5 - Agriculture Flashcards
Holocene
follows pleistocene epoch, began ~11 000 ya
lots of animal extinction
water levels rose, pushing animals out of habitats, broad spectrum collected
domestication
organism’s survival depends on human race, artificial selection is cause of change
neolithic revolition
descrives change from hunting/gaterher to argriculture
initially suggested an abrupt change
oasis theory
shrinking zones around water sources
marginal zone hypothesis
by the time agriculture developed, every was living in optimal places. expansion meant that they would venture out of optimal zones, which is why they brought plants of their own
archaebotony
the analysis and interpretation of remains of ancient plants recovered from the archaeological record
plant material can be preserved in dry places, peat bogs, frozen areas, and when charred
microbotanicals
pollen, phytoliths, very small samples, often sruvives in cracks etc on tools, vessels, etc
signs of domestication
geography
-if plant/animal remains appear abruptly at sites located in territories they aren’t native to
Mean seed size
-people select artificially for larger seeds
Seed Morphology
-development of predominance of non-brittle rachis, a kind of subconscious selection
-seed coats are often thinner than on wild plants
Osteological change
-lightly consructed bones of otherwise wild animals
-smaller leads for easier handling
Natafian burial
12 000 ya, Israel, Ain Mullah
Fertile crent
area of first domestication, 10 000 ya, true domestication took place
natufian
collecter type hunter/gatherers
established sedentary settlement
Catalhoyuk
oldest and largest complex settlements in neolithic
8000 people in community
not a lot of social deifferention
burials – inside houses
Stonehendge
- Earthwork enclosure 3000 bc
aubrey holes, held cremation, simple ditch and embankment, 25 - 4 yrs old - Wooden structures ~2900 -2400 BC
- Stone Monuments ~2600 - 600 BC
The blue stones cresent (400 kg and 2 metres tall), blue quality when wet, may have healing abilities
the Sarsen stone circle
avenue was also built
the blue stones rearranged
8m tall, sunk into ground, believed to have been rearranged about3 times
Cursus
burials to south but no north of this 3 km platform
Durrington walls
largest neolithic settlement located 2 miles from Stonehenge
Amesbury Archer
first remains of gold, among other grave goods
First “elite”
5 km from stonehenge 2470 BC early bronze age
Beaker pottery
Man b/w 35-45 yrs
Strong and robust, absess on jaw, kneecap ripped off, bone infection
Frew up in central europe (analysis of stronium and ocygen)
Archer’s Companion
25 years old
Nearly identitical hair tresses/earings
Had the same unusual foot structure
Analysis of tooth says he grew up n Southern England
Cahokia
Illinois
1000 -1250 AD
Monumental architecture and burials of elites
Mississippians
Maize and squash, land could support surplus
differential access to power and wealth
large settlement
central plaza with pyramids, temples etc enclosed
declined very rapidly possibly due to deforestation or overhunting
Monks Mound
covered 16 acres at base
Top of mound would’ve had a temple
Mound 72 burial
lots of beads made of material from gulf of mexico
many people buried, couple were elite, many were sacrificial
