3) Anthropology Exam 3
The Rise of Cities (Consequences of the Rise of Food Production)
About 3500 BCE, cities first appeared in the Near East These cities had political assemblies, kings, scribes, and specialized workshops
Toward the end of the period known as the Upper Paleolithic, people seem to have obtained most of their food from
hunting migratory herds of large animals such as wild cattle, antelope, bison, and mammoths. These hunter-gatherers were probably highly mobile (nomadic) to follow the migrations of animals (Ember 171)
Sedentarism
settled life
the Archaic people in Mesoamerica appear
About 8,000 years ago, the Archaic people in Mesoamerica appear―to have moved seasonally between communities of two different sizes: camps with 15 to 30 resident (macro-bands) and camps with only 2 to 5 residents (micro-bands). Macro-band camps were located near seasonally abundant resources such as acorns and mesquite pods. Several families would come together to harvest these resources when they were in season. Lifestyles remained much like the simple egalitarian ones of the Paleo-lndians despite the transition to a much broader strategy of foraging
Consequences of the Rise of Food Production
(1) accelerated population growth (2) declining health (3) elaboration of material possessions (4) rise of cities
Domestication in the Near East: Beginnings of the Neolithic
For some time, most archeologists have thought the Fertile Crescent was of the earliest centers of plant and animal domestication. We know several varieties of domesticated wheat were being grown there after about 8000 BCE, as were oats, rye, barley, lentils, peas, and various fruits and nuts (apricots, pears, pomegranates, figs, almonds, pistachios, etc.)
Domestication in Mesoamerica
Here the seminomadic Archaic hunting and gathering lifestyle persisted long after people first domesticated plants In Mesoamerica, people sowed a variety of plants, but after doing so went on with their seasonal rounds of hunting and gathering and came back later to harvest what they had sown
Continuity of lifestyle in Upper Paleolithic
People were still mainly hunters, gatherers, and fishers who probably lived in small bands They made camps out in the open in skin-covered huts and in caves and rock shelters
Fertile Crescent
Region in the middle east: a crescent-shaped area of fertile land in the Middle East extending from the eastern Mediterranean coast through the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers to the Persian Gulf. It was the center of the Neolithic development of agriculture (from 7000 bc), and the cradle of the Assyrian, Sumerian, and Babylonian civilizations.
The Natufians (Preagricultural developments)
a people of 11,000 years ago living in the area that is now Israel and Jordan, who inhabited caves and rock shelters and built villages on the slopes of Mount Carmel in Israel Examples of Natufian villages are also found at the Eynan site in Israel Natufian villages included―storage pits and tools suggesting extensively harvested grains. Archaeological evidence suggests increasing social complexity: Natufian sites were on average five times larger than those of their predecessors and burial patterns suggest more social differences between people
State
an autonomous political unit with centralized decision making over many communities with power to govern by force (e.g., to collect taxes, draft people for work and war, and make and enforce laws). Most states have cities with public buildings; fill-time craft and religious specialists; an "official" art style; a hierarchical social structure topped by an elite class; and a government monopoly on the legitimate use of force to implement policies
As time went on, all over the Old World, smaller and smaller blade tools were produced. The very tiny one's, microliths
are small, razorlike blade fragments that were probably attached in a series to a wooden or bone handle to form a cutting edge: were often hafted (having a handle), to serve as spears, knives, adzes, and sickles
4 divisions of political organizations used by anthropologists
bands tribal societies chiefdoms states
Why Did Broad-Spectrum Collecting Develop?
climate change may have been partly responsible for the change to broad-spectrum collecting. For example, the worldwide rise in sea level because of the glacial melting may have increased the availability of fish and shellfish, while changes in climate may have also been partly responsible for the decline in the availability of big game (either that or human activity such as overkilling: "the overkill hypothesis").
The tools made by Upper Paleolithic peoples suggest that they were much more
effective hunters and fishers than their predecessors. During the Upper Paleolithic, and probably for the first time, spears were shot from a spear thrower called an Atlatl rather than thrown from the arm. The bow and arrow, as well as harpoons, used for fishing and perhaps hunting reindeer, were also invented at this time
Mesoamerica
extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica.
Venuses (Upper Paleolithic Art)
figurines representing the human female in exaggerated form have been found at Upper Paleolithic sites. These figurines portray women with broad hips and large breasts and abdomens Most scholars believe that these figurines represent a goddess or fertility symbol, but that belief is not universally held Other have argued that the figurines are examples of early erotica made by males for their sexual gratification or edification. Still others suggest that they were made by females to instruct young women in pregnancy and childbirth The controversies here provide insight into the difficulty of interpreting the use of artifacts found archaeologically
broad-spectrum collecting
gathering a wide variety of available foods
The most ancient civilizations arose
in the Near East around 3500 BCE, in northwestern India and Peru about 2500 BCE, in northern China around 1750 BCE, in Mexico a few years before the time of Christ, and in tropical Africa somewhat later. At least some of the civilizations evolved independently of others
The Spread of Upper Paleolithic Cultures and typification of lifestyle
Upper Paleolithic peoples spread throughout the world. The first Upper Paleolithic cultures were found in Africa about 60,000 years ago but had spread to South and East Asia by about 50,000 years ago and to New Guinea and Australia by about 40,000 years ago In North Africa, Upper Paleolithic peoples hunted large animals on grasslands. They lived in small communities located within easy access to water and other resources and moved regularly, probably to follow the animal herds. Trade took place between local groups In South Asia, people developed an increasingly sedentary lifestyle along the banks of freshwater stream
civilization
Urban society, from the Latin word for "city-state" Urban, a.―[L. urbanus, from urbs, a city] (1) of, in, constituting, or comprising a city or town; (2) characteristic of the city as distinguished from the country; citified: opposed to rural Society, n.― (2) a group of animals or plants living together under the same environment and regarded as constituting a homogeneous unit or entity; especially, a group of persons regarded as forming a single community
Beginning about 14,000 years ago, people in some regions began to depend less on big game hunting and more on relatively
stationary food resources such as fish, shellfish, small game, and wild plants.
Beginning about 14,000 years ago, people in some regions began to depend less on big game hunting and more on relatively stationary food resources such as fish, shellfish, small game, and wild plants. The cultural periods in which these developments took place is now called
the Epipaleolithic Period in the Near East the Mesolithic Period in Europe the Archaic Period in the New World
Mesolithic Period
the archaeological period in the Old World beginning about 12,000 BCE. Humans were starting to settle down in semipermanent camps and villages, as people began to depend less on big game (which they used to have to follow over long distances) and more on relatively stationary food resources such as fish, shellfish, small game, and wild plants rich in proteins, carbohydrates, and oils
food production
the form of subsistence technology in which food-getting is dependent on the cultivation and domestication of plants and animals
The Formative Era
the period from about 5000 BCE to 3500 BCE when the coming together of many changes plated a part in the development of cities and states Elman Service suggested that with the development of small-scale irrigation, low-land river areas began to attract settlers. The rivers provided not only water for irrigation but also mollusks, fish, and waterbirds for food. And they provided routes by which to import needed raw materials, such as hardwood and stone, that were lacking in Sumer Changes during this period suggest an increasingly complex social and political life: Burial sites from the formative era reflect differences in status. Villages specialized in the production of particular goods. Temples may have become the centers for religious and political authority for several communities. Chiefdoms may have developed.
Two early Neolithic sites in the Near East
Ali Kosh Catal Huyuk
Why Do States Expand?
All states appear to be expansionistic With the rise of population that accompanies sedentism, states mat have unpredictabilities with regard to access to goods from outside, and those unpredictabilities may push states fearful of shortfalls to war ahead of time as a means of gaining access to more resources (or of limiting the unpredictability of resources) belligerence may simply be a part of the nature of states: states often arise through military means, and it may be vital to the continuation of some states that military power be continually demonstrated
Climate and Fauna of the Upper Paleolithic
An ice age dominated this period‒the last ice age. Glaciers covered much of northern Europe and North America. North Africa was much wetter than today and South Asia drier. Annual temperatures were as much as 50 degrees below today's, and changes in ocean currents would have made temperature contrasts (differences between summer and winter months) more extreme The plants and animals of the Upper Paleolithic were adapted to these extremes. Most important, were the large game animals collectively known as Pleistocene megafauna (e.g., mammoths and rhinoceroses) which provided vast amounts of meat for humans in Europe, who, as a result, relied heavily on hunting.
Ali Kosh
At the stratified site of Ali Kosh in what is now southwest Iran, we see the remains of a community that started out about 7500 BCE, living mostly on wild plants and animals. Over the next 2000 years, until about 5500 BCE, agriculture and herding became increasingly important. After 5500 BCE, we see the appearance of two innovations‒irrigation and the use of domesticated cattle to draw plows. In the next thousand years, by 4500 BCE, the population of the area probably tripled. This population growth was apparently part of the cultural developments that culminated in the rise of urban civilization in the Near East The presence of obsidian (a volcanic glass that can be used to make mirrors or sharp-edged tools) tools indicates trade: for obsidian came from what is now Eastern Turkey, several hundred miles away.
Irrigation: Theories About the Origin of the State
Irrigation seems to have been important in many areas in which early state societies developed. Irrigation made the land habitable or productive in many parts of southern Iraq, for instance. It has been suggested that the labor and management needed for the upkeep of an irrigation system led to the formation of a political elite, the overseers of the system, who eventually became the governors of the society. Proponents of this view believe that both the city and civilization were outgrowths of the administrative requirements of an irrigation system criticism: Critics note that this theory does not seem to apply to all areas where cities and states may have emerged independently. E.g., In southern Iraq, large-scale irrigation works that would require intensive labor and management did not constructed until after cities had been fully developed. Thus, irrigation could not have been the main stimulus for the development of cities and states in Sumer; Even in China, for which the irrigation theory was first formulated, there is no evidence of large-scale irrigation as early as Shang times Consequences of Irrigation: although large-scale irrigation may not have always preceded the rise of cities and states, even small-scale irrigation systems could have Resulted in unequal access to productive land and so contributed to the development of a stratified society given rise to border and other disputes between adjacent groups, stimulating the development of military and political controls the main significance of irrigation, large or small scale: the intensification of agricultural production, a development that in turn may have indirectly stimulated craft specialization, trade, and administrative bureaucracy
Region-specific conditions/Geopolitical factors: Theories About the Origin of the State
Marvin Harris argued that the first states with their coercive authority could only emerge in areas that supported intensive grain agriculture (and the possibility of high food production) and were surrounded by areas that could not support intensive grain agriculture. So people in such areas might put up with the coercive authority of a state because they would suffer a sharp drop in living standards if they moved away (cf. geopolitics)
Upper Paleolithic Tools
Upper Paleolithic toolmaking appears to have had its roots in the Mousterian and post-Acheulian traditions because flake tools are found in many Upper Paleolithic sites Characterized by a preponderance of blades (blades were found in Middle Paleolithic assemblages, but they were not widely used until the Upper Paleolithic)―
Neolithic revolution
We see the first clear evidence of a changeover to food production in the Near East about 8000 BCE. This shift is called the Neolithic revolution by archaeologist V. Gordon Childe. This revolution occurred independently in other areas of the Old and New Worlds within the next few thousand years
New Toolmaking techniques of Upper Paleolithic cultures
indirect percussion and pressure flaking Indirect percussion―a toolmaking technique common in the Upper Paleolithic. After shaping a core into a pyramidal or cylindrical form, the tool-maker can put a punch of antler or wood or another hard material and strike it with a hammer. Using a hammer-struck punch enabled toolmakers to strike off consistently shaped blades pressure flaking toolmaking technique whereby small flakes are struck off by pressing against the core with a bone, antler, or wooden tool. Pressure flaking would be used in the final stages of retouching a tool because it could remove small flakes
Domestication
modification or adaptation of plants and animals for use by humans. When people plant crops, we refer to the process as cultivation. It is only when the crops cultivated and the animals raised have been modified‒are different from wild-type varieties‒that we speak of plant and animals domestication. How did the domesticated plants get to be different from the wild varieties: Artificial or human selection, deliberate or accidental, obviously was required
Pleistocene
the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, the beginning of the Holocene
Settlements of Upper Paleolithic Europe
the use of local resources, and the vast supplies of meat available from megafauna, allowed Upper Paleolithic groups in much of the Old World to become more sedentary than their predecessors. "The Dolni Vestonice site―in what is now the Czech Republic, dated to around 25,000 years ago, is one of the first for which there is an entire settlement plan" (158) settlement consisted of four tentlike huts, probably made from animal skins, with a great open hearth at the center. Around the outside were mammoth boneseach hut probably housed a group of related families‒about 20 to 25 persons per hut assuming all four huts were occupied at the same time, the settlement would have consisted of 100 to 125 people Up a hill was a fifth and different kind of hut. It was dug into the ground and contained a bake oven and more than 2,300 small, fired fragments of animal figurines ("Venus figurines" There were also some hollow bones that may have been musical instruments. Near this settlement was a burial find of a woman with a disfigured face who may have been a particularly important personage, for her face was found engraved on an ivory plaque near the central hearth of the settlement
Agriculture
the practice of raising domesticated crops
Upper Paleolithic
A period of cultural history in Europe, the Near East, and Asia dating from about 40,000 years ago to the period known as the Neolithic, beginning about 10,000 BP Fully modern Homo sapiens Definite Art Early civilization In North and South America, the period begins when humans first entered the New World, sometime before 12,000 years ago, leading to the rise of what are called the Archaic traditions Many significant changes in the archaeological record, after about 40,000 years ago, reflect important changes in cultural and social life New developments: the emergence of (1) art‒painting on cave walls and stone slabs, and carving tools, decorative objects, and personal ornaments of bone; (2) new inventions such as the bow and arrow, the spear thrower, and tiny replaceable blades that could be fitted into handles appeared for the first time (156)
The Consequences of State Formation
Advantages a state is able to build infrastructure‒irrigation systems, roadways, markets‒that allows both the production and distribution of agricultural products to become more efficient states are able to control access to land (through laws and a military) and thus can both maintain farmers on the land and prevent others (from either within or outside of the state) from removing the farmers or interfering with their ability to produce food states allow many (if not most) people in a society to be relived of food production. These people are freed to become craftspeople, merchants, and artists as well as bureaucrats, soldiers, and political leaders states allow cities to arise because people may live apart from agricultural fields Art, music, and literature often flourish in such contexts Thus, all the hallmarks we associated with civilization can be seen as resulting from the evolution of states Disadvantages When states develop, people become governed by force and are no longer able to say "no" to their leaders Police and military forces can become instrumentals of oppression and terror the class stratification of states creates differences in access to resources and an underclass of poor, uneducated, and frequently unhealthy people the concentration of people in cities increases risk of epidemic diseases the emergence of state warfare and conquest seems one of the most striking negative impacts of the evolution of states
The End of the Upper Paleolithic
After about 10,000 years ago, the glaciers began to disappear, and with their disappearance came other environmental changes: The cold, treeless plains, tundras, and grasslands eventually gave way to dense mixed forests, mostly birch, oak, and pine, and the Pleistocene megafauna became extinct Consequences of the post-glacial environment―when the tundra and grasslands disappeared, hunters could no longer obtain large quantities of meat simply by remaining close to migratory herds of animals, as they did during Upper Paleolithic times. Thus, people seemed in many areas to have turned from a reliance of big game hunting to the intensive collecting of wild plants, mollusks, fish, and small game. Around the world, people began to use more plant foods and a broader range of resources overall. In many parts, people began experimenting with domesticating plants and animals as they began to follow a more sedentary life Maglemosian Culture of Norhern Europe and Archaic cultures―evidence from these cultures show adaptations from big game hunting to reliance on smaller animal food sources. People in both cultures used stone tools to chop down trees and used the wood for shelters and canoes
The Paleo-Indians (Clovis People)
Archaeological remains of early New World hunters called Paleo-Indians have been found in the US, Mexico, and Canada the High Plains―(covering the northernmost Panhandle of Texas, northeastern New Mexico, eastern Colorado, and westernmost Kansas) abounded with mammoths, bison, wild camels, and wild horses, which Clovis people hunted "The Olsen-Chubbuck site―a kill site excavated in Colorado, shows the organization that may have been involved in killing bison. In a dry gulch dated to 6500 BCE were remains of 200 bison. At the bottom were complete skeletons, and at the top were completely butchered animals. This find clearly suggests that Paleo-Indian hunters deliberately stampeded the animals into a natural trap‒the arroyo, or steep-sided dry gully. The animals were probably pushed into the arroyo by the ones behind. Joe Ben What estimated that the hunters may have obtained 55,000 pounds of meat from this one kill" (166) Paleo-Indian's food-getting habits depended on their environment, like any animal. Clovis people in woodland regions seem to have depended more heavily on planet food and smaller game. Clovis people around the Pacific Coast developed food-getting strategies more dependent on fish. Like all Upper Paleolithic people, however, Clovis people's way of life generally revolved around big game hunting. As time went on, life became more sedentary
Does switching to broad-spectrum collecting explain the increasingly sedentary way of life we see in various parts of the world in preagricultural time?
Both yes and no. In some site in Europe, the Near East, Africa, and Peru‒settlements became more permanent. In other areas, such as the semiarid highlands of Mesoamerica, the switch to broad-spectrum collecting was not associated with increasing sedentarism What accounts for sedentarism may thus be the nearness or the high reliability and yield of the broad-spectrum resources rather than the broad spectrum itself
Sumerian Civilization
By about 3500 BCE, there were quite a few cities in the area of Sumer About 3000 BCE, all of Sumer was unified under a single government; from which time Sumer became an empire The empire was very complex and included and elaborate system for the administration of justice, codified laws, specialized government officials, a professional standing army, and even sewer systems As economic specialization developed, social stratification became more elaborate: Sumerian documents describe a system of social classes: nobles, priests, merchants, craftworkers, metallurgists, bureaucrats, soldiers, farmers, free citizens, slaves Slaves were common in Sumer; they were often captives brought back as the spoils of war We see the evidence of writing around 3000 BCE The earliest Sumerian writings were in the form of ledgers containing inventories of items stored in the temples and records of livestock or other items owned or managed by the temples Sumerian writing was wedged-shaped, or cuneiform, formed by pressing a stylus against a damp clay tablet. Hieroglyphics appeared at this time as well Cuneiform―Wedge-shaped writing invented by the Sumerians about 3000 BCE Hieroglyphics―"Picture writing," as in ancient Egypt and in Mayan sites in Mesoamerica
Consequences of Broad-Spectrum Collecting
During the preagricultural period, height apparently declined by as much as two inches in many parts of the Old World. This decline may have been a result of decreasing nutrition, but it could also be that natural selection for greater height was relaxed because leverage for throwing projectiles such as spears was not so favored after the decline of big game hunting
The Elaboration of Material Possessions (Consequences of the Rise of Food Production)
In the more permanent villages that were established after the rise of food production about 10,000 years ago, houses became more elaborate and comfortable, and construction methods improved In Neolithic times, European houses had doors, beds, tables, and other furniture that closely resembled those in modern-day societies. We know the people had furniture because miniature clay models have been found at their site For the first time, apparel made of woven textiles appeared, the development occurred due firstly to the domestication of flax, cotton, and wool as well as the invention by Neolithic people of the spindle and loom for spinning and weaving textiles Neolithic ceramics such as pottery became more sophisticated and artistic It is probable that virtually none of these architectural and technological innovations could have occurred until humans became fully sedentary. Nomadic hunting and gathering peoples would have found it difficult to carry many material good, especially fragile items such as pottery
Theories About the Origin of the State
Irrigation― Population Growth, Circumscription, and War Region-specific conditions/Geopolitical factors Local and Long-Distance Trade Conclusion different conditions in different places may have favored the emergence of centralized government: the state, by definition, implies an ability to organize large populations for a collective purpose‒and those purposes could have varied
Sedentarism and Population Growth (why might birth spacing change with settling down?)
Nomadic groups may be less motivated to have children farther apart because of the problem of carrying small children. Carrying one small child is difficult enough; carrying two might be too burdensome. Thus, sedentary populations could have their children spaced more closely because carrying children would not always be necessary It is now well established that the longer a mother nurses her baby without supplementary foods, the longer it is likely before she starts ovulating again. Nomadic !Kung women have little to give their babies in the way of soft, digestible food, and the babies depend on mother's milk for two to three years. But sedentary !Kung mothers can give their babies soft foods made from cultivated grains and milk from domesticated animals, thus shortening the interval between birth and the resumption of ovulation A sedentary !Kung woman may have more fatty tissue than a nomadic !Kung woman, who walks many miles a day to gather wild plant foods. Thus, sedentary !Kung women might resume ovulating sooner after the birth of a baby and may be more likely to have more closely spaced children‒-if some critical amount of fat is necessary for ovulation
Catal Huyuk
On a plateau in the mountainous regions of southern Turkey stand the remains of a mud-brick town known as Catal Huyuk About 5600 BCE, it was an adobe town. Some 200 houses have been excavated, and they are interconnected in pueblo fashion The inhabitants decorated the walls with murals and had shrines with symbolic statuary the murals depict what seem to be religious scenes and everyday life Farming was well advanced here. Lentils, wheat, barley, and peas were grown in quantities that produced a surplus Archeologists were astonished at the richly varied handicrafts, including beautifully carved wooden bowls and boxes that people of the town produced bowls, spatulas, knives, ladles, and spoons were made from bone. evidence also suggests that men and women wore jewelry fashioned from bone, shell, and copper and that they used obsidian mirrors
Why Do States Decline and Collapse?
One suggested explanation is environmental degradation. If states originally arose where the environment was conducive to intensive agriculture and harvests big enough to support social stratification, political officials, and a state type of political system, then perhaps environmental degradation‒declining soil productivity, persistent drought, and the like-contributed to the collapse of ancient states Civilizations may sometimes decline because human behaviour has increased the incidence of disease overextension: This is often one of the reasons given for the decline of the Roman Empire. By the time of its fall, beginning in the second century C.E., the empire had expanded throughout the Mediterranean region and into northwestern Europe. that huge area may simply have been too large to administer. "Barbarian" incursions on the peripheries of the empire went unchecked because it was too difficult, and too costly, to reinforce these far-flung frontiers. Sometimes these incursions became wholesale invasions that were exacerbated by famines, plagues, and poor leadership. By the time the last Roman emperor of the West was deposed in 476 C.E., the empire had withered to virtually nothing. (207) internal conflict because of leaders' mismanagement or exploitation: E.g., Peter Charanis has argued that the Byzantine empire (the eastern half of the Roman empire) collapsed because large, powerful landowners had been allowed to take over the land of too many small holders, creating a group of overtaxed, exploited peasants with no interest in maintaining the empire: civil wars erupted, leading to disunity that left the empire vulnerable to conquest. social decadence
Neolithic
Originally meaning "the new stone age," now meaning the presence of domesticated plants and animals. The earliest evidence of domestication comes from the Near East about 8000 BCE. In this type of culture, people began to produce food rather than merely collect it. The line between food collecting and food-producing occurs when people begin to plant crops and to keep and breed animals.
Population Growth, Circumscription, and War: Theories About the Origin of the State
Robert Carneiro has suggested that states may emerge because of population growth in an area that is physically or socially limited. Competition and warfare in such a situation may lead to the subordination of defeated groups, who are obliged to pay tribute and to submit to the control of a more powerful group In this way, chiefdoms may have become kingdoms as the more powerful villages grew to control entire valleys. As chiefs' power expanded over several valleys, states and empires may have been born Carneiro suggested that his theory applies to many areas besides the northern coast of Peru, including southern Iraq and the Indus and Nile valleys. Criticism: Population growth does not necessarily mean population pressure...Nor is population growth definitely associated with state formation in all areas where early states arose. E.g., according to Wright and Johnson, there was population growth long before states emerged in southwestern Iran, but the population apparently declined just before the states emerged. In addition, Carneiro's circumscription theory leaves an important logical question unanswered: Why would the victors in war let the defeated populations remain and pay tribute [as opposed to killing them]?
Guila Naquitz
The Guila Naquitz cave, excavated by Kent Flannery in the 1960s, provides a good picture of early domestication in Highland Mesoamerica Here, small groups of people, probably only a single family at a time, lived intermittently (and probably seasonally) over a period of 2,000 years (circa 8900-6700 BCE) The cave itself is located is Southern Mexico, where the residents hunter deer and peccary with spears and atlatls, trapping small animals like rabbits as well. They additionally domesticated plants including the bottle gourd and several varieties of squashes Domestication and the use of domesticated planets would be rather informal‒a supplement to a diet already rich in animals and plant species
The Stone Age
The Stone Age is usually divided into three separate periods based on the degree of sophistication in the fashioning and use of tools Paleolithic Period: Lower, Middle and Upper Mesolithic Period―is traditionally that time period in the Old World between the last glaciation at the end of the Paleolithic (~12,000 ya) and the beginning of the Neolithic (~7000 years ago), when farming communities began to be established
Holocene
The current geological epoch beginning approximately 11,650 years before present (9700 BCE) after the Last Ice Age, which concluded with the "Holocene glacial retreat."
The Earliest Humans and Their Cultures in the New World
The earliest remains of people in North America date to about 14,000 years ago. Migrations of humans to the NW took place sometime after the emergence of H. sapiens (only H. sapiens fossils have been found in North and South America. The prevailing opinion is that humans migrated to the New World over a land bridge between Siberia and Alaska in the area of what is now the Bering Strait, or by boat along the Alaskan coast. The traditional assumption is that Native Americans came to North America from Siberia, walking across a land bridge (Beringia) that is now underwater between Siberia and Alaska.
Declining Health (Consequences of the Rise of Food Production)
The evidence that health may have declined sometimes after the rise of food production comes from studies of the bones and teeth of some prehistoric populations before and after the emergence of food production Nutritional and disease problems are indicated by such features as incomplete formation of tooth enamel, nonaccidental bone lesions, reduction in stature, and decreased life expectancy Greater malnutrition can result from overdependence on a few dietary stapes that lack some necessary nutrients some or most nutritional problems may be the result of social and political factors, particularly the rise of different socioeconomic classes of people and unequal access, between and within communities, to food and other resources
Archaic Period
Time period in the New World during which food production first developed
Why Did Food Production Develop?
Theories about why food production developed remain controversial, but most archaeologists think that conditions must have pushed people to switch from collecting to producing food rather than food-producing being a voluntary choice‒for there is no evidence of a great economic incentive for hunter-gatherers to become food producers. In fact, some contemporary hunter-gatherers obtain adequate nutrition with far less work than many agriculturalists Population Pressure theory: One possible cause of food production may have been population growth in regions of bountiful wild resources, pushing people to move to marginal areas where they tried to reproduce their former abundance; sedentarization led to population increase and therefore resource scarcity or because local wild resources became depleted after people settled down in permanent villages Climate Change Theory: Another cause of food production was hotter and drier summers and colder winters, favoring sedentarism near seasonal stands of wild grain; resulting population growth may have forced people to plant crops and raise animals to support themselves Mesoamerica exception: However, climate change or population pressure apparently did not lead to domestication in Mesoamerica, but humans in that area seem to have actively turned to domestication to obtain more of the most desired and useful plants Niche Construction Theory: One way contemporary scholars are trying to understand the origins of food production that applies to both the Fertile Crescent and Mesoamerica is through the idea of 'niche construction.' Through food production, humans take active control of their environment, shaping the plants and animal communities to produce more of the foods we humans want and need. Food-producing organisms appear to have more robust populations than competing species, so perhaps food production is a simply very successful adaptation that evolves whenever the environmental and social conditions are right
Local and Long-Distance Trade: Theories About the Origin of the State
Wright and Johnson theorized that the organizational requirements of producing items for export, redistributing the items imported, and defending trading parties would foster state formation In the lowland of southern Iraq, as we have seen, people needed wood and stone for building, and they traded with highland people for those items
The subject of Upper Paleolithic paintings are
mostly animals An explanation for the focus of animals might be that these people sought to improve their luck at hunting; Data suggests that the animals portrayed in the Chauvet cave paintings in France were mostly the ones that the painters preferred for meat and for materials such as hides. E.g., wild cattle and horses are portrayed more often than we would expect by chance. The paintings are consistent with the idea that "the art is related to the importance of hunting in the economy of the Upper Paleolithic people." Consistent with this idea, according to investigators, is the fact that the art of the cultural period following the Upper Paleolithic also seems to reflect how people got their food, which no longer depended on hunting large game
How do archaeologists infer that a particular group of people in the preliterate past had social classes, cities, or a centralized government?
power. Thus, we can be fairly sure that a society had differences in status if only some people were buried with special objects, such as jewelry or pots filled with food
Epipaleolithic Period
time period during which food production first developed in the Near East, a term for a period occurring between the Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic Period: period immediately before plants and animals were domesticated, when broad-spectrum collecting became a prominent food-getting technique