Anthropology Exam #2
Potassium Argon Dating
abbreviated K-Ar dating, is a radiometric dating method used in geochronology and archaeology. It is based on measurement of the product of the radioactive decay of an isotope of potassium (K) into argon (Ar).
Survival Cannibalism
cannibalism that occurred for survival (donner party, alive, 1972 airplane crash in Andes)
Atapuerca
cave site that contains a rich fossil record of the earliest human beings in Europe, from nearly one million years ago and extending up to the Common Era. They represent an exceptional reserve of data, the scientific study of which provides priceless information about the appearance and the way of life of these remote human ancestors.
status
privileges, rights and power
band
small group (about 25) mixed families that are mobile, forage on naturally available foods, egalitarian (minimal status differences), and have division of labor.
Levallois Technique
stone-tool technology involving the production of consistently shaped flakes from carefully prepared cores. associated with archaic forms of homo sapiens.
Morphological (morphology)
study of form; analysis of the shape and form of skeletons or artifacts
Fluted Point
- Projectile points made by Paleoindians in the New World between about 13,200 and 10,000 B.P. The points exhibit a distinctive channel or "flute' (as in the flutes in a fluted column) on both faces. These channels aided in hafting the spear point onto its wooden shaft. The two major forms of fluted point are Clovis and Folsom.
Taphonomy
How materials became part of the paleontological or archaeological record. The study of the natural processes that act on organisms between the moment of death and time of their discover. "laws of burial"
Cultural Evolution
Just as biological evolution posits ordered change through time among biological organisms, this posits ordered change through time among cultures. Cultures change in response to changes in their physical environments (for example, changes in climate) and cultural environments (contact with other human groups), as well as through the development of new technologies.
Lower Paleolithic Period
Lower Paleolithic is a period from 2.5 million years ago to 250,000 years ago. Emcompasses the stone-tool industries of Homo habilis and Homo erectus.
Java Man
the popular name given to early human fossils discovered on the island of Java (Indonesia) in 1891 and 1892. Led by Eugène Dubois, the excavation team uncovered a tooth, a skullcap, and a thighbone at Trinil on the banks of the Solo River in East Java. Arguing that the fossils represented the "missing link" between apes and humans, Dubois gave the species the scientific name Anthropopithecus erectus, then later renamed it Pithecanthropus erectus.
Coastal Migration Theory ???
theory that 100-200 thousand years ago, early human migrations first spread eastwards from a single origin in Africa to areas outside Africa, predominantly along coastal routes.
Debitage
waste flakes produced during the process of making stone tools. Usually small, unusable bits of stone
Western Stemmed Tradition (WST)
what scholars call the material culture left by early Archaic/late Paleoindian hunter-gatherer-foragers who lived in the American western desert. The people resided in what are now the American states of Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Nevada and Colorado beginning at least 12,300 radiocarbon years ago (RCYBP, which calibrates to 14,150 calendar years ago
Oxygen Isotope Curve (Shackleton and Opdyke) ???
worldwide sequence of glacial advances and retreats that can be studied by ratios of two oxygen.... shakleton and opdyke curve of 18O in fossils is indirect reflection of glacial expansion and contraction during the past 780,000 years.
Gastronomic Cannibalism
cannibalism that occurred because of the "taste" of flesh and human beings.
Zhoukoudian (Choukoutien) ????????
cave system in Beijing, China. It has yielded many archaeological discoveries, including one of the first specimens of Homo erectus, dubbed Peking Man, and a fine assemblage of bones of the gigantic hyena Pachycrocuta brevirostris. Dates of when Peking Man inhabited this site vary greatly: 700,000-200,000 years ago, 670,000-470,000 years ago and no earlier than 530,000 years ago.
Chauvet
cave that contains the earliest known and best preserved figurative cave paintings in the world, as well as other evidence of Upper Paleolithic life. It is located near the commune of Vallon-Pont-d'Arc on a limestone cliff above the former bed of the Ardèche River, in the Gorges de l'Ardèche. Discovered on December 18, 1994, it is considered one of the most significant prehistoric art sites and the UN's cultural agency UNESCO granted it the World Heritage status on June 22, 2014.
Lascaux
setting of a complex of caves in southwestern France famous for its Paleolithic cave paintings. The original caves are located near the village of Montignac, in the department of Dordogne. They contain some of the best-known Upper Paleolithic art. These paintings are estimated to be 17,300 years old.[3] They primarily consist of images of large animals, most of which are known from fossil evidence to have lived in the area at the time.
Flores Island
site in Flores, Indonesia where hobbits (homo floresiensis, a tiny hominin was found)
Moula Guercy
site in France where cannibalism was practiced. this site showed the strongest evidence of cannibalism (human and deer bones intermingled, butcher marks, no shortage of food)
Egalitarianism
social systems in which all members of the same age/sex category are equal in the sense that they all possess the same amount of wealth, social standing, and political influence.
Mitochondria DNA (mDNA)
the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
Cannibalism
the consumption of human flesh
Division of Labor
the division of tasks in a society between women and men, old and young, ability, knowledge, experience.
Meadowcraft Rockshelter
the oldest site of human habitation in North America, provides a unique glimpse into the lives of prehistoric hunters and gathers. This National Historic Landmark, located in Avella, Washington County, Pa., features a massive, 16,000-year-old rock overhang used by our earliest ancestors for shelter. In addition to ancient history at the site, visitors can also step back in time to experience rural life over 150 years ago. It carefully recreates all of the charming qualities of an Upper Ohio Valley village from mid-19th century. A 16th century Indian Village allows visitors to travel 400 years into the past and re-live what life was like for the Eastern Woodland Indians
Clovis
- Fluted point type of the Paleoindians. Large, laurel-leaf-shaped stone blades exhibiting a channel or "flute" (as in a fluted column) on both faces to aid in hafting the stone point onto a wooden shaft. The channel begins at the base and generally extends from one-third to no more than one-half the length of the point. date from about 13,200 to 11,900 years ago (compare to Folsom).
Premodern Homo Sapiens (ch.5)
Extinct sub-species of humanity that share much in common wit modern or anatomically modern Homo Sapiens, but who commonly retain primitive skeletal features and possess a somewhat smaller mean cranial capacity that modern people. The Neanderthals are the best-known archaic variety or sub-species of the human race. (also called archaic Homo Sapiens)
Phylogenetic ???
evolutionary tree is a branching diagram or "tree" showing the inferred evolutionary relationships among various biological species or other entities—their phylogeny—based upon similarities and differences in their physical or genetic characteristics.
Paul Martin ???
geoscientist at the University of Arizona who developed the theory that the Pleistocene extinction of large mammals worldwide was caused by overhunting by humans. his work bridged the fields of ecology, anthropology, geosciences and paleontology.
Musculoskeletal Hypertrophy
great size and associated strength in the muscles and bones of a species or individual. Among recent human ancestors, the Neandertals exhibit this
Paleomagnetism
he study of the record of the Earth's magnetic field in rocks, sediment, or archeological materials. Certain minerals in rocks lock-in a record of the direction and intensity of the magnetic field when they form.
Blombos Cave ????
a site at the very tip of South Africa where great strides in understanding the development of modern human beings are being taken these days. While much of the recent press attention has been on the scholarly debate on whether humans evolved once in Africa (the Out of Africa theory), or several times all over the world (the multiregional hypothesis), a quiet revolution has occurred centered on what it means to be human.
Neandertals
another distinct group of premodern human beings (named after Neander Valley 1856) rooted in Europe traced back 30,000 years ago, real ones were traced from Europe and West Asia 130,000 to 33,000 years ago with a brain size often larger modern human beings, larger bodies, large face with lower portion for forward of eyes and brows, wide nasal bridge, no chin. Used mousetrap tool making, were hunters, used symbolic expression, buried dead, had compassion
Overkill Hypothesis
argues that humans were responsible for the Late Pleistocene extinction of megafauna in northern Eurasia and North and South America.
Lithic Scatter
A distribution of cultural items that consists primarily of lithic (stone) material. The scatter may include formed tools such as points or knives, or it may contain only chipping debris from tool-making activities.
Parietal Art
Art on the walls of a cave like the cave paintings of the upper Paleolithic.
Mobilitary Art
Art that is portable. made during the Upper Paleolithic includes Venus figurines, animal carvings, and geometrically incised bone and antler.
Petroglyph
Designs etched into rock faces. Darker, weathered rock surface is removed, creating a design or pattern by exposing lighter-colored rock beneath.
Oldowan Technology
Oldowan- the earliest stone tools. Simple chopping tools and sharp lakes, Oldowan tools date to about 2.4 million years ago. These tools were probably made by Homo Habilis. Some evidence suggests they may also have been produced by Paranthropus robustus.
Archaeomagnetism
Orientation of the earth's magnetic field can become fixed in relatively recent cultural deposits like the sediments in a canal or the clay in bricks lining a kiln. The date of a site can be determined where the orientation points to a location of magnetic north already fixed in space and time along a master curve.
Radio Carbon Dating
Radiometric dating technique based on the decay of a radioactive isotope of carbon: 14C or radiocarbon. can be applied to virtually anything that was once part of a living organism within a range from about 50,000 to 500 years ago. AKA carbon dating.
Svante Paabo
Swedish biologist specializing in evolutionary genetics. One of the founders of paleogenetics, he has worked extensively/dedicated his work on the Neanderthal genome.
Upper Paleolithic Period
The Upper Paleolithic is associated with the first appearance of anatomically modern humans in Europe. Upper Paleolithic was the final phase of the Paleolithic, dating to after 40,000 years ago.
Settlement Pattern
The location, size, function, and seasonality of the various communities or activity areas within a given cultural system. The pattern of land use.
Archeulean Tool Tradition
The stone-tool tradition associated with Homo erectus. The best-known type is the symmetrical handaxe, now dating back to 1.76 million years ago at the Kokiselei site in Kenya. Handaxes were multipurpose tools-the Swiss Army rocks of the Paleolithic. also includes flakes-sharp edged tools produced during production of the handaxes. In their symmetry and, from a twenty-first-century perspective, their beauty, the tools reflect both the technological and intellectual development of our hominid ancestors.
Mousterian
The stone-tool tradition of the Neandertals and early anatomically modern human beings. A core and flake technology in which a series of different, standardized tool types were produced from stone flakes struck from cores.
tribe
large community (200 or more) horticultural semi-sedentary (live in the same place for a period of time, usually around 6 months)
Sedentary
live in the same place for a period of time
Blade
long, thin stone flakes, commonly twice as long as they are wide. represent an efficient use of stone producing a high proportion of edge for the amount (weight) of stone used.
Bering Land Bridge
A broad connection of land more than 1,500 kilometers (1,000 miles) across connecting northeast Asia with northwest North America during periods of sea level depression in the Pleistocene. People living in Asia walked east across this into the lands of the Western Hemisphere at least 15,000 years ago and possibly more.
supraorbital torus (brow ridges)
A continuous ridge of bone above and across the eye orbits. A projecting, bony ridge commonly seen in apes as well as in ancient hominids. lacking in anatomically modern human beings, though less conspicuous brow ridges are present in some individuals, especially John Travolta.
Anthropophagy
A person who eats human flesh; a cannibal
Site
A place where people lived and or worked on where the physical evidence of their existence in the form of artifact, ecofacts, and features can be or have been recovered.
Foraging
A subsistence system based on the collection of wild foods. May include any combination of hunting wild game, gathering wild plants, fishing and shellfish collecting.
Venus of Hohle Fels/Willendorf
A unique item of prehistoric sculpture created during the Aurignacian culture of the Upper Paleolithic, the small ivory carving was unearthed during excavations in 2008 at Hohle Fels Cave in the Swabian Jura of southwestern Germany. It is dated to the period 38,000-33,000 BCE, which makes it the oldest of all the Venus figurines and the earliest undisputed example of figurative art known to archeology. This tiny work of prehistoric art has a range of unique features as well as several characteristics which are typical of later female figurines, such as the Venus of Willendorf.
Homo Erectus (ch.4)
Appeared 1.8 million years ago this new hominid makes appearance on evolutionary stage. Born in Africa, possessed anatomy best suited to life in tropics, but expanded to other regions w/different climates after it appeared in Africa like Java and Europe. Possessed a brain larger than Homo Habilis from which it evolved and two-thirds the size of a human brain, but had a vertical forehead similar to modern human. This hominid exhibits increasing intelligence and reliance on cultural adaptations. Sophisticated stone-tool technology, cooperative hunting, controlled use of fire, clothing and possible construction of shelters. Human ancestor.
Achieved vs. Ascribed Status
Ascribed status is the social status a person is assigned at birth or assumed involuntarily later in life. It is a position that is neither earned nor chosen but assigned. These rigid social designators remain fixed throughout an individual's life and are inseparable from the positive or negative stereotypes that are linked with one's ascribed statuses. Achieved Status isa social position a person takes on voluntarily that reflects both personal ability and merit. An individual's occupation tends to fall under the category of an achieved status; for example, a teacher or a firefighter.
Handaxe
Bifacially chipped, symmetrical stone tool associated with Homo erectus populations in African and Europe. The sequence of steps needed to produce a handmade is longer and more complex than those necessary to produce the older Oldowan choppers. The oldest handaxes have been found in Africa and date to 1. 76 million years ago in Kenya.
HMS Terror/HMS Peggy ?????
British voyage of Arctic exploration led by Captain Sir John Franklin that departed England in 1845. A Royal Navy officer and experienced explorer, Franklin had served on three previous Arctic expeditions, the latter two as commanding officer. His fourth and last, undertaken when he was 59, was meant to traverse the last unnavigated section of the Northwest Passage. After a few early fatalities, the two ships became icebound in Victoria Strait near King William Island in the Canadian Arctic. The entire expedition, 129 men including Franklin, was lost
Folsom
Fluted point type of the Paleoindians. Generally smaller than Clovis points and are later in time than Clovis, dating to after 11,000 B.P. Where Clovis points have been found in associated with the bones of extinct elephants, Have been found in association with the bones of bison. They are fluted, with the channels commonly extending nearly the entire length of the point (compared to Clovis).
Pleistocene Epoch
Geological epoch beginning about 2.6 million years ago and perhaps ending about 10,000 years ago. Marked by a succession of colder periods (glacials) interrupted by warmer periods (interglacials). During glacials, large portions of the earth were covered by ice and sea level was depressed. (described as geological epoch of the Tertiary Period, following the Miocene Epoch and preceding the Pleistocene Epoch of the Quaternary Period. The Pleistocene Epoch is defined as beginning about 5 million years ago and lasting until about 2.6 million years ago.) ??
Hunting vs. Scavenging ???????
Hunting is human activity as a factor controlling prey population dynamics and potentially influencing evolution and/or extinction of prey. Scavenging involves little or not direct impact on the biology of the species utilized.
Mesa Site
Located on a mesa north of the Brooks mountain range in Alaska, has been characterized as an ideal hunting lookout because it has a 360° view of the surrounding region. Excavations at the site over several years revealed more than 150 flaked stone tools and at least 15 hearths, dating to 11,700 - 9,700 years BP. The majority of tools recovered from the site are lanceolate projectile points, similar in style and manufacture to those of the Agate Basin Complex in the North American High Plains. These projectile points have been attributed to a unique lithic technology known as a Mesa point.
Half-Life
Measurement of the amount of time it takes for half of the radioactive isotope in a given sample to decay into a stable form. The half-life of radiocarbon, for example, is 5,730 years while that of radioactive potassium is 1.3 billion years.
Paleoindian
Period and culture in the New World dating from around 13,200 to about 10,000 BP. the most distinctive element in this stone-tool kit. hunted the late Pleistocene megafauna of the New World. Many archaeologists believe that they were the first human settlers of the New World.
Pedra Furada
The best known archaeological site of Serra da Capivara, a rock art shelter with over 1,150 images and thousands of artifacts. Her theories about the archaeology and the rock art are controversial, as she questions the putative dates for the relatively recent occupation of the Americas by anatomically modern humans, proposing a date in excess of 45,000 years ago, based on her archaeological research at the sites.
Holocene Epoch
The recent and current geological epoch. Followed the Pleistocene and may represent a break with that glacial epoch. On the other hand, it may merely represent a short-lived respite in glaciation, an interglacial rather than a new and different epoch.
Phylogeny
The evolutionary histories of different kinds of organisms and their relationships to each other. can be a chart showing the evolutionary connections among organisms as well as the timing of those connections.
Paisley Caves
The location of human occupation beginning 14,300 years ago, has been added to the list of the nation's most important archaeological and historic sites. Situated near the town of Paisley in south-central Oregon, the caves have been the subject of archaeological excavations that have produced evidence of humans in Oregon nearly 1,000 years earlier than previously thought. The National Park Service recently added the Paisley Five Mile Point Caves to the list. The occupation of Paisley Five Mile Point Caves predates the appearance of "Clovis" sites by more than 1,000 years. Clovis sites, characterized by a distinctive projectile point, have been documented throughout many regions of the United States. For many years they had been widely accepted as evidence for the first human settlement of the Americas.
Dolni Vestonice
Upper Paleolithic archaeological site near the village of Dolní Věstonice, Moravia in the Czech Republic,on the base of Děvín Mountain 549 metres (1,801 ft), dating to approximately 26,000 BP, as supported by radiocarbon dating. The site is unique in that it has been a particularly abundant source of prehistoric artifacts (especially art) dating from the Gravettian period, which spanned roughly 27,000 to 20,000 B.C. In addition to the abundance of art, this site also includes carved representations of men, women, and animals, along with personal ornaments, human burials and enigmatic engravings.
Red Ochre
a natural earth pigment containing hydrated iron oxide, which ranges in color from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colors produced by this pigment, especially a light brownish-yellow.[1][2] A variant of ochre containing a large amount of hematite, or dehydrated iron oxide, has a reddish tint
Glacial
a period of ice advance during the Pleistocene. generally long-lived, heir tenure measured in the many thousands of years.
Eugene Dubois
a Dutch paleoanthropologist and geologist. He earned worldwide fame for his discovery of Pithecanthropus erectus (later redesignated Homo erectus), or "Java Man". Although hominid fossils had been found and studied before, Dubois was the first anthropologist to embark upon a purposeful search for them.
state
a dense populated city, with a gov bureaucracy (centralized authority) and have taxation and enforcement.
chiefdom
a large community that is fairly sedentary, uses hereditary position includes a "chief"
Cave Bear
a large extinct bear of the Pleistocene epoch, whose remains are found commonly in caves throughout Europe.
Atlatl (spear thrower)
a tool that was used to throw darts or spears at velocities up to and even exceeded 100 miles per hour. used by the first immigrants to the Americas (1000 B.C.) but most notably the used by the Aztecs when the Spanish arrived in the Americas (1500 A.D.).
Middle Paleolithic Period
aka Middle Stone Age was a period after the Lower Paleolithic and before the Upper Paleolithic. Covers the span of about 250,000 to 40,000 years ago and includes the cultures of archaic varieties of human beings. Upper Paleolithic was the final phase of the Paleolithic, dating to after 40,000 years ago.
The Hobbit
an extinct species widely believed to be in the genus Homo. The remains of an individual that would have stood about 3.5 feet (1.1 m) in height were discovered in 2003 on the island of Flores in Indonesia. Partial skeletons of nine individuals have been recovered, including one complete skull, referred to as "LB1". These remains have been the subject of intense research to determine whether they represent a species distinct from modern humans.
Sungir
is an enormous Upper Paleolithic occupation, located in the central part of the Russian Plain, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) east of Moscow, near the city of Vladimir, Russia. The site, which included houses, hearths, storage pits and tool production areas in addition to several formal burials, is located on the left bank of the Kliazma river in the Great Russian Plain. Based on the stone and ivory artifact assemblage, associated with the Kostenki-Streletsk culture, sometimes referred to as Streletskian, and generally assigned to the early to middle Upper Paleolithic. Stone tools here include triangular bifacial projectile points with concave bases, and poplar leaf-shaped points. Several AMS radiocarbon dates have been taken on associated bone artifacts, charcoal from the site
Flint Knipping
process by which stone (or lithics tools were and are today made. A flintknapper selects a block of stone, called a core, and, using a hammerstone begins to chip away at core to create a projectile point, scraper, or other tool. Tools used to shape the core include hard percussion tools (tools made of stone such as a hammerstone) or soft percussion tools (bone or antler batons) tools to deliberately flake away or sculpt a stone tool such as a projectile point or scraper.
Peking Man
known from fossils found at Zhoukoudian near Beijing. identified as a member of the human lineage by Davidson Black in 1927 on the basis of a single tooth. Later excavations yielded several skullcaps and mandibles, facial and limb bones, and the teeth of about 40 individuals. Evidence suggests that the Zhoukoudian fossils date from about 770,000 to 230,000 years ago. Before being assigned to H. erectus, they were variously classified as Pithecanthropus and Sinanthropus. characterized by a cranial capacity averaging about 1,000 cubic cm, though some individual skull capacities approached 1,300 cubic cm—nearly the size of modern man's. had a skull that was flat in profile, with a small forehead, a keel along the top of the head for attachment of powerful jaw muscles, very thick skull bones, heavy browridges, an occipital torus, a large palate, and a large, chinless jaw. The teeth are essentially modern, though the canines and molars are quite large, and the enamel of the molars is often wrinkled. The limb bones are indistinguishable from those of modern humans.
Geofacts
natural stone formation that is difficult to distinguish from a man-made artifact. commonly misinterpreted as an artifact, especially when compared to paleolithic artifacts.
Ritual Cannibalism
occurs not as a response to lack of physical nutrition, but based on a particular society's belief system regarding the spiritual or psychological outcomes of consuming human flesh.
Homo Habilis (ch.4)
one of the earliest members of the genus Homo (2.4-1.4 million years ago) in Eastern and Southern Africa and has a slightly larger braincase and smaller face and teeth than in Australopithecus or older hominin species. But it still retains some ape-like features including long arms and a moderately-prognathic face. (discovery by Louis and Mary Leaky Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania 1964)
Interglacial
period where glacials were interrupted and it was a warmer, equally long period
Cromagnon
population of early Homo sapiens dating from the Upper Paleolithic Period (c. 40,000 to c. 10,000 years ago) in Europe. robustly built and powerful and are presumed to have been about 166 to 171 cm (about 5 feet 5 inches to 5 feet 7 inches) tall. The body was generally heavy and solid, apparently with strong musculature. The forehead was straight, with slight browridges, and the face short and wide. were the first humans (genus Homo) to have a prominent chin. The brain capacity was about 1,600 cc (100 cubic inches), somewhat larger than the average for modern humans. It is thought that they were probably fairly tall compared with other early human species.
Prognathic (ch.3)
the quality of having a forward-thrusting lower face. (apes are prognathous as are extinct hominids. Anatomically modern human beings tend to have flat, non-prognathous faces).
Modern Homo Sapiens
the species of bipedal primates to which modern humans belong, characterized by a brain capacity averaging 1400 cc (85 cubic in.) and by dependence upon language and the creation and utilization of complex tools.
Pacific Migration Route
the theory that 100-200 thousand years ago, early human migrations first spread eastwards from a single origin in Africa to areas outside Africa, predominantly along coastal routes.
Replacement Model vs. Continuity/Multiregional Model
the view that anatomically modern homo sapiens evolved from premodern humans in one place at a time (usually African between 100,000 and 200,000 years ago) and spread out from that point of origin, replacing premodern human beings as they encountered them in Asia and Europe. VS. the view that anatomically modern Homo Sapiens evolved from premodern humans in several regions simultaneously.
Venus Figurines
upper paleolithic sculptures of females, often, but not always with exaggerated secondary sexual characteristics. They have been found in geographic clusters in western, central and eastern europe. Most date to a rather narrow time span of between 27,000 and 20,000 years ago.
Pictographs
used in ancient times as a form of "writing". Ancient people would use pictures or symbols of things, such as animals, that could be used as a form of communication between people.
Monte Verde
very interesting archaeological site. First discovered in 1976, the site is about 500 miles south of Santiago and has yielded artifacts of a small settlement of 20 to 30 people living in a dozen huts along a small creek. Aside from artifacts, a wide variety of midden has also been unearthed from the site indicating these people survived on extinct species of llama, gomphotheres, shellfish, vegetables and nuts.
Megafaunal Extinctions
very large animals; commonly used to describe the large, now extinct herbivores of the Pleistocene world.
