Exam 2 questions page

Post questions here about the exam: format, content, specific issues, etc. Tim and I will check it up through 10pm the night before the exam and respond to questions. You guys should feel free to answer each others' questions, too!

Posted at Nov 02/2011 02:14PM:
Regan: Are we responsible for understanding calibrated relative methods as a form of absolute dating? These include obsidian hydration, amino-acid racemization, and chlorine 36 dating. If so, then I have a few questions about these and was wondering if Tim could review them in the study session.

Posted at Nov 02/2011 02:15PM:
Prof. B: You know, that's the only section in Chapter 4 that I don't really think you need to know in detail. We will not ask a question that requires you to know about calibrated relative dating methods.

Posted at Nov 03/2011 01:43PM:
Soleil Vaughn: This isn't about our second exam, but where can we find more information about the projects due on Nov. 21st?

Posted at Nov 04/2011 12:32PM:
Prof. B: The final project description is at the end of the syllabus. Because it's so open-ended, however, I strongly encourage you to come talk to me about what you plan to do.

Posted at Nov 05/2011 02:13PM:
Luke: Perez: Are there going to be very detailed questions about how the different radioactive dating works? Such as Potassium-Argon dating, Uranium-Series Dating and Fission-Track Dating.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Posted at Nov 05/2011 04:38PM:

Chase Shaffar-Roggeveen: The syllabus says that the exam is through Nov. 11, so does the exam cover chapter 11 as well? Or just chapters 14, 4, 6, and 7?

Thanks!

Posted at Nov 05/2011 08:06PM:
Prof. B: November 11th was a typo! I had meant to mention that in class, and I apologize for the confusion. As for detail about dating, most of the questions (ALL MEDIUM-LENGTH ANSWER THIS TIME) are open ended. So it might ask YOU to name x number of dating methods and tell us how they work, when they are appropriate, when they fail, and perhaps a case in which they have been used. If you were asked to name two types of radiometric dating, which would they be? Absolutely in that case you could bring in Potassium-Argon, but you could also avoid it. But as I said above, the calibrated relative dating methods are not used often or with confidence in many archaeological situations and won't be on the exam. For sure you should be most familiar with those methods that are most commonly used in archaeology - I would sure know C14 and dendro inside and out, for instance.

Posted at Nov 05/2011 08:37PM:
Ody: Odalmy: Social archaeology was a topic covered in class but there were no readings corresponding to it in the original syllabus. Should we study Ch. 5 in depth from our book or would just going over class notes suffice?

Posted at Nov 06/2011 08:15AM:
Prof. B: Any questions on social archaeology will be answerable based solely on what was discussed in class. That reading wasn't assigned, and you don't have to do it!

Sophia Diaz: Do we need to know the details of how the Maya and Roman calendars work (as well as BP vs. BC vs. BCE)? There's a box on the Maya calendar that is rather complicated on pages 134-135. Also, do we need to know the following boxes/sections in depth (just asking because they were not mentioned in class): El nino events, Applied Archaeology: Raised fields in Peru, Conservation in Mexico City: Great Temple of the Aztecs, Genetic and Linguistic dating, World Chronology, and Cave Sediments/the in-depth study of soils (pg. 241)?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Posted at Nov 05/2011 05:55PM:

Chase Shaffar-Roggeveen: Tim mentioned in the study session that we should use specific examples in our answers. Is it ok to use specific examples from outside of the book/lectures?

Thanks!

Posted at Nov 06/2011 08:21PM:
Prof. B: In answer to both the previous questions, box texts are never going to come up as specific questions, but these can be great sources for case studies and specific examples to illustrate your points about the importance of a particular method. For instance, if you want to talk about how historical methods are relevant to archaeological dating, knowing how the Maya calendar works well enough to summarize it would be really helpful. You can illustrate methods with examples from outside, but you are certainly not expected to know more than was contained in the lectures and book.

Tanya Olson: Should the questions be answered in complete sentences, or are bullet points okay? Or does it depend on the question? (Sorry for stupid question. Thanks!)