Exam 1 Flashcards
Archeology
The study of human behavior based on surviving material finds
Prehistory
The period of human extending back before the time of written documents
Prehistoric Archeology
The archeology of ancient societies that were nonliterate
Text-aided archeology
Archaeology practiced with the aid of historical documents
BC vs AD, BCE vs CE
Before christ, Anno domini, before common era, common area
Three major scientific development
- Uniformitarianism: The principle that the same natural laws that operate in the present, have always happened in the past.
- Charles Darwin- The Origin of Species (1859)
- Definitive proof that humans are older than they were believed to be in the bible.
Artifact
An object made or given shape by humans
Ecofacts
An unmodified natural item that is of archeological significance
Archeological site
A place where some evidence of past activity is observed.
Archeological feature
An immovable structure or layer, pit, or post in the ground having archeological significance.
Excavation
The exposure, recording, and recovery of buried material remains
Stratigraphy
Layers of sediment, debris, rock that accumulate as the results of natural processes or human activity. Older layers on the bottom
Archeological Field Survey
The method by which archeologists collect information about the location, distribution and organization of past human cultures across a large area.
Field walking: Walk transects (samples of land) to pick up artifacts.
Remote sensing
To find and delineate subsurface archeological features or objects without making physical contact with them
-Thermal imaging, satellite imagery, light detection with lasers (LiDAR), magnetometry(ground penetrating radar)
Can be aerial photography to find crop marks.
Paleolithic
The old stone age, the period of human history from c, 2,6 million years ago (first stone tools) until the domestication of plants and animals c, 12,000/10000 years ago.
Hominin
The group consisting of modern humans, extinct human species and all our immediate ancestors after the split from chimpanzees.
Homo erectus was the first hominin to leave Africa and populate other areas.
Had stone tools (Acheulian hand axes), shows intelligence
Multiregional model vs, out of Africa model
Multiregional model: When homo erectus spread out of Africa, they were specialized to their own environments. Making them evolve into separate tracks of hominins (Beginning of race).
Disproved based on genetics
Out of Africa model: Homo erectus that stayed in Africa evolved into Homosapiens (in Africa) and then populated the rest of the world (where the homo erectus that had originally populated that area had died out)
Anatomically Modern Humans
Around 70,000 BP, emergence of modern human behavior
Behavioral Modernity question: Behavioral and cognitive traits that distinguished current humans
Includes: Fully developed language, symbolic and spiritual thought
Some archeological evidence of behavioral modernity: Burial, art, self ornamentation (jewelry), stone tool technology, introduction to bone tool technology.
Two theories for the rise of behavioral modernity
- It was a gradual process over thousands of years beginning 70,000 BP or earlier in Africa (More supported)
- It was abrupt, a ‘revolution’, happening in 50,000 BP in Europe.
Neanderthal
Short stature, bigger brains, mousterian flake tools,
Middle Paleolithic
the middle old stone age
Upper Pleistocene
the extinction of the neanderthals were due to the climate changing.
Geological epoch, period of last interglacial and glacial cycles of the ice age
Last glaciation
Pleistocene Megafauna moved
Upper Paleolithic (Europe)
Higher populations, long distance exchange of materials, end of neanderthals, blade technologies, art.
Complex cave art
Lascaux Cave: Natural cave containing 1500 paintings in france.
Venus figurines- Willendorf
The Bering land bridge may have aided people in getting from Eurasia into the americas.
The Clovis first theory
The people associated with the clovis culture were the first inhabitants of the Americas. Where the first settlers crossed the land bridge around 13,000BP just before the land bridge closed.
-The Monte Verde site brings up another theory because it is 13,000-14,500 BP. Was a hunter gatherer settlement
This undermines the Clovis first theory. Suggests a shorter route via boat into South America.
A site in white sands national park with footprints showed even older evidence of human habitation
Kennewick man
or “The ancient one”: 7000 BCE, Offers insights into lifestyle of early peoples. Big lawsuits and stuff, found out that he was related to native tribes in the area.
Found arrowhead in pelvic bone, buried intentionally, possibly a spear fisherman
Dating the past
- Historical Records
- Seriation studies: relative dating by taking other artifacts in chronological order based on their style
- Dendrochronology: Tree ring dating
- Radiocarbon dating: Needs organic material to measure c-14 levels, starts to decay when the organism dies. The smaller the c-14, the older it is
Migrations out of africa! See slides
The spread of people into islands into the pacific
were intentional and thought out. They had agriculture (Horticulture), domesticated animals.
Lapita double hulled canoes, and navigated with the stars (Wayfinding), and made stick charts(maps).
Easter Island
Really far out, Chiefdoms, ancestor worship which manifested into easter heads, some sort of ecological disaster?
New Zealand
Settled by Polynesians, lived off of Moa (flightless birds) until extinction. Over Populations in Maori (the people) cause wars. Suffered diseases due to Europeans.
