Archeology Final Flashcards

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1
Q

Glacial extent

A

a period of time where certain parts of the land are covered in ice, which sculpts and forms the land beneath it, and moves earth materials

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2
Q

Palaeolithic period

A

start of humans in North America until 8000 BC

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3
Q

Laurentide Ice Sheet

A

glacier that covered almost all of Canada until around 18 to 10,000 BC

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4
Q

Bering Land Bridge

A

a theory of how people originally got to North America, where they traveled over from Russia through land that connected Russia and modern day Alaska, after the sea levels in this area dropped enough 33,000 BC

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5
Q

Kelp hypothesis

A

a theory of how people originally arrived in North America, where they traveled along kelp in the Pacific Ocean from South East Asia

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6
Q

Solutrean hypothesis

A

a theory that people originally came to North America from Europe, travelling along packs of ice in the Atlantic Ocean

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7
Q

Ceruti Mastodon site (San Diego, USA)

A

mammoth bones dating to 130,000 years ago that were smashed by humans with rock weapons, earliest evidence of humans in North America

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8
Q

Earliest clear and undisputed evidence of humans in North America

A

around 10 or 12,000 BC, after a period of warming in Greenland

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9
Q

Chiquihuite Cave (Mexico)

A

evidence of humans from the last glacial interval in North America in 30,000 BC

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10
Q

Lake Otero Basin

A

site in New Mexico where they found fossilized footprints dating 21,000 BC

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11
Q

Clovis culture

A

one of the oldest North American civilizations, lived in the time of mammoths

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12
Q

Cactus Hill

A

site in Virginia, likely pre-dates the Clovis civilization

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13
Q

Gault

A

site in Texas where artifacts dated 18,000 BC were found

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14
Q

Swan Point

A

site in Alaska that shows evidence of immigration from Japan and Siberia

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15
Q

Squash / Cucurbits / Pumpkin

A

originally hollowed out and used to carry water

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16
Q

Common bean

A

domesticated in North America 6000 BC

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17
Q

Chenopodium berlandieri

A

seeds native to Ontario and USA

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18
Q

Natural corn / maize

A

native to Mexico since 7000 BC, became the main food source later on

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19
Q

Cacao

A

native to Mesoamerica 2000 BC

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20
Q

Mesoamerica period

A

8000 to 2000 BC

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21
Q

4.2-kiloyear event

A

2200 BC, massive worldwide period of extreme drying (East NA), while some other areas had massive flooding (West NA)

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22
Q

Cerro de las Conchas shell mound

A

site in Mexico, one of the earliest sites in Mesoamerica, dating back to around 5000 BC

23
Q

Basketmakers cultures

A

cultures native to South West USA (4 corners) who were defined by their ability to make baskets, later became the Pueblo people

24
Q

Early pre classic period

A

2000 to 1000 BC, earliest evidence of agriculture and maize use as a staple

25
Q

4 corner states

A

Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico

26
Q

Olmec civilizations

A

group of people located in Southern Mexico, known for their stone architecture and sculptures, pre-dated Mayans, Aztecs, and Teotihuacan

27
Q

Teotihuacan

A

largest Mayan site, known for it’s massive population and cultural significance

28
Q

Urbanization (Teotihuacan)

A

Teotihuacan was well known for the complex city design and massive urbanization

29
Q

3 main temple pyramids of Teotihuacan

A

Sun temple, Moon temple, and Feathers Serpent temple

30
Q

Ceramics (Teotihuacan)

A

Teotihuacan had advanced ceramic plates, bowls, cups, and vases

31
Q

Artifacts (Teotihuacan)

A

Teotihuacan had incense burning sculptures that were used to light courtyards and also as offerings at graveyards for the dead

32
Q

Obsidian trade (Teotihuacan)

A

Teotihuacan was located near main obsidian sources, which they used their political system to trade through large networks, these networks spanned all of Southern Mexico as well as parts of Belize and Guatemala

33
Q

Teotihuacan collapse (year)

A

around 600

34
Q

Theories to the end of Teotihuacan

A
  • Invasion: from another society (like Tikal), because of their power and influence
  • Droughts: that happened in 800 in Mesoamerica, it was been hard to support large population
  • Economic decline: they couldn’t hold their trade network outpost cities because they were too far
  • Revolt: the citizens revolted agains the political leaders for being greedy with resources
35
Q

Mayan culture (year + location)

A

formed around 0 and ended in 1500, though most Mayan cities fell in 900, in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala

36
Q

Mayans innovations

A

365-day calendar, hieroglyph language, stone architecture, mathematics, and the idea of ‘0’

37
Q

Divine kingship

A

Mayan belief where their kings were seen as god or chosen by gods

38
Q

Tikal

A

Mayan city state, one of the largest sites in Mesoamerica, one of the most powerful kingdoms in ancient Maya, collapsed in 900

39
Q

Palenque

A

small Mayan city in Mexico, that was built on higher elevation land, known for beautiful sculptures and architecture

40
Q

Altun Ha

A

small Mayan site in Belize

40
Q

Caracol

A

large Mayan site in Belize, that used water reservoirs and low density urbanism

41
Q

Chichen Itza

A

large Mayan site in Mexico on the Yucatan Peninsula, where they played a hip-ball game on a large court

42
Q

Cabo

A

large Mayan city in Mexico on the Yucatan Peninsula, largest network of stone roads

43
Q

Collapse of Maya

A

the Mayan society collapsed in the 800-900s, likely because of drought, the Mayans who survived were later eliminated in the Spanish Conquest in 1519

44
Q

Mississippian period

A

1000-1500, defined by pottery with mussel shells, the domestication of corn allowed people to eat more and expand more, people started following the rivers and building sites around them, sites concentrated in South East USA

45
Q

Mound groups

A

tall man-made mounds made out of dirt and ground materials, used to cover plazas or storage areas

46
Q

Carson

A

site in Mississippi with many large and small earthen mounds

47
Q

Moundville Park

A

site in Alabama where they built structures on top of their mounds

48
Q

Etowah

A

site in Georgia with many mounds, people had individual houses, they also used palisade walls (tall wooden fences)

49
Q

Cahokia

A

site in Illinois, largest metropolitan city north of Mexico, dependent highly on agriculture

50
Q

Palaeolithic sites

A
  • Ceruti Mastodon site: San Diego, USA, 130,000 years
  • Chiquihuite Cave: Mexico, 32,000 years
  • Lake Otero Basin: New Mexico, 23,000 years
  • Cactus Hill: Virginia
  • Gault: Texas, 20,000 years
  • Swan Point: Alaska
51
Q

Mayan sites

A
  • Tikal: Mexico, collapsed 900
  • Palenque: Mexico
  • Caracol: Belize
  • Altun Ha: Belize
  • Cabo: Mexico
52
Q

Mississippian sites

A
  • Carson: Mississippi
  • Moundville Park: Alabama
  • Etowah: Georgia
  • Cahokia: Illinois