Archaeology questions -- please help!?

Question

I'm really, really bad at science, and I just don't get this... at all. Can somebody answer these questions?

Ancient cultures only drew pictures so this cannot be included in the written record.

Much of the written record is inaccurate or false.

There are many gaps in the written record.

written records were produced only by literate societies.

(I think the answer is all of them? D:)

The archaeologists "first in, last out" rule corresponds to what geologic principle?

uniformitarianism

Law of Faunal Succession

Principle of Original Horizontality

Law of Superposition

(The last one?)

The archaeologists "terminus post quem" or "terminus ante quem" rules correspond to which geologic principle?

uniformitarianism

Law of Faunal Succession

Principle of Original Horizontality

Law of Superposition

(Fuanal succession?)

Please help! X_X

Answer 1

What was the first question?

Of course many ancient cultures had writing; but the other explanations are good, and the written record reflects the points of view of the literate societies, and in some cases, the written record of one or another society was once more extensive but has been largely destroyed.

The other two are both the law of superposition.

Answer 2

Here are the definitions:

"The principle of faunal succession is based on the observation that sedimentary rock strata contain fossilised flora and fauna, and that these fossils succeed each other vertically in a specific, reliable order that can be identified over wide horizontal distances. A fossilised Neanderthal bone will never be found in the same stratum as a fossilised Megalosaurus, for example, because the two species lived during different geological periods, separated by many millions of years. This allows for strata to be identified and dated by the fossils found within."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_o...

"The Principle of Original Horizontality was proposed by the Danish geological pioneer Nicholas Steno (1638-1686). This principle states that layers of sediment are originally deposited horizontally. The principle is important to the analysis of folded and tilted strata."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_o...

"Terminus ante quem refers to the date before which an artifact or feature must have been deposited. Used with Terminus post quem ("limit after which"), similarly, terminus ad quem ("limit to which") may also refer to the latest possible date of a non-punctual event (period, era, etc.), while terminus a quo ("limit from which") may refer to the earliest such date.

For example an archaeological find of a burial may contain coins dating to 1588, 1595 and others less securely dated to 1590-1625. "

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminus_po...

"Superposition in archaeology and especially in stratification use during excavation is slightly different as the processes involved in laying down archaeological strata are somewhat different from geological processes. Man made intrusions and activity in the archaeological record need not form chronologically from top to bottom or be deformed from the horizontal as natural strata are by equivalent processes. Some archaeological strata (often termed as contexts or layers) are created by undercutting previous strata. An example would be that the silt backfill of an underground drain would form some time after the ground immediately above it. Other examples of non vertical superposition would be modifications to standing structures such as the creation of new doors and windows in a wall. Superposition in archaeology requires a degree of interpretation to correctly identify chronological sequences and in this sense superposition in archaeology is more dynamic and multi- dimensional."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_supe...