Trowels

Definition

Trowels are essential hand tools used in excavation, particularly in archaeology and paleoanthropology. They feature a flat blade with a pointed end, allowing researchers to carefully remove soil and sediment layers while minimizing disturbance to the surrounding area. Trowels are crucial for revealing stratigraphy and understanding site formation processes, enabling a detailed examination of artifacts and fossils within their context.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Trowels come in different sizes and shapes, with specific designs tailored for various excavation tasks, such as flat-bladed or pointed trowels.
2. Using a trowel allows for precision when excavating delicate features or artifacts, helping to avoid damage during the excavation process.
3. Archaeologists often use trowels in conjunction with other tools like brushes and pickaxes to ensure thorough excavation while preserving site integrity.
4. Proper technique when using a trowel involves a scooping motion that carefully removes small amounts of soil without disturbing the layers below.
5. Trowels are not only used for digging but also for cleaning around artifacts to reveal their form and relationship to surrounding materials.

Review Questions

• How do trowels contribute to effective excavation techniques in paleoanthropological fieldwork?
  • Trowels play a key role in effective excavation techniques by allowing archaeologists to carefully remove soil layers without disturbing the context of the artifacts or fossils. Their design enables precision, which is crucial for uncovering delicate materials and understanding their stratigraphic relationships. By using trowels effectively, researchers can document site formation processes more accurately and gather important data about the site's history.
• Discuss the importance of trowels in relation to stratigraphy during archaeological excavations.
  • Trowels are vital tools for maintaining stratigraphy during archaeological excavations as they allow for controlled removal of soil while preserving distinct layers. By employing trowels, archaeologists can uncover different strata systematically, which helps them understand the chronological sequence of human activity at a site. This careful attention to stratigraphic details can reveal important insights about past cultures and their interactions with the environment.
• Evaluate how improper use of trowels can impact the interpretation of site formation processes.
  • Improper use of trowels can significantly compromise the interpretation of site formation processes by leading to unintended damage or disturbance of archaeological layers. For example, if too much soil is removed too quickly or carelessly, it may obscure important contextual relationships between artifacts and their stratigraphic positions. This can hinder the ability to accurately reconstruct past human behaviors and environmental conditions, ultimately affecting the validity of archaeological conclusions drawn from the site.

Related terms

Stratigraphy: The study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification), which is critical for understanding the chronological sequence of events at an archaeological site.

Context: The relationship between artifacts, features, and ecofacts in relation to their surroundings, providing important information about past human behavior and environmental conditions.

Site Formation Processes: The various natural and cultural processes that affect how an archaeological site is created, altered, or preserved over time.