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Chapter 2: Backgrounds of Archaeology.
In this revision of the test bank, all of the questions have been updated to reflect changes
in Archaeology, Fourth Edition. There is also a new system for identifying the difficulty
of the questions. In this revision, the questions are now tagged according to the four
levels of learning that help organize the text. Think of these four levels as moving from
lower-level to higher-level cognitive reasoning. The four levels are:
REMEMBER: a question involving recall of key terms or factual material
UNDERSTAND: a question testing comprehension of more complex ideas
APPLY: a question applying anthropological knowledge to some new situation
ANALYZE: a question requiring identifying elements of an argument and their
interrelationship Chapter 2: Backgrounds of Archaeology
True/False Questions
1) Contemporary western civilization is unique in its interest in the past.
(UNDERSTAND; answer false; page 32)
2) Modern treasure hunting is a form of antiquarianism.
(UNDERSTAND; answer true; page 34)
3) Archbishop Ussher argued that geological processes that could be observed were the
same that had always occurred.
(REMEMBER; answer false; page 34)
4) Boucher de Perthes’ discoveries immediately revolutionized public perceptions of the
ancient past.
(UNDERSTAND; answer false; page 34)
5) Christian Thomsen suggested the Three Age System, which divides the past into the
Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages.
(REMEMBER; answer true; pages 34-35)
6) The Stone Age was further divided into three periods the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and
Pseudolithic.
(REMEMBER; answer false; page 35)
7) All of our knowledge about the Ancient Classical world comes from archaeology.
(UNDERSTAND; answer false; pages 35-36)
8) Minoan civilization is only known from written historical sources.
(UNDERSTAND; answer false; page 36)
9) Archaeologists still do not know the meaning of Egyptian hieroglyphics.
(REMEMBER; answer false; page 36)
10) The professionalization of archaeology came about in part because of an increasing
number of museums in the early 1800s.
(UNDERSTAND; answer true; page 38)
11) Prior to the field methods employed by Augustus H.L.F. Pitt-Rivers and Flinders
Petrie, archaeological fieldwork was not generally systematic or rigorous.
(REMEMBER; answer true; page 40)
12) According to John Lubbock, technological simplicity does not necessarily correlate
with intellectual simplicity.
(REMEMBER; answer true; page 40)
13) The concept of diffusion implies that most cultures were not intelligent or creative
enough to have developed their own civilizations.
(UNDERSTAND; answer true; page 40)
14) Mortimer Wheeler created the quadrant system, a major innovation in archaeological
field methods.
(REMEMBER; answer false; page 41)
15) Benjamin Franklin conducted some of the first scientific archaeology in the 1780s.
(UNDERSTAND; answer false; page 43)
16) Maya writing was not deciphered until the 1970s, and is still subject to revisions.
(REMEMBER; answer true; page 45)
17) Most modern scientific archaeologists succeed in conducting apolitical archaeological
research.
(ANALYZE; answer false; page 46-49)
18) The site of Great Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe was actually built by the Phoenicians.
(REMEMBER; answer false; page 47)
19) Colonialism continues to be an issue in contemporary archaeology.
(REMEMBER; answer true; page 47)
20) Germany’s search for the Ark of the Covenant is an example of using archaeology to
support nationalistic goals.
(UNDERSTAND; answer true; page 47)
Multiple-Choice Questions
1) Heinrich Schliemann is most famous for __________.
A) owning a hardware store in Sacramento
B) theater production of ancient plays
C) his translation of Homerʹs Iliad
D) the discovery of Troy
E) the discovery of the Elgin Marbles
(REMEMBER; answer D; page 30)
2) The earliest known archaeological work was conducted by __________.
A) ancient Greeks
B) ancient Romans
C) ancient Egyptians
D) ancient monks looking for King Arthur
E) Medieval Ottomans
(REMEMBER; answer C; page 33)
3) Those who are very interested in the past and take up archaeology as a hobby are more
commonly referred to as __________.
A) collectors
B) purists
C) preservationists
D) pillagers
E) antiquarians
(REMEMBER; answer E; pages 33-34)
4) Before the 1800s in Europe, no period of prehistory was recognized because
__________.
A) of the widespread literal belief in the Bible’s account of the past
B) they had not discovered any stone tools
C) all evidence of the ancient past was covered by volcanic eruptions
D) Archbishop Ussher’s date for the creation of the world was generally ignored
E) archaeologists would have to rely upon carbon dating, which was not yet invented
(UNDERSTAND; answer A; page 34)
5) The main argument for the principle of uniformitarianism is __________.
A) the idea that geological processes observed in the present are the same that
occurred in the past
B) that artifacts buried deeper underground are older than artifacts at shallow depths
C) that the number, diversity, and distribution of animal species took place over a
long period of time
D) that stone tools must have preceded metal tools
E) that the success of a species only occurs when there is little to no genetic variation
(REMEMBER; answer A; page 34)
6) The principle of uniformitarianism was first argued by __________.
A) Herbert Spencer
B) Archbishop Ussher
C) Jacques Boucher de Perthes
D) Christian Thomsen
E) Charles Lyell
(REMEMBER; answer E; page 34)
7) Boucher de Perthes is famous for __________.
A) deciphering the Rosetta Stone
B) formulating uniformitarianism
C) finding the first Neanderthals
D) finding stone tools in association with extinct animals
E) organizing the past into three basic ages
(REMEMBER; answer D; page 34)
8) Archbishop James Ussher’s determination that the Earth was created in 4004 BC meant
that __________.
A) metal must have been used by humans since creation
B) no events occurred before Noah’s Flood
C) people were only present in Europe prior to the Middle Ages
D) animals and humans had changed significantly since the date of creation
E) many important events occurred during the Stone Age
(REMEMBER; answer A; page 34)
9) From earliest to most recent, which of the following are in the correct order?
A) Mesolithic, Oaleolithic, Neolithic
B) Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic
C) Neolithic, Paleolithic, Mesolithic
D) Paleolithic, Neolithic, Mesolithic
E) Neolithic, Miolithic, Paleolithic
(REMEMBER; answer B; page 35)
10) The neolithic, mesolithic, and palaeolithic are all parts of __________.
A) the Iron Age
B) the Bronze Age
C) the Stone Age
D) the Dark Ages
E) the Medieval Period
(REMEMBER; answer C; page 35)
11) The Elgin Marbles __________.
A) were returned to Greece in the 1920s
B) are still on display in the British Museum
C) were taken as part of an act of war
D) originally stood outside of the Coliseum
E) were the key to deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics
(REMEMBER; answer B; page 35)
12) Pompeii and Herculaneum are particularly valuable to archaeologists because
__________.
A) they provide the most complete view of Roman life currently available
B) they are the only ancient cities ever found that had been covered by volcanoes
C) they date from 2000 BC
D) they demonstrated the historical truth of Homerʹs Iliad
E) they revealed much about Roman North Africa
(ANALYZE; answer A; page 37)
13) To say that the discipline of archaeology originally developed from a base in history
means __________.
A) that archaeology is concerned with the ʺgreat figuresʺ of the past and their
accomplishments
B) that archaeology remains tied to the interpretation of text
C) that the original focus was to learn when and where things happened
D) that archaeology has always been scientific
E) that it began with a focus on ancient European cultures, because that represented
the history of the researchers themselves
(UNDERSTAND; answer C; page 39)
14) Unilinear cultural evolution __________.
A) was widely adopted by archaeologists in the late when it was introduced in the
mid 1900’s
B) depended upon a belief in the idea of cross-cultural diffusion
C) was first conceived by Charles Lyell
D) claimed that all cultures moved through a progression of stages
E) is a completely unbiased concept
(ANALYZE; answer D; page 39)
15) __________ and __________ are associated with the theory of unilinear cultural
evolution.
A) Lyell; Tylor
B) Lyell; Petrie
C) Morgan; Tylor
D) Boucher de Perthes; Morgan
E) Darwin, Petrie
(REMEMBER; answer C; page 39)
16) One main reason for the rejection of the theory of unilinear cultural evolution was that
__________.
A) there was significant evidence that groups evolve along a single line
B) Morgan and Tylor were found to have created erroneous data to support their
theory
C) barbarism precedes savagery
D) there was too much variation in cultural complexity
E) it was not supported by Darwin’s theory of evolution
(APPLY; answer D; page 40)
17) Which of the following is an example of diffusion?
A) pyramids were invented independently in Egypt and Mexico
B) adjacent civilizations in Europe are very different from one another
C) societies passed through stages from savages to barbarians and finally to
civilizations
D) agriculture was developed in the Middle East and later spread throughout Europe
E) genetic mutations result in cultural diversity
(REMEMBER; answer D; page 40)
18) Some of the earliest innovations in archaeological field methods include __________.
A) use of stratigraphy to establish chronology
B) relying upon local folklore to explain archaeological findings
C) the use lasers and surveying to create a level and accurate grid system
D) water dowsing
E) tabulated data processing and analysis
(UNDERSTAND; answer A; page 41)
19) What was eventually discovered about the age and origins of Native Americans?
A) they had been in North America since at least the Bronze Age
B) they migrated from northeastern Asia to Alaska via an ancient land bridge
C) they were incapable of fashioning stone tools
D) they are actually a lost tribe descended from biblical times
E) they were physically related to populations from the Fertile Crescent
(UNDERSTAND; answer B; page 43)
20) The primary reason that most scholars of the 1800s did not believe Native Americans had
constructed the earthen mounds of North America was __________.
A) the burden of archaeological evidence
B) anti-Indian racism
C) that ancient Hebrew tablets were found in one of the mounds
D) claims by Native Americans that the mounds were created by a divine spirit
E) the mounds were located nowhere near Native American tribal centers
(UNDERSTAND; answer B; page 44)
21) Who is credited with discovering many pre-Inka societies in Peru?
A) Charles Lyell
B) Max Uhle
C) The conquering Spaniards
D) Cyrus Thomas
E) Thomas Jefferson
(REMEMBER; answer B; page 45)
22) The primary focus of the earliest archaeology in Australia was __________.
A) the populating of Polynesia
B) the origin and antiquity of the Aborigines
C) the meaning of Australian rock art
D) the origins of agriculture on the continent
E) the earliest European settlers
(UNDERSTAND; answer B; page 46)
23) European colonialism resulted in __________.
A) ethnocentrism and racism amongst archaeololgists
B) greater understanding and tolerance of native peoples
C) the creation of the subfield of cultural anthropology
D) objective and unbiased archaeological research
E) laws and regulations that limit the activities of Western archaeologists
(REMEMBER; answer C; page 47)
24) What is the hallmark of nationalistic archaeology?
A) its use as an aspect of national identity
B) its primary goal of objectivity, rather than finding evidence to support
nationalistic claims
C) it was practiced by almost all reputable archaeologists
D) its confliction with the scientific goals of archaeology
E) using the findings to validate claims to old properties
(UNDERSTAND; answer A; page 47)
25) Man the Hunter and Woman the Gatherere are examples of __________.
A) current, state-of-the-art treatises on hunter-gatherer societies
B) texts that support nationalism
C) ethnocentrism
D) primitive and unsophisticated societies that pre-dated civilization
E) biases in archaeological research
(UNDERSTAND; answer E; page 49)
Short Answer Questions
1) Give some examples of the earliest known archaeology.
(APPLY; page 33)
2) What is uniformitarianism?
(UNDERSTAND; page 34)
3) Describe the three age system?
(UNDERSTAND; pages 34-35)
4) Why was there an increased interest by European powers in Egyptian archaeology after
about 1800?
(ANALYZE; page 36)
5) What was the role of the Rosetta Stone in Egyptology?
(UNDERSTAND; page 36)
6) Name archaeologists associated with the rise of a more rigorous methodology in
archaeological research, and describe their specific contributions?
(UNDERSTAND; page 38-41)
7) What are the stages of unilinear cultural evolution as proposed by Morgan, and how were
cultures classified within them?
(ANALYZE; page 39)
8) What is cross-dating, and why is it important in archaeology?
(ANALYZE; page 41)
9) How did colonialism affect early interpretations of Great Zimbabwe?
(ANALYZE; page 47)
10) What are some of the complicating factors that surround the practice and interpretation of
archaeology by Nazi Germany?
(ANALYZE; page 47)
Essay Questions
1) What are the events and ideas that contributed to the abandonment of the Biblical
interpretation of the past and the development of the idea of prehistory?
(ANALYZE; page 34)
2) What are some of the developments that led to the emergence of professional
archaeology?
(APPLY; pages 38-39)
3) Why is unilinear cultural evolution no longer a guiding principle in archaeology?
(ANALYZE; pages 39-40)
4) Discuss the similarities between the archaeological investigations of Great Zimbabwe and
the Moundbuilders. How do the Moundbuilder and Great Zimbabwe controversies
illustrate the effect of colonialism on archaeological interpretations?
(ANALYZE; pages 44-48)
5) What are some of the political influences in the history of archaeology? Give specific
examples from the text.
(ANALYZE; pages 46-49)
