archaeology midterm

Three Age System

divides culture by the types of tools used (Stone, Bronze, Iron)

Deep time

time is much deeper than we thought; a lot happened very slowly over a long time

Culture history

reconstruction of chronology from culture change and material culture

Cultural Ecology

how environment and technology shapes economic strategies

Ethnoarcheaology

study of living communities to understand patterns (of the past)

Processual archaeology

explaining your findings; uses scientific method

Post-processual archaeology

focusses less on the material form, and more on ideas and meanings

Archaeological record

material remains of human activity, and contexts in which they are found

Taphonomy

idea that objects can be moved, separated, and destroyed (out of context)

Archaeological excavation

systematic recovery and recording of buried remains

Dendrochronology

tree rings patterns; provide relative dates of trees

Carbon dating

uses decay of carbon-14 to directly date living things

Characteristics humans share with primates

hands, eye color, tailbone, skull shape

How did living in trees influence the evolution of primate hands and feet?

Long fingers and nails→ able to curl fingers around smaller branches

Why was color vision important for primates?

Can differentiate ripe vs unripe

What changes in skeleton allowed bipedalism?

Knees closer together so feet are under body; shorter pelvis; S curve of back

Kinds of evidence used to reconstruct human/primate evolution in “Inner Monkey”

old skeletons, like looking at bones of the hand; genetics, like looking at ancestor genes to understand color vision

Hominin

human and extinct relatives

Cranial capacity

measure of brain size

How did cranial capacity change during evolution

got larger over time

Australopithecines (characteristics)

small brain, biped, can climb, protruding face

Homo erectus (characteristics)

bigger brain, flatter face, longer legs, smaller teeth

Neanderthals (characteristics)

shorter, more robust, big skull

Denisovans (characteristics)

interbred from Homo sapiens and Neanderthals

Paleolithic Period

Old stone age; changing stone and tool technologies

Lower Paleolithic (years + tool technologies)

3.4 mya- 200kya, Oldowan and Acheulean

Middle Paleolithic (years+ tool technologies)

200-50 kya, Levallois

Oldowan tools

2.6-1.7 mya, simple core and flakes, usually 1 use

Achuelan tools

1.7 mya- 200 kya, prepared core, multiuse tools

Levallois technique

prepared core for making better specialized tools; shows skill and premeditation

What evidence tells us about Neanderthal lifeway and behavior?

Burnt food remains→ cooking; also hunted large animals

Upper Paleolithic characteristics

mostly Homo sapiens; cold tundra, better technology, art

Atlatl

thing that helps throw spears

How did upper paleolithic people organize settlement and mobility?

Lived in places seasonally; settlements appear as hearths, animal remains, and tools

Upper Paleolithic cave art

mostly animals, some humans; maybe for teaching/knowledge

Venus figures

faceless, female bodies; portable; maybe religious or expression of sexuality

Mezhyrich, Ukraine (what does it tell us?)

is four structures associated with mammoth bones→ using animals for more than food

Lascaux cave (what does it tell us?)

cave art of animals, people, shapes

Chauvet cave (what does it tell us?)

paintings, hearths, footprints; evidence for 6 extinct fauna

Evidence for migration (in general)

material culture, genetics, isotopes, oral history, language

What is Sahulk, how and when did Homo sapiens reach it?

Sahul: Australia + new zealand + Tasmania; reach 65 kya by travelling across water, although water levels were lower

How and when was Remote Oceania settled?

3 kya; need more advanced watercraft and food storage and knowledge of sea faring

Tupaia’s map (signifigance)

shows knowledge of what sea-farers had to know, shows trade routes

Madjebebe Rockshelter (significance)

diverse food resources→ grinding/processing tools; woodworking and tool production, flexible technology to adapt to new environments

Clovis (+ significance)

group of people who live in America, defined by fluted projectile points (13 kya)

Evidence of Clovis people (2)

Monte Verde (14kya) shows people were in america much sooner than assumed; White Sands (22kya) human footprints

Meadowcroft (significance)

shows occupation of humans 16-14 kya

Monte Verde (significance)

shows people were in Americas 14kya, sooner than assumed

White Sands (significance)

human footprints, shows evidence for people in south America 23-21 kya

What evidence connects Indigenous people to Northeast Asia and Beringa?

Similar genetics and shared dental traits

What were the 3 proposed routes for getting into the Americas?

Solutrean: across atlantic, not supported by geographic and chronological gaps and genetics; Interior: south through the ice-free corridor, too late tho; Pacific Coast, supported by ecological remains :)

What do remains tell us about Paleoindian mobility, technology, and subsistence?

Small, mobile hunter gatherers; cluster near rivers, freshwater, natural boundaries

Domestication

long term process where humans product heritable change in plants/animals by selection

Paleobotany

study of ancient plants and human interactions; can see how we change plants to be better

Zooarcheology

study of animal remains; use bones and teeth to identify morphology, abundance, etc

Why did people domesticate plants/animals?

More nutrients, raw materials, food, abundance

Oasis Theory of domestication

close interaction near water

Readiness theory of domestication

knowledge and technology naturally led to domestication

Population Pressure theory of domestication

growing sedentary populations need more food

Beer Theory of domestication

food and drink for social rituals!

Niche construction

humans modify environment to favor useful species aka altering selective pressures

How does lactase persistence show gene-culture coevolution?

Neolithic pottery has milk proteins→ dairying preceded widespread lactose persistence

Why did agriculture develop and why was it gradual?

People becoming more sedentary; humans harvested crops a lot before planting them themselves

Who were the Natufians?

Hunter-gatherers, harvested wild cereal and processed and stored it

Gobekli (significance about sedentism)

T-pillars; buildings needed substantial labor and planning

Jericho (significance about sedentism)

substantial labor required, increasing reliance on domesticated food

Catalhoyuk (significance about sedentism)

tightly packed apartments, buried people in homes

Agricultural development in Africa

herding often preceded farming, farmed lots of grains

Agricultural development in Asia

farmed wheat, made big settlements

Agricultural development in China

farmed lots of rice, pigs and dogs, made big settlements

Benefits of agriculture

supported larger, denser populations

Costs of agriculture

carb heavy diets→ less nutrients, more dental issues; more processed foods means we keep overbite

Where and when was maize first domesticated?

Mexico, 9kya

What is maize’s ancestor

Teosinte

Guila Naquite Cave (significance of Maize)

has maize cobs

Xihautoxtia Rockshelter (significance of Maize)

has grinding stones with micro plant remains

What other plants were domesticated independently of maize?

Squash, beans, chile peppers

How did maize spread from Mexico, how did aDNA show this?

Gradual changes in DNA of humans and maize shows they migrated together (humans brought maize with them)

How do stable isotypes show maize shifting into a staple crop?

Maize is a C4 crop, most other foods are C3; can analyze people from different times and see maize slowly becoming a huge part of diet

Eastern Agricultural Complex

set of plants they cultivated in North America; lots of edible seeds→ can make oil or flour

Fermentation

microbes producing ethanol from degrading fruit/wheat/meat

Archaeology evidence of alcohol (in general)

containers, production equipment, context, plant remains, micro remains

Calcium oxadate

aka beerstone, residue of alcohol found in vessels

How is alcohol consumption culturally specific?

Mesopotamia+Andes: consumed in social settings; Rome: wine consumed by all; Egypt: staple food

How is alcohol related to identity and social life?

Used in social events and feasting, maybe rituals like burials; in Andes, elites hosted feasts with alcohol to reinforce authority

Chicha

fermented beverage made from maize