⭐️Archaeological and Biological Methods in Human Evolution and Society

Mastoid Process

A bump-shaped bone behind the ear that anchors neck muscles; typically larger and sharper in males and smaller and smoother in females.

Brow Ridge

A raised bone area above the eyes that tends to be heavier and more projecting in males and smoother and flatter in females.

Mandible Shape

The lower jaw's contour, often wider and squarer in males and narrower and more rounded in females.

Pelvic Sex Traits

Hip bone features like a wider opening, broader sciatic notch, and larger angle beneath the pubic bones that typically indicate a female body.

Cranial Sutures

Joint lines between skull plates that gradually close with age, allowing estimation of age at death.

Tooth Eruption Patterns

Predictable sequences of tooth appearance and wear that help determine age in children, teens, and adults.

Pubic Symphysis Aging

Surface changes on the front joint of the hip that shift texture over time, reflecting adult age.

Epiphyseal Fusion

The joining of long bone ends to the shaft, separated in youth and fully attached in adults, useful for age estimation.

Archaeothanatology

Analysis of body placement, decomposition, and burial disturbances to interpret funerary behavior.

Paleodemography

Reconstruction of population traits such as mortality, life expectancy, and age distribution from skeletal samples.

Archaeogenetics

Study of ancient DNA to understand ancestry, movement, and biological relationships between past populations.

Paleodiet

Reconstruction of long-term eating habits using chemical signals in bones, tooth wear, and preserved food traces.

C3 and C4 Plants

Two plant groups with different chemical signatures, where C3 includes trees and wheat and C4 includes maize; useful for identifying dietary patterns.

Strontium Isotopes

Chemical signatures in bones or teeth that reflect the geology of the region where a person grew up.

Oxygen Isotopes

Ratios that reflect water sources and climate conditions, helping identify movement and environmental exposure.

Dental Caries

Tooth decay often linked to high-carbohydrate diets, especially in agricultural communities.

Enamel Hypoplasia

Defects or lines on teeth caused by childhood stress, illness, or nutritional shortages.

Periodontal Disease

Inflammation and bone loss around teeth related to poor oral health or long-term dietary stress.

Tuberculosis Lesions

Damage to the spinal column or ribs caused by infection, identifiable through characteristic bone changes.

Rickets Indicators

Soft, bending bones in children caused by vitamin D deficiency and limited sunlight exposure.

Earlier View of Human Evolution

The belief that brain growth occurred before upright walking in early human development.

Current View of Human Evolution

Evidence showing upright walking evolved before significant brain expansion.

Earliest Upright Walking Evidence

Fossils and footprints showing early human ancestors walking on two legs around six to seven million years ago.

Advantages of Upright Walking

Energy-efficient travel, free hands for carrying, and improved visibility in open environments.

Disadvantages of Upright Walking

Slower sprinting, greater spinal stress, and increased difficulty during childbirth.

Reasons Early Humans Stood Upright

Shifts in environment, better heat regulation, and efficient movement across longer distances.

Heat Regulation Through Upright Walking

Reduced sun exposure and increased airflow around the body due to a vertical posture.

Settlement Archaeology

Study of how past communities organized living spaces from households to entire regions.

Primary Refuse

Everyday waste left in the exact location where it was used or discarded.

Secondary Refuse

Trash collected and moved to designated dumping areas by the original occupants.

Tertiary Refuse

Debris relocated by natural forces such as erosion, wind, or water after initial disposal.

Provisional Refuse

Items stored for later use that were never retrieved, often frozen in place by abandonment.

De Facto Refuse

Objects suddenly left behind during rapid departure, providing 'snapshot' evidence of daily life.

Deposition Sequence

The progression of changes in a site's debris from occupation to abandonment to later disturbances.

Household Archaeology

Study of domestic life through structures, tools, and spatial patterns inside homes.

Neighborhoods in Archaeology

Clusters of adjacent households showing shared activity, identity, or economic cooperation.

Site Boundaries

Edges of an archaeological settlement defined by changes in structures, activity areas, or artifact density.

Regional Settlement Patterns

Distribution and relationships of multiple sites across a landscape, revealing social and economic networks.

Core and Periphery System

Model where central regions control resources, power, and production while surrounding areas supply raw materials.

Central Place Theory

A model explaining how settlements are arranged around central hubs for efficient distribution of goods and services.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Digital mapping tools that show how sites, landscapes, and human activities are arranged across geographic space.

Landscape Archaeology

Study of how people shaped, interacted with, and were influenced by their surrounding environment over long periods.

Subsistence Strategies

Methods groups use to obtain food, such as hunting, gathering, farming, and herding.

Meals vs. Diet

Short-term food choices reflect meals, while long-term nutritional patterns reflect overall diet.

Environmental Food Factors

Conditions like climate, season, and resource availability that limit what foods people can access.

Cultural Food Factors

Beliefs, traditions, taboos, and social rules that influence which foods are acceptable or preferred.

Domestic Trash

Everyday household waste from food preparation, cleaning, and routine activities.

Ritual Cache

A deliberate burial of objects for ceremonial or symbolic purposes rather than disposal.

Workshop Debris

Material left behind from producing tools or goods, revealing how crafts or technologies were made.

Kasori Shell Midden Case

A large shell deposit showing shrinking shell sizes from overharvesting and later uniform sizes from more sustainable harvesting.

Archaeobotany

Study of ancient plant remains such as seeds and residues to understand diet, environment, and farming practices.

Macro-Plant Remains

Larger preserved plant pieces like seeds or nutshells that provide clues about food processing and landscape use.

Pollen Analysis

Microscopic plant grains used to reconstruct vegetation and environmental changes in past landscapes.

Phytoliths

Tiny silica particles formed within plants that survive long after decay, helping identify plant types used or stored.

Starch Grains

Microscopic carbohydrate structures found on tools or containers that identify specific plants ancient people processed.

Ceramic Residue Analysis

Chemical traces inside pottery showing what foods or substances were cooked, stored, or transported.

Grinding Stone Use-Wear

Microscopic smoothing, polish, or scratching on stone surfaces showing what materials were processed on them.

Faunal Analysis

Study of animal bones to identify hunting practices, diet, seasonal food use, and domestication.

Early Domestication Signs

Indicators such as size change, controlled breeding, or animals appearing outside their natural range.

Later Domestication Signs

Traits like altered body shape, reduced survival ability in the wild, and growing dependence on human care.

Sedentism Indicators

Evidence of long-term residence, including permanent houses, storage pits, heavy tools, and accumulated trash layers.

Why Sedentism Increases Population

Stable food supplies and long-term housing make raising more children possible.

Social Effects of Sedentism

More defined roles, increased inequality, stronger leadership structures, and potential for conflict.

Environmental Effects of Sedentism

Impacts like deforestation, soil exhaustion, large trash deposits, and changes in local ecosystems.

Original Affluent Society Idea

A perspective that early hunter-gatherers often met their needs with less labor and more leisure than early farmers.

Why Societies Didn't Return to Foraging

Population growth, established villages, and dependence on crops made reversing to mobility impossible.

Southwest Asia Agriculture Path

Development focused on cereals like wheat and barley and early herd animals due to local resources and climate.

East Asia Agriculture Path

Development centered around rice farming in wet environments with different farming technologies.

Shubayqa 1 Findings

Evidence of early breadmaking using wild grains before full domestication.

Health Changes from Farming

Increased infectious diseases, more nutritional deficiencies, and greater dental problems due to carbohydrate-heavy diets.

Gender Roles in Farming Communities

More labor demands and household responsibilities often increased gender inequality.

Natufian Culture

A semi-sedentary hunter-gatherer society showing early steps toward plant cultivation and permanent structures.

Natufian Domestication Evidence

Ground-stone tools, sickle blades, storage pits, and signs of intensive plant processing.

Abu Hureyra Significance

A settlement showing a shift from foraging to farming and major skeletal evidence of repetitive labor stress.

Jericho Significance

A very early town with monumental walls and a tower indicating complex organization and cooperation.

Çatalhöyük Significance

A large, densely packed community with symbolic art, rooftop entry, and strong ritual practices.

Old View of Agricultural Origins

A belief that farming started suddenly and improved life through progress and innovation.

Current View of Agricultural Origins

Understanding that farming emerged gradually in many places and often came with both benefits and drawbacks.

Paleoclimate Reconstruction

Study of ancient climate patterns using sediments, isotopes, and geological evidence to understand environmental shifts.

Turkey Domestication

A process in Mesoamerica where the bird became important for meat, feathers, and symbolic or ritual uses.

Sweet Potato Domestication

A process that began in South America, where the crop became a major nutritional staple and spread widely through trade and cultivation.

Bottle Gourd Domestication

Adoption of a hard-shelled plant used mainly as containers, floats, and tools rather than food, valued for practicality.

Paso de la Amada Significance

An early Mesoamerican site showing social ranking and communal structures alongside increasing reliance on maize.

Importance of Maize Domestication

A transformation of food systems through a crop that is highly productive, storable, and adaptable to many environments.

American vs. Southwest Asian Food Origins

Crop and lifestyle transitions in the Americas occurred gradually with fewer domesticated animals, unlike the livestock-heavy developments in Southwest Asia.

Timeline of Maize Origins

Origin around 7000-5000 BCE based on archaeological and genetic evidence.

Effects of Turkey Domestication

Provision of feathers, meat, and ceremonial value within Mesoamerican cultural practices.

Why Agriculture Appeared in Many Regions

Similar pressures such as population growth, environmental shifts, and resource shortages encouraged plant management worldwide.

Reasons to Study Trade and Exchange

Understanding how past societies organized economies, politics, alliances, and cultural identities through the movement of goods and ideas.

Small-Scale Trade Networks

Local exchanges between nearby communities involving everyday goods and shared resources.

Large-Scale Trade Networks

Long-distance pathways linking far regions and enabling movement of valuable materials and cultural knowledge.

Types of Ancient Traded Items

Goods ranging from food and everyday tools to luxury items such as jade, metals, or crafted ornaments.

Regional Variation in Trade Value

Items considered common in one area may become highly prized or symbolic when transported to another.

Reciprocity Exchange

Mutual giving that strengthens social ties and obligations between individuals or groups.

Barter Exchange

Direct swapping of goods or services without using currency.

Redistribution Exchange

Collection of goods by a central authority and their later distribution back to the community, often reflecting power hierarchies.

Market Exchange

Buying and selling based on supply, demand, and negotiated value.

Direct Trade

Acquiring materials straight from the producer without intermediaries.

Indirect Trade

Obtaining goods that passed through several hands or locations before reaching their final users.

World Systems Theory

A model describing how powerful regions control resources and labor while less powerful areas supply raw materials.