Ancient: people, artifacts or features from thousands of years ago
archaeology: the study of past cultures through their material remains (by archaeologists)
archaeological site: a place that contains artifacts or other cultural remains left by people who once lived in or used that place
Archaic: a period of prehistory approximately 7000 to 4000years ago; During the Archaic period, people lived mostly by hunting small game and gathering wild plant food. The Pine Hawk site was heavily used in the Archaic period.
artifact: an item made, modified or utilized by humans
catalog: an artifact is cataloged when it has been given a number that tells exactly where in the site that artifact was found
culture: a group of people who speak the same language and have the same customs and way of life across generations
excavate: in archaeology, to investigate a site through a careful, scientific digging process
feature: in archaeology, features are evidence that cannot be removed, such as a firepit or the location of an artifact.
flaking: the process of making stone tools by removing flakes from a larger mass by percussion or pressure from another tool.
grid: in archaeology, a system of squares placed over a site so the exact locations in the site can be recorded during excavation
hearth: location where stones remain in place to show where people once built a fire (also called a firepit)
knapping: shaping rocks into tools
midden: any place where past people heaped trash, shell middens are common along the coast
micromorphology: the study of soil using a microscope
perishable artifact: an artifact made of wood, plant fiber or some other material that will not last long after the item is discarded
points: tools essential to a hunting economy along with knives and hide scrapers
projectile points: the term used to include arrow, dart and spear points
prehistoric: that which occurred before written records
preservation: the protection of archaeological and historic sites
radiocarbon dating: method of finding out the actual age of an object, based on the rate of radioactive decay of the isotope Carbon 14 contained in organic material
screen: the sifting of soil material removed from an excavation to recover artifacts that were too small to be easily found. There are two types of screening, dry and flotation.
survey: to map an area
stratigraphy: the layering of soil over long periods of time (thousands of years)
watershed: all of the land near the entire length of a river. Pine Hawk is part of the Sudbury-Assabet-Concord (SUASCO) watershed. The Concord River then joins the Merrimack River in Lowell and continues out to the Atlantic Ocean.
Woodland Period: the historical period of Native American usage of the land dating from approx 2000 years ago till modern times. The Pine Hawk site was not used as heavily in the woodland period.
