Stockton,
CA 
Glossary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
Archaeologist: A person trained to study material remains such as artifacts and monuments of past human life and activities.
Archaeology: The study of the human past using material remains, from the most ancient to the relatively modern.
Archaeological Excavation: The systematic removal of archaeological artifacts and features. Excavation involves careful recording of both the artifacts and the layers of soil in which they are buried.
Archaeological Layer: A stratum of soil or other archaeological material that is physically discernable from other layers by its color, texture, and structure. North American archaeologists also use the term "contexts" to refer to archaeological layers.
Archaeological Site: A place that contains the remains of past human activity in its original context.
Archives: Places that collect and store historical documents and photographs.
Artifact: Something made or modified by humans. Artifacts can be as simple as a stone tool chipped out of a pebble or as sophisticated as a city with all its buildings, roads, and infrastructure. A collection of artifacts and/or features in its original location that is no longer being used is called an archaeological site.
B
Backhoe: Wheeled vehicle equipped with arm and bucket for moving earth.
C
D
E
Ecofact: Object on an archaeological site that
originally came from
something living, but which has not been modified by human activity.
Examples of ecofacts might be seeds or bones without butchering
marks.
Euroamerican: A person of European descent living in the United States
Excavate: See archaeological excavation
F
Faunal Remains: Any part of an animal that is found on an archaeological site.
Faunal Specialist: An archaeologist who studies the remains of animals found at archaeological sites.
Feature: A feature is an element of an archaeological site that cannot be removed from the site. Privy pits, walls, and stone hearths are all features.
G
H
Historical Archaeology: Archaeology of sites with written records and of recent centuries from 16th-century New England to the Depression-era camps of the 1930s, and later.
Historical Research: The process by which researchers examine primary and secondary sources to find out about a historic place, person, or process. This often involves visits to public offices, libraries, and historical archives.
I
J
K
L
Layer: See archaeological layer.
M
Maritime Archaeology: The study of underwater sites like shipwrecks.
N
O
Oral History: An oral account of a past event or process in the words of one who experienced it.
P
Prehistoric Archaeology: The study of people who didn't leave written records.
Primary Sources: Records such as Sanborn Company maps, tax assessments, diaries, oral histories, and other first-hand accounts and depictions of life in the past.
Privy: An old-fashioned word for a pit toilet. Before flush toilets, people dug simple holes in the ground to take care of their… personal requirements. When these holes were no longer needed they were often filled with household refuse and other artifacts.
Q
R
S
Sanborn Company Maps (Sanborn maps): Maps of American cities produced by the D.A. Sanborn Company that show individual building ‘footprints’, building materials such as brick or wood, and construction details such as height in stories, number of windows, locations of doors, street address, and use of the structure e.g. dwelling or school.
Secondary Sources: Records such as history books and articles that are based on primary sources but are not themselves first-hand accounts.
Stratigraphy: The layers consisting of structural remains, soil and artifacts that make up an archaeological feature or site.
T
U
U.S. Federal Census: A survey of everyone living in the United States that is conducted by the federal government every ten years. The Census contains the name, occupation, and other details of everyone who was living in a household.
V
W
X
Y
Z