Archaeology Trivia

1. During which century is the modern science of archaeology generally considered to have started?

From Quiz Archaeological Roots

Answer: Nineteenth

Although there are examples of a number of archaeological techniques being used earlier, the methodical development of these techniques started in earnest during the 19th century. Earlier digs that might qualify include a 1738 excavation of the Roman town of Herculaneum sponsored by King Charles III of Naples and Thomas Jefferson's 18th century scientific investigation of a Native American burial mound which earned him the title from some as the "Father of American Archaeology".

From Quiz Dig It

Answer: The Villa dei Papyri

The Villa dei Papiri is still the oldest intact library from antiquity. The villa was first excavated in 1750 C.E. Using a technique called 'Multi-spectral imagery', the scrolls can be read.

From Quiz Nothing New Under the Sun

Answer: Wood

The oldest wooden wheel was discovered in the Ljubljana Marshes in 2002. The wheel was part of an ancient pushcart, and though several similar wheels have been found throughout Europe, the Ljubljana Marshes Wheel was by far the largest and oldest ash wood wheel find. The axle, which attached to the wheel with a square hole (proving that it spun around with the wheel and not separately), was made of oak along with the wedges that attached to the wheel itself. Though this incredible discovery was not made until 2002, the Ljubljana Marshes were found to contain pile dwellings in the late 19th century. In 2011, the area became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

From Quiz Archaeological Roots

Answer: Nabonidus

The Neo-Baylonian period lasted just under 100 years and followed the break-up of the Assyrian Empire. Nabodinus's reign lasted 17 years until Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Empire, conquered Babylon for the Persians. How do we know about Nabonidus? In part due to the work of other archaeologists. Written records survive which indicate that Nabondius spent much of his reign carrying out his expeditions and neglecting his kingdom, which he would leave in the care of his eldest son Belshazzar. Belshazzar gets a mention in the Bible. The Book of Daniel describes how he saw the words "Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin" written on the palace walls by a disembodied hand. Daniel translated these as predicting the demise of the kingdom. The Neo-Baylonian period lasted just under 100 years and followed the break-up of the Assyrian Empire. Nabodinus's reign lasted 17 years until Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Empire, conquered Babylon for the Persians. How do we know about Nabonidus? In part due to the work of other archaeologists. Written records survive which indicate that Nabondius spent much of his reign carrying out his expeditions and neglecting his kingdom, which he would leave in the care of his eldest son Belshazzar. Belshazzar gets a mention in the Bible. The Book of Daniel describes how he saw the words

From Quiz Dig It

Answer: Knossos

Knossos covered a huge area and in fact included a labyrinth much like the one described in the myth of 'Theseus and the Minotaur'.

From Quiz Dig This

Answer: Palm

This is an elegant design based on the fan shaped leaves from the palm tree. It is often found on the necking of Ionic pillars.

From Quiz Adventures in Archaeology

Answer: Santorini

Thera a/k/a Santorini, is believed by some to be the site of Atlantis - despite the fact that it doesn't precisely "match up" with the parameters described by Plato.

From Quiz Initial Clues

Answer: Ancient Egyptian

The Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799 by Napoleonic soldiers and deciphered during the 1820s, contained text in three languages: Demotic script, Ancient Greek and Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. Hieroglyphs were a form of phonetic writing and attempts had been made since the fifth century to decipher them, most treating the language as iconic rather than phonetic.

From Quiz Archaeological Roots

Answer: Unearthing old buildings

On his trips away from his kingly duties, Nabodinus pursued his interest in Babylon's past by excavating old ruins, displaying artefacts in a museum and restoring several temples. He also attempted to date one of his finds, although he was out by 1,500 years. His motivation may have been to provide historical legitimacy to his irregular accession to the throne. Many of the surviving records (such as the Nabonidus Chronicle) were written by disaffected priests or his enemies and so tend to paint him in a negative light. He was considered a bit of an oddity. However, his pursuit of the past through excavations resulted in his label as an archaeologist.

From Quiz Dig It

Answer: Hyssarlik

Hyssarlik is in present day Turkey. Schliemann used the writings of Homer as a guide to locating the actual site of Troy. Actually Hyssarlik is a 'Tell' atop a hill in Turkey.

From Quiz Adventures in Archaeology

Answer: Schliemann

Heinrich Schliemann heard and read about the legends of Troy - and set out to find the "mythical" place. He did it - despite the fact that he was not a professional arachaeologist.

From Quiz Archaeological Roots

Answer: Greek

Herodotus was born in Halicarnassus, a Carian city which is now known as Bodrum, Turkey. During his time, it was within the Persian Empire. His only known work is "The Histories" in which he sets out to record achievements of the Greeks and 'Barbarians' (as he referred to the Persians) and the reasons for the Greco-Persian Wars. His work covers the two centuries leading up to his time and is noted for his systematic and critical approach to collecting the information included. He is regarded as a historian rather than an archaeologist, although historical archaeology contributed to his works. His works were at some point split into nine books named after the Muses.

From Quiz Dig It

Answer: Linear B

Linear B is the oldest surviving script of the Greek dialect from the Mycenean culture. It is believed to date from 1500-1200 BCE.

From Quiz This Month's 'Archaeology'

Answer: The appeared to be Caucasian, and the official Chinese line was that Westerners did not arrive in the area until much later.

The ostensibly "white" features of these mummies have fueled separatist movements among the Uyghurs who live where the mummies were found. The majority-Muslim Uyghurs have some ethnic characteristics of the Turkic peoples from whom they are partially descended, and the mummies' remarkable appearance fueled a sentiment that the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region was not as historically Chinese as orthodox historians had claimed. The region remains somewhat unsettled politically, but the Chinese government's attitutes towards the mummies themselves has moderated somewhat, and specimens from the find toured the United States in 2010.

From Quiz Dig This

Answer: Hill

This comes to us from Hebrew and the best example I can think of is Tel Aviv.

From Quiz Adventures in Archaeology

Answer: California

The tar pits are located in Los Angeles.

From Quiz Nothing New Under the Sun

Answer: Copper

The copper awl was discovered in the grave of a seemingly important woman in Tel Tsaf, Israel. The awl was made of copper, and evidence of a wooden handle for the awl was also found. The awl was buried with a woman who had a belt made from over 1500 ostrich eggshell beads, and the grave was found inside a silo, which suggests that the woman was of great wealth or importance. The awl was buried with her, and is therefore assumed to have belonged to her, and also suggesting the awl itself was of some importance.

From Quiz Dig It

Answer: King Tutanhkamun's Tomb

Before opening the tomb, Carter contacted his benefactor Lord Caernarvon to join him in Egypt. Then on November 26, 1922, as Carter first peered into the tomb, Lord Caernarvon excitedly asked, "What do you see?" Carter famously replied, "Wonderful things".

From Quiz This Month's 'Archaeology'

Answer: The Maya

The size and extent of Mayan civiliztion has long been a source of debate among specialists. LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology may provide some direction toward consensus. Laser pulses from airplanes are used to penetrate the porous soil and map the stone structures below, including some that are less than a foot tall. This approach allows some insight into the terrain of ancient Mayan settlements without the deforestation of hundreds of square miles.

From Quiz Dig This

Answer: Clovis

This is made from flint or chert and was used by North American peoples (13,500 years ago)to kill big animals.

From Quiz Dig It

Answer: The Rosetta Stone

The Rosetta Stone was inscribed with three sets of duplicate information in Egyptian hieroglyphics, demotic Greek and ancient Greek. Fortunately each language expressed identical information thus making it possible to decipher the hieroglyphics, which Champollion accomplished in 1822.

From Quiz Dig This

Answer: Egyptian

This is part of hieroglyphs and consists of an oblong enclosure with a vertical line at one end. It was used to show the enclosed text was for royalty. The word cartouche is French and comes from Napoleon's soldiers who thought the frequently repeated design was like a gun cartridge. (Cartouche is the French for gun cartridge.)

From Quiz Adventures in Archaeology

Answer: Lucy

"Lucy" is one of our oldest known ancestors.

From Quiz Nothing New Under the Sun

Answer: Masks

The oldest masks ever to be discovered were a series of 12 limestone masks found in the hills of Judea near the Judean Desert. The masks are thought to represent dead ancestors and to have been used for religious ceremonies and magic rites. It is thought that these masks were painted, though only one of the twelve masks seems to have any color. The weighty stone masks also have perforations along the edge, which is believed to either have been used for a cord to attach the mask to the face, or perhaps to put hair through it to give it a more human (albeit more creepy) appearance.

From Quiz Initial Clues

Answer: Pottery

Pottery has been around since Neolithic times from around 6,000 BC and everybody was likely to own some. Broken pottery was not repaired but thrown away. Being durable, it is still around. Styles changed frequently and, due to the way pottery shards have been deposited over time, it has been possible to create a system for dating archaeological sites based on the pottery shards finds. This is known as ceramic dating. Einnar Gjerstad specialised in the ancient Mediterranean and is known for his work with Cypriot Bichrome ware. A nuclear chemist Isadore Perlman was able to show that bichrome pottery found widely across the Levant and believed to originate in Palestine, actually came from Cyprus. This meant that there were well-established trade networks in place between these places at that time.

From Quiz Archaeological Roots

Answer: Study of ancient inscriptions

Epigraphy is a major tool in the archaeologist's armoury. Famous examples where epigraphy has played a part include the Rosetta Stone, which proved to be the key to unlocking the meaning of Egyptian hieroglyphs. The Stone was multi-lingual and had Ancient Egyptian hierglyphs, Demotic script and Ancient Greek on the same stele, all saying much the same thing. Most of the development of this science has taken place since the 16th century.

From Quiz Dig It

Answer: Nefertiti

Although a great beauty, Nefertiti was married to the physically misshapen Pharaoh, Ankenaton. He was controversial as well for his attempt to create a monotheistic religion in ancient Egypt. Upon his death, all vestiges of belief in "Aton" were destroyed and polytheism returned to Egypt.

From Quiz Archaeological Roots

Answer: Stonehenge

The two diggers were William Harvey and Gilbert North. William Harvey was physician to King James I and is best known for being the first to describe the blood circulation system.

From Quiz Dig It

Answer: The Narmer Palette

The Narmer Palette shows the pharaoh, Narmer, ordering the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt. Many historians believe him to be the one of the earliest rulers in Egypt. The palette includes the earliest symbols like Narmer himself and bull heads that can be interpreted various ways. It has survived for over 5,000 years in almost perfect condition.

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Last Updated Apr 13 2024 5:50 AM

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