ANTH 100 Domestication and the Archeology of Tribes and Chiefdoms

What do archaeologists want to know?

• What changed after generations of hunting and gathering?

• Why do similar changes occur at different times globally?

• Why do political and economic organizations change together?

What is domestication?

changing wild species through human manipulation

We’ve spent majority of our history as what?

hunters and gatherers

How do wild plants and animals species develop?

free of any human interference

Where did the domestication of plants and animals occur?

independently worldwide

What are the goals of archaeologists in studying domestication?

• account for when people took up agriculture and animal domestication

• chart what happens In societies when you shift from the hunting and gathering of wild foods to domesticated plants and animals

The domestication process involves changing relationships between what?

plants, animals, and humans

What was the first domesticated animal?

dog

How many years ago was the domesticated dog developed?

18,000-32,000 years ago

How many years are the domestication of other species pre-dated?

several 1000 years

Around how many years ago were other important species domesticated?

around 10, 000 years ago

What are the signs of animal domestication?

body morphology and population demography

What is body morphology?

shape and differences between the bodies of wild and domesticated animals

What is population demography?

differences in the range of genders and ages between a domesticated group of animals and those found in the wild

What happens to the number of females in a domesticated group of animals?

the number of females increase

What are some common changes in domesticated animals?

body size changes (some get larger, others get smaller)

What are some reasons for animal domestication?

Work and resources

What is the criteria for domesticating animals?

• flexible diet

• fast growth rate

• able to breed in captivity

• temperament

• Modifiable hierarchy

• useful to humans

About how many years ago and where was evidence found for the domestication of plant?

about 10,000 years ago in the Middle East

What are some characteristics of domesticated plants?

• larger in size

• larger seeds

• produce a higher yield

• brittle shell protecting the seed

• domestication often results in faster-growing and larger individuals

What are some evidence for plant domestication?

• grinding stones (plant processing)

• sickle blades with sheen from striking grasses

• permanent structures (i.e. houses)

• storage

• house with stone foundation from site of Beidha, Jordan

What are the consequences of early domestication?

• increase in female fertility and increase in birth rate

• rapid increases in population

• increased food surplus

• more calories

• support larger populations

• larger settlements

• increased craft specialization

• increased concepts of ownership

• increased difference in wealth

• increased difference in prestige

• increased differences in power

What are social consequences of domestication?

as societies get larger, they become more complex

What is the impact of settling down in society?

• accumulate goods'; some people accumulate more than others

• greater reward, but also greater risk

• you become less mobile so when things go badly there are big costs and nowhere to go

• Example of the potato crop failure in Ireland

What are some reasons why people chose to grow their own crops?

• population pressure

• distribution of local plants and animals

• environmental and genetic changes

• local inventions in technologies

Domestication of plants impacts…

• population size, settlement size, resource ownership, surplus production of food, specialization, markets, trade, technological changes, environmental impact, over-specialization, and possible risks

What are some characteristics of tribes?

• common language, culture, and region

• Kin-based groups

What does lineage mean?

direct descent

What is a clan?

larger than lineage

What are tribes defined as?

economically independent villages

How are tribes organized?

• more complex than bands.

• Greater diversity in organization and subsistence practices.

• Organized into communities.

• Larger than bands, ranging from 250 to several thousand people.

• Multi-local village integration.

• Communities are more permanent.

• Engage in hunting, gathering, small farming (horticulture), or herding.

• Warfare among tribes is common.

The power and villages in tribes are….

non-centralized (egalitarian)

What determines ones place within a tribe?

achievements and abilities

What kind of leaderships do “Big Men” and “Headmen” have?

• Temporary leadership with charisma and speaking abilities.

• maintain status by giving away wealth and by being generous

Political organization in tribes are…

informal

What do tribes economic organization involve?

• Involves small-scale farming or herding.

• Little occupational specialization, with tasks based on sex and age.

• Part-time craft specialization like ceramics, metalwork, or wood carvers.

What are Shamans in tribes and what do they do?

Part-time religious practitioners and they work on a one-to-one relationship with village members

What is horticulture?

small-scale farming with domesticated food plants.

What are some characteristics of horticulture?

• Now is done only in tropical regions

• low-intensity cultivation

• villages may move if soils become weak

• garden plots provide the vast amount of food consumed

What is pastoralism?

herding animals in areas with poor agricultural soils

What does pastoralism correlate to?

• correlates to small population densities because animals need large areas to graze

• correlates to nomadic to semi-nomadic settlement patterns because animals need to be moved

• moderate wealth differences

What are some characteristics of chiefdoms?

• Larger populations than tribes, with thousands to millions of people.

• Densely populated with multilocal groups.

• Centralized power, prestige, and wealth within a small elite class.

• Ranked societies with inequality as a defining aspect.

How is a society ranked in a chiefdoms?

• chief and family

• district chiefs

• everyone else

• status is based on distance from the chief

What was one of the most significant archaeological sites in North America in terms of providing insights into increased social complexity?

Cahokia near St. Louis; was the center of a large chiefdom

What unifies chiefdoms and is where power, prestige, and wealth become centralized within a small elite class of individuals who generally live there?

paramount village

Intensive agriculture consists of…

• Large-scale agricultural production, storage, tribute taxes, and semi-permanent pastoralism with permanent cultivation.

• Use of fertilizers, irrigation, plows, and crop rotation for higher yields.

• uses the same plots of land

  • investigates in production: terraces, canals etc.

  • land ownership becomes extremely importaint

  • large scale production

  • allows for population growth and craft specialization

Intensive agriculture leads to…

• Leads to population growth, craft specialization, and complex political organization.

• large, central village with many satellite villages

• monumental buildings: noble tombs, noble houses

• large public works projects: temples, tombs, defensive

• markets: exchange of foreign goods

What are some characteristics of the chief?

• Collects tribute, redistributes goods, organizes labor, supervises ceremonies, and directs military activities.

• Hereditary position with access to military, ideological, and economic power.

• usually permanent

• ascribed (inherited) leadership

What does having military power in a chiefdoms mean?

• can call people to fight for the chiefdom (power is unstable and part-time)

• derived from coercing compliance (people will be punished if they do not answer the call)

• must be used carefully and strategically

What does having ideological power mean in a chiefdom?

• code of social order, how social and political organization are structured

• a weak source of power unless it is manifested in material forms

• chief is frequently connected to the supernatural

What does having economic power mean in a chiefdom?

• ability to restrict access to key productive resources or consumptive goods

• control access to important resources (land or important trade items)