archaeology final
Settlement Archaeology
Settlement patterns – The arrangement of human settlements across a landscape, which can indicate social structure, economy, and resource use.
Scales of settlement – Different levels of human occupation and activity:
Activity areas and trash – Specific areas within a settlement where activities took place, often identified by trash remains.
Primary refuse – Trash discarded at the place of activity.
Secondary refuse – Trash moved from its original location to a designated disposal area.
Tertiary refuse – Refuse that has been further disturbed, often by natural or human processes.
Provisional refuse – Temporarily stored waste.
De facto refuse – Items left behind unexpectedly, such as in cases of rapid abandonment.
Sequence of deposition – How refuse accumulates over time.
Preabandonment – Waste discarded while the site is occupied.
Abandonment – Waste associated with leaving a settlement.
Postabandonment – Later disturbances and modifications to abandoned sites.
Multiscalar methods – Analyzing settlement data at different scales (household, site, region) to understand patterns.
Issues to Keep in Mind
Domestic Groups & Households – Households as the basic social unit for economic and social organization.
Household archaeology – Study of household remains to understand daily life.
Neighborhoods, Sites, and Site Boundaries – Understanding spatial organization within communities.
Site layouts & City planning – The arrangement of buildings, roads, and other structures.
Regional Settlement Patterns – Larger-scale analysis of how settlements relate to each other.
Core/Periphery – A model that explains economic and social interactions between central and surrounding areas.
Central Place Theory – A geographical theory explaining the distribution of settlements.
Network Analysis and GIS – Tools used to map and analyze human settlement patterns.
Landscape Archaeology – Study of how people interact with their environment over time.
Subsistence and Diet
Subsistence – How people acquire food (hunting, gathering, farming).
Meals vs. Diet – A meal is a single instance of eating; diet is the broader pattern of food consumption.
Factors influencing food selection:
Environmental (availability) – What foods are naturally available.
Individual – Personal preferences and needs.
Cultural – Traditions and norms around food.
Religious or Ideological – Food restrictions based on beliefs.
Trash and Specializations
Types of trash – Domestic (household), Public gathering, Ritual-cache (buried ritual objects), Production-workshop (craft waste).
Kasori Shell Midden Case Study – Changes in shell size over time indicate changes in resource management.
Archaeobotany (Paleoethnobotany)
Seeds, Macro-remains, Pollen, Phytoliths, Starches, Residues – Different ways plant remains are preserved and studied.
Residues in Ceramic Vessels, Grinding Stones, Usewear Analysis – Studying tools and ceramics to understand food processing.
Zooarchaeology (Faunal Analysis)
Domestication vs. Taming – Domestication involves genetic changes; taming is behavioral.
Early and later signs of domestication – Changes in animal size, behavior, and selective breeding.
Cultivation & Agriculture – The transition from wild plant gathering to farming.
Landscape features – Features such as irrigation systems and terraces show agricultural adaptation.
Archaeological evidence of sedentism – Permanent structures, storage pits, cemeteries.
Key feature as evidence of sedentism? – Permanent structures like houses and storage facilities.
Exchange
Why study trade and exchange? – Understanding how goods, ideas, and people move.
Modes of Exchange:
Reciprocity/Gift Exchange – Non-market exchange based on social relationships.
Potlatch – Ceremonial gift-giving among Indigenous groups.
Barter – Direct trade of goods and services.
Redistribution – Goods collected centrally and reallocated.
Market – Goods exchanged through a formalized system.
Organization of Production – How goods are made and distributed.
Scales & Intensity of Exchange – Local vs. long-distance trade, frequency, and volume.
World System Theory – Examining global economic relationships over time.
Early Monumental Architecture
Readings: Inomata et al. 2020, Mann 2011
Early views on monumental architecture:
Agriculture – Large-scale farming may have enabled construction.
Social hierarchy – Leadership and labor organization.
Religion – Temples and ritual sites as focal points.
Study of Inequality – Who had power to build these structures?
Who built monumental architecture? – Laborers, elites, communities.
Key Examples:
Göbekli Tepe (11,600-8,200 BP) – One of the earliest ritual sites.
Aguada Fénix (1000 BCE) – Large Maya platform.
Ceibal (1000 BCE) – Early Maya settlement.
Five implications of monumental architecture – Impact on labor, politics, economy, social relations, and identity.
The Origins of Agriculture
Reading: Diamond 1987
Effects of sedentary life – Social complexity, inequality, disease.
Hunting: Cultural Image vs. Social Reality – Romanticized vs. actual role.
Origins of Agriculture – Early views vs. modern understanding.
Diet & Health Comparisons – Hunter-gatherers had varied diets, while agriculturalists had less diverse but more reliable food.
Key Sites:
Abu Hureyra, Jericho, Çatalhöyük – Early farming settlements.
Effects of Agriculture:
Population Growth
Disease
Spread of insects
Family-oriented society
Social inequality
Conflicts
Gender division
Environmental impact
Why agriculture? – Debate on necessity vs. choice.
Meaning in Archaeology
Ideology and symbolism – Beliefs reflected in material culture.
Iconographic & Material Patterns – How symbols are used in artifacts.
Connecting Present to Past – How meaning persists over time.
Writing Systems – Importance of record-keeping.
Community Archaeology – Engaging local communities in research.
Early Cities and States
Readings: Wilkerson Pickett 2009
Social Inequality:
Stability vs. Instability
Achieved vs. Ascribed Status
Concept of State – Government, control, territory.
Urban & Rural Areas – Differences in settlement patterns.
Early Complex Societies:
Mesopotamia (4,000 – 3,100 BCE) – Uruk, temples, administration.
Indus Valley (2600-1700 BCE) – Urban planning, sanitation.
Early European Cities:
Paris & London – Urban renovation, sanitation, medicine.
Modern World Issues:
Trash, Air Pollution, Social Inequality.
Hunter-Gatherers, Agriculture, Sedentism, Monumental Architecture
Temporal Order – Sequence of human development.
Advantages & Disadvantages – Stability vs. vulnerability.
Population Growth – Changes over time.
Effects of Social Change
Return to Hunter-Gatherer Lifestyle? – Is it possible?
Human vs. Environment – Interaction over time.
Diversity – Human and cultural variation.
Ethnocentrism & Fear of Difference – Consequences of homogeneity.
Cooperation vs. Aggression – Different paths of cultural change.
Why is Human Diversity Critical? – Understanding cultural variation.