ANTH 120 Final

Dong Son

It's a culture during the Bronze Age in Vietnam's red river valley. Bronze Drums were called Dong Son and were symbols of high social status

The Assyrians

Known as a warrior people who ruthlessly conquered neighboring countries; their empire stretched from east to north of the Tigris River all the way to centeral Egypt; used powerful military tactics to gain strength in their empire - Assur on Tigris was a major force in Southwest, as Assur merchants controlled trade in the area. - First king (1365-1330BC), brought the city to prominence through ruthless war tactics - The empire expanded until around 630BC when their second king died leading to an era of political chaos - the capital was taken over by the Babylonians, who ruled for 43 years and became a showpiece of the ancient world with incredible decorations. Sacked Jerusalem and held a lot of Jews captive - Fell to the armies of of Persia in 539BC

Eastern North America

Known for its variety of microenvironments and forest resources - Dalton (9950-7900 BC) southeast and Midwest - bands that camped on watershed territories & exploited fish - 6000-4000 BC warmer climates developed in the east - trend towards living in more sedentary settlements in east and midwest - by 2500 river resources highly exploited - archaic populations in the east increase after 4000 BC - response to environmental change as well. tech advances and more sedentary living. led to emergence of social ranks - trade networks by 4000 BC - items gave certain people prestige, especially the further they traveled

Chimu

Powerful Peruvian civilization based on conquest. Located in the region earlier dominated by Moche. - focus of the state was it's capital, Chan Chan, an incredible complex where the nobles lived - incredibly stratified society with complex material culture - Conquered by Inca in 1465.

earliest known hominins

Sahelanthropus (Chad), dating 7-6mya. Ardipithecus followed in Ethiopia 4.5-4.3mya

Myceneans

People who replaced the Minoans as the chief power of the Aegean world in Greece

What led to the development of city states in mesopotamia?

Post ice age environmental changes raised sea levels which resulted in longer growing seasons. There was also an increase in more sedentary living

Uruk

The largest city of ancient Mesopotamia (3500-3000 BC). City revolved around the temple. Used copper for ornaments & tools

Magdalenian

The last major culture of the European Upper Paleolithic period (about 16,000 - 10,000 bc); intricately carved tools of reindeer bone and antler

Writing

appeared at the end of the chalcolithic. Early writings such as the Epic of Gilgamesh inscribed on clay tablets

Akkadians

"Semitic people" north of the Sumerian city-states - led by Semitic-speaking leader, Sargon, who created a kingdom that included Sumer and Mesopotamia - 300 year drought hits mesopotamia, causing starving farmers to move to & overpopulate the rich southern cities. This led to violence and the eventual fall of the Akkadian kingdom - King Ur-Nammu of Ur took over in 2112BC and created an empire that extended far to the north. Turned the empire into a powerful and well organized bureaucracy

Sumerian Civilization

(3000 BC) the first major Mesopotamian civilization; rose in southern Mesopotamia. known for organized trade of Obsidian. Rulers developed formal maritime trade through the persian gulf

Nubia

- A civilization to the south of Egypt in the Nile Valley, noted for development of an alphabetic writing system and a major iron working industry by 500 BCE - Nubian kings from kush ruled over egypt in the eighth century, but they were forced to retreat to Meroe two centuries later - Meroe became a center for the red sea and indian ocean trade, ruled by kings and queens who preserved Egyptian customs. It prospered until the fourth century AD, when it was conquered by the kingdom of Askum

Hittites

- A people from central Anatolia who established an empire in Anatolia and Syria in the Late Bronze Age. - Went to war with Egypt over the Mediterranean gold & copper trade. Indecisive Battle of Kadesh led to the worlds first peace treaty (Kadesh Peace treaty). - lack of maritime power, a rigid feudal system, and a drought that forced ppl to migrate led to their fall

pre-agricultural and agricultural societies in Eastern North America

- Archaic hunter-gatherer traditions had regional variations in material culture because people concentrated on different locally abundant food sources. They lived a seasonal lifestyle based on a very broad spectrum of game and vegetable foods - better storage techniques and contact with neighbors through exchange networks - more complex social organization in the late archaic (1700 BC). Burial patterns reflect greater differentiation in social status - late archaic people in eastern woodlands turned to the deliberate cultivation of food plants to supplement wild plant yields

Levels of sociocultural complexity

- Bands: typically found in hunter-gatherer societies. Small, autonomous group of around 20-100 ppl made of family ties - Tribes: large collection of bands. Can be made of foragers or simple farmers. Chiefs have no political power, and are more figures of influence. - Chiefdoms: large population. Leadership is hereditary, and social structure is based on ranked lineages - States: have large population and military. Use agriculture and trade

Rise of Complex Society in Oaxaca

- Began in small settlements; the evolution of larger settlements connected with the development of long-distance trade of obsidian in the Gulf of Mexico

Early Farmers in Southwest North America

- Cochise culture (10,000 BC) flourished in Southeastern Arizona and Southwestern New Mexico - DNA samples show that Maize first entered the southwest from Mexico through highland corridors along the Sierra Madre mountains in 2000BC - Between 2500-100BC, the southwestern climate was relatively stable, although hunter-gatherering was a high risk occupation due to rainfall being unpredictable - a combination of increased population and food shortages that caused the adoption of low-yielding forms of maize - the hardy maize that first entered the southwest as the capalote (2000-1500 BC) - crossbred with teosinte to make bigger and better maize - Maize didn't immediately revolutionize the southwest, but as life became more sedentary, people invested more time and energy into the crops

Human Settlement in the Caribbean

- Columbus landed in the bahamas in 1492, and brought smallpox to the Taino people - Taino Chiefdoms (AD 500-1000). The caribbean was densely populatied in the north until Euro contact. The Lesser Antilles was in a constant state of cultural flux with significant population decrease after 1200 AD - Taino of the north lived in large villages - Chiefdoms fought with one another or came together for elaborate ceremonies/ball games - cultural explosion demonstrated in ceremonialism, beatwork, ceramics, etc. - this all ended when the Spaniards arrived, as Taino was wiped out from famine and disease - the people of the Lesser Antilles escaped on canoes and defended their land by attacking the Euros and were able to keep their land

Ubaid Period

- Earliest manifestation of classic Mesopotamian civilization (6200-4000BC) found in the lowest levels of Ur, Uruk, Eridu; reflects spread of farming throughout S. Mesopotamia. Characteristics include using the temple (aka Ziggurats) as a community focus, seals and sealings for economic and religious administration - Ubaid temples were known for housing unique painted pottery and clay figurines. Eridu is most famous temple

Preclassic Peoples in Mesoamerica

- Early Preclassic: first signs of social/political complexity, with small chiefdoms beginning to develop - Middle preclassic: The Olmecs on the Mexican southern gulf coast - Late Preclassic: common religious systems and ideology begin to unify large areas of mesoamerica. Known for distinctive art and architecture

Mexican Valley

- Economic unit; a network of markets that flourished long by states - begins w/ population growth ---> development of more intensive agricultural methods such as irrigation and chinampas. - areas begin to be linked by increasingly sophisticated trade networks and increase in religion

Early Food Production in Egypt and Tropical Africa

- Food production introduced in the Nile Valley at a time of drought by 6000BC. the HGs of the Nile and of the then-inhabitable Sahara were preadapted to the economies, which they may have taken up as a means of starving off food shortages in drought years - by 4000 BC agriculture was well established along the Nile, and cattle were being domesticated and herded in the depths of the Sahara. Nile Valley communities soon became dependent on agriculture and relied on natural flooding to water their gardens until about 3000 BC - as the sahara dried up after 5000 BC, pastoralists with cereal crops moved south of the desert, introducing cattle herding as far south as the east african highlands - cereal cultivation, based on shifting agriculture, did not take hold in much of sub-saharan africa until the introduction of ironworking south of the desert in the first millennium BC

Bering Land Bridge & Bering Standstill Hypothesis

- Former ice age link between Siberia and Alaska. believed to be the way Asian nomads came to the Americas - Standstill hyp: The idea that paleo-indians paused in Beringia for thousands of years and diversified before colonizing the New World. There was a genetic split between Siberians and native americans 23kya

Hunter-gatherers post-ice age

- HG societies developed highly localized adaptations to new, less predictable conditions, with a more intensive exploitation of food resources and, in many areas, a trend toward more permanent settlement, the use of storage tech, and more complex societies - complexity among HGs became widespread after the ice age, especially in areas of exceptional resource diversity. -Controversy surrounds the issue of complexity, with one school of thought arguing for a connection between resource diversity and abundant, diverse food supplies, and the other considering fishing a strategy of last resort resulting from population pressure and shortage of other food resrouces. May also be from rapid environmental change

Homo Habilis vs. Homo Erectus/Ergaster

- Homo Habilis (2mya) had a larger brain than the australopithecines, and were the first hominins to use stone tech (oldowan). They may have lived in larger groups bc of greater social intelligence from larger brain sizes. - Distinction made between the more ape like hominins (habilis) and the true humans, which began with homo ergaster/erectus (1.9 mya)

Early Food Production in Asia

- In SW Asia, food production began during the early holocene (10000BC) but became fully established during a cold interval that followed initial warming - In Southeast asia, the staple crop was rice, probably the first cultivated along low-lying, swampy coasts. the new economics soon spread inland during the third millenium BC, bringing village life to much of the region

Early Chinese Agriculture

- In southern china, some rice was cultivated perhaps as early as 8000BC, widespread rice agriculture was well established by 6500BC - The staple in the yellow river valley of northern China was millet, cultivated at least as early as 6500BC, perhaps much earlier - The Yangshao culture flourished over much of the Yellow River basin, a society of self-contained villages, replaced by the more elaborate Longshanoid cultures by 3000 BC

Moundbuilder culture

- Increased preoccupation with mortuary ritual and the afterlife. Burial cults shared many practices, especially burial mounds - increased exploitation of food resources, increased sedentism, regular social interaction and exchange, social ranking, and increased ceremonialism - communal labor to build things such as burial mounds

Trade and Kingdoms

- India had profound influence on the development of southeast Asian civilization - Buddhism replaced the highly oppressive Brahmanism - Southeast Asian trade linked China to India as well as linking Asia to the Roman empire - highly ranked, centralized kingdoms ruled by aristocrats - politics constantly changing - coastal region flourished from 3rd-6th century AD, in 6th century Indian Brahmans brought the cult of Siva

Catalhoyuk, Turkey

- Is one of the oldest and largest complex settlements in the Neolithic. not considered a city - first occupied around 7500BC - some of its dwellings have been named history houses as they appear to commemorate ancestors and be associated with widely used religious beliefs common at the time over much of southwestern Asia

Early Food Production

- Many late ice age and early holocene hunter-gatherer societies were preadapted to food production, as they were already exploiting some food resources intensively and following more sedentary lifeways - most of these societies were in regions where food resources were diverse and seasonally predictable. Higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as well as higher sea levels after the ice age resulted in much higher plant productivity and increased the importance of such foods in human diet - while early theories assumed food production was a revolutionary development, modern hypotheses suggest social relations, population growth, and ecological factors as multi-variate causes - development was a gradual process, one that saw increasing reliance on food crops, especially in areas with constant and unpredictable environmental change - food production resulted in more sedentary human settlement, more substantial housing, elaborate storage tech, and special implements for agricultural tasks - all of these technological developments led to greater interdependence and to more long-distance exchange of raw materials, as well as increasing human social complexity

the 9th century collapse (Mayans)

- Maya civilization peaks after AD600, as the cities are abandoned - endemic warfare cited as main cause, as various armies spread themselves too thin, as well as agricultural failure due to populations being too dense - long-term environmental degradation. short term gains in productivity led to catastrophic declines

Southwest Asia timeline

- Neolithic (10,000-6,000 BC) - Chalcolithic [Copper Age] (6,000-3,000 BC) - Bronze age (3,000-1,200 BC) - Iron Age (1,200-334 BC)

Southwest Asia after the ice age

- SW asia was cool and dry immediately after the ice age, and human populations were sparse and highly mobile as forests spread more widely throughout the region - Younger Dryas cold snap began in about 10,800BC and lasted for a little over a thousand yrs. prolonged droughts and cooler conditions over SW asia caused significant drops in environmental productivity - HG societies had three options- move elsewhere, protect their territory, or stay in place and intensify the food quest, leading many groups to experiment with agriculture

Dispersal into Southwest Asia

- Temporary colonization 120-100kya - permanently during the late ice age around 50kya, when AMHs brought refined hunting methods and tool tech

Mesoamerican village farmers

- The Maya used slash & burn methods, much like other tropical cultivators, for maize and beans. they did this by cutting down forests, and burning the wood in order to use the ash as fertilizer - Chinampas: "floating garden". Farmers used swamp mud to create naturally irrigated gardens in the valley of mexico. This agricultural system is the basis of early civilization and urban life in the valley of Mexico

Clovis Culture

- The earliest widespread and distinctive culture of North America; named from the Clovis point, a particular kind of projectile point used to hunt mammoths - at the end of the ice age, the resources that people preyed on went extinct as well as the animals they didn't prey on at the end of the ice age

Toltecs (AD 900-1200)

- Tribal warfare continues after the classic period - chichen Itza, an important Mayan ceremonial center, went under toltec influence ; well organized population controlled massive salt fields along the coast - toltec power did not last long

Xia and Shang Dynasties

- Xia (2200 BC); Shang (1766BC-1122BC) - huge chasm between rich and poor with large palace - ritual vessels made of bronze by artisans were a symbol of power - first two chinese dynasties - Shang fell in 1122 BC to the Zhou, who did not form a new civilization and instead took over existing networks until 221 BC when great emperor Zheng unified China into a single empire

Maritime Foundations of Andean Civilization

- according to the maritime foundations hypothesis, fish were vital resources and the foundation of organized society in the Andes - dense populations surrounded the rivers to practice irrigation

Longshan and Liangzhu

- after 4000BC, Longshan farming cultures of north & south china became interlinked by complex exchange networks, trade, and luxury goods. had domesticated animals such as dogs, pigs, and sheep - increased social complexity and technological advancements such as Metallurgy - new rituals and beliefs - liangzhu developed by 3250, known for it's prestigious burials and expert pottery - the wealthy were buried specially with jade ornaments and bodies of sacrificial victims - highly stratified society, distance between rulers and ruled - longshan defense walls - violent times with frequent conflict

Plant Domestication in the Americas

- agriculture began in the Americas in humid tropical forest environments in small-scale house gardens in forest villages - this process of making room for crops, clearing the fields, led to slash-and-burn agriculture

Chavin de Huantar

- an increase in social complexity as well as new art and architecture coincides with the emergence of several small polities in river valleys on the coast - An example of this is the Chavin culture, which appeared in highlands of Andes between 1800 and 1200 B.C.E.; typified by ceremonial centers with large stone buildings; greatest ceremonial center was Chavin de Huantar; characterized by artistic motifs that were influenced by religion.

Ancestral Pueblo Culture (AD 1-1300)

- ancestral to the cultures of the pueblo indians - centered in the four corners area where Utah, arizona, colorado, and new mexico meet - relied on seasonal rainfall, irrigation - by 800 AD, they upgraded to above ground houses. The pits they used to live in were turned into "kivas", ceremonial structures that were in every village - tree rings tell us that a drought in AD 1130 endured half a century, which forced the Chaco Canyon population to disperse into smaller settlements in the four corners region - during the 12th century, large pueblos developed in the Montezuma valley and outlying regions like Mesa Verde (1130 AD). These were more defensive homes and more ranked societies - another drought from 1276-1299 led to dispersal into less effected regions

Archaic Humans vs Neanderthals

- archaic humans were hunters who relied on wild plant foods. lacked linguistic skills - Neanderthals were more sophisticated toolmaking tech than their predecessors such as H. ergaster/erectus/heidelbergensis. were also more skilled foragers. The first humans to bury the dead. They disappeared from the fossil record around 30kya

Later Hunter-Gatherers in the Americas

- as the climate warmed up rapidly at the end of the last glaciation, American environments changed drastically - ice sheets of the north shrank, mountain snow lines and sea levels rose, and forest vegetation established itself - the western US became drier as the east coast became densly forested - the large Pleistocene mammals became extinct but bison remained a major source of food - SE climate bought drier conditions - social change . ppl lived in small family groups - mobility restricted for three reasons: - extinction of ice age megafuna led to focus on smaller animals and alternative food resources and wild veggies - ppl moved seasonally and lived in base camps to exploit resources - trend towards sedentary settlement

Early Woodland Culture (Adena)

- by 700BC, the people of eastern north america enjoyed a tradition of long-distance trading that flourished for centuries - early woodland people flourished in the ohio valley from 500BC-400AD - The people lived in seasonal camps, which laid close to ceremonial burial mounds. This reflected a strengthening of group identity and the establishment of social and territorial boundaries, which were often marked by cemetaries - developed large exchange networks that extended over enormous distances - burial mounds would be piled up gradually over the years as layers of bodies were added

Farming in Southeastern Europe

- by about 6000BC, farming was well established in parts of the Aegean area and in SE europe. Agriculture and animal husbandry developed in SE europe because of a local shift to the more intensive exploitation of cereals and wild sheep, and also because of a "drift" of domestic animals and cereals from southwest asia. This was a largely indigenous development - the widely distributed Bandkeramik complex documents the first settlement of southeastern European farmers in the middle Danube Valley and on the light loess soils of central europe around 5000BC - this may be connected with fallout from the flooding of the Euxine lake, which became the Black Sea. This flooding may have caused people to move into forested lands away from the lake - during the next millennium, food production spread widely throughout Europe, largely among indigenous mesolithic peoples who adopted sheep, pottery, and cereals, which they considered of immediate advantage to them

Later Mississippian Culture (AD 900- Euro contact)

- chieftains - widespread maize cultivation - numerous powerful chiefdoms - development of mississippian tradition dirven by political and social changes rather than economic - Between AD 800-1000 there were significant changes in subsistence, material culture, trade and settlement patterns over much of the south and southeast - maize and bean agriculture now transformed many valley landscapes - settlements became more complex - Cahokia (AD 1000-1250) demonstrated great political change

Tehuacan Valley

- chronicle of early maize agriculture in more arid environments -people lived mainly by hunting horses, deer & other mammals and by collecting veggies - after 8000BC, the game population decrease and people turned to more plants - gathered food seasonally and exploited the veggies intensively - by 4500 BC, 90% of the Tehecuan diet consisted of tropical grasses such as Setana - Crop yields increase after 2500BC. People grew foods to tide them over for months - larger, more permanent settlements

Big game extinctions

- clovis flourished for 300 yrs until 13kya when they evolved into a multitude of h&g cultures - this coincides with the catastrophic extinction of ice age big game animals in the americas - some believe they were killed off by intensive hunting from paleoindians - another theory argues that changing environments, spreading aridity, and shrinking habitats led to this decrease in population - the third hypothesis cites the great variation in mean temperatures at the end of the Pleistocene as a primary cause of extinction because it made it hard on the young of these species

Shang royal burials

- cross like pit for coffin of a ruler accompanied by bronze vessels - tombs found with 2-11 people each. in 1976, archaeologists discovered over 200 of these graves, with most being decapitated or mutilated. human sacrifice was likely

Mesolithic Cultures of Scandinavia

- demonstrates increased social complexity of HG groups following the ice age. - groups exploited maritime resources and birds extensively -increases in social complexity marked by higher population densities, more intensive food exploitation, more long-distance exchange, and greater social ranking demonstrated through burial ornaments

Ancient Egyptian Civilization

- developed along Nile River - followed stable agricultural cycle & compiled substantial food surpluses bc Nile's flooding was predictable - had 3 major kingdoms- Old, Middle & New & reached height during New Kingdom. each kingdom separated by periods of brief political chaos - old (archaic) period: known for pharaohs and pyramids - middle: shift of political and religious power to upper egypt - new kingdom pharaohs made egypt an imperial power. Egypt fell under Roman rule 30BC - thought they could take belongings w/ them into afterlife & use their bodies there > mummification

Minoans

- earliest Greek civilization that had developed on the island of Crete by 2000 B.C. - distinguished by pottery styles and trade with Europe - earthquake destroyed early palaces, but the high point of Minoan civilization soon followed with new structures - Led by Cretan king Minos - practiced human sacrifice and possibly cannibalism - volcanic explosion on the island of Santorini led to the decline of Minoan civilization

Classic and Late Classic Mayan Political History

- ever-changing political/military landscape among competing cities. Central institution of maya civilization was kingship - Tikal and Uaxactun; major centers. Water systems that traded goods. These 2 went to war as Tikal expanded and won - Tikal fell to Caracolin in AD 557 - Palenque: known for it's rulers obsession w/ ancestry

Early food production in the Andes

- farming began in two areas of the Andes: the mountain highlands and the pacific coast - important andean species include: - llama, alpaca, guinea pig - potato & quinoa - increase in younger animals by 2500 BC - llama & guinea pig resources widespread throughout peruvian highlands by 900 BC - Quinoa widely cultivated by 2500 BC - by the time of european contact in the 15th century Andean farmers had hundreds of potato varieties

Moche Civilization

- flourished along the northern coast and valleys of ancient Peru (200-700 AD) - moche pottery depicts culture centered around warrior priests - expert metalworkers - ambitious irrigation system that linked neighboring river valleys, allowing them to expand - devastated by el nino

Peruvian Coast

- forms a narrow shelf at the foot of the andes, crossed by small river valleys descending from the mountains to the sea - maritime environment often interrupted by El Nino (warm counter current that can flow for as long as 12 months) because it disrupts cold water, forcing the fish to migrate - people collected shellfish until 5000 BC when more efficient collecting strategies were put into use, mainly fishing - between 4200-2500 BC, Peruvian coastal ppl depended on marine resources. people heavily relied on fishing and gathering but also manipulated some plant species - increase in fish, flour, squash and other resources, as well as irrigation systems, set off a sustained period of population growth

Religious monuments in Europe

- from about 4500BC, new religious beliefs spread widely in central and western europe, as indicated by the building of communal burial mounds and megalithic monuments - Some of these new beliefs are thought to reflect centuries-old ideologies connected with the longhouses and the communal ethics of the Bandkeramik farmers. others, derived from central and eastern europe, were beliefs growing out of the emergence of individual power and prestige as a potent factor in local life, power reflected in the growing numbers of exotic artifacts and materials

Inca Empire

- in the late horizon of Peruvian prehistory, there is a unification of the highlands and lowlands under the Inca empire - The vast and sophisticated Peruvian empire centered at the capital city of Cuzco that was at its peak from 1438 until 1532 when they were conquered by the Spaniards. - they were masters of bureaucracy and military organization, but because of civil war and disease, it became incredibly weakened. This allowed it to fall easily to conquistador Francisco Pizzaro

European Mesolithic

- lasted from about 8000BC to the introduction of farming in NW europe in around 4000BC - there were considerable local variations, with a trend towards more permanent settlement in more favored areas

Specialized Foraging Societies in Central and South America

- more sophisticated hunter-gatherer strategies ensured food in all seasons - increase in maritime economies

Hohokam (AD 500-1450)

- occupied what is now southern arizona - complex trading and ceremonial relationships w/ ppl all over the southwest and in northern mexico - hohokam subsistence based on maize and beans. They planted crops to coincide with semiannual rainfall and flooding patterns. Used irrigation from rivers

Amazon Basin

- originally settled by hunter gatherers in 8800 BC, cultivation begins in 3500 BC - (1000BC) Awark and Tupiguarani speakers spread across the amazonian lowlands, organized in small chiefdoms that interacted with one another, as well as the Inca and other Andean societies

South Asia after the Indus civilization

- ppl moved into smaller settlements - rice cultivation increases - aryan nomads arrive and introduce horses, warfare, and sanskrit language / philosophy - in the second millennium BC, the Indo-aryan ppl birthed the sanskritic languages spoken in South asia today through hymns - cities in places such as the Ganges Valley became economic powerhouses, as this marked the beginning of the classic period in south asia

Maya Civilization (300 BC - AD 1519)

- recognizable for their elaborate burial platforms, which structured the inheritance of property and resources among generations - these developments led to the idea of divine kingship, with massive burial centers for ancestors. This leads to an increasingly stratified society where the elite competed among each each other - Cerros: city with iconic temples led by an "ajaw"- and intermediary to the spiritual world supported by the commoners - they built irrigation systems called microwatersheds, which small city-states formed around - the calendar was vital to mayan life, as it determined political strategies and social moves. Centered around unique time system centered around the movement of planets and stars - prized social status over everything else, demonstrated by the Copan - kings were shamans - warfare among different mayan city states over religion

Modern theories for origin of states

- revolve around systems-evolutionary hypotheses and explanations involving environmental change - a new generation of social approaches argues that religious and informational factors, epitomized by central authority have been key elements in the regulation of environmental and economic variables in early civilization - such theories also stress that the social structure of a society ultimately determines its transformation, so the search for the causes of civilization focuses on ecological variables and the opportunities that they present to individuals pursuing political goals in different societies. in other words, how is ecological opportunity or necessity translated into political change? - recent research is now focusing on the dynamics of how ancient civilizations functioned- on factionalism, ideology, and gender as promising areas of inquiry - the record of early civilizations can be written in cyclical terms. their collapse may be closely connected to diminishing returns from social complexity, as well as normal political processes, such a succession disputes. however, human societies are resilient and many basic values, beliefs, and institutions can survive the implosion of a complex society

Southeast Asian States

- rice staple crop - Neolithic burials with clay vessels and bronze tools (ex. Ban Non Wat mound) - immense effort in burying the dead - much more complex societies eventually developed

Greek city-states

- small, competing city-states in the Mediterranean region - Athens conflict with Sparta led to Peloponnesian war, which Sparta won- small, competing city-states in the Mediterranean region - Athens conflict with Sparta led to Peloponnesian war, which Sparta won

Kulli Complex

- specialized partners of the indus civilization complex -lowlands and highlands exchanged goods with one another - cotton cloth commodity

Plains Hunters in the Americas

- the only region where big game hunting survived was the grassland frontier of Alaska to the gulf "the great bison belt" - Paleo-indians hunted bison with spears

origins of Maize agriculture

- zea mexicana was the ancestor which eventually crossbred with teosinte to create domesticated maize - planted teosinte was easy to harvest - selective harvesting ---> teosinte's use as a human food

Pottery production

-Collect raw clay - refine clay to get out impurities - form into shape - finish & decoration - dry - fire in kiln (a furnace for pottery)

PPNA vs PPNB

-the PPNA saw cultivated/domesticated plants, increased trade & exchange, expanding communities, and the beginnings of distinctive religious beliefs - type site of Jericho (Palestine). During this time, pottery was not yet in use. They precede the ceramic Neolithic (Yarmukian). PPNA succeeds the Natufian culture of the Epipaleolithic (Mesolithic). - The PPNB saw full fledged farming well established over a wide area, with extensive trade and interaction networks - Some PPN settlements boasted of larger structures which served both as dwellings and as shrines for rituals involving relationships with ancestors and other themes. Some like Gobekli Tepe in SW Turkey had substantial subterranean structures adorned with richly decorated monoliths, perhaps symbolic representations of humans

Rise and fall of Mesoamerican states (pattern)

1) New city-state expands territory through diplomacy, political marriages, and military conquest 2) once new territories reached a certain level of cultural complexity and development, they become independent 3) the newly independent overthrows the original

Cro-Magnon

50-30kya Europe; human species that made tools, seemed to have replaced Neanderthals - known for unique cave paintings

Natufian Culture

A Mesolithic culture from the lands that are now Israel, Lebanon, and western Syria, between about 10,200 and 12,500 years ago. -Early sedentary houses, food & plant processing, reliance on grains, increase in stone plant processing tools - intensive foragers of wild cereals and nuts, as well as expert gazelle hunters. This intensification of the food quest, as well as greater sedentism, preadapted many groups for adopting agriculture and animal domestication

Hopewell Culture (AD 1-400)

A mound builder society that was centered in the Ohio River Valley - people lived in small settlements and used only stone artifacts to plant, hunt, game, and fish - artifacts by artisans in vast exchange network of prestige goods that were used by elites as a status symbol in ceremonies. Evidence for this is found in dozens of Hopewell burial mounds where elites were buried with artisan products and weapons - by this time, burial mounds were much more elaborate than those of the adena predecessors - houses were stable, longterm settlements that were occupied by people who not only foraged but cultivated indigenous domesticated plants - dispersed settlement pattern necessary to accomodate the often conflicting demands of cultivation and intensive foraging activity - communities lied by drainage sites, and communal focus increased - hopewell exchange systems lasted in the midwest until AD400 when the networks collapsed, art styles broke down, and moundbuilding stopped. - 3 theories as to why this collapse happened include: 1) horticulture became so successful that the ecological incentives for exchange and gift giving decreased 2) they focused too much on prestige and not mutual help 3) (william Dancey's theory) population increase sparked competition for good land and food, and ceremonialism vanished

earliest known australopithecines (southern ape)

A. anamensis (4.2-3.9 mya), followed by A. Afarensis (3.7-3.0 mya)

Mesopotamian dynasties

Akkadins (2334 BC), replaced by Dynasty of Ur Babylon (1990 BC) Assyrians rose to prominence mid 14th century as Babylon declined

Bandkeramik

An archaeological culture of the early Neolithic in central Europe, referring to the distinctive style of linear-decorated pottery

Tenochtitlan

Capital of the Aztec Empire, located on an island in Lake Texcoco. Its population was about 150,000 on the eve of Spanish conquest. Mexico City was constructed on its ruins.

Aurignacian

Culture in europe that took hold following the eruption in Naples that decimated early European AMHs. They eventually settled south of the ice sheets in Europe

origin of hunter-gatherer groups

During the diaspora of modern humans (80-70kya) dense populations were formed in areas of abundant water and diverse animal and plant resources

Homo ergaster vs erectus

Homo ergaster radiated out of africa into asia by 1.8mya, where it appears as homo erectus.

Cahokia (AD 1000-1250)

Huge mound and plaza complex. The dominant center of an important Mississippi valley mound-building culture, located near present-day St. Louis, Missouri. - 3 tiered hierarchy: a capital at Cahokia, several smaller political and administrative centers, and rural homesteads - Population increased by 5x in AD 1050. People eventually resettle in villages, which created separation from villagers and chiefs. This led to an unstable chiefdom that disappeared quickly - By AD 1100 the population began to taper off - Cahokia people made more than 100 mounds, the largest being Monk's Mound - Massive burial sites for elites - Highly centralized economy, as the leaders kept everything to themselves, including ideology - Chiefs flexed authority in vivid, symbolic ways because they knew that their influence was dependent on a cult mindset - This chiefdom fell apart, as its population was decimated by smallpox in 1500

Early Mississippian Culture (AD 1-450)

Mississippian culture of the central Mississippi River Valley of the current United States - between AD 1-450, 2 important cultural developments arrived in the southeast. 1) mortuary customs became far more elaborate 2) some individuals achieved greater social & political importance in what had been egalitarian societies - different burial mounds led to increased social complexity - increased population, intercommunity exchange, and cultivation of native plants and, later, maize between AD 450-800) - beans arrived after the full potential of maize agriculture was realized

Container Revolution

Sedentism gave rise to the need for storage; ceramics were used to cook, store, and eventually were used for symbolism and expression

Jericho

Site of an important early agricultural settlement of perhaps 2,000 people in present-day Israel. Suggests pre-pottery neolithic were living with agriculture. Arable land, easy to grow things on

Holocene

The geological era since the end of the Great Ice Age about 11,000 years ago

Out of Africa Hypothesis

The hypothesis that modern humans evolved in Africa and spread to other continents, replacing other Homo species without interbreeding with them

Oldowan tools

The oldest known tools, made by chipping stones to produce a sharper edge. Made by Homo Habilis.

Anatolia

The peninsula between the Mediterranean and the Black Seas that is now occupied by most of Turkey. Known for obsidian exchange with southwest asia

Gordon Childe's urban hypothesis

Theory on the development of cities where densely populated settlements were furnished by farmers were the most important cause of civilization because cities provided the need for rulers, priests, artisans, and trade leading to critical developments in human cultural, economic, and social change.

Chinese warlords

They had control over peasants and land. They were known to be extremely harsh and frequently using weapons to attack. - stayed in power by virtue of a strong army - kings frequently at war - most surviving shang weapons were found in chariot burials

El Paraiso and Huaca Florida

a set of interacting chiefdoms in the Andes that emerged around 1700BC - distinct for their massive U-Shaped platforms that covered hundreds of acres, used for ceremonial practices - these chiefdoms laid on river valleys, which were used as trade routes, allowing them to interact one another. - these trade routes linked the coastal valleys with the highlands and lowlands, spreading tech, ideology, pottery making, and architectural styles across the andes

Indus Civilization

a short period of growth into a ranked, more socially complex society led to this civilization from 2600 BC-1900 BC; entire Indian subcontinent-peninsula; possibly had twin capitals called Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro; well organized government. citadel on the west end of each city. bazaars for pottery, but no evidence of economy with commerce. Peaked in 2000 BC, when Harappa and Mohenjo were abandoned as their population dispersed into smaller settlements - their script is yet to be deciphered, so nobody knows what they called themselves or what their leaders were named. Beliefs reflect roots of Indian religion, had female diety

Polities

city-states of the riverine societies organized around the temple and palace, were autonomous polities

Exchange on the Iranian Plateau

connected widely separated communities. Tepe yahya known for exploiting carved chlorite bowls and other chlorite products

Mezinian culture

eastern Europe; based on the exploitation of open plains and steppe. The many groups within this complex spread slowly into Russia

Homo heidelbergensis

evolved from H. ergaster; associated with more sophisticated tool tech- Acheulean hand ax. Last common ancestor of the neanderthals as well as the african-origin homo sapiens

Settlement of the Americas

experts favor a late settlement of the Americas that coincided with global warming 15-11kya, after the Wisconsin glaciation ended

Aleuts and Inuit

far north, skin tents/igloos, kayaks, umiaks, hunted caribou, seals, whales, walrus - asian roots. differences between these two groups more cultural than physical - paleoartic ppl in 9000BC - stone microblades - more cultural diversity developed in the arctic around 4000 BC, as specialized adaptations developed on the coast and in the interior - Aleuts - earliest occupation dates back to Anangula (6700BC) - Inuit origins of cultural tradition may lie in the Arctic Small Tool Tradition (2300-1500 BC) - distinctive small-artifact tech - disappeared in Alaska in 1500 BC, to be replaced by cultures based on the intensive hunting of both sea & land mammals, called the Norton Tradition (500BC) - Norton ---> Thule tradition - sea mammal hunting tradition - used kayaks & harpoon -Thule expanded to the south and east by 900AD

Phoenicians

located on eastern Mediterranean coast; invented the alphabet which used sounds rather than symbols like cuneiform. Responsible for recovering Mediterranean economy from "dark age" by acting as a middleman for exchanging goods. by 800 BC phoenician merchants were everywhere

The impact of camels in Africa

once the asian camels were brought to Africa trade across the Sahara dessert increased because the abuility to cross the dessert faster and easier. - this opened up the Sahara to regular gold and salt trade, fostering the development of powerful West african states such as Ghana, Mali, and Songhay - Expanding Indian ocean trade nurtured a network of trading towns on the east african coast. During the 14th and 15th centuries, Great zimbabwe in S Africa controlled much of the gold and ivory trade in SE Africa

End of Ice Age

sea levels raised, vegetational zones shifted, many large mammals became extinct. Ushered in an agricultural revolution

Siberia

settled 30kya, important because of the Bering land bridge

Aztec Civilization

settled and built their capital city on lake texcoco, polytheistic, chinampas (floating gardens) - highly stratified, mass majority of population were peasants and slaves - human sacrifice was common - by the time of the spanish conquest in 1519, Aztec society was in a state of terror. It was estimated that there were around 20,000 human sacrifices each year - conquered by spaniards, and remaining aztecs were turned to slaves. Due to war, slavery, disease, and famine, 85-95% of mesoamerica's indigenous population was wiped out over a 160 yr period

Babylon

the chief city of ancient Mesopotamia and capitol of the ancient kingdom of Babylonia - led by King Hammurabi, but the empire fell after his death when trade to the Persian Gulf Collapsed and trade ties to Assur in the north and for Mediterranean copper in the west were strengthened

First Hominins

tree living, with long arms and legs and broad chests. eventually became bipedal. Global cooling 4mya forcing them to broaden their diet and adapt to more open country in africa

Neanderthal Extinction

unclear demise, still debated today. some think they interbred while others think they were wiped out from environmental changes

Herding

well established in the Zagros highlands, whereas Anatolia was inhabited by farming communities that were linked by long-distance exchange routes handling obsidian and other exotica by at least 9500BC

Leapfrog Model (americas)

while the population may have migrated linearly, the "leapfrog model" seems more plausible. - hunter gatherer groups spread from one territory to another, often separated from the original group because of distance