Lithic<\/strong> Projectile Point<\/strong> Arrow Point<\/strong> Spear or Dart Point<\/strong> Debitage<\/strong> Hafting<\/strong> Atlatl<\/strong> Mano and Matate<\/strong> Temper<\/strong> Grog Temper<\/strong> Grit Temper<\/strong> Shell Temper<\/strong> Paleoethnobotanist<\/strong> Zooarcheologist<\/strong> Radiocarbon Date\/C-14 Date<\/strong> Archeologists use a lot of jargon.\u00a0 Some of it is avoidable, but some of it is useful because it helps us talk about unusual materials or items from the past.\u00a0 It can also help us be specific about ancient technologies.\u00a0 Here is a list of archeological terms used on this site that will help you … Continue reading Definitions<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":233,"parent":69,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/full-width-page.php","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-160","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archeology.uark.edu\/ozarkbluffshelters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archeology.uark.edu\/ozarkbluffshelters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archeology.uark.edu\/ozarkbluffshelters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archeology.uark.edu\/ozarkbluffshelters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archeology.uark.edu\/ozarkbluffshelters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160"}],"version-history":[{"count":53,"href":"https:\/\/archeology.uark.edu\/ozarkbluffshelters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1802,"href":"https:\/\/archeology.uark.edu\/ozarkbluffshelters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/160\/revisions\/1802"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archeology.uark.edu\/ozarkbluffshelters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/69"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archeology.uark.edu\/ozarkbluffshelters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archeology.uark.edu\/ozarkbluffshelters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/em>Lithic simply means stone.\u00a0 Archeologists often refer to stone tools and other stone artifacts as lithics.\u00a0 There are two main categories of lithic tools\u2014chipped stone and ground stone.\u00a0 Chipped stone tools are made by hitting a stone, usually chert or novaculite, with another hard material and knocking off flakes.\u00a0 Ground stone tools are made by abrasion. The stone is ground using another stone until it is the desired size and shape.<\/p>\n![\"""\"](\"http:\/\/archeology.uark.edu\/ozarkbluffshelters\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/01\/artifacts-300x225.jpg\")
\n<\/em>A chipped stone tool meant to be attached to a spear, dart, or arrow.\u00a0 This category includes both the earlier spear and dart points as well as smaller, more recent arrow points.<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>You often hear projectile points of all types and sizes referred to as \u201carrowheads\u201d or arrow point, but this is actually incorrect.\u00a0 Only certain kinds of projectile points are true arrow heads or arrow points.\u00a0 Projectile points intended for use with a bow and arrow are small\u2014less than an inch in length.\u00a0 They are chipped stone lithic tools hafted to an arrow shaft.<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>A spear or dart point is a larger projectile point attached to a spear or dart.\u00a0 A dart is a projectile meant to be thrown with an atlatl.\u00a0 The word spear is sometimes used interchangeably with the word tart, but sometimes refers to the use of a projectile point hafted to the end of a pole that is meant to be thrust by hand rather than thrown.<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>The stone flakes or chips produced by making a chipped stone tool.<\/p>\n![\"""\"](\"http:\/\/archeology.uark.edu\/ozarkbluffshelters\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/05\/117236-300x225.jpg\")
\n<\/em>The method or material used to attach a stone tool to a handle or projectile, such as an arrow.<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>An atlatl is a tool used to throw a projectile. In its simplest form it is a stick with a hook at the end, but there are several variations. Atlatls allow you to throw a dart much farther and with greater force. They were a simple and effective technology used for hunting from the Paleoindian period until the invention of the bow and arrow in the Late Woodland period.<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>A mano and matate are used together to process grains, seeds, or nuts. A mano is a ground stone tool held in the hand and used to grind corn or other grains.\u00a0 A matate is the stone slab or basin used to hold the grain being ground with the mano.<\/p>\n
\nCeramic terms<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"""\"](\"http:\/\/archeology.uark.edu\/ozarkbluffshelters\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/01\/shellt2.jpg-300x240.jpg\")
\n<\/em>Material added to clay before making it into pottery that makes the clay stronger and prevents the finished vessel from shrinking or cracking.<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>Baked clay used as temper in pottery.\u00a0 This is usually made up of crushed bits of old pots.<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>Small bits of rock and sand used as temper in pottery.<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>Bits of crushed shell added to clay.\u00a0 Shell tempering is not used until the beginning of the Mississippi period and is thought to enable to making of lighter and sturdier vessels.\u00a0 The idea is that the laminar or flat shape of the shell pieces aligns in the lay and creates a sturdy structure inside the clay of the vessel.<\/p>\n
\nOther Terms<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n<\/em>An archeologist who specializes in the study of human use and manipulation of plants in the past. Paleoethnobotanists study plant domestication, and plants used for making textiles in the past.<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>An archeologist who specializes in studying animal remains in archeological contexts.\u00a0 This can include the use of animals as food as well the use of animal remains, such as bone and antler, to make tools.<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>This is a technique used to give a direct date for an organic material.\u00a0 Carbon-14 is a weakly radioactive isotope of Carbon; also known as radiocarbon, that decays at a known rate.\u00a0 This rate can be used to determine the age of organic materials.\u00a0 This means that this dating technique can only be used for certain materials.\u00a0 It can however be used to date inorganic material given the right context.\u00a0 For example if an inorganic artifact like a stone tool is found in a hearth with charcoal, the charcoal can be dated and we can assume that the point is at least as old as the charcoal it was found with.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"