Chapter 7 Flashcards
Most ancient plant evidence
macrobotanical remains
how can plant remains be preserved
- waterlogging
- charring
- desiccated
waterlogging can preserve plants through
wet screening
charring can preserve plants through
flotation
desiccation can be preserved through
dry screening
best way to preserve plants
absence of moisture or fresh air
where can evidence of past behavior be preserved
- wells and pits
- hearths
- latrines
Wadi Kubbaniya
Four sites that have produced some of the most diverse assemblages of food plant remains
where is material concentrated in Wadi Kubbaniya
around hearths of wood charcoal
what was NOT used for the material at Wadi Kubbaniya
flotation
why was flotation NOT used at Wadi Kubbaniya
the material was fragile and disintegrate in water
what WAS used at Wadi Kubbaniya
dry screening
what is important in nutgrass tubers
tons of these tubers could have been obtained and could have resulted in a system being developed
when were nutgrass tubers eaten in Africa
when food was low
why were nutgrass tubers preferred over seeds
involved less work in processing
what was being studied at the Wadi Kubbaniya site
whether the occupation was seasonal or not
when was nutgrass avaliable
only half the year
does the nutgrass show that the Wadi Kubbaniya site could ONLY have been used seasonally
NO, there could have been food storages or other sources
what does it mean when plants are only available at certain times
clues about when a site was occupied
seasonal plants can show what
was eaten in a particular season
what do ripe seeds show
harvest time
what does past seasonality of plants need to be
predicted from modern representatives of the plants in question
what can food storage indicate
the site was used beyond the seasons of a specific resource
what is debated about some plants
whether they were wild or domesticated
what does domesticated plants show about society
how it shifted from mobile hunter-gatherers to a settled way of life
why is it not always easy to distinguish between wild and domesticated plants
the morphology doesn’t always change
what is little use for the study of domestication
pollen grains
why is pollen not useful in domestication
not able to differentiate between wild and domestic plants
Neolithic revolution was coined by
Gordon Childe
Neolithic Revolution is a period
when humans began cultivating plants, breeding animals for food and forming permanent settlements
what resulted in the birth of agriculture
Neolithic Revolution
what led to widespread development of settled village life
Neolithic Revolution
what were association of animal bones used for
proof that humans were responsible for the presence of faunal remains
what were many of assemblages NOT
associated with human tools
what is attempting to differentiate between marks on bones
those of human tools and those by other animals
cutmarks on bones are being examined to prove that humans were
genuine hunters or scavengers
what had to be used to examine cutmarks on bones
microscopes because the marks were too similar to the naked eye
what is used as a replica of bones
resin replicas
why were resin replica used to examine bones
- easier to handle
- easier to transport
- easier to store
- less fragile
what needs to be studied to prove human intervention with cutmarks
context of the bones
the amount of meat on bones depends on
- sex
- age
- season of death
- geographical variations in body size and nutrition
when is sexing easier
when the male and female are anatomically different
what can provide two distinct clusters of results in sexing
the different size of feet
large feet are more
males
smaller feet are more
females
what is age of bones assessed from
- degree of closure of the skull
- fusion of limb shafts and their epiphyses
what is age of prehistoric bones compared with
those of modern populations
how is the age an animal was killed estimated
eruption and wear patterns of the teeth
how can the seasonality of bones be studied
identification of species only available at a certain time of the year
what are bone samples from screening likely to have
more small bones
conditions for bone preservation differ
from site to site
working through a sample, bones are identified as being
- fully identified fragments
- undiagnostic pieces that might belong to one or several speices
Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI)
expresses the least number of animals that were needed to account for the bone sample
MNI calculations are based on
the most abundant identified bone for each species
when does MNI have little meaing
with small samples
Number of identified specimens (NISP)
simplest calculation of relative species abundance
what are the identified bones of each species expressed as in NISP
precentage of total bone sample
how could the NISP results be misleading by
sites with different ages, conditions of preservation or recovery standard
what survives better than bones
teeth
what can be counted in teeth
the growth rings around a tooth
what happens when counting tooth growth rings
the tooth is destroyed
what do most teeth assessments rely on
eruption and wear
how can we assign a rough age to teeth
presence of absence of milk teeth
how can an assessment of wear be subjective
- need a complete or almost complete tooth
- depends on diet
- does NOT occur at a constant rate
_____ wear down faster than ______ teeth
young and older
Attritional age profile
overrepresentation of young and old animals in relation to their numbers in live populations
what is the natural context of the attritional age profile
suggests death by starvation, disease, accident or predation
what is the archaeological context of the attritional age profile
scavenging or hunting by humans of the most vulnerable
catastrophic age profile
pattern that corresponds to what is thought to be a natural age distribution
catastrophic age profile would suggest the older age group
the less individuals there is
the context that the catastrophic age profile could be found in
flash flood
epidemics
volcanic eruption
what is the catastrophic age profile based on
the WHOLE population being destroyed
how can the season of death be found
counting the teeth growth rings
Site of Kidosaku
studied the 10 circular dwelling pits on the site
the max population of Kidosaku was estimated at
23 people
most abundant shells at Kidosaku
mollusk (bivalve)
where clams the only staple food source at Kidosaku
NO
when is the growth rings the thickest of clams
in the summer
when is the growth rings the thinnest of clams
in the winter
Midden
old dump for domestic waste
what does midden consist of
animal bones
human excrement
botanical material
mollusk shells
lithics
what does mass spectrometer show about residues in vessels
record of molecular fragments in a residue
how were Egyptian vessels of the 1st and 2nd dynasties found
chemical analysis
chemical analysis
identify the contents, composition and quality of the materials used in product development
what was identified in vessels in Japan
dolphin fat in potshards
gas-liquid chromatography
very sensitive method of measuring components of complex volatile compounds
secondary products revolution
idea that there was a second and later stage of domestication
what happened in the 4th millennium BCE
shift in the exploitation of domesticated animals
what was exploited during the second products revolution
animals for milk, cheese, wool and animal traction
what was the cause of the secondary products revolution
population growth and territorial expansions
what was the primary evidence of the secondary products revolution
artistic evidence
what did an isotopic analysis of human tooth enamel and bone collagen reveal
lots about long-term food intake
what did methods rely on for isotopic analysis
chemical signatures left in the body by different foods
3 divisions of plants
- temperate
- tropical land plants
- marine plants
what are the different groups of plants based on
the carbon isotopes of C-12 and C-13
what is the C-13 to C-12 ration in the atmosphere
1:100
C3 plants
fix carbon dioxide initially to a 3-carbon molecule
what uses less C-13
C3 plants
trees, shrubs and temperate grasses are
C3 plants
C4 plants
fix carbon dioxide initially to a 4-carbon molecule
tropical and savanna plants are
C4 plants
the ratio found in bone collagen is
directly related to that in plants
what was used to shine light onto the disappearance of the first Norse settlements
isotope studies
starting point of farming was seen first by
Gordon Childe
what was the main issue with farming origins
domestication - had to be close to the wild form of the animal or plant
best way to study present-day distribution of the species
rainfall and vegetation maps
one of the world’s first towns
Catalhouk
Eric Higgs argued what
some shift in behavior when back earlier than the Neolithic period
Lewis Binford had the idea of
the idea that pre-farming phase would have population pressures = intensive use of domesticated plants and animals
Barbara Bender
thought motivation was social and based on trying to achieve dominance over other societies through resource consumption
Jacques Cauvin
neolithic revolution was cognitive development with religion being a huge factor
The boarding school site was
not a cliff but a lower drop that led to a natural enclosure
when was the boarding school bison drive used
intermittently for long periods as a temp camp
the 3rd bone layer at the boarding school site was made from
100 bison of mostly calves, cows and young bulls
2nd bone layer at the boarding school site was made from
150 bison driven over the edge of mature bulls with no calves
1st bone layer at the boarding school site was made from
30 bison with evidence of light butchering
what does the latest layer of the boarding school show about the camp
the distance was longer
what evidence showed the boarding school site as ONLY a kill site
the lack of pottery
Gull Lake bison drive site
five bone layers were found
one layer at the Gull Lake bison drive site had
900 bison remains
when did the drives begin at Gull Lake bison drive site
in the late 2nd Century CE
paleobotany
study of ancient plants
types of paleobotany
- macrobotanical remains
- microbotanical remains
types of macrobotanical remains
- dessicated
- waterlogged
- mineralized
- charred
when is statistical analysis meaningless
with macrobotanical remains
how do archaeologists get materials while excavating
soil samples
3 elements of ancient food
- diet and cuisine
- technology
- organization
parts of diet and cuisine
- nutritional element
- cultural element
4 primary types of subsistence
- hunter-gatherers/foragers
- horiculture
- pastoralism
- intensive agriculture
hunter-gatherers only intervene in the animal life cycle to
hunt and kill
horticulture
small level of gardening that is NOT the main source of food
pastoralism
the management and interaction of animal life cycles
intensive agriculture
growing crops on a large scale that are the foundation of the diet
Kebaran Period
18 000 to 11 000 BCE
permanent settlement sites
Kebaran Period
adoption of cereals into the diet
Kebaran Period
evidence of cereals in the diet of the Kebaran Period
- sickles with silica sheen
- stone mortars and pounding equipment
Natufian Period
11 000 to 9 300 BCE
more evidence of cereal adoption
Natufian Period
less animal in the diet
Natufian Period
where was evidence of cereal adoption in the Natufian Period
- grinding stones
- hearths
- storage pits
the Natufian Period showed what shift
burning seeds shows wild to the domestication of plants
how can one tell if a tool was used for farming
the silica sheen that is left from the plant
what is useful for studying diet
isotopic analysis
what is useful for Mesoamerica
chemical reagents
assessment of dietary contribution
how many calories will be gained from a cut of meat
optimal foraging theory
the logical choice of food based on whether the spent calories are worth the ones gained from the meat
