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Quiz about Initial Clues
Quiz about Initial Clues

Initial Clues Trivia Quiz


This quiz takes a look at some of the different aspects of archaeology through a few of the people who have worked in these areas. Let's explore.

A multiple-choice quiz by suomy. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
suomy
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
371,422
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
417
Awards
Top 10% Quiz
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Question 1 of 10
1. First in my list is Dr Eric Callen, who received a doctorate in botany whilst at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Butt of scatological jokes for his chosen archaeological field, he was a pioneer in coprolite research. What are coprolites? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. When in the field, Aegean prehistorian and survey archaeologist John F Cherry's hands-on work has been mainly in regional surveys and landscape studies. He also has specialist interests in Alexander the Great and lithic analysis. Normally associated with the prehistoric era, what material does he study when doing a lithic analysis? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Frenchman Jean-François Champollion, polyglot and linguist, was responsible for deciphering the Rosetta Stone. What language did he 'crack'?
Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Clive Eric Cussler, an American author of adventure books, has a series in which the main characters work for the fictional organisation NUMA (or National Underwater and Marine Agency), a government body which carries out oceanic exploration and investigation. In real life he went on to found an organisation with the same name. What kind of archaeology does NUMA practice? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Fay-Cooper Cole, a former professor of anthropology at the University of Chicago, contributed to North American archaeology through a series of archaeological digs in Illinois during the mid-20th century. Although anthropology is a separate science, bioarchaeology (known in Europe as osteoarchaeology or paleo-archaeology) is a sub-discipline. In an archaeological dig, what is the focus of bioarchaeology? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Site excavation is an activity strongly associated with archaeology. The two basic types are: research and development-led. In development-led excavation, archaeologists are typically under time pressure to do their stuff so that a building project can go ahead. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, the archaeologist W F Grimes was involved in a programme to carry out such surveys in London. What was the reason for so many rescue archaeology-type digs at this time?
Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Swedish archaeologist Einnar Gjerstad was known for his work on artefacts boasting the following characteristics: they were common, broken easily, are durable and changed form frequently. Which artefact was this?
Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. The archaeological concept of stratigraphy is based on artefacts being deposited like sedimentary layers, which helps to place artefacts in context and relative to each other. Pioneers in the use of this theory include Ernst Curtius. From which science was this concept borrowed?
Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. During the 19th century there was a shift from antiquarianism, where artefacts had been treated more as artworks for collecting rather than as an aid to interpretation. One of those to take a broader view was Friedrich Gottlieb Welcker, a German classical philologist and archaeologist. He used his knowledge of Greek art and religion in the interpretation of literature. Which of these could be a definition of philology?
Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. On many occasions amateurs can make significant contributions to important archaeological finds. One such person was Frank Calvert who spent decades carrying out field archaeology in the Troad and Thracian Chersonesus in Turkey. Which major site was he largely responsible for discovering?
Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. First in my list is Dr Eric Callen, who received a doctorate in botany whilst at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Butt of scatological jokes for his chosen archaeological field, he was a pioneer in coprolite research. What are coprolites?

Answer: Fossilised faeces

Mary Anning, a British 19th century fossil collector, is credited with identifying what had been called bezoar stones as fossilised faeces. The geologist William Buckland named them coprolites in 1829. What Callen did was perfect a way of reconstituting the coprolites (or paleofaeces) to near-original condition, allowing them to be analysed.

Why is this important? Nowadays, human DNA has been extracted from faeces. It has helped determine amongst other things what people and animals ate (apart from each other), what diseases affected them and evidence of migration.

Although the words are often used interchangeably, coprolites may be defined as being fossilised whereas paleofaeces retain much of their organic structure. At one point, coprolites were mined on an industrial scale for their phosphate content.
2. When in the field, Aegean prehistorian and survey archaeologist John F Cherry's hands-on work has been mainly in regional surveys and landscape studies. He also has specialist interests in Alexander the Great and lithic analysis. Normally associated with the prehistoric era, what material does he study when doing a lithic analysis?

Answer: Stone

Archaeological lithic analysis involves the study of stone tools. You might think that this is only relevant to prehistoric times however stone tools were still being made as late as the 19th century. There are areas of study within this field taking into account manufacturing techniques, source material, morphology and usage.
3. Frenchman Jean-François Champollion, polyglot and linguist, was responsible for deciphering the Rosetta Stone. What language did he 'crack'?

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.
4. Clive Eric Cussler, an American author of adventure books, has a series in which the main characters work for the fictional organisation NUMA (or National Underwater and Marine Agency), a government body which carries out oceanic exploration and investigation. In real life he went on to found an organisation with the same name. What kind of archaeology does NUMA practice?

Answer: Marine archaeology

Also known as maritime archaeology, this focusses on human activity in or around freshwater and saltwater environments. Nautical archaeology (specialising on vessel construction and use) and underwater archaeology (the study of submerged remains) are related disciplines. The real-life NUMA has focussed mainly on 19th century American vessels, especially Union and Confederate ships.

Recceology concerns the archaeology of warfare rather than of ship wrecks.
5. Fay-Cooper Cole, a former professor of anthropology at the University of Chicago, contributed to North American archaeology through a series of archaeological digs in Illinois during the mid-20th century. Although anthropology is a separate science, bioarchaeology (known in Europe as osteoarchaeology or paleo-archaeology) is a sub-discipline. In an archaeological dig, what is the focus of bioarchaeology?

Answer: Human remains

As a sub-discipline of anthropology, the focus is on human remains found in an archaeological context. Anthropology is, briefly, the study of humanity. Techniques used within this sub-discipline may come from paleopathology (study of ancient diseases), osteology (with a focus on bones) and as well as archaeology more generally.
6. Site excavation is an activity strongly associated with archaeology. The two basic types are: research and development-led. In development-led excavation, archaeologists are typically under time pressure to do their stuff so that a building project can go ahead. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, the archaeologist W F Grimes was involved in a programme to carry out such surveys in London. What was the reason for so many rescue archaeology-type digs at this time?

Answer: The Blitz

The German bombing campaign of London during World War II (known as the Blitz) created the need for much re-building. Archaeological finds of significance such as the London Mithraeum were uncovered in during this time. Grimes was also employed during the war to carry out archaeological surveys of sites prior to the construction of aircraft runways and military buildings.

Research archaeology tends to be less time constrained and is typically initiated and led by academics (rather than professionals) and assisted by volunteers.
7. Swedish archaeologist Einnar Gjerstad was known for his work on artefacts boasting the following characteristics: they were common, broken easily, are durable and changed form frequently. Which artefact was this?

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.
8. The archaeological concept of stratigraphy is based on artefacts being deposited like sedimentary layers, which helps to place artefacts in context and relative to each other. Pioneers in the use of this theory include Ernst Curtius. From which science was this concept borrowed?

Answer: Geology

Development of stratigraphy concepts in geology date from the 18th century with the first large scale application attributed to William Smith in the 1790s. Curtius is recorded as using archaeological stratigraphy techniques in his excavation of Olympia in Greece during the late 19th century, as were several other archaeologists such as Heinrich Schliemann at Troy.
9. During the 19th century there was a shift from antiquarianism, where artefacts had been treated more as artworks for collecting rather than as an aid to interpretation. One of those to take a broader view was Friedrich Gottlieb Welcker, a German classical philologist and archaeologist. He used his knowledge of Greek art and religion in the interpretation of literature. Which of these could be a definition of philology?

Answer: Study of language in written historical sources

The definition of philology has changed over time and location. It is, however, above all concerned with language. These ideas of Welcker's could be sum up in the term 'Totalitätsideal' where all evidence, both written and material, was used in reconstructing the past.
10. On many occasions amateurs can make significant contributions to important archaeological finds. One such person was Frank Calvert who spent decades carrying out field archaeology in the Troad and Thracian Chersonesus in Turkey. Which major site was he largely responsible for discovering?

Answer: Troy

Although discovery of the Troy is usually associated with Heinrich Schliemann, it was Calvert's brother who actually owned the land and Calvert who pointed Schliemann in the right direction. Calvert, a career diplomat, had a lifelong passion for Homer's epics, believing them to be based on fact rather than being works of fiction.
Source: Author suomy

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