anthro 103

V. Gordon Childe

"oasis incentive" - drastic change in climate in 1950's caused decline in summer rainfall in Near East - people forced to retreat into "oases" of resources surrounded by desert

examples of altruism

"old man" of la chapelle-aux-saints (neandertals), abscessed jaw, no teeth (couldnt chew food) had arthritis "wandy" of shanidar cave, northern iraq, healed injuries that would have left him blind and with paralized right arm

single origin hypothesis also known as

"out of Africa", "eve", or "replacement" hypothesis

Thule

ancestral to the present-day Inuit peoples

cities and states in mesoamerica

appeared later than in the new east

around 3500 BC in the Near East

many or all characteristics of civilization are now present the first inscriptions (writing) full time craft specialists monumental architecture differential wealth and status

burial evidence

may indicate differential status (not wealth) noticeable differences in childrens tombs suggest high status assigned at birth

ice free corridor

may not have had enough game animals to support migration

first domesticated plants in the New World

members of the cucurbit family: bottle gourd, summer squash, pumpkin

Natufian culture

mesolithic populations living 11,000 YA in what is now Israel and Jordan slopes of Mt. Carmel & Eynan, Natufians - inhabited rock shelters and caves, built villages of pit-houses

microscopic wear analysis

microscopic stretches can suggest use - parallel to cutting edge= sawing/slicing, perpendicular to cutting edge = chopping, whittling or scraping

Sumerian civilization

mixed herding-farming economy by 6000 BC 5000-3500 BC changes coming together several cities by 3500 BC complex empire by around 3000 BC

homo sapiens sapiens

modern humans

single-origin hypothesis

most archaic & other homo sapiens did not evolve into modern humans, modern humans evolved in a limited geographic area, migrated and replaced existing archaic populations (physically or genetically through interbreeding) according to this model earliest fossil evidence should have appeared at single location, archaic and modern homo sapiens should have co-existed in some areas for some time, modern genetic diversity should be small place of origin thought to be Africa

end of upper Palaeolithic food sources

most food obtained from large game, mobile hunter-gatherers (follow large migratory herds) by 14,000 YA people in some regions begin to depend less on big game, and more on relatively stationary food sources - fish & shellfish, smaller game, wild plants in some areas, exploitation of local resources may have led to an increasingly settled way of life (Europe and Near East)

homesites

most located in cave & rock shelters, increased reliance on fire

acheulian hand axe

most prevalent and characteristic acheulian tool, characteristic tear-drop shape, bifacially worked, thinned/sharp tip, probably not used for woodcutting - wear patterns consistent with animal butchery

homesites in upper palaeolithic

most sites in caves and rock shelters, parts of floors paved with stones, tent-like structures inside caves for warmth, open-air sites also

europe & near east tool traditions

mousterian: lower proportion of large core tools (hand axes and cleavers), higher proportion of small flake tools (scrapers), scrapers used for scraping hides and working wood

neandertals last common ancestor

mtDNA evidence: 600,000 YA

New World migration

must have happened after the emergence of modern humans since only homo sapiens sapiens fossils have been found theories suggest people crossed the Beringia land bridge into Alaska, then moved down the ice-free corridor into what is now the USA by 11,000 YA

the acheulian tool tradition

named for site of first discovery: st. acheul, france. oldest tools from east africa dated 1.5 MYA in Tanzania, larger than olduwan tools, distinctive set of designs and shapes

neandertals are probably 'cousins' not ancestors of homo sapiens

neandertals & anatomically modern humans co-existed in the same place, but no sign of interbreeding or sharing technology

3 possibilities for the extinction of the Neandertals

1. interbreeding - characteristics slowly disappeared 2. killed off by modern humans 3. outcompeted by modern humans -driven to extinction

problems with population growth, circumscription and war theory

1. population growth does not necessarily mean population pressure 2. if victors in warfare wanted the land, why let defeated stay & pay tribute? why not exterminate them and take the land

linguistic studies suggest 3 waves of migration:

1. speakers of proto-Amerind 2. speakers of proto-Na-Dene 3. speakers of proto-Inuit-Aleut

the New World

10,000 YA similar shift toward more broad-spectrum hunting & gathering - climate change instrumental in this shift (mass extinctions within a short period) deciduous woodlands and grasslands expanded

Teotihuacan: the formative period

1000-300 BC small, scattered farming villages on hilly slopes politically autonomous population shift to settlements on valley floor (500 BC), probably associated with development of irrigation small elite centres emerge (300-200 BC) city laid out in grid pattern (57 m squares) 2 pyramids: piramide del sol, piramide de la luna height of power: AD 200-500

coastal migration theory

14,000 BP proves only that people there were butchering and eatin gbison, does not prove that people came to north america down the coast if humans did take the coastal route - they didnt eat seafood

population of Teotihuacan

150 BC: only a few thousand people living in scattered villages AD 100: city housed 80,000 AD 500: 100,000+ people

nuclear DNA analysis suggests divergence between archaic and modern humans

150,000 YA

mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)

1997 - german & american scientists extract dna from original neandertal fossil - not found in nucleus, does not recombine - not passed from fathers' sperm (inherited from mother only) only source of genetic change is random mutation (2% per million years)

molecular clock suggests time of divergence (last common ancestor between archaic and modern humans)

200,000 YA

middle palaeolithic

300,000-40,000 YA , fossil evidence shows transition to homo sapiens, toolmaking skills become more sophisticated, food is now cooked, hominins live in caves and campsites, beginnings of ritual behaviour (burials), beginnings of altruism

Gona stone tools

3000 pieces, vary from thumb-sized flakes to cobble-sized cones, made by percussion flaking

first 'state' societies & characteristics

3500 BC greater mesopotamia (southern iraw & southwestern iran) cities: substantial part of population not directly involved in food production (heavily dependent on people elsewhere) full time religious and craft specialists public buildings official art style

dramatic increase in cranial capacity

400,000 YA first homo sapiens

archaic homo sapiens

500,000 YA - begin to see a transition from homo erectus to archaic homo sapiens some suggest homo erectus and homo sapiens are early & late versions of same species

Korg

70,000 BC

domestication in the near east

8,000 BC crops - grains and legumes, fruits & nuts animals - dogs (10,000 BC), goats & sheep (7,000 BC), cattle & pigs (6,000 BC)

the Archaic peoples of Mesoamerica

8000 YA peoples moved seasonally alternated between macrobands and microbands same shift to broad-spectrum collecting occurred in Highland - altitude an important factor in hunting/collecting strategies vertical zonation - meaning more plants and animals available in close proximity no evidence of social differences

burins

chisel-like stone tools for carving wood, bone and antler

Ali Khosh

community in southwestern Iran 7500 BC agriculture and herding increasingly important, innovations after 5500 BC of irrigation and domesticated cattle

grain diet possibly impetus for

construction of roasters, grinders, storage pots, solid fairly permanent housing would be reluctant to move after all that work - stay where they are

both species of homo

contemperaneous & shard many features - both had reduced dentition compared to Australo, both had 1/3 larger brains than Australo, few postcranial remains (do not include pelvic bones) modifications assumed to accomodate larger brain

homo erectus culture

continued to use olduwan scrapers and choppers, developed acheulian tools (more sophisticated, date 1.5 MYA, lasted more than a million years)

levalloisian method of the mousterian tradition

core is first prepared by striking flakes off around perimeter, striking platform prepared at one end, can then strike off flakes of predetermined standard sizes for immediate use or finishing and shaping into specialized tool

homo sapiens sapiens were found in

Dordogne region of France, South Africa (Klasies River Mouth Caves, Border Cave), Israel (Skuhl, Qafzeh), Niah Borneo, Lake Mungo Australia

extinction of neandertals: outcompeted by homo sapiens hypothesis

could be true if neandertals were less efficient at hunting & gathering than modern humans modern humans likely to live and reproduce more easily in same area, this would likely drive neandertals away

physical characteristics of homo erectus

cranial capacity 895-1040cc, long, low skull with thick walls, pronounced saggital keel, occipital torus, pronounced brow ridges, postorbital constriction, smaller teeth, taurodontism (enlarged pulp cavity), lighter thinner jaw, face much less forward thrusting, prominent nose, neck down very similar to humans

Three Sisters planting technique

credited to people in Mesoamerica, Mexico & Central America maize takes nitrogen from soil but provides "pole", beans grow up maize "pole" and replenish nitrogen, low-growing squash provides ground-cover which helps prevent weeds

hominins definitely cutting up carcasses for meat/marrow 2 MYA

cut marks on animal bone made by stone tools, polish on stone tools consistent with animal butchering - do not know if from hunting or scavenging

modern day foragers live in the marginal areas of the world

deserts, arctic, dense forests

egyptian hieroglyphic writing

developed in egypt in 3000 BC written on scrolls woven from papyrus reed fibres

"Turkana Boy"

discovered at Nariokotome, Lake Turkana, by Kamoya Kimeu (with Richard Leakey) dated 1.6 MYA - nearly complete skeleton of 11-12 year old boy (most complete homo erectus skeleton ever found)

KNM-ER 3733

discovered by Richard Leakey 1975 at Lake Turkana, Kenya, dated 1.78 MYA (oldest homo erectus specimen)

homo floresiensis (the hobbit)

distinct species discovered in 2003, closely related to homo erectus, dates 1 MYA, no evidence of contact with humans, tiny (less than 1 m tall), more similar to homo erectus than homo sapiens

wood & bone tools

do not survive in the archaeological record as well as stone

flint-bladed sickles

Near East used to reap more wheat and barley than needed for the entire year - large harvest would necessitate some sedentism: too hard to move all that grain

New world settlement dates

Old Crow, Yukon: 12,000-17,000 YA Monte Verde, Chile: settlement at least 12,500 years old

environmental restraints

domestication entails more work, but is more productive per unit of land greater productivity enables more people to be supported by a given territory foraging groups may have been forced to retreat into areas not desired by cultivators

why were hobbits so small

dwarfism is an adaptation to areas with few or no predators, small size more efficient

homo habilis

earlier of the two (2.3 MYA), larger brain that Australopithecines (630-640cc), reduced molars and premolars, relatively long arms, powerful hands (may have been partially arboreal

Natufians

earliest people known to have stored surplus crops more intensive use of stationary resources - increasing social complexity communities 5 times larger than in upper palaeolithic (occupied most of the year or year-round) nutrition appears to have suffered

evidence of deliberate use of fire

east africa 1.4 MYA, south africa 1-1.5 MYA, China 0.5 MYA, better evidence in Europe - campsites with definite hearths

3 independent centres of domestication in the New World

South America, what is now Mexico, and what is now the eastern U.S

horticultural societies tend to exhibit the beginnings of social differentiation

eg. part time craft specialists or political officials certain members of a kin group may have more status than others

Neolithic societies

egalitarian - little, if any, difference between people in terms of wealth, prestige, or power prestige and power were function of respect - earned through lifetime of demonstrated skills & accomplishments - not hereditary

neandertals extinction: interbreeding hypothesis

evidence is weak

homo sapiens sapiens characterized by:

a domed skull, a chin, small eyebrows, brow ridges and a rather puny skeleton

Catal Huyuk

adobe town on plateau, southern Turkey 5600 BC houses interconnected pueblo fashion - flat roofed structures, housed several families contained several shine rooms - bull murals & clay bull figurines interiors decorated with bright imaginative murals farming well advanced

food collection

all forms of subsistence technology in which food-getting depends on naturally-occuring sources (wild plants and animals)

Sumer after 3000 BC

all unified under a single gov't great urban centres dominated by huge, imposing temples, elaborate system of justice, special gov't officials professional standing army sewer systems, specialized craftspeople first evidence of writing (on ledgers, with wedge-shaped characters called cuneiform)

art in upper palaeolithic

explosion of art where there was none before cave paintings of Europe, rock paintings in South Africa european cave art depicts mostly animals - preferred prey, predators - rarely depicted human figures (sometimes anthropomorphic - combining attributes of humans and animals)

Venus figurines

female human art figures upper palaeolithic exaggerated female form - enlarged breasts, broad hips, large abdomens (possibly represent fertility)

times of transition

near east: 3500 BC northwestern india (Indus Valley): 2500 BC northern china (shang dynasty): 1750 BC the New World: AD 1 Africa: 1st millennium AD

Terra Amata

near nice, France, "huts" approx 4.5x9m, feature a central hearth, recognizable toolmakers' areas, evidence of seafood gathering, huntd both small &large animals

horticulture

growing crops of all kinds with relatively simple hand-held tools (no plow/equipment drawn by animals), no fertilization, no irrigation, no fields under permanent cultivation land is worked for short periods then left idle for several years (later cleared by slash-and-burn techniques)

accelerated population growth

population increase may have been caused by decreased birth spacing - increased workload of mother, reduces nursing time, ovulation begins sooner after birth, next conception sooner more children to help with chores

alternative hypothesis

possibly all at once: some replacement of one population by another, some local continuous evolution, and some interbreeding

new tool techniques in upper palaeolithic

indirect percussion: good for making long narrow blades hammer-struck punch uses directed force - strike off consistently-shaped blades, more than twice as long as they are wide pressure flaking development of burins

irrigation theory

irrigation was important in many areas where early states developed (made land habitable and productive) labour management needed for upkeep may have led to formation of political elite - became governors

conditions affecting skeletal remains

joint diseases, autoimmune diseases, metabolic diseases, occupational hazards

maize

lacks amino acid lysine, which is supplied by beans so maize and beans were often served together

Sunda

landmass connecting much of southeast Asia during periods of low sea level

Sahul

landmass linking Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea during periods of low sea level

african forms of homo erectus

larger cranial capacity, smaller facial bones

neandertals extinction: genocide by modern humans hypothesis

little evidence - neandertals were bigger and tougher than homo sapiens, so who would wipe out whom?

the Near East before 6,000 BC

lived in small villages little difference in wealth/status between households no gov't authority beyond the village no evidence of public buildings or craft specialists

sedentism

living in one place dependent on proximity of resources, or high reliability and yield

upper palaeolithic cultures

mainly hunters & gatherers & fishrs, probably lived in highly mobile bands, homesites were open-air camps (skin covered huts) or cave & rocks shelters, stone tools becoming smaller and smaller characterized by new developments: emergence of art, new tools and toolmaking techniques, possible increase in human population

intensive agriculture

makes use of techniques for cultivating fields permanently - use of fertilizaers (dung, plant stubble plowed under), irrigation (water, water-borne nutrients), crop rotation (using different fields from year to year - allows replenishment of nutrients)

africa tool traditions

post-acheulian: similar to mousterian, many tools struck from prepared cores in levalloisian way, mostly flake tools: parallel side-flake blades (prbably used as knives), points, burins/gravers (chisel-like incising tools), scrapers

bladder floats

prevented loss of sea mammals after kill

evolution of homo erectus

reflects a continuation of trends - expansion of brain, reduction of face, teeth & jaws, probably helped by increasing use & variety of tools, cooking food

pressure flaking

removal of tiny flakes along cutting edge by applying pressure with a bone, wood, or antler tool usually done in final stages of retouch to create sharper edge

Wallace line

runs through Wallacea, separates the unique plants and animals of Australia from Asia

getting food in africa

savannah & semi-arid desert, small grazers: antelope large grazers: eland, buffalo shellfish also exploited

acheulian tools

shaped tools, made by knocking more flakes off most of the edges

Broad-spectrum food collecting

shift from big game to things like fish, molluscs & other aquatic resources, wild deer, sheep, goats, wild grains, nuts and legumes occurred in Mesolithic - due to climate change

Neolithic revolution

shift to food production

genetic evidence leads to which hypothesis

single-origin hypothesis - based on studies of mtDNA, estimating time of divergence between populations

single origin vs multiregional hypotheses

single-origin implies little genetic diversity multiregional implies greater genetic diversities

european mesolithic

sites located near water - likely inhabited only seasonally people depended more on fishing than in upper Palaeolithic waste repeatedly deposited in middens over time - indicates growing sedentism associated with mesolithic

homo rudolfensis

skeleton similar to habilis, flatter/broader face, more modern-like limb proportions, larger/more thickly enamelled teeth

"Java man"

skull-cap & femur discovered by Eugene Dubois in Sumatra, Indonesia 1891, called it Pithecanthropus erectus (erect ape man), now known as homo erectus

funeral rituals

some neandertals definitely buried intentionally (Le Moustier: 16 y.o boy buried with stone axe)

chiefdoms

some political officials begin to have authority over several communities

atlatls

spear throwers upper palaeolithic, launch spear with greater force for less effort, travel farther, hit harder

funeral ritual in drachenloch switzerland

stone-lined pit filled with 7 stacked cave-bear skulls

percussion flaking

striking one stone with another (repeated, shared and learned technique, sign of cultural behaviour)

Wallacea

string of islands separating Sahul and Sunda

experimental archaeology

tells us what CAN be done with stone tools - not necessarily what was done

end of upper palaeolithic

temps rose and glaciers began to disappear, uncovering more land oceans rose, waters inundated the rich coastal plains, creating islands inlets and bays mixed forests now stood where tundra used to populations adopted more sedentary lifestyles - residential base camps, short term special purpose habitations fish and shellfish exploited more ground and polished stone tools (new innovation)

altruism

the concept of caring for and sustaining members of a group who may no longer contribute to the group's survival

technology

the means for extracting, processing and redistributing resources, including: tools, constructions, required skills, political organization

Early Arctic: Dorset tradition

very stable cultre, survived longest in the eastern arctic, subsisted mostly on seal, caribou, muskox, and fish had kayaks, had sleds pulled by hand, may have been first arctic people to build winter snow houses, technology somewhat limited known for exquisite miniature soapstone carvings

environmental changes in Europe

warming waterways cleared of glacial sediment - filled with fish and other aquatic resources, environmental changes likely induced some populations to alter their food-getting strategies - no more migratory herds of big game, smaller animals less dense, many shifted to exploiting fish, molluscs & wild plants

campsites

usually located close to water, sometimes caves, more often open air sites

broad spectrum food collecting associated with increased sedentism in

Europe, the Near East, Africa, and Peru NOT associated with sedentism in Mesoamerica

bipedalism

Milford Wolpoff - early bipeds may have used/made wood and bone tools, examples of modern day primates

Eynan (aka "Ain Mallaha")

Natufian culture remains of 3 villages in stratigraphic sequence (one on top of the other) each village had 50 pit houses - floor sunk into earth (retains heat longer), walls partly of earth and partly of stone dead buried in village cemetaries

neandertals language

fully modern-looking neandertal hyoid bone from kebara, israel suggests modern speech capability

Australian art

at Gunbilngmurrang: a beeswax figure of a turtle on a rock-shelter wall (dated 4000 years ago) in a cave in Arnhem Land: a mud wasp nest overlying a painting of a human figure on a rock shelter (dated to 16,400 years ago)

archaic homo sapiens language

basicranium appears modern - suggests language ability 250,000 YA

change to food PRODUCTION

began 10,000 YA began to cultivate and then to domesticate plants and animals acquired control over certain natural processes (animal breeding, plant seeding)

aurignacian tools

began in europe 35,000 YA, associated with modern homo sapiens sapiens, characterized by long narrow blade tools

2 possible routes for modern humans crossing Wallacea into Sahul

both require sea voyages the northern route - indirect, sea voyage greater than 10 km southern route - more direct, sea voyage of about 90 km

oldest known homo sapiens sapiens fossils

came from South Africa, dated 100,000 YA

macrobands

camps with 15-30 residents located near seasonally abundant resources, several families would come together when resources in season - work together to harvest, socialize, perhaps perform rituals

microbands

camps with 2-5 residents, inhabited seasonally when not assembled for macroband activities

the Neolithic

characterized by the presence of domesticated plants and animals people produce food rather than just collecting it - begin to plant, keep animals

principles of natural selection

increases the frequency of adaptive traits through time operates on 3 principles: variation, heritability, and differential reproductive success

homo erectus

first hominin found outside africa (first in Africa 1.6 MYA, then China, then Asia 1 MYA) find at Dmanisi, republic of Georgia dating 1.7 MYA - oldest hominins outside africa , considered to be early examples of homo sapiens

Arctic small tool tradition

first people to move into the eastern canadian arctic, 800-2,000 BC finely made burins, scrapers, blades, and the bow & arrow evolved into the Norton tradition in Alaska and the Dorset tradition in the eastern Arctic

Paleo-Arctic tradition

first undisputed cultural development in the Arctic earliest well-documented sites dated 5,000-8,000 BC identified by stone tools, microblades and small bifaces

"transitional" forms of fossils from Africa

florisbad, Jebel Irhoud, Omo Ngaloba

foragers

food collectors

earliest evidence for human occupation

found at Nauwalabila I - dated 53,000-60,000 years ago

"Peking Man"

found by canadian medical doctor Davidson Black, excavated at Zhoukoudian cave 1927-1929, total of 14 skull caps, several mandibles & limb bones, plus teeth, called Sinanthropus Pekinensis (chinese man of beijing) now known to be homo erectus

first fossils of modern humans

found in 1868 at L'abri de Cro-Magnon rock shelter in the Dordogne region of France - dated 35,000 YA

earliest identifiable stone tools

found in Gona, Ethiopia (2.5 MYA) not clearly associated with particular hominin species

Olduwan stone tools

found in lowest level (Bed1) of Olduvai Gorg, Tanzania, dates from lower pleistocene (1.5-1.6 MYA), made by percussion flaking, consist of core tools (choppers) and sharp-edged tools (scrapers)

declining health

health declined with the transition to food production - suggested by bones & teeth of prehistoric populations before & after food production

differences between h. heidelbergensis & h. sapiens

heidelbergensis: larger, more prognathic face, larger teeth & jaws, brow ridges, long low cranial vault, more robust skeleton

differences between h. heidelbergensis & h. erectus

heidelbergensis: smaller teeth & jaws, much larger brain, no saggital keel or occipital torus, brow ridges separate arches over each eye, more robust skeleton

modern humans in East Asia

homo erectus arrived in Java 1.8 MYA by 1.6 MYA homo erectus was well established in China homo erectus populations remained in east asia far later than anywhere else

language in homo erectus

homo erectus skull proportioned differently - remodelling of brain, similar in form to human brain hemispheric specialization - suggests linguistic and symboling ability (may have had same linguistic ability as modern day 6 year old)

multiregional hypothesis

homo erectus spread out of africa and evolved into modern homo sapiens in various parts of world, gradual "in situ" (in place) evolution of regional populations of ancient hominins into modern humans should be simultaneous evolution of modern humans in europe, asia and africa

big game eating

homo erectus was definitely eating big game (may have been scavenged, possibly hunted) in Torralba and Ambrona, Spain - mostly elephants, may have used fire

2 species of homo

homo habilis and homo rudolfensis

differences between homo sapiens and homo sapiens sapiens

homo sapiens sapiens: higher, bulging forehead, thinner lighter bones, chins, slight brow ridges (or none at all

Cohen's model

hunter-gatherers gradually increased in population by 10,000 YA world more or less "full" of food collectors - could no longer expand into uninhabited areas because of population pressure, either had to turn to broader range of less desirable foods, or had to increase yields of most desirable wild plants

early flaked stone tools probably not used as weapons

if earliest hominins were hunting, probably used spears & other weapons made of wood or bone

first evidence of food production

in the Near East, 8,000 BC - occurred independently in other areas within the next few thousand years

decreased resource availability =

incentive to domesticate animals & plants

nutritional and disease problems indicated by

incomplete tooth enamel function non-accidental bone lesions reduction in stature decreased mean age at death

language in australopithecines

no evidence for language

mesolithic technology

not radically different from Upper Palaeolithic - continued trend toward smaller, lighter tools (microliths used in great quantity) in Europe Asia & Africa composite tools appear (tools made from more than 1 material)

early arctic: thule tradition

not related to Dorset, represented population migration from Alaska brought new hunting technology, including toggle harpoon, bladder floats, metal artifacts

Sumer

now southern iraw small communities depending partly on agriculture emerged in hilly areas of north & east sumer mixed herding-farming economy rivers provided small scale irrigation, molliscs fish and water birds, transportation routes for importing raw materials temples built at central locations villages specialized in production of different goods hereditary status difference

domestication

occurs when kept animals and cultivated crops are modified to the point where they show differences from wild varieties and depend on human intervention for continued survival

bifacial tools

olduwan stone tool, facets removed from both sides of cutting edge

unifacial tools

olduwan stone tool, facets removed from only one side of cutting edge - most common kind

neandertals

one group of archaic homo sapiens, named after place of first find in 1856: Neander Valley, Germany elderly suffered severe arthritis

dmanisi fossils

one well preserved skull shows habilis-like features (rounded cranium, pronounced canines, relatively thick brow ridge, cranial capacity 600 cc)

trade theory

organizational requirements of import and export, production and redistribution may have led to state formation

nutritional problems can be caused by

over-dependence on a few staples that lack some necessary nutrients, or over-dependence on few sources can increase risk of famine can be result of social and political factors - different socio economic classes & unequal access to resources

Braidwood & Willey

people did not domesticate plants & animals until they had learned a lot about their environment, and their culture had evolved enough that they could handle it

Monte Alban

political centre in oaxaca valley 500 BC evidence for political unification earlier than Teotihuacan surrounding villages specialized in different crafts population 30,000

circumscription

population growth in a physically or socially limited area

population growth, circumscription and war theory

population growth in a physically or socially limited area may lead to states warfare in this situation can lead to subordination of defeated groups

Binford-Flannery model

population growth may have spurred people to move to locations with fewer resources - incentive to domesticate may have been a desire to reproduce what they once had

ground & polished stone tools

used for woodworking, for grinding seeds and nuts, reflects adaptation to emergence of greater forest areas

suggested that most dramatic population increase was because of sedentism

too many children was problematic when highly mobile

microliths

tool of upper Palaeo blade tools got smaller and smaller with time, tiniest ones are microliths (often hafted or fitted into handles) smaller blades led to easy repair of damaged tools

Clovis

tool used by Paleoindians projectile point: large, leaf shaped, bifacially worked (flaked on both sides), base is fluted (removal of long flake running longitudinally upwards from base) also includes stone scrapers and knives, bone tools

upper palaeolithic tools

tradition has roots in Mousterian and post-Acheulian traditions - many flake tools characterized by preponderance of blades, bone and antler tools, and microliths - tiny blades often embedded in harpoons or handles

Near East around 6,000 BC

transformation in scale and quality of human life beginnings of differences in status among households communities begin to differ in size and specialize in certain crafts "chiefdoms"

homo heidelbergensis

transitional form of homo, cranial capacity of 1200+cc, low forehead, large brow ridges

getting food in europe

tundra & steppe grasslands, big & small game: reindeer, bison, wild oxen, horses, mammoths, rhinoceroses, deer new evidence for big game hunting 400,000 YA: wooden spears found in germany (like javelins) used for throwing at large animals

harpoons

upper palaeolithic used for fishing

the last ice age

upper palaeolithic characterized by cooling trend, glaciers covered in Europe as far south as Berlin and Warsaw, and North america as far south as Chicago south of glaciers, a tundra zone in both europe and north america, average annual temps 10 degrees C lower than today extreme differences between winter & summer months, heavy annual snowfall in europe, north africa wetter than today, south africa drier than today

plants and animals in last ice age

upper palaeolithic plants and animals adapted to extreme conditions

Maglemosian culture

use of large timbers - split for houses, hollowed out for canoes fishing important apparently depended mainly on hunting

Paleoindians

used Clovis by 10,000 YA mammoths were extinct, - large straight-horn bison now largest prey species, hunted by Folsom projectile points (much smaller than clovis)

consequences of shift to broad-spectrum food collecting

wider variety of food sources does not necessarily mean better eating - avg height declined by 5 cm, decline in general health based on skeletal evidence

Australian Megafauna Extinction

widespread extinction of megafauna occurred globally at the end of the Pleistocene Ice Age appears to have gone extinct 50,000-40,000 years ago (10,000 years after arrival of humans)