Apprentice Core Lessons in Archaeology

Welcome to the Apprentice Core Lessons in Archaeology! These are a series of lessons designed to give you a basic foundation in the various subcategories of archaeological research as well as a solid understanding of the terms and methods archaeologists employ to understand the past. For these lessons, we will be utilizing The Archaeology Coursebook by Jim Grant, Sam Gorin, and Neil Fleming. It will be available in PDF form in the Order's library.

If you have any questions, direct them to your mentor, and on behalf of the Guild, good luck in your studies.

Read through the Archaeology 101 PDF in the Order’s library, and share your understanding in your journal.

The following lists present the sub-disciplines related to archaeology. Research each one and write a paragraph or two explaining your understanding of each.


By Civilization or Collective Groups of People:

- Assyriology
- Etruscology
- Egyptology
- Sinology
- Iranology
- Japanology
- Tibetology
- Koreanology
- Indology
- Indianology


By Historicity

- Prehistoric Archaeology
- Historical Archaeology
- Protohistoric Archaeology
- Ethnoarchaeology
- Taphonomy


By Time Period

- Ancient Archaeology
- Classical Archaeology
- Medieval Archaeology
- Post-Medieval Archaeology
- Industrial Archeology
- Modern Archaeology


By Region

- African Archaeology
- Archaeology of North America
- Archaeology of South America
- Australian Archaeology
- Archaeology of the Pacific Islands
- European Archaeology
- North and Central Asia Archaeology
- Archaeology of the Far East
- Archaeology of the Middle/Near East
- Archaeology of the Indian Sub-Continent


Other Archeological Sub-Disciplines

- Ariel Archaeology
- Anthracology
- Archaeoastronomy
- Archaeometry
- Archaeozoology
- Archaeobotany
- Battlefield Archaeology
- Calceology
- Computational Archaeology
- Experimental Archaeology
- Environmental Archaeology
- Forensic Archaeology
- Landscape Archaeology
- Maritime Archaeology
- Museum Studies
- Osteology
- Paleopathology
- Recceology

The Archaeology Coursebook by Jim Grant, Sam Gorin, and Neil Fleming will be the primary text we use for the Apprentice Core Lessons in Archaeology. It is a UK oriented guide to archaeology but the principles covered in its pages apply to the study and practice of archaeology around the world. We will be focusing on the first 12 chapters of the text. Chapters 13 and 14 are not really relevant to our study here, and although we will not be covering Chapter 15, it does provide a wealth of resource information for further study. Here is an explanation of the aims and goals of the Coursebook from the book’s authors located at the beginning of text:


The Archaeology Coursebook is an unrivalled guide to students studying archaeology for the first time. Comprehensive and user-friendly, it will interest pre-university students and teachers as well as undergraduates and enthusiasts.

Written by experienced archaeologists and teachers it makes sense of the major themes and issues in archaeology and also gives students the necessary skills to prepare for their examinations in the subject. Chapters include:


• Presenting the past • Religion and ritual • Settlement • Material culture and economics • Social archaeology • Project work • Examinations • Where next?


Specially designed to assist learning, The Archaeology Coursebook:

- introduces the most commonly examined archaeological methods, concepts and themes, and provides the skills necessary to understand these step by step

- explains how to interpret the material students may meet in examinations and how to succeed with different types of assignments and exam questions

- supports study with case studies, key sites, key terms, tasks and skills development

- illustrates concepts and commentary with over 200 photographs and drawings of excavation sites, methodology and processes, and tools and equipment

- links from its own site to other key websites in archaeology.


Jim Grant is a Principal Examiner in A level Archaeology and Head of Humanities at Cirencester College. Sam Gorin is a Principal Examiner in A level Archaeology and Head of the School of General Studies at Newark and Sherwood College. Neil Fleming is a Chief Examiner in A level Archaeology and upper-sixth House Master at Christ’s Hospital, Horsham.

Read through Chapter 1 and complete the following:


Chapter Summary- Provide a short summary of the contents of the chapter.


Key Terms- Define the following terms:

- Archaeological Record (pg. 11)
- Augering (pg. 15)
- Coring (pg. 15)
- Cropmark (pg. 21)
- Fieldwalking/Surface Collection (pg. 10)
- Grids, Transects, and Traverses (pg. 13)
- Magnetic Susceptibility (pg. 18)
- Mesolithic (pg. 10)
- Micro-Contour Surveys (pg. 11)
- Neolithic (pg. 11)
- Phosphate Analysis (pg. 15)
- Probing (pg. 15)
- Regression (pg. 8 )
- Remote Sensing (pg. 5)
- Resistivity (pg. 16)
- Sampling (pg. 11)
- Shadow Sites (pg. 21)
- Shovel Pit Testing (pg. 15)
- Soil Marks (pg. 23)
- Sonar (pg. 23)
- Surveying (pg. 10)


Short Answer- In a couple of paragraphs, answer the following questions:

1) What key methods are used by archaeologists to locate and define sites?

2) What are some strengths and limitations of the most important site location techniques?

3) What are some appropriate methods for locating and exploring sites? In what circumstances might they be applicable?

4) Reread the Successful Note-Taking Key Skill on Page 4. What are some strengths and weaknesses of each method of note- taking?

Read through Chapter 2 and complete the following:


Chapter Summary- Provide a short summary of the contents of the chapter.


Key Terms- Define the following terms:

- Artifacts (pg. 35)
- Dendrochronology
- Earthworks (pg. 35)
- Ecofacts (pg. 35)
- features (pg. 33)
- Rescue Excavation (pg. 29)
- Research Excavation (pg. 26)
- Salvage Excavations (pg. 31)
- Stratification (pg. 39)
- Stratigraphy (pg. 39)
- Superposition (pg. 39)


Short Answer- In a couple of paragraphs, answer the following questions:

1) Why and under what circumstances is excavation undertaken?

2) What can be achieved by excavation?

3) What are some advantages and disadvantages of common excavation strategies?

4) What are the principles of Stratigraphy?

5) How are artifacts, floral, and faunal material recovered during an excavation?

6) What are the recording techniques used in archaeology?

Read through Chapter 3 and complete the following:


Chapter Summary- Provide a short summary of the contents of the chapter.


Key Terms- Define the following terms:

- Archaeometry (pg. 59)
- Assemblages (pg. 68)
- Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (pg. 66)
- Attributes (pg. 61)
- Corprolites (pg. 75)
- Debitage (pg. 66)
- Faunal Dating (pg. 69)
- Lithics (pg. 65)
- Metallography (pg. 66)
- Obsidian (pg. 62)
- Petrology (pg. 62)
- Pollen Dating (pg. 77)
- Trace Elements (pg. 62)
- Typology (pg. 66)
- X-Ray Fluorescence (pg. 62)


Short Answer- In a couple of paragraphs, answer the following questions:

1) What types of analysis are carried out on commonly analyzed materials?

2) What are the basic principles of the main analytical techniques?

3) What are the different types of specialization in Post Excavation Analysis? What do they contribute to archaeological site knowledge?

4) What insights do Scientific Analysis offer for the study artifacts and ecofacts?

5) Do you think Archaeology is a science? Explain.

6) What are the main characterization techniques used in post excavation research?

Read through Chapter 4 and complete the following:


Chapter Summary- Provide a short summary of the contents of the chapter.


Key Terms- Define the following terms:

- Absolute Dating (pg. 80)
- Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (pg. 86)
- Relative Dating (pg. 80)
- Seriation (pg. 82)


Short Answer- In a couple of paragraphs, answer the following questions:

1) What are some of the principles of dating in Archaeology?

2) How are dating techniques divided up?

3) Describe the different types of relative dating techniques.

4) What are the Absolute Dating techniques? Explain each.

5) How are radiocarbon dates expressed?

6) What method of dating would we use to determine the age of crystals? Why is this useful to the study of archaeology?

7) Which methods might you use to date the following? Check your answers on p. 305.

- A wooden spear tip from 200,000 years ago
- Shells from a mesolithic midden
- Seeds from a Roman well
- Burnt flint from a paleolithic hearth
- Walls made from baked mud bricks from an ancient house
- Human bones from a Saxon cemetery
- An Aztec kiln site from Mexico
- Bison bones found in cave deposits
- A terracotta figurine from a Roman temple
- Timbers from a Bronze Age boat

Read through Chapter 5 and complete the following:


Chapter Summary- Provide a short summary of the contents of the chapter.


Key Terms- Define the following terms:

- Analogy (pg. 100)
- Anthropology (pg. 101)
- Assemblage (pg. 100)
- Curation (pg. 96)
- Direct Historical Approach (pg. 101)
- Ethnoarchaeology (pg. 102)
- Ethnography (pg. 101)
- Structured Deposition (pg. 96)
- Taphonomy


Short Answer- In a couple of paragraphs, answer the following questions:

1) How is the archaeological record formed? Why is this important?

2) What is the basis in which archaeologists use to interpret archaeological remains?

3) Why do archaeologists offer different interpretations of the past? Explain.

Read through Chapter 6 and complete the following:


Chapter Summary- Provide a short summary of the contents of the chapter.


Key Terms- Define the following terms:

- Archaeological Assessment (pg. 113)
- Field Evaluation (pg. 113)
- Preservation by Record (pg. 114)
- Preservation in Situ (pg. 113)
- UNESCO
- Watching Brief (pg. 113)


Short Answer- In a couple of paragraphs, answer the following questions:

1) What are the key general threats to our archaeological heritage?

2) What factors are mentioned as global threats to archaeological heritage sites?

3) What are the key organizations in your country that are charged with the protection of archaeological sites?

4) What laws pertain to archaeological sites in your country?

5) What international organization is charges with the protection of archaeological sites?

6) What are some of the key debates concerning the preservation and ownership of archaeological remains?