The Joy of Archaeology Trivia Quiz

Answer: False

No! No! Indiana Jones just grabs the gold and runs, without any thought as to the find's proper context! I cringe! And also, despite what you would expect from that classic article in the Onion, "Archaeologists Tired of Unearthing Unspeakable Ancient Evils," real archaeologists do not face such occupational hazards as poisoned blowdarts and booby traps left by undead warrior skeleton people. Reality isn't so bad, after all.

Answer: To develop a research question

An excavation without a research question is a sad, sad site. "What is the point of this excavation?" should be some sort of answer to the question, "What would be useful to learn about the ancient world?" A single excavation can have several research questions.

For example, the research questions for the excavation at Petsas House, Mycenae, Greece, were, "What methods did the Mycenaeans use for pottery production and distribution?" and "What were the architectural plans and construction techniques for houses and warehouses during the LH IIIA2 period, and how did this differ from the LH IIIB period?" You should make sure that the site you select is likely to answer your research question, and that the expense of conducting the excavation and the potential damage to the site will be justified by the knowledge that will be gained.

Answer: False

Rescue excavations happen when construction projects unearth some area of archaeological value. The aim of rescue excavations is to save as much information as possible about the site before construction proceeds. Research excavations are usually planned out well ahead of time, have a specific research agenda, and operate under the expectation that the excavation will proceed as slowly as it takes to record everything in detail.

Answer: Grab a shovel and dig a random hole

Aerial photography often reveals buried walls, roads, and ditches. Plants grow better in the deep soil of ditches and less well in the shallow soil above buried walls and roads. Some features may even be tall or deep enough to cast shadows. A resistivity survey measures the resistance of the soil when an electric current is passed through it. Walls and hard-packed gravel show up on the final 2-D plot as areas of high resistance. Fieldwalking simply consists of walking in a straight line in a field and picking up the surface artifacts, mainly potsherds.

The number and kind of the artifacts are then plotted on a map of the area. A high concentration of sherds is usually an indication of some kind of habitation in that area.

Answer: True

This is one of the commonly overlooked reasons for doing a site survey before launching into an excavation. Legend has it that Sir Arthur Evans dug a lot of test trenches just so he *didn't* put his spoil heap on something important!

Answer: Trench

There are actually different types of trenches. Slit trenches are long and narrow. Keyhole trenches are small and square, and generally used to test out sites that are candidates for more extensive excavation. The "box system" involves planning out a system of large square trenches surrounded by paths for the wheelbarrows. And, of course, there is area stripping.

The type of trench used depends on the site, as well as the purpose of digging in that particular spot.

Answer: Your workman is such a hottie

Excavations destroy levels as they dig through them. So, it is important to keep complete and accurate records of what comes out of the ground. A drawing of the area being excavated, whether or not all the dimensions are accurate, is a must. The color and consistency of the soil indicates what level you are in. If the type of soil changes, you may be entering a deposit from a different time period. Soil type also serves to correlate the levels in your trench with the levels in other parts of the site. And no one will be able to tell what pottery came from where if you don't include the catalogue numbers of the bags of sherds!

Answer: "Uncovered a straight line of large stones"

You don't *know* if the line of stones really is part of a wall, the foundations of a building, or an aqueduct. The stones could have just happened to fall in that position. In order to determine whether the stones are part of a wall, you would need to excavate further to see if this row of stones is sitting on top of several other rows of stones. If the stones are sitting on dirt, it's probably just a random row of stones.

Answer: False

Removing a Mycenaean palace to excavate a Neolithic trash heap is clearly a no-no. On the other hand, preserving a Hellenistic retaining wall at the expense of excavating the only Classical temple to the god Muck-a-muck is not the way to go. Use discretion in deciding what stays and what goes, and always thoroughly document the structures that have to be removed for the excavation to proceed.

Answer: A water level

This is a very snazzy tool. The water at one end of the tube will be at the same level as the other end. All you have to do is put one end of the tube at the bottom of your trench, the other end at a reference point, make sure the water level is even, and read the tape measure. Voila! That's how deep you've dug! Much more practical than just a tape measure, because you don't have to be immediately above or below your reference point to take levels.

Answer: Pottery sherds

A "small find" is usually anything of a non-potsherd, non-organic nature. Beads, pins, bits of glass, bronze implements, figurines, and ivory would be considered "small finds." Chunks of charcoal and potsherds would not. A stone column base would be a really big "small find." Small finds are special.

They get better documentation-- like the exact location where they were found, a verbal description, and a sketch-- than your average potsherd.

Answer: Yes

Pottery styles change fairly frequently and can be used to date a particular level. If you found a set of avocado green dishes in an abandoned house, wouldn't you have a fairly good idea when it was abandoned? A mix of pottery can indicate that a level was disturbed some time after it was first deposited.

The latest pottery indicates the earliest possible date for the deposition of a level.

Answer: Throw it away where it will not contaminate the excavation

Artifacts from different levels that the one you are working can "contaminate" your trench. After all, the goal is not to collect all the artifacts you can, but to establish an accurate picture of the area you are excavating. A Hellenistic (later) potsherd in a Mycenaean (earlier) level implies that the Mycenaean level was disturbed at a later time, and isn't accurate as to what was really going on. If the Hellenistic sherd really didn't come from that level, it forces you to discount information that was, in fact, reliable. And, for Pete's sake, don't keep the sherd-- taking antiquities is illegal and carries serious penalties in most countries.

Answer: Publish the results

The only way to bring the results of your excavation to the attention of other scholars (and the rest of the world, if you're lucky) is to publish them in a reputable archaeological journal. Most archaeologists will publish preliminary reports periodically as the excavation progresses, but also a more complete report when excavation at the site is complete.

These make thrilling reading, don't ever doubt it!

Answer: True

If you happen to be a student, a lot of colleges and universities sponsor excavations in various areas around the world, both for credit and not. Even if you're not a student, or your university does not sponsor any excavations, there are some excavations open to whoever wants to participate. Even a short list of excavations would be beyond the scope of this quiz, but they're out there! Go look! Go dig and explore the wonderful world of archaeology!