Anthropology Final Study Guide

Early Farmers

  • Abu Hureyra: Neolithic site in Syria providing insights into early farmers in Southwest Asia.
  • Aurochs ((Bosprimigenius)(Bos primigenius)): Ancestor of modern cattle, potentially one of the earliest domesticated animals in Southwest Asia around 9500 BC, along with goats, pigs, and sheep.
  • Avebury: Megalithic site in Southern England, constructed around 2500 BC.
  • Barley: Cereal grain, first domesticated in Southwest Asia.
  • Catalhoyuk: Neolithic site in Turkey, prospered from at least 9000 BC.
  • Complex Hunter-Gatherers: Hunter gatherers in rich environments that display hallmarks of agricultural societies. Example: Northwest coast of North America
  • Flotation of Botanical Remains: Archaeological technique to recover plant remains, separating them from heavier mineral soils. Used with screening methods.
  • Guila Naquitz: Rock shelter in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, with evidence of early agriculture dating back to 8750 BC.
  • Holocene: Geological epoch starting around 10,000 BC, following the last ice age (Pleistocene).
  • Jericho: Archaeological site in Palestine with early village life & agricultural development dating back to more than 10,000 years ago.
  • Llama : Species of camelid domesticated in the high Andes of South America, primarily used as pack animals. Cut marks on llama bones suggest they were also eaten/sacrificed.
  • Maize: Cereal grain domesticated in ancient Mexico and spread throughout the Americas before European arrival.
  • Megaliths: Monumental stoneworks found at Mesolithic, Neolithic, & Bronze Age sites across Europe, Asia, & Africa. Often have associated earthworks & wooden structures.
  • Natufian: Early Neolithic cultural developments in Southwest Asia.
  • Neolithic Revolution: Shift to agrarian subsistence characterized by increased interdependence between humans and domesticated plants (cultigens).
    • Related to sedentary/village life and the emergence of complex societies.
    • Developed by V. Gordon Childe, adapting Marxist ideas to prehistory.
    • Focus on modes of production, transition to agriculture offered new economic opportunities.
    • Farmers control animals, plants, and ecosystems versus foragers being at the mercy of wild resources.
  • Theories on the Origins of Farming: Archaeological literature attempting to explain the development of agriculture through different hypotheses, material expectations & empirical datasets
  • Phytoliths: Microscopic silica particles from plant cells used to identify plant species in archaeological deposits.
  • Potato ((Solanumtuberosum)(Solanum tuberosum)): Tuber domesticated in the Andes of South America by about 2000 BC.
  • Teosinte: Closest wild relative of domesticated maize ((Zeamays)(Zea mays)).
  • Urban Revolution: Concept by V. Gordon Childe explaining the emergence of cities after the Neolithic and the shift to agriculture.
    • Cities anchored in new economic opportunities as urban people detached from primary subsistence activities.
  • V. Gordon Childe: Australian archaeologist (1892-1957) known for theories on the Neolithic & Urban Revolutions.
  • Wheat: Cereal grain, related to the domestication of wild einkorn in Southwest Asia.
  • Zagros Mountain: Region in modern-day Iran, part of the Fertile Crescent, where early Neolithic developments & plant domestication took place.

Andean Civilizations

  • Aryballo: Inca ceramic vessel.
  • Atahualpa: Son of Huayna Capac; civil war with his brother Huascar, defeated by Pizarro and executed in the 1530s.
  • Caral: Late preceramic site in the Supe Valley near Lima, Peru (~2600-2000 BC).
  • Ceque System: Sacred system of lines connecting 328 shrines across the Inca Empire (Tawantinsuyu).
  • Chavin de Huantar: Ceremonial & pilgrimage center in the north-central highlands of Peru (~120-400 BC).
  • Chinchorro: Archaeological culture of northern Chile, known for mummification practices.
  • Cupisnique: Initial Period culture of the north coast of Peru, associated with Chavin visual culture.
  • Cuzco: Capital of the Inca Empire (Tawantinsuyu).
  • Early Horizon: Period associated with the Chavin visual culture (~900-200 BC).
  • Early Intermediate Period: Period associated with regional cultures like Moche, Recuay, & Nazca.
  • El Lanzon: Stone monolith at Chavin de Huantar.
  • Formative Periods in the Andes: Includes Initial Period (~1800-900 BC) & Early Horizon (~900-200 BC).
  • Huaca de la Luna: Main temple at the Moche capital (Huacas de Moche).
  • Huascar: Son of Huayna Capac, civil war with his brother Atahualpa.
  • Huayana Capac: Last emperor of unified & expansionist Tawantinsuyu.
  • Humboldt Current: Cold oceanic current along the Pacific coast of Peru.
  • Initial Period: Introduction of ceramic technology in the Central Andes (~1800 BC).
  • Kotosh Religious Tradition: Ritual architecture with small chambers and central hearths to burn offerings.
  • La Galgada: Late Preceramic ceremonial center in the Santa Valley of North-Central Peru.
  • Late Preceramic Period: Emergence of sedentary life & ceremonial public monuments.
  • Machu Picchu: Sacred city or elite estate along the Urubamba River (~1420-1532 AD).
  • Maritime Foundations of Andean Civilizations: Model suggesting Andean civilizations developed prior to large-scale irrigation agriculture.
  • Moche: Archaeological culture on the north coast of Peru during the Early Intermediate Period (~200-800 AD).
  • Pachakuti: First emperor of Tawantinsuyu.
  • Quechua: Indigenous language spoken in the Andes, spread by the Inca Empire.
  • Quipu: Knotted string recording devices used by quipucamayoc (keepers), most were burned by the Spanish.
  • Sipan: Moche archaeological site with elite burials.
  • Tawantinsuyu: Name of the Inca Empire meaning “Land of the Four Quarters”.
  • Tiwanaku: Archaeological site & culture in the altiplano of Bolivia.
  • U-shaped temples: Ritual monuments found at Initial Period sites.
  • Unku: Inca woven tunics.
  • Wari: Archaeological site & cultural center in the Ayacucho region of the highlands of Peru.

African Civilizations

  • Abydos: Mortuary complex in Upper (Southern) Egypt.
  • Early Dynastic Egypt: (Archaic Period ~3100-2600 BC), unification of Lower & Upper Egypt (First & Second Dynasties).
  • Great Sphinx: Monumental stone sculpture at Giza, likely the portrait of Khafre
  • Great Zimbabwe: Kingdom in Southern Africa (1350-1450 AD), meaning “Great House of Stone”.
  • Hierakonpolis: Major city & polity in Upper Egypt during the Predynastic Period.
  • Imhotep: Ancient Egyptian high priest/architect who designed the Pyramid of Djoser.
  • Memphis: Capital of unified Egypt during the Early Dynastic Period & Old Kingdom.
  • Narmer Palette: (~3100 BC) Depicts the unification of Lower & Upper Egypt under King Narmer.
  • Old Kingdom Egypt: (Third to Sixth dynasties ~2700-2200 BC), rulers commissioned pyramid construction.
  • Palermo Stone: Fragment of the Royal Annals of the Old Kingdom (~2400 BC).
  • Predynastic Egypt: (Gerzean or Naqada period 4500-3100 BC) before the unification of Egypt.
  • Pyramid of Djoser: Mortuary pyramidal monument commissioned by Djoser.
  • Pyramids of Giza: Mortuary complex commissioned by rulers of the Fourth Dynasty (Khufu, Khafre, & Menkaure).
  • Rosetta Stone: Trilingual inscriptions (hieroglyphics, Egyptian demotic, ancient Greek) that allowed deciphering of ancient Egyptian writing, found near Rosetta.
  • Saqqara: Mortuary complex in lower (Northern) Egypt.
  • The Nile: Major river in North Africa

Mesoamerican Civilizations

  • Aztec: Postclassic culture that led to an expansionist state at Tenochtitlan.
  • Calakmul: Classic period Maya city.
  • Cenote: Underground cave or well used as offerings.
  • Classic Period: Development of Teotihuacan & Maya civilizations (~250-900 AD).
  • Classic Period Maya: Rise & fall of royal dynasties anchoring city-state politics (~250-900 AD).
  • Copan: Classic period Maya city.
  • Formative Period: (Preclassic ~2000 BC-250 AD) Olmec civilization developed.
  • Huitzilopochtli: Aztec deity (Hummingbird, God of the Sun).
  • La Venta: Olmec site.
  • Mesoamerica: Geographic region between Central & North America.
  • Mesoamerican ballgame: Game played with a rubber ball in ballcourts.
  • Miguel Covarrubias: Mexican art historian who studied Olmec art.
  • Mixcoatl: Aztec deity (Cloud Serpent or Hunting God).
  • Moctezuma: Last emperor of the Aztec (1502-1520 AD).
  • Olmec: Formative period culture (“Mother Culture” of Mesoamerican civilizations).
  • Olmec “Were-Jaguar”: Olmec style anthropomorphic figurines.
  • Olmec colossal heads: Monumental stone sculptures representing rulers/warriors/ball players.
  • Olec Hollow Babies: Hollow ceramic vessels shaped like human beings.
  • Pacal: Ruler of Palenque.
  • Palenque: Classic Period Mayan city.
  • Postclassic Period: Aztec civilization developed (AD 900-1521).
  • Quetzalcoatl: Feathered-serpent in ancient Mesoamerican cosmology.
  • San Lorenzo: Olmec site.
  • Tenochtitlan: Capital of the Aztec Empire, located in Lake Texcoco.
  • Teotihuacan: Urban center in the highlands of Mexico (200 BC-750 AD).
  • Tezcatlipoca: Aztec deity (Smoking Mirror or the Lord of Death & the Night).
  • Tikal: Classic Period Mayan city.
  • Tlaloc: Rain deity in ancient Mesoamerican cosmology.
  • Tres Zapotes: Olmec site.
  • Tzompantli: Skull racks present in Aztec cities.

Asian Civilizations

  • “Dancing Girl” of Mohenjo Daro: Bronze sculpture of a female.
  • “Priest-King” of Mohenjo Daro: Stone sculpture of a human being.
  • Abu Hureyra: Neolithic site in Syria, evidence of agricultural transition.
  • Babylon: Sumerian city-state.
  • Catal Huyuk: Neolithic village site in Turkey.
  • Cuneiform: Ancient Mesopotamia script.
  • Eridu: Ubaid period ceremonial center & Sumerian city-state.
  • Fertile Crescent: Region of southwest Asia associated with early agriculture.
  • Gilgamesh: Hero of ancient Mesopotamian mythology, King of Uruk.
  • Harappa: Archaeological site in the Indus River civilization.
  • Harappa script: Undeciphered script found on various Harappa objects.
  • Indus River: River located in modern day Pakistan.
  • Jericho: Neolithic village site in Palestine (Tell es-Sultan).
  • Kot Diji: Archaeological site in Pakistan, associated with the emergence of the Harappa civilization.
  • Mature Harappa: Period associated with the flourishing Indus River civilization.
  • Mehrgarh: Neolithic site in Pakistan, precursor to the Indus River civilization (7000-2500 BC).
  • Mesopotamia: Land between the Tigris & Euphrates Rivers.
  • Natufian: Neolithic culture of southwest Asia.
  • Nippur: Sumerian city-state.
  • Royal Cemetery at Ur: Elite burials, including Queen Puabi.
  • Saraswati River: Paleoriver parallel to the Indus River.
  • Sumerian Civilization: Uruk Period (4000-3000 BC) & Early Dynastic Period (3000-2372 BC).
  • Ubaid Period: Precedes Sumerian city-states (6000-4000 BC).
  • Ur: Sumerian city-state.
  • Uruk: Sumerian city-state.
  • Western Agricultural Complex: Plant & animal species domesticated in southwest Asia (wheat, barley, oat, peas, lentils, sheep, goat, cattle, & pigs).
  • Wild Einkorn: Wild relative of domesticated wheat.
  • Ziggurat: Stepped monumental platforms built in ancient Mesopotamia.