Post by bmoses on Oct 21, 2007 12:14:11 GMT -5
A
Absolute dating: determination of age on a particular time scale, such as in calendar years before the present (B.P.) or in years A.D. or B.C. Also known as chronometric dating. Radiometric dating (eg., radiocarbon [C-14] dating and potassium-argon [K-Ar] dating) and tree-ring dating are types of absolute dating.
Activity area: spatial distribution or patterning of artifacts and ecofacts in a site indicating that a specific activity, such as cooking or tool-making took place.
Acequia: community-run irrigation ditches and/or the community-run organizations that manage them. This system of water management is rooted in ancient Spanish custom
Adobe: Sun dried, unburned brick of clay and straw.
Antiquities Permit: a permit that, by state law, must be obtained from the Texas Historical Commission before conducting archaeological investigations on land owned by the State of Texas or any of its political subdivisions.
Arbitrary level: in an excavation, the basic vertical subdivision of an excavation unit, defined metrically, such as in 5-, 10-, or 20-centimeter levels. These levels are prescribed when natural layers of stratification are lacking or not easily recognizable.
Archaeological record: the physical remains produced by past human activities, which are recovered, studied, and interpreted by archaeologists to construct knowledge of the past.
Archaeologist: a professional scholar who studies the past using scientific methods with the goal of recording, interpreting, and preserving knowledge of ancient and contemporary cultures. (compare with looter).
Archaeology: a field of anthropology specializing in the study of material remains to understand humanity. Basic objectives include building culture histories, reconstructing past lifeways, and studying cultural process.
Archaeological monitoring: the observation of construction or other non-archaeological digging by a professional archaeologist.
Archaic: a New World chronological period transitional between highly mobile hunting and gathering life and settled agricultural life.
Artifact: a discrete or portable object manufactured or modified by human beings. Major categories of artifacts include lithic, ceramic, organic, and metal.
Assemblage: all the artifacts found in a component of a site.
B
Bioturbation: in a broad sense, the biological reworking of soils and sediments by all kinds of organisms, including microbes, rooting plants and burrowing animals. In a strict sense, the enhanced dispersal of particles resulting from sediment reworking by burrowing animals.
Block: in archaeology, this term refers to subdivisions of a site or a larger excavation unit. The subdivisions are small regular units often square or rectangular in shape. A continuous network of squares is called a grid.
B.P.: before present; used in dating. "Present" means A.D. 1950 as a fixed reference point.
BS: below surface; distances of deposits, features or artifacts are given below the existing ground surface.
C
Caliche: a dense clay formed by the weathering and redeposition of calcium carbonate rocks such as limestone.
Campo Santo: [Sp.] a Spanish colonial period Catholic church cemetery that is usually located in front, and occasionally also along the sides, of a church.
Canister shot: a bundle of lead balls, each about 3/4 inch in diameter, encased in a tin cylinder that was fired from a cannon and dispersed by explosion upon impact.
Ceramics: objects of fired clay, including pottery and figurines.
Chert: an extremely fine-grained variety of quartz from which chipped stone tools were made by aboriginal peoples, including American Indians of both prehistoric and historic eras. Chert can also be referred to as flint.
Chipped stone: a class of lithic artifacts produced by striking flakes from a core.
Class: a general group of artifacts, like hand axes or projectile points that can be broken down into specific types.
CMBS: centimeters below surface; distances of deposits, features , or artifacts are given in centimeters below the existing ground surface.
Collector: an individual who accumulates artifacts for personal gain by means destructive to archaeology. Today, the demands of collectors are met by looters who destroy the context of archaeological finds and the sites themselves.
Contract Archaeology: archaeological research and excavation undertaken under contracts with the government or private organizations, designed to protect cultural resources in danger of destruction due to development. Contract archaeologists are often hired by construction companies to do salvage archaeology. See Salvage.
Convento: [Sp.] a convent. After the military occupation of the Mission San Antonio de Valero in 1803, the mission's convent was utilized as a troop barracks and later as a hospital that served both the miltary and civilian populations. Today it is known as "the long barracks."
Component: an association of all the artifacts from one occupation level and one time period at a site..
Context: the position of an archaeological find in time and space, established by measuring and assessing its associations, matrix, and provenience.
Cultural Resource Management or CRM: the conservation and management of prehistoric and historic archaeological sites and their contents as a means of safeguarding the archaeological record.
D
Datum: a location from which all measurements on a site are made; a reference point tied to local survey maps.
Debitage: the by-products or waste materials left over from the manufacture of stone tools.
E
Ecofact: bones, vegetal matter, pollen, shells, modified soils, or other archaeological finds that although not manufactured by humans, provide important clues as to human behavior or the environmental context of such behavior.
Excavation: a method of data collection in which archaeologists remove the soil matrix and observe and record the provenience and context of archaeological finds.
F
Faunal remains: a type of ecofact derived from non-human animals, including bones, shells, teeth, antlers, etc. whose study provides information on subsistence, husbandry, and dietary practices.
Feature: an non-portable artifact, such as a structure, hearth or storage pit, which cannot be removed from a site.
Field notes: detailed, written accounts of archaeological research, excavation, and interpretation made while in the field at an ongoing project.
Flake: lithic (stone) artifact detached from a core, either as a tool, material for making tools, or as debitage.
Formation processes: humanly-caused or natural processes by which an archaeological site is modified during or after occupation and abandonment.
G
Goliad ware: an undecorated pottery fired over low temperature and often tempered with ground up flakes of bone. This pottery was typically made by the Mission Indians of south and central Texas and northern Mexico.
Grapeshot: a cluster of lead balls, each about one inch in diameter, that was wrapped together in a cloth and fired from a cannon like a giant shotgun blast.
Grid: a site grid is a set of regularly spaced intersecting lines, usually marked by stakes, that provide the basic reference system for recording provenience of archaeological finds in a site.
Ground Penetrating Radar or GPR: a remote sensing technique which uses radio waves to generate images of cross-sections of underground features. Useful in identifying dense features or structures below the surface without causing the destruction typically inherent in traditional archaeological techniques.
H
History: the study of the past through written records that are compared, placed in chronological sequence, and interpreted.
J
Jacal: [Sp.] a crude hut comprised of pole and thatch construction.
L
Law of Superposition: the principle that the sequence of strata in a deposit, from bottom to top, reflects the order of deposition, from earliest to latest.
Lithic: of or pertaining to stone, as in lithic technology or lithic artifacts.
Living floor: a generic and imprecise term applied to a occupational level in an archaeological deposit assumed to be the actual surface on which prehistoric activities took place.
Looter: a person who illegally plunders archaeological sites to obtain artifacts of commercial value, simultaneously destroying critical evidence archaeologists use to understand the past (compare with archaeologist).
Lunette: a half-circle-shaped structure that is typically built on the outside of a military garrison. The lunette atthe Alamo was constructed just outside the south gate and is believed to have consisted of two rows of upright cedar logs with packed fill between them with an earthen berm and ditch on its outer side.
M
Majolica: any of the distinctive, soft-paste, tin-glazed earthenware ceramics produced in many parts of Europe, Spain, and Mexico beginning about A.D. 1300.
Magnetometer: a geophysical instrument that measures the intensity and sometimes direction of magnetic fields. It is used in electromagnetic surveying to identify changes in the field within soil or sediment that might be caused by subsurface features, hearths, kilns, or metal artifacts.
Matrix: the surrounding deposit in which archaeological finds are located.
Midden: a deposit of occupational debris, garbage, or other by-products of human activity.
Mitigation: measures taken to minimize destruction of archaeological materials in sites.
Mottled: any material that contains spots of different colors or shades. Often used to describe inclusions in stratigraphic zones.
N
Natural level: a method of excavation whereby the archaeologist removes soils following natural changes in the sediments (defined by stratigraphy), as opposed to arbitrary levels.
Nodule: a large, usually roughly spherical piece of stone such as chert (flint) which was selected as a material from which to remove flakes or blades for the manufacture of stone tools and projectile points.
O
Obsidian: black volcanic glass frequently used in stone tool manufacture. Sources of obsidian can be chemically "finger-printed" to reconstruct ancient patterns of travel and trade.
Oral traditions: historical traditions (often genealogies or stories) passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth.
P
Palisade: fence of pointed stakes.
Patina: a surface discoloration or adhesive outer crust of an artifact due to chemical changes resulting from weathering. Patina does not necessarily imply great age.
Period: an archaeological unit defining a major unit of prehistoric time.
Physical Anthropology: also known as biological anthropology, this subfield includes the study of fossil human beings, genetics, primates, and blood groups.
Plane table: a horizontal board mounted parallel to the ground on a tripod, that allows a map or plan to be attached and measurements (taken with an alidade) to be directly plotted in the field.
Post mold: a type of feature; a circular stain left in the ground after a wooden post has decayed; usually indicates the former existence of a structure or fence.
Pottery: a class of ceramic artifacts in which clay is formed into containers or utensils (by hand, in molds, or with a potter's wheel), sometimes decorated, and fired.
Prehistory: the millennia of ancient human history preceding written records. Prehistorians study prehistoric archaeology.
Primary context: an undisturbed and original association and provenience.
Projectile point: an artifact used to tip an arrow, atlatl dart, spear, or harpoon. Most commonly, projectile points are made of chipped or ground stone, bone, or metal. Wood projectile points rarely survive in archaeological deposits.
Profile drawing: a precise scale drawing of the strata and horizons revealed in the walls of an excavation or other exposure. Included in a profile drawing are all features and artifacts that may help identify the relative date of a specifiv zone. A section which has been drawn is said to have been "profiled".
Provenience: three dimensional spatial position of an archaeological find.
R
Radiocarbon dating: an absolute dating method based on measuring the decay rate of the carbon isotope(C-14), to stable nitrogen in organic materials (wood, charcoal, shell, etc.) During life, all plants and animals ingest atmospheric carbon, and after they die that cannot absorb any more C-14. C-14 has a half-life of 5730 years, and by determining the current rate of C-14 decay in a sample, one can estimate the elapsed time since the death of a plant or animal. This technique is useful for sites younger that 40,000 years B.P.
Relative chronology: temporal estimates based on the law of superposition, the presence of artifacts known to be time markers, obsidian hydration measurements, or seriation.
Research design: a systematic plan to guide archaeological research according to the scientific method and take full advantage of the information potential contained within a site.
Retouch: a technique of chipped stone tool manufacture in which pressure flaking is used to detach small flakes to improve the edges of a tool in order to better perform a specific task (like scraping, cutting, etc.).
S
Salvage Archaeology: the swift excavation and collection of artifacts at sites in immediate danger of destruction, usually by major land modification or construction projects (as in construction of a road or dam). Archaeologists record and recover as much of the site as they can in the brief period before it is destroyed.
Sampling: the probabilistic, systematic, or judgmental selection of a sub-element from a larger population, with the aim of approximating a representative picture of the whole.
Scientific method: the means of science by which phenomena are observed, hypotheses are tested, and conclusions are drawn.
Secondary context: a context of an archaeological find that has been disturbed by subsequent human activity or natural processes.
Secondary deposit: a body of natural or cultural sediments which have been disturbed and re-transported since their original deposition.
Seriation: methods used to place artifacts in chronological order based on similarities in style; a relative dating technique.
Sherd: a fragment of pottery or glass.
Shovel testing: a very efficient discovery technique for testing buried cultural remains across large areas. A shovel test grid is typically laid out in advance of the testing and then individual shovel tests are excavated at the grid point locations. The shovel test consists of a narrow, probing excavation removed in arbitrary 5, 10 or 20 cm levels, typically utilizing a narrow “sharp-shooter” shovel. Notes are carefully recorded regarding the nature of the soils and the presence of cultural materials. One major limitation of the technique is the limited depth this type of excavation is able to reach (60-70 cmbs).
State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO): established by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 as an agency within each state government charged with enforcing the provisions of the Act. SHPO's receive federal funds from the National Park Service and allocate matching funds and grants to local agencies and private citizens for the protection of sites eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. In Texas, the SHPO is the Texas Historical Commission.
Sterile layer: an excavation layer or deposit in which there are no cultural materials or evidence of human occupation or activity.
Stockade: a work in which a palisade of strong and closely-planted timbers constituted the principal defense.
Stratigraphy: the layering of deposits in archaeological sites. Cultural remains and natural sediments become buried over time, forming strata.
Stratigraphic profiles: drawings of the natural and cultural deposits of strata exposed in an excavation unit, presented in a "cut-away" diagram format.
Stratum: a single layer or level in an archaeological deposit.
Surface Survey: the process of searching for archaeological remains by physically examining the landscape, usually on foot.
T
Temporal context: the age/date of an object and its temporal relation to other items in the archaeological record.
Test Unit: an excavation unit used to sample or probe a site used to recover basic information on the depth, contents, and age of an archaeological deposit. The results of test pit excavations can be used to develop research designs or protection efforts.
Total Station or TDS: an optical surveyor's instrument that combines a transit and an electronic distance measuring device. A total station calculates angles and distances for surveyed objects. This information can be used to create topographic maps.
Tradition: persistent technological or cultural patterns identified by characteristic or diagnostic artifact forms.
Transit: a surveying instrument used to measure vertical and horizontal angles and distances.
Type: a grouping of artifacts created for comparison with other groups.
Typology: classification of types; the process of setting up and selecting categories to organize and analyze data.
V
Vara: a Spanish unit of measurement. Aproximately 2.8 ft.
W
Ware: types of ceramics; may refer to function, appearance/style, or fabric (as in cooking ware, ribbed ware, coarse ware).
Wattle and daub: in building construction, method of constructing walls in which vertical wooden stakes, or wattles, are woven with horizontal twigs and branches, and then daubed with clay or mud. This method is one of the oldest known for making a weatherproof structure.
Z
Zone: in archaeology, a term used to refer to a distinct stratigraphic level within an excavation.
Absolute dating: determination of age on a particular time scale, such as in calendar years before the present (B.P.) or in years A.D. or B.C. Also known as chronometric dating. Radiometric dating (eg., radiocarbon [C-14] dating and potassium-argon [K-Ar] dating) and tree-ring dating are types of absolute dating.
Activity area: spatial distribution or patterning of artifacts and ecofacts in a site indicating that a specific activity, such as cooking or tool-making took place.
Acequia: community-run irrigation ditches and/or the community-run organizations that manage them. This system of water management is rooted in ancient Spanish custom
Adobe: Sun dried, unburned brick of clay and straw.
Antiquities Permit: a permit that, by state law, must be obtained from the Texas Historical Commission before conducting archaeological investigations on land owned by the State of Texas or any of its political subdivisions.
Arbitrary level: in an excavation, the basic vertical subdivision of an excavation unit, defined metrically, such as in 5-, 10-, or 20-centimeter levels. These levels are prescribed when natural layers of stratification are lacking or not easily recognizable.
Archaeological record: the physical remains produced by past human activities, which are recovered, studied, and interpreted by archaeologists to construct knowledge of the past.
Archaeologist: a professional scholar who studies the past using scientific methods with the goal of recording, interpreting, and preserving knowledge of ancient and contemporary cultures. (compare with looter).
Archaeology: a field of anthropology specializing in the study of material remains to understand humanity. Basic objectives include building culture histories, reconstructing past lifeways, and studying cultural process.
Archaeological monitoring: the observation of construction or other non-archaeological digging by a professional archaeologist.
Archaic: a New World chronological period transitional between highly mobile hunting and gathering life and settled agricultural life.
Artifact: a discrete or portable object manufactured or modified by human beings. Major categories of artifacts include lithic, ceramic, organic, and metal.
Assemblage: all the artifacts found in a component of a site.
B
Bioturbation: in a broad sense, the biological reworking of soils and sediments by all kinds of organisms, including microbes, rooting plants and burrowing animals. In a strict sense, the enhanced dispersal of particles resulting from sediment reworking by burrowing animals.
Block: in archaeology, this term refers to subdivisions of a site or a larger excavation unit. The subdivisions are small regular units often square or rectangular in shape. A continuous network of squares is called a grid.
B.P.: before present; used in dating. "Present" means A.D. 1950 as a fixed reference point.
BS: below surface; distances of deposits, features or artifacts are given below the existing ground surface.
C
Caliche: a dense clay formed by the weathering and redeposition of calcium carbonate rocks such as limestone.
Campo Santo: [Sp.] a Spanish colonial period Catholic church cemetery that is usually located in front, and occasionally also along the sides, of a church.
Canister shot: a bundle of lead balls, each about 3/4 inch in diameter, encased in a tin cylinder that was fired from a cannon and dispersed by explosion upon impact.
Ceramics: objects of fired clay, including pottery and figurines.
Chert: an extremely fine-grained variety of quartz from which chipped stone tools were made by aboriginal peoples, including American Indians of both prehistoric and historic eras. Chert can also be referred to as flint.
Chipped stone: a class of lithic artifacts produced by striking flakes from a core.
Class: a general group of artifacts, like hand axes or projectile points that can be broken down into specific types.
CMBS: centimeters below surface; distances of deposits, features , or artifacts are given in centimeters below the existing ground surface.
Collector: an individual who accumulates artifacts for personal gain by means destructive to archaeology. Today, the demands of collectors are met by looters who destroy the context of archaeological finds and the sites themselves.
Contract Archaeology: archaeological research and excavation undertaken under contracts with the government or private organizations, designed to protect cultural resources in danger of destruction due to development. Contract archaeologists are often hired by construction companies to do salvage archaeology. See Salvage.
Convento: [Sp.] a convent. After the military occupation of the Mission San Antonio de Valero in 1803, the mission's convent was utilized as a troop barracks and later as a hospital that served both the miltary and civilian populations. Today it is known as "the long barracks."
Component: an association of all the artifacts from one occupation level and one time period at a site..
Context: the position of an archaeological find in time and space, established by measuring and assessing its associations, matrix, and provenience.
Cultural Resource Management or CRM: the conservation and management of prehistoric and historic archaeological sites and their contents as a means of safeguarding the archaeological record.
D
Datum: a location from which all measurements on a site are made; a reference point tied to local survey maps.
Debitage: the by-products or waste materials left over from the manufacture of stone tools.
E
Ecofact: bones, vegetal matter, pollen, shells, modified soils, or other archaeological finds that although not manufactured by humans, provide important clues as to human behavior or the environmental context of such behavior.
Excavation: a method of data collection in which archaeologists remove the soil matrix and observe and record the provenience and context of archaeological finds.
F
Faunal remains: a type of ecofact derived from non-human animals, including bones, shells, teeth, antlers, etc. whose study provides information on subsistence, husbandry, and dietary practices.
Feature: an non-portable artifact, such as a structure, hearth or storage pit, which cannot be removed from a site.
Field notes: detailed, written accounts of archaeological research, excavation, and interpretation made while in the field at an ongoing project.
Flake: lithic (stone) artifact detached from a core, either as a tool, material for making tools, or as debitage.
Formation processes: humanly-caused or natural processes by which an archaeological site is modified during or after occupation and abandonment.
G
Goliad ware: an undecorated pottery fired over low temperature and often tempered with ground up flakes of bone. This pottery was typically made by the Mission Indians of south and central Texas and northern Mexico.
Grapeshot: a cluster of lead balls, each about one inch in diameter, that was wrapped together in a cloth and fired from a cannon like a giant shotgun blast.
Grid: a site grid is a set of regularly spaced intersecting lines, usually marked by stakes, that provide the basic reference system for recording provenience of archaeological finds in a site.
Ground Penetrating Radar or GPR: a remote sensing technique which uses radio waves to generate images of cross-sections of underground features. Useful in identifying dense features or structures below the surface without causing the destruction typically inherent in traditional archaeological techniques.
H
History: the study of the past through written records that are compared, placed in chronological sequence, and interpreted.
J
Jacal: [Sp.] a crude hut comprised of pole and thatch construction.
L
Law of Superposition: the principle that the sequence of strata in a deposit, from bottom to top, reflects the order of deposition, from earliest to latest.
Lithic: of or pertaining to stone, as in lithic technology or lithic artifacts.
Living floor: a generic and imprecise term applied to a occupational level in an archaeological deposit assumed to be the actual surface on which prehistoric activities took place.
Looter: a person who illegally plunders archaeological sites to obtain artifacts of commercial value, simultaneously destroying critical evidence archaeologists use to understand the past (compare with archaeologist).
Lunette: a half-circle-shaped structure that is typically built on the outside of a military garrison. The lunette atthe Alamo was constructed just outside the south gate and is believed to have consisted of two rows of upright cedar logs with packed fill between them with an earthen berm and ditch on its outer side.
M
Majolica: any of the distinctive, soft-paste, tin-glazed earthenware ceramics produced in many parts of Europe, Spain, and Mexico beginning about A.D. 1300.
Magnetometer: a geophysical instrument that measures the intensity and sometimes direction of magnetic fields. It is used in electromagnetic surveying to identify changes in the field within soil or sediment that might be caused by subsurface features, hearths, kilns, or metal artifacts.
Matrix: the surrounding deposit in which archaeological finds are located.
Midden: a deposit of occupational debris, garbage, or other by-products of human activity.
Mitigation: measures taken to minimize destruction of archaeological materials in sites.
Mottled: any material that contains spots of different colors or shades. Often used to describe inclusions in stratigraphic zones.
N
Natural level: a method of excavation whereby the archaeologist removes soils following natural changes in the sediments (defined by stratigraphy), as opposed to arbitrary levels.
Nodule: a large, usually roughly spherical piece of stone such as chert (flint) which was selected as a material from which to remove flakes or blades for the manufacture of stone tools and projectile points.
O
Obsidian: black volcanic glass frequently used in stone tool manufacture. Sources of obsidian can be chemically "finger-printed" to reconstruct ancient patterns of travel and trade.
Oral traditions: historical traditions (often genealogies or stories) passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth.
P
Palisade: fence of pointed stakes.
Patina: a surface discoloration or adhesive outer crust of an artifact due to chemical changes resulting from weathering. Patina does not necessarily imply great age.
Period: an archaeological unit defining a major unit of prehistoric time.
Physical Anthropology: also known as biological anthropology, this subfield includes the study of fossil human beings, genetics, primates, and blood groups.
Plane table: a horizontal board mounted parallel to the ground on a tripod, that allows a map or plan to be attached and measurements (taken with an alidade) to be directly plotted in the field.
Post mold: a type of feature; a circular stain left in the ground after a wooden post has decayed; usually indicates the former existence of a structure or fence.
Pottery: a class of ceramic artifacts in which clay is formed into containers or utensils (by hand, in molds, or with a potter's wheel), sometimes decorated, and fired.
Prehistory: the millennia of ancient human history preceding written records. Prehistorians study prehistoric archaeology.
Primary context: an undisturbed and original association and provenience.
Projectile point: an artifact used to tip an arrow, atlatl dart, spear, or harpoon. Most commonly, projectile points are made of chipped or ground stone, bone, or metal. Wood projectile points rarely survive in archaeological deposits.
Profile drawing: a precise scale drawing of the strata and horizons revealed in the walls of an excavation or other exposure. Included in a profile drawing are all features and artifacts that may help identify the relative date of a specifiv zone. A section which has been drawn is said to have been "profiled".
Provenience: three dimensional spatial position of an archaeological find.
R
Radiocarbon dating: an absolute dating method based on measuring the decay rate of the carbon isotope(C-14), to stable nitrogen in organic materials (wood, charcoal, shell, etc.) During life, all plants and animals ingest atmospheric carbon, and after they die that cannot absorb any more C-14. C-14 has a half-life of 5730 years, and by determining the current rate of C-14 decay in a sample, one can estimate the elapsed time since the death of a plant or animal. This technique is useful for sites younger that 40,000 years B.P.
Relative chronology: temporal estimates based on the law of superposition, the presence of artifacts known to be time markers, obsidian hydration measurements, or seriation.
Research design: a systematic plan to guide archaeological research according to the scientific method and take full advantage of the information potential contained within a site.
Retouch: a technique of chipped stone tool manufacture in which pressure flaking is used to detach small flakes to improve the edges of a tool in order to better perform a specific task (like scraping, cutting, etc.).
S
Salvage Archaeology: the swift excavation and collection of artifacts at sites in immediate danger of destruction, usually by major land modification or construction projects (as in construction of a road or dam). Archaeologists record and recover as much of the site as they can in the brief period before it is destroyed.
Sampling: the probabilistic, systematic, or judgmental selection of a sub-element from a larger population, with the aim of approximating a representative picture of the whole.
Scientific method: the means of science by which phenomena are observed, hypotheses are tested, and conclusions are drawn.
Secondary context: a context of an archaeological find that has been disturbed by subsequent human activity or natural processes.
Secondary deposit: a body of natural or cultural sediments which have been disturbed and re-transported since their original deposition.
Seriation: methods used to place artifacts in chronological order based on similarities in style; a relative dating technique.
Sherd: a fragment of pottery or glass.
Shovel testing: a very efficient discovery technique for testing buried cultural remains across large areas. A shovel test grid is typically laid out in advance of the testing and then individual shovel tests are excavated at the grid point locations. The shovel test consists of a narrow, probing excavation removed in arbitrary 5, 10 or 20 cm levels, typically utilizing a narrow “sharp-shooter” shovel. Notes are carefully recorded regarding the nature of the soils and the presence of cultural materials. One major limitation of the technique is the limited depth this type of excavation is able to reach (60-70 cmbs).
State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO): established by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 as an agency within each state government charged with enforcing the provisions of the Act. SHPO's receive federal funds from the National Park Service and allocate matching funds and grants to local agencies and private citizens for the protection of sites eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. In Texas, the SHPO is the Texas Historical Commission.
Sterile layer: an excavation layer or deposit in which there are no cultural materials or evidence of human occupation or activity.
Stockade: a work in which a palisade of strong and closely-planted timbers constituted the principal defense.
Stratigraphy: the layering of deposits in archaeological sites. Cultural remains and natural sediments become buried over time, forming strata.
Stratigraphic profiles: drawings of the natural and cultural deposits of strata exposed in an excavation unit, presented in a "cut-away" diagram format.
Stratum: a single layer or level in an archaeological deposit.
Surface Survey: the process of searching for archaeological remains by physically examining the landscape, usually on foot.
T
Temporal context: the age/date of an object and its temporal relation to other items in the archaeological record.
Test Unit: an excavation unit used to sample or probe a site used to recover basic information on the depth, contents, and age of an archaeological deposit. The results of test pit excavations can be used to develop research designs or protection efforts.
Total Station or TDS: an optical surveyor's instrument that combines a transit and an electronic distance measuring device. A total station calculates angles and distances for surveyed objects. This information can be used to create topographic maps.
Tradition: persistent technological or cultural patterns identified by characteristic or diagnostic artifact forms.
Transit: a surveying instrument used to measure vertical and horizontal angles and distances.
Type: a grouping of artifacts created for comparison with other groups.
Typology: classification of types; the process of setting up and selecting categories to organize and analyze data.
V
Vara: a Spanish unit of measurement. Aproximately 2.8 ft.
W
Ware: types of ceramics; may refer to function, appearance/style, or fabric (as in cooking ware, ribbed ware, coarse ware).
Wattle and daub: in building construction, method of constructing walls in which vertical wooden stakes, or wattles, are woven with horizontal twigs and branches, and then daubed with clay or mud. This method is one of the oldest known for making a weatherproof structure.
Z
Zone: in archaeology, a term used to refer to a distinct stratigraphic level within an excavation.
