ANTH-2240 EXAM 2

Acheulian

the stone tool technology associated with Homo erectus, which involves a more complex flaking of bifacial implements

age at death

The skeleton grows and fuse throughout childhood and adolescence. After maturity, the skeleton slowly deteriorates. Most unions occur during adolescence to young adulthood. Unions are thus most useful in establishing age between 10 and 25

alluvial

pertaining to soil deposits left by running water

ancestral puebloan

A prehistoric culture centered in the Four Corners region of the American Southwest. Also called Anasazi.

applied anthropolgy

the application of anthropological data, perspectives, theory, and methods to identify, assess, and solve contemporary social problems

archiac h. sapiens

artifact

any portable object used, modified, or made by humans, e.g. stone tools, pottery, and metal weapons

atlatl

Notched throwing stick used by hunters to propel spears farther and faster.

biface

a stone tool that has been flaked on two faces or opposing sides forming a cutting edge between the two flake scars

biface hand axe

bioarcheology

the study of human remains in an archaeological context

biological anthropology

A subdiscipline of anthropology that views humans as biological organisms; also known as physical anthropology.

blade

long, flat, narrow flake with parallel sides, struck from a prepared core usually by indirect percussion involving the use of a punch placed between the hammer and the striking platform

bulb of percussion

a convex surface on a flake caused by the force used to split the flake off. rarely found in a natural break

cannibalism

practice of eating one's own kind

chipped stone

christy turner

cognition

colluvial

deposited by gravity

coprolite

Fossilized feces; these contain food residues that can be used to reconstruct diet and subsistence activities

core

a lithic artifact used as a blank from which other tools or flakes are made

cortex

outer layer of the rock

cribra orbitalia

A symptom of iron deficiency anemia in which the bone of the upper eye sockets takes on a spongy appearance.

debitage

a term referring to all the pieces of shatter and flakes produced and not used when stone tools are made

direct percussion

striking a core or flake with a hammerstone

ecofact

non-artifactual organic and environmental remains that have culture relevance, e.g. faunal and floral materials, as well as soils and sediments

enamel hypoplasia

incomplete or defective formation of the enamel of either primary or permanent teeth; result may be an irregularity of the tooth form, color, or surface

eolian

deposited by wind

ethnoarcheology

the study of contemporary cultures with a view to understanding the behavioral relationships that underlie the production of material culture

experimental archeology

the study of past behavioral processes through experimental reconstruction under carefully controlled scientific conditions

fauna

all the animal life in a particular region

feature

non-portable artifact

flake scar

the 'scar' left on a stone tool by the removal of a flake

flintknapping

the process of making chipped stone artifacts; the striking of stone with a hard or soft hammer

flora

plants of a region or era

forensic anthropology

the study of physical anthropology as it applies to human skeletal remains in a legal setting

function

a relation in which each element of the domain is paired with exactly one element of the range

garbage

trash

garbage project

gathered data on household consumption and waste; advised cities and waste management firms; led to modern recycling movement

ground stone

a category of stone tool formed by the grinding of a coarse-grained tool stone, either purposely or incidentally.

h. erectus

highly successful form of early human; expanded from Africa into Eurasia by 1.77 m.y.a

h. habilis

2.4-1.5 mya first stone tool users (Oldowan), 500-800cc brain size, some indication of Broca's area development, small incisors and canines and small molars

h. neandertalensis

Europe, Middle East. 300-27 kya, height of the Ice Age. Long, low, thick skull. Very large brains (1400 cc.). Heavy brow ridge, large nose. Cold adapted. Short, stocky body, barrel chest. Highly carnivorous. Few lived older than 30 years. Elaborate stone technology. Buried their dead. Art and decoration. Some decree of altruism. Hyoid bone identical to modern humans. Language gene suggests Neanderthals shared capacity for language. Red hair, pale skin - adaptation to low UV. Probably interbred with H. sapiens.

h. sapiens

modern humans

hammerstone

a stone used to knock flakes from cores

hinge/step fracture

breaking off of the distal end of a knapped stone flake whose presumed course across the face of the stone core was truncated prematurely, leaving not a feathered distal end but instead the scar of a nearly perpendicular break

human myoglobin

oxygen binding protein located in muscles (how to determine if cannibalism is present in a persons diet)

indirect percussion

The method of driving off blades and flakes from a prepared core using a bone or antler punch to press off a thin flake.

lacustrine

lake deposits

landfills

places where waste material is buried and covered with soil

levallois

A distinctive method of stone tool production used during the Middle Paleolithic, in which the core was prepared and flakes removed from the surface before the final tool was detached from the core.

lithics

the technical name for tools made from stone

lower paleolithic

Old Stone Age beginning with the earliest Oldowan tools spanning from about 200,000 or 250,000 to 2.6 million years ago.

mano

ground stone tool used with a metate to process or grind food by hand

material culture

the buildings, tools, and other artifacts that constitute the material remains of former societies

mesolithic

An Old World chronological period beginning around 10,000 years ago, between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic.

metate

stone basin used as the lower portion of a grinding stone to mill maize or other grains

neolithic

An Old World chronological period characterized by the development of agriculture and, hence, an increasing emphasis on sedentism.

olduwan

Often depicted as "chopping tool industry", stone tool industry.

paleolithic

The archaeological period before c. 10,000 bc, characterized by the earliest known stone tool manufacture.

palynology

the study and analysis of fossil pollen as an aid to the reconstruction of past vegetation and climates

pedologist

a scientist who studies soil

phosphorus

used for soil sampling and aging

phytoliths

Tiny silica particles contained in plants. Sometimes these fragments can be recovered from archaeological sites even after the plants themselves have decayed.

porotic hyperostosis

Expansion and porosity of cranial bones due to anemia caused by an iron-deficient diet, parasitic infection, or genetic disease.

primary flake

An unretouched flake of stone from which smaller flakes are removed during knapping. A flake with its dorsal aspect completely covered by cortex.

scraper

a small curved stone tool with sharp circular edge for scraping fish scales, hides, etc.

secondary flake

A stone flake removed from a larger flake, as in the process of refining for a new use; a flake possessing some cortex on its dorsal aspect.

sediment

small, solid pieces of material that come from rocks or living things

sex

the biological distinction between females and males

soil

A mixture of mineral particles and organic material that covers the land, and in which terrestrial plants grow.

stature

part of the identification process necessary when dismembered body parts are found

striking platform

The flat surface of a core where a blow is struck to remove flake, visible at the top of the flake

technology

Application of science to help people

teeth

hard bony projections in the jaws for masticating (chewing) food - enamel

tertiary flake

A flake having no cortex.

trash

garbage

trauma

blunt force trauma, sharp force trauma and projectile trauma

upper paleolithic

Refers to the most recent part of the Old Stone Age, associated with early modern Homo sapiens and characterized by finely crafted stone and other types of tools with various functions

use-wear

patterns of wear and tear on an artifact that is presumed to be due to use

zooarcheologist

the study of animal remains found in sites