This assignment will be due Thursday, Oct. 12 at 10:45 AM. It will be late and subject to the
late penalties described in the syllabus after Friday, Oct. 13, at 10:45 AM.
Complete submission of this assignment will require three steps: 1) turning in a hard copy to me.
This should be typewritten, double-spaced, and printed on white paper with black toner or ink.
Please: no cursive or bizarre fonts. The hard copy is what I will actually comment on and return
to you with a grade. Your entire answer should require about three pages and no more than four
pages. 2) Uploading a copy to Turnitin.com. The instructions for that with the course ID
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(15963381) and password
(stratum) are in the syllabus. Please ignore the so-called “Post Date.”
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I do not publish grades on Turnitin. They will be written on your hard copy. 3) Upload a copy to
Livetext.com.
This is NOT a group assignment: you are to work out your answers individually. It is a violation
ofAAAAAA
the UE Honor Code to copy anyone else’s answer or to consult with anyone else.
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Do not waste your time looking for an answer on the Internet, because I MADE THE
PROBLEM UP, including the names and date ranges of the archaeological periods. Please
don’t make me tear out the small amount of hair I have left by telling me, for example, that
you tried to research the “Rill Period,” but could not find anything about it. It did not
exist. Emperor Moofus did not exist. You don’t need to “research” anything. All you need
is your brain and the basic stratigraphical principles that we have examined.
The sectional diagram provided is NOT based on any particular archaeological site or time
periods, although it is very similar to the kinds of diagrams we actually use in analyzing
stratigraphy. For purposes of this exercise, assume that only one kind of pottery was actually
being produced (e.g., "handmade; white spirals on dark surface") in each period. Remember,
however, that artifacts made earlier regularly appear in later levels because people are constantly
digging down into earlier levels and bringing up old artifacts, so do not be surprised if some
strata have items from multiple periods. People also keep certain items long after their
manufacture and do not throw them away casually, either because they are valuable or are
heirlooms with sentimental value.
The latest datable item in each stratum will provide the best terminus post quem (“time after
which”) for the deposition of the stratum. You may assume that all radiocarbon dates have been
calibrated using the best possible method. The term "stratum" here is used very loosely as a way
to describe a level homogeneous in soil color, texture, and other characteristics. In a real site,
such "strata" would likely be excavated in many separate units, not in a single pass. When strata
are discontinuous (as when cut by a later feature), I indicate that by using the same stratum
number for each segment of the stratum.
Your assignment is to reconstruct the occupational history of this site using the sectional diagram
and other information provided. For the purposes of this assignment, we will assume that this
trench is representative of the entire site. In real life, it often happens that some parts of a large
site may have been abandoned at a particular time, while others were occupied, but we will
ignore that possibility here. You should assume that if you have pottery of a particular period
present, then people were actually occupying the site during that time.
First, identify the basic times of occupation using the pottery data, datable artifacts and
radiocarbon dates provided. By “times,” I mean continuous episodes of people occupying the
site, which may extend across several archaeological periods. For example, “The site was
occupied continuously from the Late Gill through Developed Mill periods, based on the presence
of handmade pottery with black squares on a pale surface in Stratum X, and handmade pottery
with white bands and zigzags in Strata Y and Z immediately above. It was abandoned during the
Advanced Mill Period because ….” Indicate briefly what evidence leads you to your
conclusions. You do NOT need to regurgitate all of the evidence given for each stratum. Second,
identify any probable buildings and what wall features and floors belong to them, any graves, or
other features (e.g., pits) evident in the sectional diagram and what period they were probably
constructed in. If evidence allows a more specific terminus post quem for the construction date
than a whole period, provide that. Third, answer the specific questions below.
1) What is the latest terminus post quem we can assign to Stratum 10? Think twice and
carefully about this one.
2) The student Jimmy Jehosaphat is extremely worried about the date of Stratum 4,
because the datable items seem so far apart. What is the actual latest terminus post quem
for this stratum and how do you know?
3) Polly Purebred is very confused about the date of Stratum 12, because the wood and
the pottery sherds seem to be indicating different dates. Help her out with determining the
latest terminus post quem of Stratum 12. What is a possible explanation for the apparent
discrepancy in dates?
Information about the strata excavated:
Stratum 1: Coin of 1900 AD, many sherds of wheelmade white glazed pottery.
Stratum 2: Many sherds of wheelmade red-glazed pottery, with a few sherds of green-glazed
pottery; the green-glazed pottery is more common at the bottom of the stratum, though.
Stratum 3: This stratum, along with Stratum 4, cut into Stratum 5 underneath. The soil was very
soft and the excavator did not see a very clear difference from Stratum 2 above. At the bottom of
the stratum, the excavator found some burned human bones and teeth in a red-glazed pot.
Alongside the pot were two coins of Obamion II, the Dominator of the Villian Dominion from
195-210 AD.
Stratum 4: As with Stratum 3, this stratum cut into Stratum 5 underneath, without a very clear
difference from Stratum 2 above. At the bottom of the stratum, the excavator found a whole
skeleton of a young woman, with some pieces of a broken red-glazed pot. The young women had
an unusual ivory bracelet of a type known to have been made only during the time of Trumpicles
III, the Villian Dominator who ruled between 240-265 AD. She also had a silver pendant that
had been made from a silver coin of the Roman emperor Nero (54-68 AD), and a gold Egyptian
amulet made during the time of the pharaoh Necho I (672-674 BC).
Stratum 5: Many sherds of green-glazed wheelmade pottery, some sherds of wheelmade pottery
with black animals. Coin of the Sillian Emperor Snerko I (500-480 BC)
Stratum 6: This stratum contained mostly wheelmade pottery with black animals, but with some
wheelmade pottery with black plants. Near the base of this stratum, two stone walls appeared,
Wall 1 and Wall 2.
Stratum 7: This stratum was very hard-packed dirt and pebbles; the excavator believed it was a
floor going with Walls 1 and 2. The only artifact in the floor was a coin of the Sillian Emperor
Moofus, who ruled between 530-520 BC
Stratum 8: This was another hard-packed surface that the excavator believed was a floor going
with Walls 1 and 2. It had one pot sherd of wheelmade pottery with black plants on a pale
surface. It also had ten broken walnut hulls. These are very useful, because the hull grows and
dies in a single year. The same is true of seeds of different kinds, like barley and wheat. One of
these hulls was C-14 dated to 580 ± 30 BC.
Stratum 9: Many sherds of wheelmade pottery with black plants on a pale surface were found,
along with broken clay tablets. The writing on these refers to the Sillian Empress Brizola (690675 BC)
Stratum 10: Nothing at all was found in this stratum except an unusual bone spear-head. An
expert dated this to the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic Period, around 40,000 BC.
Stratum 11: A large number of sherds found here. All were handmade, with most either having
white spirals on a dark surface or white spirals on a dark surface; a few had white zig-zags on a
dark surface. Near the bottom of this stratum, two more stone walls appeared, Walls 3 and 4.
Stratum 12: This was a hard-packed gravel surface that the excavator thought was a floor going
with Walls 3 and 4. Embedded in the gravel were three pottery sherds, all handmade with white
spirals on a dark surface. Also embedded in the gravel was a large piece of wood. A C-14 date
on its innermost growth ring was 2610 ± 80 BC.
Stratum 13: Many pottery sherds with white circles on a dark surface, and some with white zigzags on a dark surface.
Stratum 14: Many pottery sherds with white zig-zags on a dark surface.
Stratum 15: The excavator did not see a clear break between this and Stratum 14, but the deepest
part of the stratum was full of animal bones, carbonized seeds, pot sherds, and pieces of broken
groundstones. The sherds were all with white zig-zags on a dark surface. C-14 date on two barley
seeds were 3000 ± 120 BC and 2970 ± 110 BC.
Stratum 16: Few sherds, all handmade with red squares on a pale surface; few stone tool
fragments.
Stratum 17: Many handmade sherds with red squares on pale surface and a few handmade red
burnished. Many stone tool fragments.
Stratum 18: Many handmade red burnished sherds and stone tool fragments. Walls 5 and 6
appeared near the bottom of this stratum.
Stratum 19: This stratum was hard-packed earth between Walls 5 and 6, possibly an earthen
floor. Several burned wheat seeds were found, and two were C-14 dated, one to 5400 ± 200 BC
and the other to 5350 ± 180 BC.
Stratum 20: Many handmade sherds of red burnished pottery were found, along with broken
stone tools.
Wall 1: No datable material
Wall 2: A wall block was found to have a readable inscription that said, “House of Bluto, faithful
servant of Emperor Lampoonion.” The Sillian Emperor Lampoonion is known to have ruled
between 595-560 BC.
Wall 3: Embedded within the wall at the time of construction was a small pocket of burnt barley
seeds. One dated to 2260 ± 70 BC.
Wall 4: No datable material.
Wall 5: No datable material.
Wall 6: No datable material.
Note that burning of organic materials like bones or seeds will not affect the dates yielded by C14 dating. It is in fact partial burning that preserves some of these biofacts like seeds and walnut
hulls from decaying.
Information about the pottery:
The large region this particular site is in has been investigated in previous excavations and
archaeologists have developed a regional chronology based on the decoration of the pottery,
which you may assume to be reliable; the various periods are described below. Once again, the
details are fictitious. The periods are shown here going from the present backward in time. We
will pretend that the Sillian Empire, Villian Dominion, Zillian, and Modern periods are historical
ones for which we know the names and dates of many rulers. The Rill, Mill, Gill, and Dill
periods are prehistoric. The only written evidence we have for those periods is on imported items
from other cultures.
Period name
Absolute dates
Characteristic pottery of period
Modern
1500 AD-present
wheelmade; white-glazed surface
Zillian
600-1500 AD
wheelmade; purple-glazed surface
Villian Dominion III
Villian Dominion II
Villian Dominion I
300 AD-600 AD
100 BC-300 AD
400 BC-100 BC
wheelmade; pink-glazed surface
wheelmade; red-glazed surface
wheelmade; green-glazed surface
Sillian Empire II
Sillian Empire I
600-400 BC
1000-600 BC
wheelmade; black animals on pale surface
wheelmade; black plants on pale surface
Late Rill
Middle Rill
Early Rill
1500-1000 BC
1800-1500 BC
2100-1800 BC
wheelmade; plain red surface
wheelmade; plain brown surface
wheelmade; plain yellow surface
Final Mill
Advanced Mill
Developed Mill
Early Mill
2400-2100 BC
2800-2400 BC
3200-2800 BC
3400-3200 BC
handmade; white spirals on dark surface
handmade; white circles on dark surface
handmade; white zig-zags on dark surface
handmade; white bands on dark surface
Late Gill
Early Gill
4200-3400 BC
5000-4200 BC
handmade; black squares on pale surface
handmade; red squares on pale surface
Late Dill
Middle Dill
Early Dill
6000-5000 BC
7000-6000 BC
8000-7000 BC
handmade red burnished
handmade brown burnished
handmade black burnished
It is also known that this region was occupied during the Middle Palaeolithic (200,000-45,000
BC) and Upper Palaeolithic (45,000-9,000 BC), but only stone tools are known from this time.
This site is one of many in the larger region. Do not assume that it was always occupied.
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