anth103 exam 2

Grave Location

Grave Location

Varies by cultural practices: below home, special location, or no formal burial

Valley of the Kings

East- location of royal burials

West- some burials

Itza (Maya)

buried seated during the 1200-1500 AD period

Body Arrangement

Position (supine, prone, right or left side, seated, standing)

Articulation (articulated, dis articulated, semi articulated, re-articulated)

Orientation

positioning of body parts, arms/face, etc

burial type

-primary (undisturbed body)

-secondary (moved after decomposition

-cremation (body burned to ashes)

-partial (part of body buried in various places)

Grave Goods

objects placed in burials intentionally (based on status, important or not)

Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor

3rd century BC China burial site with terracotta soldiers

Viking Age Burials

Burials during the Viking Age period, included swords

Iroquois Feast of the Dead

ceremony where all Iroquois were buried together in mass grave

Sedlec Ossuary

Church in Czech Republic with human bone decorations (overfilled burials location)

Archaeological Osteology

Study of bones in archaeological contexts

Epidemics

may have killed 50-90% of indigenous populations in the americas

• small pox, typus, cholera, measles

Sexual Dimorphism

female skeletons have larger pelvic outlet than men (helps identification process)

Aging Skeletons

age identification using teeth development, epiphysis fusion, and cranial suture fusion

Porotic Hyperostosis

Pits in bones due to anemia or illness

Harris Lines

Lines in bones from growth arrest caused by disease or malnutrition

Trauma

Injuries to bones from physical violence or forceful impact

Neanderthals

Ancient human species found in Europe and the Middle East from around 130,000 to 25,000 years ago.

larger brains than humans, no chin, low forehead, limited vocal range if they spoke

age of 40+ is elderly to them (disappeared ca 25,000 ya)

Archaic Homo Sapiens

An early form of modern humans that coexisted with Neanderthals.

Species

Living things capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring.

Viable Offspring

Offspring capable of reproducing and continuing the species.

Robust Bones

Denser and more bowed bones in Neanderthals to support strength.

Mousterian

Stone tool tradition associated with Neanderthals

Ice Age

Glacial period during which Neanderthals lived, adapting to the cold.

Symbolic Behavior

Actions like burials and bodily decoration that suggest cultural practices.

Blades

Long, sharp stone flakes used in the Late Paleolithic period for various tasks.

Venus Figurines

firgurines used ca 27,000-20,000 ya

possible fertility symbol, representation of godness?

Ritual

Ceremonial practices or behaviors with symbolic significance.

Master of Animals

ruler of the forest and guardian of all animals

Beringia

land bridge between Siberia and Alaska during glacial period

PaleoIndians

Early inhabitants of North America, likely from Asian populations, following megafauna herds.

Clovis Points

Projectile points and knives used during the PaleoIndian II period

Atlatl

Spear throwing weapon, an Aztec term

Bifaced

Stone tool chipped on both sides

Flake

Stone fragment

Fluted chipped stone points

Stone points with 'flutes' for hafting, used on megafauna

Monte Verde

15k year old residential site in Northern Chile with various artifacts

Kennewick Man

One of the earliest human skeletons in the New World, found in Washington

Tepexpan Man

A 10k year old female skeleton near Mexico City, buried face down

Olsen-Chubbuck

Site in Colorado where bison were driven into an arroyo ca 10k years ago

foraging

Involves highly mobile search for food with little intentionality

collecting

Strategic search for food that occur in the greatest abundance with special attention paid to seasonality

humans scheduling

Activities scheduled based on the seasons

equinoxes and solstices

Summer Solstice - Due Northeast,

Vernal / Autumn Equinox - Due East,

Winter Solstice - Due Southeast

tending actions

Watering, protecting them from animals, taking care of valued items, selecting docile animals, best tasting and largest fruit, weeding out unwanted characteristics

domestication

the end product (human interference on animals or plants)

Stone Tool Production

Some are ground (shaped through abrasion)

Limestone, basaltic, granite

Others are chipped (shaped by percussion [striking])

Obsidian, chert

cryptocrysalline (creation)

Small, direct, and precise strikes on such materials procure Hertzian cones

Carrying Capacity

the number of people that can be supported in a given environment with a given technology on a long term basis

Broad spectrum Foraging

positives

• healthier than early agriculturists

• little social differentiation

  negatives:

• low populations

• always on the move

• limited technologies

Richard III of England (Burial)

buried in church of Grey-friars Abbey

Bones were found in a parking lot, grave was shallow (barely below ground level) and narrow

grave form

(itza buried in same positions)

burials varied in social status or other variable

high and later medieval Burial

-before AD 500, great variation in Burial practice

-after AD 500 some standardization

osteological paradox

cannot tell what killed somebody

sepultures

placing something in a burial

mastoid process

temporal bone where neck muscles are attached to

sexual dimorphism in skulls

Male (large skulls, inclined forehead, heavier, squared eye sockets)

female (smaller skulls, thinner bone, differing nasal cavity)

health (skeletal markers)

broken bones healed,

blunt force trauma (tragic damage to skull causes death)

genetics/DNA

can be used to find out who is related to who

anatomically modern humans

ca 10,00 ya

-neanderthals, archaic homo sapiens

hearths

tool to control heat

ape intelligence

apes can do many things that require high intelligence (cooperation, deception, premeditated killing, tool use)

calls vs. languages

language (apes can use postures, gestures, and facial expressions to convey info.

calls ( chimps use at least 30 different sounds)

-ape calls differ from language (emotional)

upper paleolithic period

40,000-10,000 ya

humans occupied all continents

hunting techniques were refined, environmental fluctuations, built tools, Venus figurines)

FOXP2 (mutation)

gene that encodes a protein known as forehead box

human language

order, can refer to abstract things, not better than chimps calls but better in the human reality

cape buffalo

subspecies of American buffalo

upper paleolithic Europe

arrival of anatomically modern humans

lasted 46,000 to 12,000 years ago, eastern Mediterranean

working of organic materials, stone tools, blade and bruin technology

dolni vestonice

ancient village in czech republic

cave paintings

paintings made by cavemen during the beginning of human existence

Lascaux cave

cave paintings in France, 17,000-15,000 BCE

Sunda

landmass in southeast Asia during the last ice age

sahul

paelocontinent (Australia, aru islands, Tasmania, papa new Guinea)

megafauna

large animals that have a body mass of over 40 kilograms

lake mungo

site in australia that holds remains of over 40 human skeletons from early humans

paleoindian I

pre 12,000 ya

pre-clovis

Paleoindian II

12,000-10,000 ya

(Clovis points) throughout north and south America

shovel shaped incisors

teeth that are hollow, with an elevated enamel border

mammoth, mastodons

large, and hairy with trunks. distant cousins of modern elephants (adapted to the cold well, known for ice age)

dire wolves

extinct canine that lived in north America during late Pleistocene and early Holocene epochs

fire drive

used to determine if cultural resources are impacted by fire

postglacial foragers

10,000 ya, ended with domestication. changed rapidly, mass extinctions, warming

development of modern species

archaic period

10,000- 30,000 ya

triangular chipped stone points, atatl, duck decoys, basketry, stone tool production

hertzian cone

glass ejected from the side due to impact

Jomon period, Japan

13,000 - 2,5000 ya

• earliest ceramics

• precocious sedentism

• broad specter foragers

• primarily fish/shellfish

pit houses

houses built underground/into the ground

jomon figurines

theory that they were made for good health/safe childbirth

early agriculture

negatives: work more/less free time, less healthy

collecting

strategic search for food that occur in the greatest abundance with special attention paid to seasonality

tending

human action to protect animals and plants for their own use

the Saxon graveyard beneath a farmers field

finding of a metal shield boss and a male skeleton holding a drinking vessel

domesticates

to tame and keep it as a pet or for for farm produce

economic surplus

the state of supply outweighing demand

sedentism

transition from a nomadic society to a permanent lifestyle

population growth

increase of people in a group/nation

fauna (animals)

animals in a specific area, time, or environment

domesticated animals

dogs: (dogor) wolves and dogs began to genetically diverge around 40,000-27,000 ya

-at first, dogs benefited from humans more than humans benefited from dogs (they wanted your food/resources)

-humans liked how they could use dogs are guards, and hunters for their foods. domestication with livestock species. dogs eat more starch, wolves eat more carnivorous diets (meat)

-dogs were bred for different uses

cats: felis silvestris lybica are the direct ancestor of all domesticated cats today.

-cat ancestors are hard to study because of the lack of intact skeletal remains.

-cats are good at catching pests in home and stores (we let them in houses)

-domestication of cats led them to become smaller, also breeding led to unique uses (domestication twice)

-In egypt cats were depicted in various artifacts with humans alongside them. Romans also painted them.

function of festivals

cultural and social events that bring people together to enjoy different forms of artistic expression

gobelki tepe

large circular structure in turkey that contains massive stone pillars (10,000 BCE)

early humans gathered wheat and were the first to create/taste bread (domestication of wheat)