Anthropology MT1
what do pollen sequences tell us
Forest types track annual temperature cycles, Trees require more water than grasses and many herbs, Some types of plants have narrow tolerance, Human influence may be a factor
what were the env constraints on migration to america
exposure of the Bering land bridge, paleoecology of Beringia, availability of southward route (ice free corridor through canada to u.s. maybe not open til 13,000 BP, glacial lakes till 12,000 BP
what could the meanings of cave art be
fertility of game animals, hunting magic, ritual (initiation), possible connections to shamanism, belief in supernatural?
what is preservation bias
filter that preserves some things and destroys others
what is pressure flaking
finishing step, pressure removes small flakes
what started in the african middle stone age
fire, marine foods, diverse toolkit, dwellings, long-distance transport of stone, burial of the dead, artistic expression
what are pottery attribute types (2)
functional: size and shape, raw materials, temper type, firing temp, contents; stylistic: color, decoration, surface treatment
heavy isotopes of H and O become more concentrated as sea level
goes down. as ice melts, ocean level rises and decreases salinity
what are some methods for forming the pot
hand vs. wheel, coiling, paddle and anvil (shape mass and paddle exterior), slab, molding (mass production), wheel throwing (3000 BC)
what are the venus figurines of the upper paleolithic and when were they most abundant, found,made from, and symbolic of
most abundant around 25,000 ya, made of various materials (ivory, stone, clay), symbolic of female principle or fertility?, found in caves, graves, domestic refuse, pits, sometimes colored with ochre, show textiles, headgear
what is neanderthal technology
mousterian- refined the levallois technique, developed disc core technique, composite tools
what is post-processual (interpretive) archaeology
movement in archaeological theory that emphasizes the subjectivity of archaeological interpretations
what is radiocarbon dating
needs calibrating to correct for fluctuations of C14 in the atmosphere and uses tree rings to do this, radiocarbon date one tree ring
Why did Neolithic (farmers) migration go from southeast to northwest
no real answer, env. constraints, low pop
What are the 4 sub-fields of anthropology and archaeology
physical or biological anthropology, linguistic anthropology, cultural anthropology, archaeology
life cycle of a stone tool
manufacture, maintenance, breakage and discard (debitage assemblages reflect these activities=things must be done in a certain order)
what are the neanderthal genetics
mitochondrial DNA is significantly different from modern humans, nuclear DNA of Neanderthals show the common ancestor was 500-700,000 ya, non-africans have 1-3% neanderthal genes. human gene pool has neanderthal genes related to skin and hair traits, disease risk, immune system. Reduction of neanderthal genes related to sperm production, male hybrid sterility on X chromosome
why dig if you have good instruments to find things?
more to be found than just images
what is conchoidal fracture and types
produced by percussion, like clam shell with ripples, how glass breaks, direct and indirect percussion and pressure flaking
what direction did farming migration move and how long did it take?
radiocarbon dates confirms southeast to northwest spread, took thousands of years
who are montana boy and female from yucatan and when are they from
recent finds to help understand routes to colonizing Amer., originated in Beringia; montana boy: 12,700 BP, directly ancestral to central and south american native people
what is a midden
refuse heap
what are the types of dating for archaeological chronology
relative dating-based on stratigraphy, association, and artifact typology, gives age relative to other; chronometric (absolute) dating-based on known rates of change (gives age in years)
what is isostatic uplift
removes glacial weight from land and land uplifts
what is random sampling
represenative; select subset of recovered artifacts to study
how did neanderthals hunt
stampede hunting, spear tips (levallois points), thrown (embedded in bone), used plant resins for hafting
what does the acheulean imply about culture
standardization compared to oldowan, no distinctive tool traditions within regions (same everywhere), incorporation of innovations into traditions creates change over time (changed slowly), toolkits were not adapted to specific env. and uses (not much specialization of function)
how do you make a stone tool
start with a core from which flakes are removed, continue shaping of core or one of the flakes (remainder is debitage)
for 90% of human history, what were most tools made from
stone
what is archaeology
study of human past through material remains (plant and animal remains, features, artifacts, soils and sediments, structures, entire sites and landscapes)
what is dendrochronology
tree ring dating- more precise than most other methods
what was the env. like for ancient apes
tropical Savannah woodland env, seasonal (wet/dry), variable over time
what was it like in Dolni Vestonice
tundra vegetation, situated with a view of valley, mammoth hunters (numerous bones), butchering area (scattered bones used for fuel, construction
what is survey and excavation useful for
understanding the regional picture of where people lived and how they used the land; recovering artifacts and biological materials in situ
did neanderthals think like us
unpredictable env., small and large game, extreme cold organized living areas with fire, personal adornment?, burial of the dead?
what is radioactive decay
use C14 usually, doesn't go back far enough, C14 usually decays when organism dies
how can you decided what the function of a stone tool is
use wear creates diagnostic patterns, residues have chemical signatures, ethnographic analogy can be a source of ideas
how do you map a site
vertical and horizontal controls: grid, datum=reference point for all measurements
what is ground survey
walk around and look, may have to miss some because inaccessable
what happened in the holocene transition
warming continued after end of younger dryas (11,600 BP); rapid increase of 13 degrees F, increased seasonal contrast, stabilization of climate (over multiple years), higher CO2 levels
what are the major models to how farming came to Europe
wave of advance (steady march of invading farmers that don't mix with hunter gathers) vs. shifting frontier (frontier that moved around with some exchange going on). Radiocarbon dates show have to move, archaeology shows at least one migration.
what are some ceramic form related to function questions. what are functional properties?
what is the vessel designed to do, what formal attributes (shape and size) might not be related to function? (Functional properties=capacity, durability, transportability, accessibility, stability)
how do you build an archaeological research design
what questions do you want to answer, what methods will be used, where and how will you sample the archaeological record
Importance of spatial context: what is provenience and difference between in situ and secondary context
where something is located (depth and horizontal differences); has item been moved or is item found where it was dropped (in situ)
what is the striking platform, bulb of percussion, and centric rings
where the stone is struck, bottom of stone that bows out, ripples in the stone
what is ethnohistory
written by literate people about non-literate ones
what is Linearbandkeramik (LBK) site
(7500 ya) Intrusive, Loess soils (easy to work and high nutrient for crops), Longhouses, strontium profiles indicate nonlocal women, warfare common (mass graves), fortifications sometimes present
when and what is acheulean technology and who used it
(H erectus; 1.7mya) hand axes-planning, levallois technique of core preparation. soft hammer percussion allowing greater control that hard hammer, standardization, multi-purpose tool, showing off, or projectile weapon
when and what is the archaeological evidence of bipedalism
(Laetolil) footprints from 3.6 mya in volcanic ash
what is nonrandom sample?
(recovery) find a mound or lots of artifacts, want to get it all out to get all info; use locals (landowners have knowledge), impact assessment (how construction is going to impact records), env. cues and past experiences (water, live oaks in wetlands because well drained and people lived there usually)
what is seriation
(relative dating) process of placing items in a chronological sequence; styles are distinctive to time and place, stylistic change is gradual, similar things belong together in time
what do speleothems reflect
(stalagmites, stalactites) Reflect water source (isotopes)
when did eastern expansion into china and indonesia begin and who expanded
1.8mya?, Javanese fossils are in secondary context, chinese homo erectus includes inhabitants of zhoukoudien, technology not Acheulean
when and who is homo erectus
1.9mya to 400,000, reduced sexual dimorphism, colonized temperate zones, increased brain size and some new skills
what is meadowcroft site and its date
14,500 BP, pennsylvania pre clovis
Lascaux cave
17,000 ya; mostly prey animals, distortions of figures based on perspective, natural features of the cave wall
when and what is the oldowan tradition
2.5-1 mya, early hominin tool use: choppers (cores), flakes, not standardized, tools were cached and curate, understanding of fracture mechanics
when did the first tools appear and the first hominin fossils
2.6 mya, 5 mya
when was the last glacial maximum and when did temps start rising
20,000 BP=land temp 36 F lower than today; rising temps started by 18,000 ya, interrupted by younger dryas 12,800 - 11,600
when is evidence of frequent meat consumption and fire control
2mya and 1mya
what is a deposit and examples and what do they contain
3-D unit with observable and distinctive physical properties (e.g. features=collection of one or more contexts representing some human non-portable activity that generally has a vertical characteristic to it in relation to site stratigraphy, burial pits, wall trenches). Contain material evidence in form of artifacts, biological remains, sediments, chemicals
chauvet cave
30-33,000 ya; shared by humans and bears-bear ceremonialism, black and red paintings, use of shading, cave walls, lifelike scenes of animals, including predators and unusual animals like rhino, lion, hyena
when does the written history begin
5000 years ago in Europe
when did Hominins split off
6 mya
temperatures of firing for pottery vs. ceramic and types
600C/1100F; terra cotta: low temp, no vitrification, earthenware: higher temp, partial vitrification, porcelain: highest temp complete vitrification
what is the flora and fauna in the Holocene
Aquatic resources: longer coasts, islands created, Extinctions of many large-bodied animals, Forest expansion (and smaller animals), Diverse and productive plant foods
How people experienced climate change in the past
Direct observations (within a lifetime), Cultural memory (multiple generations), Local or regional scale
who is the Tyrolean Ice man
Discovered 1991, 5300 BP, 46 yrs, 5 ft 3 in, Pollen= spring, had Leggings and loincloth, Belt and pouch: tinder fungus, scraper, drill, flint, flake, bone awl, flint working tools, bow and arrows, backpack, net, birch-bark containers, fungus first aid?, Last meal included barley and a type of wheat; red deer, Numerous health problems, Cause of death: arrow wound, blood loss, signs of conflict and other injuries, Strontium profile indicates he grew up south of the Alps
what do deep sea ice cores tell us
Foraminifera (animal)= Isotopic oxygen reflects temperature (high T = lower 18O), Salinity tolerance reflects sea level (glacial melting), Diversity reflects water temperature, Growth patterns vary
when did hominins first colonize temperate zones
H erectus=1.9mya
what were the migrations out of africa 1,2 and colonization of the americas and the spread of farming communities across central Europe
Homo erectus and related species (1.2 mya or earlier), homo sapiens (after 100,000 ya), 15,000 ya, 7000 ya
what is the evolutionary relationship between H erectus, H sapiens, and H neanderthalensis
Homo erectus split off first (only could do temperate), H sapiens (200,000ya)(Africa) and Neanderthals (Europe) split after that
how did human life change in the Holocene
Hunter-gatherers: Mesolithic (Europe) and Archaic (North America), In some parts of the world (e.g., the Near East) farming societies were established right at the end of the Younger Dryas, Stable settlements and larger communities, Greater regionalization, Broad-spectrum foraging (diversified economy), Seasonal resource use, Intensification
what is chronometric dating?
actual time elapsed since target event, can be converted to calendar dates
what is the temporal and spatial scales for climate change
Intra-annual variation (seasonality), Inter-annual, Decadal, bidecadal, etc., Local, Regional, Continental, Global
What is Hadar known for
Lucy (2mya)-1974, 40% complete. 5 adult, 2 juvenile flood victims, established bipedalism (came before everything else), sexual dimorphism?
what are proxies
Measurable properties of things that exist today; (stand-ins) for past conditions, For example, concentration of the stable isotope 18O is a proxy for sea level, Sea level indicates size of glaciers
what was like for people in Europe at 8000 BP
Mesolithic hunter/fisher/gatherers, Some long-term settlements, In north, great reliance on hunting, Resources of coasts and wetlands widely available
what is the star carr, England site
Mesolithic site, 11,000 BP, Former glacial lake shore, waterlogged deposits, Wooden trackways, Probably occupied in the spring, based on age of deer; year-round, Red deer (food and ritual), No sign of fishing, Controlled burning used to manage local vegetation, single circular house, platform of split logs constructed at edge of lake
what route did we think people came from to colonize america and how was it supported
NE Asia but env. made it the last to be colonized. supported by linguistic (close relationship of american andf NE asian languages), biological (dental=shovel shaped incisors, blood types=large type O, nuclear DNA has short genetic distance), dating of archaeological sites
what is the chronology of the Stone Age
Paleolithic-lower (oldowan and acheulean), middle (Mousterian; used by Neanderthals), Upper (Modern humans, 40,000 ya to end of Pleistocene around 10,000 ya); Mesolithic (10,000 to adoption of farming); Neolithic (8000 BP) (farming societies, dates vary)
when were the first farmers in Europe and what did they grow
People in the Near East began to farm by 10,000 BP, Wheat, barley, sheep, cattle, Spread to Greece by 8000 BP
what has been the names of the climate changes in the last 2 million years
Pleistocene ("Ice Age")= 2.6 million ya to 10,000 ya; Holocene; Anthropocene
what were later developments for humans in the Holocene
Social inequality, Agriculture, Urban life, Greater social complexity
how do you get data sources and types for the Paleoclimate
Speleothems, Ice cores, Deep sea cores, Ancient shorelines, Sediment cores, Pollen cores, H and O isotopes (sea level, local hydrology), Pollen assemblages (vegetation), Landforms and topography (sea level), Sediment structure (rainfall, flood events)
How is star carr in context of Flixton island
The Late Pleistocene of Flixton Island nearby is several centuries earlier= Tundra environment, Hunting emphasized horses, High mobility; Star Carr illustrates many of the social and ecological changes of the early Holocene
function vs. style of stone tools can be used as...
a chronological tool, brings into account the spatial variation and relatedness of cultures
what is the origin of modern humans and how do we know
africans have highest diversity of mitochondrial DNA, molecular clock=ancestral founding pop by 200,000 ya, modern humans out of Africal by 130,000, oldest African fossils from 150,000
coastal migration to America
after 16,000 BP, shellfish and plant foods, some archaeological evidence
what is an artifact
an object made by a human being, typically an item of cultural or historical interest.
what is a site
any location where people have left material traces of activity; can be residential or special purpose (ceremonial, hunting), open or sheltered)
when is regional styles, rapid innovation, and specialization of technology evident
appearance of H. sapiens (200,000ya?) and especially after 100,000 ya. language, art, belief systems seem to be in place by then as well
art of the european upper paleolithic types and time
appears 40-30K BP, common after 20K BP, mobiliary art and cave art
when did the modern mind emerge
appears after 50,000 ya, associated with upper paleolithic period of Eurasia
Archaeology today involves
archaeological science, noninvasive field methods, legal and ethical issues (descendant pop and preservation of archaeology)
what are some early hominins and their dates
ardipithecus and others (fully bipedal, but still climbed trees to sleep or hide) (4 mya), australopithecines (4-1mya), earliest homo (2mya)
artifact seriation
artifacts that looked similar are grouped together, could tell relative age related to other artifacts
how do archaeologists learn about the past
ask questions, plan and conduct archaeological survey (search for archaeological sites and collect info about location, culture, etc. across large area), target a sample of sites for excavation, collect and analyze data, compare data with questions and hypotheses, go back into the field to learn more, repeat as necessary
what are human-modified landscapes and ex
aspect of technology; fire to clear land, nurture plants before ag
what is the African middle stone age
associated with H. sapiens, 300,000-200,000 ya to 40,000 ya, replaced Acheulean in Africa
what was in the Monte Verde site
back to 14,200? before clovis? 13,000 BP, mastodon bones, 12 hide covered structures with log foundations, peat deposits, stone artifacts: projectile points, grooved spheres, organic materials=cordage, wild potato, seaweed, medicinal plants. ground stone mortor
what is contextual seriation
based on presence and absence of types
what is frequency seriation
based on quantity of types, tracks popularity of types over time, creates battleship shaped curves
what are some human uniqueness (8)
bipedalism, tools, adaptability, culture, language, abstract thoughts, beliefs, art
What kinds of interactions were most common between farmers and hunter gatherers
bit of everything, intermarriage, adoption
what was the neanderthal diet
bone chem shows high N15 and low strontium to calcium ratios, both plant and animal foods, but high meat consumption, anthropophagy (cannibalism)
what is indirect percussion
bone or something put in between rocks
what is blombos cave
broad range of foods, blade technology, hearths, beads from 75,000 ya, red ochre with abstract design carvings , at 100,000 years ago. All modern human attributes achieved in africa, not Europe
what is Atapuerca
cave sites, earliest occupation during warm interglacial (homo antecessor? 1.2-1.3mya; later occupation, sima de los Huesos- 32 indidviduals homo deidelbergensis 500,0000 ya, many children; nobody over age 40 intentionally placed in crevice
Wonderwerk Cave
evidence of fire control, maybe used for cooking since pot lids found near it
how do you make a pot
clay collection=fine grained, water deposited; preparation= creating paste (add water, tempering agents). Tempering agents = nonplastic substances that reduce breakage caused by shrinkage and firing. allows even distribution of heat, makes up 20-30% of paste
what is the younger dryas
cold period 12,800-11,600 BP, caused by influx of cold water from melting ice
what distinctive human traits are still absent at 2 mya; with whom and when did they become apparent
culture (or at least complex culture), language(as far as we know), abstract thoughts, beliefs, art. most not evident until 100,000 years ago with H. sapiens
what is evidence of culture?
cumulative social learning creates artifact variation in time and space. some standardization of form (imitation), distinctive regional styles, incorporation of innovations into traditions creates change over time, toolkits adapted to specific env.
what is the holocene
current interglacial starting at 11,600 BP
how can you tell if hominins butchered bones and when were stone tools first used for butchery
cut and percussion marks. first large amounts of stone tools with butchery around 2mya
What is the record of technology heavily biased by
decay of organic materials
Why did people in the renaissance no care about human history
degeneration of human race, future is predetermined, god's will
what are elements of archaeological record
deposits, material traces of human activity, spatial context
what is taphonomy
describes how living animals come to be fossilized, similar to how active behavioral context goes into archaeological context
what is the evidence for modern behavior after 100,000 ya
diverse tool types, rapid change, use of bone and antler, jewelry, art, organization of space, long-distance transport of raw materials, technologies for acquiring and processing wide range of foods, storage, selective hunting, extreme env.
what was the env. like in the last glacial maximum
dry cond- major deserts expanded; rain forests contracted, sea level lower by 328 feet, beringia, sundaland (SE asia), glaciers at high latitudes- ice sheets up to 2 miles thick
what were some artifacts found in Dolni Vestonice
earliest ceramic technology, fired clay, decorations are earlier than pots, unusual structure (20ft diameter), hollow bird bones with modified ends, domed clay oven, 2300 figurines (heads, feet, animals), ivory carvings show asymmetrical human face that matches a buried female human skeleton
what are the 3 times and route of entry to america
eastern siberia (14,000BP), interior alaska (15,000), rest of N and S Amer. by 14,500
what are some challenges to being a large mammal
high mobility requires large foraging range, parental care, low reproductive rate, expensive brains
how is climate implicated in the Mayan collapse
high rainfall 400-640 AD followed by drier conditions, collapse of kingship around 900 AD, driest interval in 1000 AD and lasted a centuray; shifting of monsoon season from ITCZ (intertropical convergence zone; narrow zone which air masses from both hemispheres collide)
what questions are asked to find archaeological sites
how did communities move around landscape, how did they use resources, how did groups interact with each other; get a context for how people lived, how sites relate to other sites and resources is an ultimate goal of archaeological survey
did humans have language in middle stone age
hypoglossal nerve (larger in homo), hyoid bone (humans, neanderthals), brain lateralization (early homo), full anatomical package 150,000 ya
what is the Klasies River Mouth Caves
in southern africa, 120 to 70K, shellfish, hunting by species (cape buffalo vs. eland), bone points, awls
what were the midwest pottery decoration styles
include punctation, incising, corrugation, resist painting
what is the brief prehistory of a stone tool
increasing efficiency (prepared cores first), specialization, ground stone appears late (chipped stone is earlier)
open fires vs. kiln for drying and firing pots
kilns have higher temp, reducing atm (low O), vitrification at high temp fuses clays
what do sediment cores reflect
layers reflect heavy rainfall events and floods
what is remote sensing for surveying
let instruments collect data for you by aircraft or satellite (aerial, subsurface detection)
what is Mesa Verde and why did it depopulate
lived in pueblos in the mountains. 2 major depopulations (600-920AD and 920-1280) ran out of deer so raised turkeys, shortfalls in maize, drought caused them to depopulate (1200)
what are some direct evidence of use for pots
sooting, residues(fats, alkaloids)
what are neanderthal characteristics
robust, no chin, 70 to 80% died by age 40, severe traumatic injuries, locomotion and brain similar
what is direct percussion
rock on rock
hopewell people in Ohio traded with people in...
rocky mountains. stylistic points have been handed down while function can come on its own
what are the methods to recover artifacts
screening, flotation (seeds, charcoal float, bone is left behind), water screening, radiocarbon dating, other special samples (phytolitys, pollen, sediments)
what is chaine operatoire
sequence of tasks/activities implicit in a particular technology. offers way to study and differentiate the technological skills that underlie production
what is Dolni Vestonice and what is found there
sites that Highlights modern human mental abilities, Czech Republic, 25,000-27,000 BP (Gravettian period of Upper Paleolithic), Figurines of fired clay, Bone, ivory ornaments & tools, Red ochre burials
who is kennewick man
skeletal evidence that we traveled from NE asia, 9500 BP, unlike modern reference samples, most similar to Japan, polynesia, diverse origins for new world pop?, no affiliation with modern Native Amer. Maybe other people came from other places and didn't leave descendents
how did acheulean technology change
slowly, hand axes become more symmetrical and standardized
what does processual archeology do
tests some hypotheses (experimentation), figure out how archaeological record corresponds to behavior. Study of formation processes (how archaeological record came into being)
Who are the clovis
the earliest well-known archaeological culture of the americas. named after the clovis point artifact (fluted points) (Paleoindian period; 13,000BP). earlier sites are few, spread out geographically, and artifactually diverse. multiple entries and routes are possible
what is stratigraphy
the vertical dimension; law of super position states top layers=younger than bottom layers
what are some physical characteristics as clues to function of a pot
thermal behavior-response to heat stress (direct vs. indirect) related to firing temp and wall thickness