FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!
Quiz about The Joy of Archaeology
Quiz about The Joy of Archaeology

The Joy of Archaeology Trivia Quiz


In "The Joy of Cooking," you learn to cook fine cuisine by first learning how to, say, bone a squirrel. Archaeology is the same-- incredible finds require careful recordkeeping and digging in the dirt. This quiz brings you gold, mold, soil and spoil!

A multiple-choice quiz by pu2-ke-qi-ri. Estimated time: 5 mins.
  1. Home
  2. »
  3. Quizzes
  4. »
  5. History Trivia
  6. »
  7. Ancient History
  8. »
  9. Archaeology

Author
pu2-ke-qi-ri
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
214,745
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
15
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
11 / 15
Plays
6018
Awards
Top 10% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 199 (11/15), Guest 24 (13/15), Guest 108 (11/15).
- -
Question 1 of 15
1. Real archaeology works just like "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark."


Question 2 of 15
2. So you want to begin an archaeological excavation. Which of these would be a good first step? Hint


Question 3 of 15
3. Research excavations have the same goals and timeframes as rescue excavations.


Question 4 of 15
4. You conduct a site survey to decide where to start excavating. Which of these techniques would you NOT want to use? Hint


Question 5 of 15
5. You might not want to locate your dirt dump, or spoil heap, somewhere you're planning to excavate later.


Question 6 of 15
6. Now you finally get to dig. What do you call that ubiquitous hole in the ground, the place where people are digging?

Answer: (One Word ... starts with a T)
Question 7 of 15
7. Every archaeologist keeps a notebook containing the record of everything that goes on at the excavation. Which of these is it NOT important to include in your notebook? Hint


Question 8 of 15
8. If you uncover a straight line of large stones, what do you write in your notebook? Hint


Question 9 of 15
9. You should never, EVER remove any structure to get to a lower level.


Question 10 of 15
10. One of the tools you are likely to see at an excavation consists of a long tube filled with colored water and attached to a tape measure at one end. What is it? Hint


Question 11 of 15
11. Archaeology has its own set of terminology to describe what comes out of the ground. Take the term "small find." In Mediterranean archaeology which of these would *not* be considered a "small find"? Hint


Question 12 of 15
12. Can the potsherds indicate the time period of the area you are excavating?


Question 13 of 15
13. Say you find a sherd of pottery on the ground outside your trench. What should you do with it? Hint


Question 14 of 15
14. So now you've finished another successful season of excavations. If you are the archaeologist, what should you do now? Hint


Question 15 of 15
15. You, too, can work at archaeological excavation!



(Optional) Create a Free FunTrivia ID to save the points you are about to earn:

arrow Select a User ID:
arrow Choose a Password:
arrow Your Email:




Most Recent Scores
Today : Guest 199: 11/15
Oct 08 2024 : Guest 24: 13/15
Oct 08 2024 : Guest 108: 11/15
Oct 08 2024 : Guest 114: 9/15
Oct 04 2024 : Guest 74: 15/15
Oct 04 2024 : Guest 173: 15/15
Oct 04 2024 : Guest 68: 11/15
Oct 04 2024 : Guest 130: 10/15
Oct 04 2024 : lolleyjay: 12/15

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Real archaeology works just like "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark."

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.
2. So you want to begin an archaeological excavation. Which of these would be a good first step?

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.
3. Research excavations have the same goals and timeframes as rescue excavations.

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.
4. You conduct a site survey to decide where to start excavating. Which of these techniques would you NOT want to use?

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.
5. You might not want to locate your dirt dump, or spoil heap, somewhere you're planning to excavate later.

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!
6. Now you finally get to dig. What do you call that ubiquitous hole in the ground, the place where people are digging?

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.
7. Every archaeologist keeps a notebook containing the record of everything that goes on at the excavation. Which of these is it NOT important to include in your notebook?

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!
8. If you uncover a straight line of large stones, what do you write in your notebook?

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.
9. You should never, EVER remove any structure to get to a lower level.

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.
10. One of the tools you are likely to see at an excavation consists of a long tube filled with colored water and attached to a tape measure at one end. What is it?

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.
11. Archaeology has its own set of terminology to describe what comes out of the ground. Take the term "small find." In Mediterranean archaeology which of these would *not* be considered a "small find"?

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.
12. Can the potsherds indicate the time period of the area you are excavating?

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.
13. Say you find a sherd of pottery on the ground outside your trench. What should you do with it?

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.
14. So now you've finished another successful season of excavations. If you are the archaeologist, what should you do now?

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!
15. You, too, can work at archaeological excavation!

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!
Source: Author pu2-ke-qi-ri

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
10/9/2024, Copyright 2024 FunTrivia, Inc. - Report an Error / Contact Us