Archaeological Methods and Concepts in Ancient Human-Environment Interactions

Agricultural revolution

~10,000 yrs ago

Abu Hureyra

Earliest known domestication of plants (rye) & increased use of grinding stones (saddle querns)

Evidence of agriculture

Increased size of seeds and plants and loss of natural shattering mechanism

Animal husbandry/management

Actively interfering in life cycle

First animal husbandry

In Fertile Crescent ~11,000 BP

Domesticated animals

Goats, sheep, pigs, cattle

Antiquarianism

A collector of things of the past

Artifacts in antiquarianism

Collected without context 'relics' and 'curiosities'

Applied archaeology

Application of archaeological research (methods + data) to practical problems that people face today

Archaeobotany

Study of archaeological plant remains

Research topics in archaeobotany

Foodways, human-environmental interaction, other cultural uses of plants

Paleoethnobotany

Broader study of human-plant interactions in the ancient past

Bioarchaeology

Study of human remains together with archaeological data

Methods in bioarchaeology

Human osteology - studying the skeleton

Examples of bioarchaeology

Abu Hureyra, Syria

Bone chemistry/stable isotope analysis

Studying the ratios of various isotopes in the bones and teeth of individuals to reconstruct diet and migration in the past

Isotopes for diet and migration

C & N: diet; Sr & O: migration

Column sample

Taking a sample from each stratum

Flotation

Process that separates carbonized plant remains from soil since they float

Community engagement

Community members are active participants in research

Cribra orbitalia

Bony lesions (thickening and pitting) in the orbital roof

Cause of cribra orbitalia

May result from iron deficiency anemia

Culture history

Categorizing 'cultures' based on styles of artifacts (who, where, and when)

Dermestid beetles

Flesh eating beetles used in specimen preparation for reference collections

Domestication of plants

Earliest known domestication of plants - Abu Hureyra (rye)

Identifying animal husbandry

Can identify via mortality profiles - human managed has more death at younger age and very few at older ages

Effigy mounds

Raised earthwork in shape of stylized animal, human, or other figure

Effigy mounds contents

Often containing human burials and artifacts

Myth of the moundbuilders

Made up race of people who built the effigy mounds - a 'vanished race'

Foraging

Extensive calories come from resources over large areas.

Farming

Intensive greater efficiency - more labor input but yields more calories per unit of land.

Macro/microbotanical analysis

Study of plant remains to understand past environments.

Macrobotanicals

Visible to the naked eye, e.g., seeds and wood charcoal.

Microbotanicals

Requires magnification, e.g., pollen and phytoliths.

MNI (Minimum Number of Individuals)

Looking at unique body parts, counting them, and using the largest count to set the min number of individuals present.

NISP (Number of Identified Specimens)

Count of specimens attributed to each identifiable category of fauna present in an assemblage.

Neolithic package

A set of interconnected practices marking the shift from foraging to farming.

Paleopathology

Study of ancient health and disease via human and animal remains.

Palynology/pollen analysis

The study of pollen useful for examining changing environments.

Phytolith analysis

Phytoliths are silica bodies in plants, data complement pollen data.

Porotic hyperostosis

Pathology affecting the cranium (porous, spongy tissue).

Primary/secondary animal products

Primary - direct products from killing; Secondary - renewable resources collected while keeping the animal alive.

Processual archaeology

Concerned with processes, applies scientific method, seeks universal patterns.

Post-processual archaeology

Societies are not adaptive systems, doesn't seek universal patterns.

Scientific method/hypothesis testing

Research question, hypothesis, test expectations, generate data, support or refute.

Sex estimation/human osteology

Based on human sexual dimorphism to estimate age at death, sex, and determine trauma.

Shattering mechanism, rachis/glume

Wild rachis is brittle promoting seed dispersal; domesticated rachis is tough enabling seed to stay on plant.

Seasonality

Shifting dietary strategies and resource management determined via animal age and other patterns.

Strontium isotopes/migration

Distinct geological regions have distinct strontium ratios reflected in bones and teeth.

Trephination

The cutting or drilling of holes in the human skull as a form of medicine.

Uniformitarianism

Processes that modify the earth's surface today have occurred at the same rates throughout history.

Younger Dryas climate hypothesis

Created an environmental crisis that pushed people to domesticated grains.

Abbeville Gravels

Excavations by Jacque Bouche de Perthes revealing lithic artifacts in correlation with extinct mega-fauna.

Abu Hureyra/Natufians

Sedentary hunter-gatherers in Northern Syria with small settlements in resource-rich areas.

Basketmaker/Pueblo periods

Basket maker period (500 BCE - 750 CE) and Pueblo periods (750 - 1290 CE) marked by village life and extensive trade.

Bears Ears National Monument

1.3 million acres designated by Pres Obama, reduced by Pres Trump, containing important historical sites.

Cahokia/Monks Mound

Substantial ancient city with pyramidal mounds and a population of ~15,000 people.

Cishan & Zengpiyan, China

Evidence of early pig domestication.

Devils Tower, Wyoming

1st national monument recognized using the Antiquities Act of 1906.

Elm decline, northern Europe

Use of pollen analysis to record the decline of Elms.

Lime Ridge Clovis Site

Paleoindian period site with some of the earliest archaeological evidence of human presence in North America.

Clovis sites

Hold some of the earliest archaeological evidence of human presence in North America.

Moche and Nazca, Peru

Site of major commercialization and looting, with ornaments and pottery taken, leaving hundreds of looter pits.

Prasat Chen, Cambodia

Site where warrior dancer statues went up for auction, argued to be looted before the 1970 convention.

Star Carr, England

Site where Grahame Clark conducted excavations and found adult red-deer skull parts used as headdresses.

Teotihuacan

Important example of early urbanism with a population estimate of ~125,000 during the Classic Period.

Characteristics of Teotihuacan

Large, densely populated, multiethnic, planned, and a monumental capital city.

Waru-waru

Flooded-raised field agriculture used in the Tiwanaku region.

Zagros Mountains, Iran

Origin of management of herds ~11,000 BP, including goats, sheep, pigs, and cattle.

Antiquities Act of 1906

Gives Presidents the authority to create national monuments and ensures preservation of archaeological remains.

NAGPRA

Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, requiring museums to provide an inventory of Native American human remains.

SAA Principles of Ethics

Guidelines that include stewardship, accountability, commercialization avoidance, public education, and intellectual rights.

Society for American Archaeology

Established in 1934, creates guidelines for ethics of archaeological research.

UNESCO 1970 Convention

Prohibits and prevents the illicit import, export, and transfer of ownership of cultural property.

UNESCO 1972 World Heritage Convention

Established global cooperation for conservation and formed the World Heritage list.

Charles Lyell

Published 'Principles of Geology' in 1820, introducing uniformitarianism and the law of superposition.

Cyrus Thomas

Authored a 700-page report on mounds for the Bureau of American Ethnology in the 1890s.

James Ussher

Established the beginning of time and the creation of the universe as October 22, 4004 BC.

Jared Diamond

Wrote 'The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race' in 1987, questioning if we are better off as farmers.

Theodore Roosevelt

Created the Antiquities Act of 1906 and established Devil's Tower.