Anth 143 Ex 1
How does the Central Valley Grasslands differ today from their conditions in prehistoric times?
99 percent are European Introduced, back then were bunch grasses and sea of wild flower
What major geographic feature separates the North and South Coast Ranges?
Bay area of San Franciscio
What is the most important Prehistoric resource in the Transitional Life Zone?
Black oak acorn
The La Brea tar pits do not give us a perfect window on California's Ice Age world. What are some of the biases in this data base and why?
Carnivores, prey attracting predators as well
What environment is the Modoc Plateau an extension of?
Cascade Range
Where is Todd Braje prospecting for Pre-Clovis sites and how is he doing it?
Coastal Migration. Sonar and quarry samples
What are the Santa Annas and what effect does it have on California?
Winds that come off from East to the West, and hot dry winds can be dangerous. Can make fires stronger
Does the environment have an effect on populations in California today and how does this differ from the past?
Yes it does, different with technology
What Clovis site is in Lake County California?
borax lake site
What provides the base of the delta food chain?
bugs and algae
What are the two competing theories for how the first people got to North and South America?
by coast or by land bridge
What is the preferred idea today in terms of how the First Americans got to the New World?
by sea
What is the animal that was most surprising to you that was recovered from the La Brea tar pits?
camels
Provide me with an example of possible Pre-Clovis evidence from California where did it occur?
channel islands
What is the best developed of southern California's plant communities?
chaparral
What does roasted laurel nuts taste like?
coffee
Pre-Clovis sites have been hard to find. Where are many of these sites likely to be hiding?
contenital shelf. under the water
What was the source for important clues about the First Americans from Paisley Cave?
coperlites
The use of DNA data to explore the First Americans is not with out controversy. What concerns might Native Americans raise and why?
desecration of ancestors
What effect did the environment have on prehistoric and historic populations in California?
dictates food, housing, and water
What characterizes the environment of California?
diverse
What was the most important Prehistoric resource found in the delta?
fish
How was the Borax Lake site evaluated as to the age and integrity of the deposits?
geomorphology
What intriguing similarity is there between the Farmington Complex and Skyrocket's oldest components?
greenstone
Name 3 Meg Fauna herivors and 3 carnivors
ground sloth, wolly mammoth, ice age beaver. Saber toothed tigers, north american lion, dire-wolf
What are the draw backs of the China Lake Clovis finds?
hard to date
What does Paisley Cave tell us about the relationship between Western Clovis and Western Stem Points?
idea that Stem is older than Clovis
What was the effect of the warming climate around 11,000 years ago on the large western Ice Age lakes?
lakes and plants began to dry
What made Clovis so convincing as to the evidence for the antiquity of Native American Native Americans?
mammoth with clovis points in them
What effect does the Pacific Ocean have on California's climate?
moderating effect on climate
How did the environment in California differ during the Ice Age from today?
more Cool and moist environment
What was the environment like at Ranch La Brea during the Ice Age?
more wetter environment
How does the environment of the central valley differ today from the past and why?
much drier, damming up of the rivers
Why are the eastern fringes of the coast range so dry?
rainshadow effect
Why is the Sagebrush belt so dry?
rainshadow effect
What intriguing evidence of Ice Age California did Break Parkman find?
rubbing rocks for megafauna
What was the effect of the Ice Age on coastal California?
sea level goes down
What was so special about the context of the old components of the Skyrocket site?
sealed deposit with artifacts
Name 3 animals that were recovered from the La Brea tar pits that are not extinct today?
shrew, bats, fox
What evidence is there from California that supports the idea of a coastal route for the First Americans?
sites along channel islands
What was one of the richest plant communities in Southern California in terms of resources that Native Americans could tap into?
southern oak woodland
The Channel Islands are simply the mountain peaks of an under water continuation of which range?
transverse range
What is a rich source for Clovis points in the Central Valley?
tulare lake
If Clovis were not the mighty Mammoth hunters what animal remains are much more common with their sites?
turtles
How did humans survive in this dangerous environment?
with the dog
Are Clovis points plentiful in California and if so, what are the drawbacks with their finds from the Golden State?
yes, most are isolated finds
How has our view of Clovis changed over time?
Initially thought to be mobile, not all kill sites
What are the classic problems that hound Pre-Clovis sites?
Is that material associated with humans? Can you date it?
What evidence refutes a European origin for the Clovis People?
It does date to clovis, all asian
How does today's environment of the valley floor of Yosemite compare with its condition at the turn of the century and why?
It is all covered by pine trees and can't see the valley floor
What was the effect of the ice age on sea levels and why is this important for human prehistory?
It lowers sea levels and allow opportunities for migration
How does the orientation of the Transverse range differ from most other mountain ranges in California?
It runs east to west instead of north to south
Compare the Joshua Tree-High Desert Woodland with the Creosote Bush-Low Desert Scrub.
Joshua tree is cooler and moister, Creosote is dryer and hot
Name two large lakes that were present in the West during the time of the Ice Age?
Lake Bonneville and Lake Lahontan, and Tulary Lake
Name two environmental effects on the plant communities in the northwestern corner of the state.
Latitude effect and moderating affect on pacific ocean
Who tried to lend credibility to the Calico Site and did it work?
Louis Leakey, No
What resources would have made up for the short fall of edibale plants in the Ice Age environments?
Mega Fauna such as animals that are large
What does the DNA data from the new site high up in the Siberian Arctic tell us about the First Americans? Please provide two insights.
Migration movement of DNA back into Asia, Base population of DNA from Asia
Where is one of the best sources to find out about the coastal environment?
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Is there convincing Pre-Clovis evidence recovered from the Ranch La Brea Tar Pits?
No
Were Clovis points named after Clovis, California?
No
Were horse first introduced into California by the Spanish?
No
were Mastodons and Mamoths common based on the bones recovered from the La Brea tar pits?
No
Why is there no such thing as "prehistory"?
No, Everyone has a history
Do the Rancho La Brea tar pits just provide us with bones of Mega Fauna?
No, plants and small animals
What is Dr. Pryor's first law of archeology?
On last day of project, will find most amazing thing
What made the Calico Site so controversial?
Out of thousands of pieces they only looked for human made artifacts and tools
How are the eastern and western Sierra different and why?
Raainshadow effect
Why do the environments of the Klamath Mountain and the Modoc Plateau Provinces differ?
Rainshadow effect and moderating effect
Name one of the three major rivers that flow through either the North Coast or South Coast Ranges.
Russian River, Eel River, Sleanous River
What are the two major rivers that flow through the Great central Valley Province?
Sacremento River and San Joaquin Delta
What is the most important natural resource for Native Americans in the Klamath Mountain Province?
Salmon, Roosevelt Elk, Mule Deer,
How are Clovis points similar across North America?
Similar stylistically and technologically
The DNA from early populations on the Chanel Island are similar to what other populations and what does this tell us about how the First Americans got here?
Similar to Indian Population, supports Coastal Migration
What does a Bobcat sound like?
Sounds like someone who is let out of insane asylum
How does the South Coast Range differ from the North Coast Range and why?
South is dry, north is more wetter
How are the southern and northern Sierra different and why?
South is dryer, North is more wet
What were Clovis Points likely used for and not used for?
Spear for butchering, not for shooting
Where does the southern oak woodland plant community occur?
Where is the most dense population
What new scientific tool is revolutionizing the investigation of the First Americans?
DNA work
What was so surprising about the Clovis Point found at the Skyrocket site?
Date seemed after Clovis
What were two of the most common large mamals recovered from the La Brea tar pits?
Dire-wolf and sabertooth cat
Name two environmental effects that influence the distribution of plant and animal communities in the Sierra Nevada range.
Elevation, lattitute, Rainshadow Effect
How might we evaluate the validity of the Cerutti Mammoth Bone site?
Experimental archeology. Geomorphology
Who first mentions the La Brea tar pits in his diary?
Gaspar De Portola
What problems plague the Farmington Complex?
Green stone is a lot of the material being used
Name two things that soap root were used for by California Native Americans.
Hair brush, fish poison
Why does precipitation increase with elevation?
Higher is less pressures which cools air so air can only hold less water so it rains ( Rainshadow effect)
What are some of the basic problems in verifying the validity of Pre-Clovis sites?
Iceage hard on evidence, sites out on continental shelf, Archeologists preconceptions
What are the draw backs with the Clovis deposits from Tulare Lake?
Surface deposits, lack of stratigraphy, hard to date
Which was the Native American's favorite acorn that occurred in the North Coast Range?
Tan oak
In California were can we find the best fossil evidence of Ice Age animals?
Tar pits and Coastal Seeps
New convincing Pre-Clovis sites have opened the door to older and older dates. Give me one example of such a site and what might be a problem with it.
The San Diego Mastodon site. Its earlier
What is the major problem with the old idea that the First Americans traveled south through the ice free corridor?
The ice free corridor may never have existed or life through journey may have been unbearable
Why are the Central Valley lakes and sloughs environmentally so important?
They are the habitat that supports the seasonal birds
What is the single greatest natural factor effecting the plant and animal communities along the coast?
Tidal effect of the ocean
What evidence does Wilson "Dub" Crook draw on to gain insights about the origins of the First American and what controversial origin does he suggest?
Very diverse sites are you dating what you think you're dating
What important prehistoric rock source was found in the North Coast Range?
Volcanic glass, Obsidian
What particular problems occur with the Pre-Clovis sites in the deserts of California?
all surface deposits, Hard to isolate and date findings
In the early part of the last century a number of possibly very old Burials were encountered. What problems swirl around these finds?
are they dating what they think they are outdated dating techniques
