Midterm Examination

Student’s Name:
Instructor’s Name:
Course:
Date:
Introduction to medieval archaeology
Vertical excavation
Vertical excavation examines history through analysis of the vertical arrangement of matter in the ground. The material is dug out with the focus on the vertical sequence of the historical and cultural aspects represented.
HedebyDuring the 8th and 11th century (Viking age), Hedeby existed as a crucial trading settlement in Germany. It is termed as the most vital archaeological site in Northern Germany. The town was destroyed and abandoned in 1066.
wattle work or wattle and daub
The use of wattle and daub as a construction material dates more than 6000 years ago. It was first used in the Neolithic period in Europe, Africa, and Asia.
JettyingJettying style of construction was a medieval period design where the upper floor projected beyond the lower floor. They are believed to have common in the 16th century before they were banned in some areas. They are the origin to today’s’ spectacular cantilever architectural designs.
Carcassonne
Carcassonne is a historic town founded in France by the Romans in the 5th century. It was strategically located between trade routes. Since 1997, the town is recognized by UNESCO as a Global heritage site.
Dendrochronology
Dendrochronology is a technique utilized in dating the age of trees based on information gathered from its growth rings. It is used to determine the climate conditions of the various timelines in history and determining the age of trees.

Question 1
1.Which archaeological dating methods are most useful in medieval archaeology, and what kinds of “sample” materials are needed in utilizing these methods? Mention some factors that limit the general applicability of those methods, as well as their precision and accuracy
Dating methods are classified into two, absolute and relative dating methods. Absolute dating estimates the age of an object in calendar years while relative dating estimates the age of an object dependent on the existence of another. From the definition above, absolute methods are more likely to have a higher degree of accuracy since they are not dependent on the existence of other events or objects whose timeline may also have been estimated increasing the margin error. Methods of absolute dating include;
Radiocarbon (C-14) dating
This method was the first absolute dating method to be invented in 1953 by W. F. Libby and is widely used in archaeology to determine the age of various organic materials. This method is based on the principle that once a living organism dies, absorption of carbon 14 is stopped and therefore a test of its content in the remains later can be used to estimate the period in which the organism died. The sample required is any organic remains of the organism. Only small quantities of the sample required making it easy to test nearly all recovered archaeological evidence. Its limitation is that it can only be used to date organic matter and therefore fall short in dating nonliving things including rocks. The accuracy of the method has grown since its invention, and today the more accurate AMS is utilized for more precise results.
Dendrochronology
Dendrochronology is used to estimate the age of trees based on the density and thickness characteristics of the annual growth rings. The test sample for this method is remains of tree trunks. However, this method is not universal and is limited to some regions because it is only applicable to regions that have seasons besides being specific to some trees only. It dates wood in the past 8000 years (Fernandez & Geografia 31). Its accuracy is dependent on the amount and condition of the remains. The undistorted sequence of rings produces accurate results while distorted may be hard to determine hence loss of precision.
Thermoluminescence
Thermoluminescence dating technique is used to determine the age of material with a crystalline structure. It dates objects as back as 80000 years ago (Fernandez & Geografia 32). Its advantage is that only small amounts of the sample are required while its limitation is samples often are impure, and this may at times alter the results. It has error rates not exceeding 10%, and given the number of years that are involved, this error is small, and the results are materially accurate.
Question 3
Why are the Middle Ages a particularly interesting period to research if one is interested in climate and its impacts on human beings?
The Middle Ages are of much interest because it was in this ages that climate changes similar to the current first occurred. There existed the equivalent of global warming in those days, and it was termed the medieval warm period. The temperatures during the middle age period are estimated to have gone higher than they have today (Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change, pg. 2). Archaeological research on the impact of these climatic changes back then, therefore, could be of much help in determining the effects of these climatic changes on humans.
Around 530-550 AD, volcanic eruptions in the northern hemisphere raised the summer temperatures of Europe and its environs to levels unmatched. Shortly after, lengthy droughts followed. Later, between 725 and 1025 AD came the Medieval warm period. Wet summers were first experienced in 1348AD in Europe, a season that many people died out of cold and wet conditions. From the listed events, it’s clear that the past has a lot to tell as far as climatic effects in relation with humans are concerned. The people that lived those ages underwent the various adverse climatic conditions hence archaeological information collected from their samples can be used to estimate the effects of climate on human beings accurately.

Work cited
Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change. “The Global Medieval Warm Period.” Last modified October 30, 2014, pg. 2-17. http://www.co2science.org/subject/g/summaries/globalmwp.php
Fernandez, M. and Geografia, L. “Dating in Archaeology.” Publicaciones Didacticas: 43, 2014. Pg. 1-57 http://publicacionesdidacticas.com/hemeroteca/articulo/043004/articulo-pdf