Archaeology Test 2 Flashcards
What is a calindrical? Historical?
Calindrical- dates on a calendar
Historical- historical documents ex. The constitution
What is contemporaneous?
Points happening at the same time.
Relative Dating Methods
Stratigraphy and technology.
Examples of Absolute dating?
Relies on the scientific method, based on observations about physical and chemical properties of material.
Historical dating
Tied to a written document, not all written dates.
What is cross dating?
Attempts to order sites based on distribution of artifacts or features with restricted distribution in space and time.
What are Index fossils?
Artifacts that have a restricted existence in time and space.
What is Seriation?
Two types, frequency and stylistic.
Assumes that the change of artifacts is slow and gradual.
Seriation does not always work, needs valid assumption of slow increment change.
Absolute dating methods
Calendars and historical chronologies
Dendrochronology- tree ring dating.
Why does dendrochronology not always work?
Trees do not like cold environments.
Not everything is a tree.
Some trees don’t have rings!
What is radiocarbon dating?
Radiometric technique.
Science about radioactive decay.
Only works on organic materials.
Multi linear Evolution
Hunters and gatherers
Segmentary societies
Chiefdoms
States
What is a continuum?
A line, highly variable lengths incremental start and finish.
Hunter and gatherers
Small populations, less than 100 people.
Highly mobile. Move frequently.
Mainly plant diet.
Egalitarian
Refers to equality- everyone is equal in terms of status and access to power and prestige.
No leadership, or formal decision making.
True egalitarian does not exist.
Segmentary societies (tribes)
Social system of small autonomous groups that periodically get together.
Occasional leadership.
Sodality
Pan tribal association unites people on marriage age or sex
Reduction in mobility, emergence of leaders and dispersed settlements.
Chiefdoms
5,000 to 20,000 people
Kinship looms large
Hereditary kinship
Redistributive economy
Large scale monuments on societies.
States
Class based hierarchy
One ruler
Priestly or religious class
Market economies
Can be monotheistic and pantheistic
Formalized bureaucracy
Army
Diverse architecture
Taxation or tributes
Examples of states include Romans, Classical Greece, Ancient Egypt and ancient China, Inca or Mayans.
Paleoanthropology
Studies early development of anatomically modern humans through reconstruction of evolutionary relationship.
Uses biological and cultural evidence.
Charles Darwin
Philosopher
Natural selection- “descent with modification”
Survival of the fittest does not mean that only the tough survive. It means who is more successful at producing offspring?
Human Evolution
Evolved over long periods of time like animals
Humans can be placed into evolutionary stages
1. We share characteristics with anthropoid apes
2. Humans exhibit high level cooperation reinforced by morality and social norms.
3. Humans capacity for social learning exceeds that in other primates.
What is a primate
Humans classified with apes, monkeys, and prosimians.
Binomial nomenclature.
Dexterous hands and feet.
Correlation and causation
Correlation does not equal causation which means they are not linked
For example climate change correlates with early stage hominid evolution
Proxy records
Data that relies on environmental record.
Australopithecus
4.2-1 million years ago
Bi pedal, shorter legs and long arms, brain size of an ape, skulls with prognathic faces.
Larger molars better for mastication.
Gracile v robust
Gracile means more fragile,
Robust means more durable party hardy
Early species of homo
Smaller jaws and teeth, and cranial feature similar to later homo
Flintknapping
First tools 2.5 mya
The removal of stone through application of direct or indirect percussion.
Stone tools I,portent because of social learning.
Oldowan stone tool tradition
2.5- 1.7. mya
Tools were easy to mimic through through observations
Acheulean stone tools
Used tools to butcher and process animal carcasses, choppers
1.7- 0.25 mya
Latte acheulean, ca 600-250kya
Finer work more refined flakes and tools
Bifaces tools- exhibits indication of stone removal on both surfaces
Bi-pedalism
Quadrupeds
Bi- walking on 2 feet
Quad- walking on 4 feet
Homo ergaster
1.8 to 0.7 mya
Hominids in Georgia, Israel and Java/ Indonesia
Increased brain size.
Turkanaboy
Most complete skeletal remains
12 year old boy 6 feet tall
Lack of sexual dyphormism
Thermoregulation
Keeps you warm
Humans not covered in hair
Mobius Line
Distribution of Bamboo
More evolutions
Hom-erectus ca 1.6mya-50kya
Homo heidelbergenses ca 1.2 mya- 200 kya
Prognathism
Large orbital Taurus eyebrow bone
Exipetsl Taurus bulge behind the head
Lack of chin
