You have found a cave consisting of several caverns. Outside the cave entrance there is a pile .....?

Question

You have found a cave consisting of several caverns. Outside the cave entrance there is a pile of mammal bones (deer, bison, pig), fish bones and stone fragments. In the main cavern there is a hearth with three feet of ash depth. Found in the hearth among the ashes are charred deer bones, fish bones, plum pits, broken pieces of several clay figurines that depict human females and charcoal. Strewn around the cavern and in several layers below the current level are a variety of stone tools such as hand axes, scrapers, projectile points and some wooden pieces to which some of the projectile points were attached, fish hooks and eyed needles made from ivory. You also find the intact burial of a child accompanied by a dog in the back recess of the main cavern. There are tools, food and a polished mammoth tooth in the burial and pollen from daisies covering the child's body.

In a small cavern accessed through a 50 foot long tunnel, you find paintings of deer and bison-like animals on the walls and ceiling; there are also human "stick" figures and hand prints and spirals on the walls; there is a stone "lamp" with animal fat residue in the bowl of the lamp, but no other stone tools.

1. What type of site is this? (Do not state that it is an archaeological or cave site.)

2. What are the artifacts in this site?

3. What are the features in this site?

4. What are the ecofacts found here?

5. Describe the archaeological context.

6. What types of dating technologies would you use? Why?

7. What is the probable time period of the site and what species occupied this cave? How do you know?

Answer 1

1. What type of site is this? (Do not state that it is an archaeological or cave site.)

The cave was occupied by modern humans that used stone age technology.



2. What are the artifacts in this site?

lay figurines that depict human females, hand axes, scrapers, projectile points and some wooden pieces to which some of the projectile points were attached, fish hooks and eyed needles made from ivory. polished mammoth tooth



3. What are the features in this site?

You have found a cave consisting of several caverns. Outside the cave entrance there is a pile of mammal bones (deer, bison, pig), The hearth, burial



4. What are the ecofacts found here?

pile of mammal bones (deer, bison, pig), fish bones (they give an indication of the animals in the area which likely defines the ecosystem)

charred deer bones, fish bones, plum pits



5. Describe the archaeological context.

Pretty much anything that can be attributed to humans. The pile of bones is most likely human but it could be washed by a stream or done by another animal. It would need to be examined for cut marks.



6. What types of dating technologies would you use? Why? Carbon dating is probably doable since there are dogs. That would make it fairly recent and easily dated by C14.



7. What is the probable time period of the site and what species occupied this cave? How do you know? Depending on location it is probably older than 12,000 thousand years old because of the pile of mammoth bones. That is very old for an apparently domesticated dog.

Answer 2

I assume you are an archaeology student, looking for someone to help with your coursework? I studied anthropology myself, so this is not 100% reliable, but at a guess I'd say this was palaeolithic if it was genuine, though I'd suspect that finding that much so easily was more likely to be a hoax, or a Hollywood film set!



Seriously though, if you are a student, you should really do your own work. Just read the question carefully, look for the key words ('type of site', 'artifacts', 'features', 'ecofacts' etc), and if you don't know what any of them mean, research this first. Provided you know this, it is then only necessary to look carefully in the site description, and answer each of the numbered questions in turn, using the relevant evidence.



If you find your studies difficult, you can console yourself with the thought that you are not alone, could have studied anthropology instead, and might be faced with a question like this: "How are individual identities negotiated through social reciprocity in Papua New Guinea? What kind of ethos or moral framework does such reciprocity entail? Discuss with examples." - this was an exam question, so no internet for research either...

Answer 3

read the book and figure it our on your own. don't be lazy.

Answer 4

captain caveman!!!!!!!!!!!