture change

A)Marxist archaeology
B)structuralist archaeology
C)culture-historical archaeology
D)postprocessual archaeology
E)processual archaeology

Question 32

There is no difference between Marxist and neo-Marxist thought in archaeology.

Question 33

Clear ethnic groups do not always stand out clearly in archaeological remains.

Question 34

Lewis Binford is considered a processual archaeologist.

Question 35

One thing that cognitive-processual archaeologists and functional-processual archaeologists agree upon is that

A)there is no objective truth
B)ideology is an active force within society
C)individual societies construct their own social reality
D)theories must be tested against facts
E)cognitive and symbolic aspects of society are very important

Question 36

Most scholars believe that the Maya collapse was monocausal.

Question 37

The short-term intentions of individuals can be referred to as agency.

Question 38

The New Archaeology is considered to be a challenge to Processual Archaeology

Question 39

Later archaeological critiques of diffusionist explanations have shown that migrations

A)did not occur in the past and cannot be used to explain cultural change
B)are far more obvious in the archaeological record than once thought
C)did occur but are not as easy to detect in the archaeological record as once believed
D)are the only explanation for most cultural change
E)could account for most of the archaeological record

Question 40

The idea that European Megaliths were used by elders and community leaders to manipulate the members of society into the continued recognition of their social status is an example of a

A)Postprocessual explanation
B)Functional-processual explanation
C)Marxist explanation
D)Migrationist or Diffusionist explanation
E)New Archaeology explanation

Question 41

Discuss the different explanations for the origins of the state.Separate your discussion between those explanations that would be considered monocausal and those that would be considered multivariate.

Question 42

Compare migrationist and diffusionist explanations for change,such as the appearance of a new kind of pottery or new decorative motifs,to processual explanations for change.How does a processual approach differ from such traditional explanations?

Question 43

There are a number of theories for the Maya collapse in the 9th century AD.Discuss the evidence for a collapse,and the different hypotheses to account for it,taking into account the regional variation in the timing and nature of the collapse.