Archeology exam #1

Oldowan

earliest (~2.6 mya), flakes & choppers, Homo habilis.

Acheulean

bifacial handaxes, ~1.7 mya, Homo erectus.

Mousterian

flake tools, Neanderthals, ~200k–40k years ago.

Clovis

fluted spear points 13 thousand years ago, Paleoindians in north America.

Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania)

Leakey site. Oldowan tools. Early hominins (Australopithecus, Homo habilis).

Terra Amata (France)

Early huts & hearths. Homo erectus.

Lascaux (France)

Upper Paleolithic cave art. Homo sapiens.

Clovis sites (North America)

Fluted points, big-game hunting. Paleoindians.

Radiocarbon (C-14)

Organic remains, up to ~50k yrs.

Potassium-Argon

Volcanic rock, >100k yrs.

Thermoluminescence

Trapped electrons in minerals → released by heating.

Obsidian Hydration

Water absorption rind on volcanic glass.

Dendrochronology

Tree rings, year-by-year dating.

FUN Trio

Fluorine, Uranium, Nitrogen in bones (relative dating).

Australopithecines

Bipedal, small brain (~400–500 cc).

Homo habilis

“Handy man.” Oldowan tools.

Homo erectus

Acheulean handaxes, fire, shelters.

Neanderthals

Mousterian tools. Burials. Large brain (~1600 cc).

Homo sapiens

Upper Paleolithic symbolic culture, art, figurines.

Law of Superposition

Lower strata = older.

Uniformitarianism

Past processes same as present.

Context

Relationship of artifact to surroundings.

Faunal Succession

Fossil species change over time.

Experimental Archaeology

Recreating past tasks (ex: tool use).

Artifact

Human-made object.

Ecofact

Natural remain used by humans (bones, seeds).

Venus Figurines

Fertility / symbolic thought. Upper Paleolithic.

Burials (Neanderthals)

First deliberate burials → social meaning

Cave Art (Lascaux)

Upper Paleolithic symbolic culture, Homo sapiens.