chapter 20 - cultural trends

Question 1

describe oldowan culture (habilus)

Answer 1

• 2.6-1.7 million
• pebble / stone tool (parallel grooves), made by hitting two rocks together, used for chopping, cracking bones, scraping
• hunters and gatherers, ate more meat (teeth / stone marks in bone), division of sexes
• interdependence (community), social / economic group unit
• larynx not capable of making complex sounds despite pressure for spoken language
• bulge in speech producing area of brain

Question 2

describe acheulian culture

Answer 2

• 1.7 - 200 000 (homo erectus)
• manipulated environment to suit own purposes
• migration to europe / asia from africa
• core tools, sophisticated tear drop shape, hand axe, shape rock with stone, wood, antler hammer, sharpen edges by flaking ends, used to butcher, clean, scrape
• skilful hunters (fish / deer), increased health / digestibility (cooking), 70% food from gathering
• sophisticated and efficient when working together
• further interdependence
• complex society, care of young, organisation more calculative
• FIRE: predators away, warmth, light, stampeding, extended home base activities
• HUTS: for shelter
• capable of logical thought, slaughtering was planned, relatively complex spoken language,
• increase FL

Question 3

describe mousterian culture

Answer 3

• 200 000 - 40 000 (neanderthals)
• continued migration, upper palaeolithic era (40 000 - 12 000)
• flake tools (disc shaped), tool to make other tools (soft hammer stone, pressure flaking to sharpen knife edge), cutting, scraping, gorging,
• social system of sharing food / resources, caring for people
• ceremonial burial of dead, cared for disabled
• skilled clothing makers (animal hides), increased warmth

Question 4

describe aurignacian culture

Answer 4

• 43 000 - 26 000 (cro-magnum and homo sapiens)
• increased migration through europe
• blade tools (finer blades, projectile), used for hunting, meat, skins, shelter, pressure flaking to retouch blade
• hunters / gatherers, stampeded animals, omnivores
• articulation of speech to some extent
• used fat from animals to make oil lamps
• shelters made from rocks / animal hides
• new neurological connections
• simple drawings, sewn clothing / intricate skills

Question 5

describe solutrean culture

Answer 5

• 22 000 - 19 000 (cro-magnum and homo sapiens)
• pressure flaking to retouch blades (laurel / willow leaf)
• larger brain = increased skill (long skull from from to back)
• laurel leaf ornaments, statuettes, figurines (stone, bone, ivory, horns, clay)

Question 6

describe magdalenian culture

Answer 6

• 18 000 - 12 000 (cro-magnum and homo sapiens)
• predominance of bone / antler tools (needles / spears), complex tool to make other tools (use stone to make burin which made tools)
• spoken language, full articulation of speech
• mural / portable art, colour (red / black), colourful pieces, shading, intricate work

Question 7

what are the 6 cultures that existed

Answer 7

• oldowan (habilus)
• acheulian (erectus)
• mousterian (neanderthals)
• aurignacian (sapiens)
• solutrean (sapiens)
• magdalenian (sapiens)