Exam 1 Flashcards
There is an inherent cultural bias in the definitions of ______ that we must consider for the scope of this class
civilization
civilization definition
the process of being civilized; The cultural characteristics of a particular time or place (def. by Franz Boas)
Paco says there aren’t any ____, and that’s the tea!!
laws that ‘force the hand of history’
Relative time
Time relative to stuff; stratigraphy, index fossils, dendrochronology (tree rings)
Absolute time
“exact” time; determined by processing organic compounds; radiocarbon & potassium argon dating
measurement of C14 isotope in organic compound; looks at half life; absolute dating
-Disadvantage: assumes that there is a constant ratio of c14 in the atmosphere ~ which is why the calibration curve is used
Radiocarbon dating
- measures radioactive decay of K40 or Ar40 - gas in volcanic ash
- Need super-heated rock (from volcano) to date ash
- Dating volcanic ash layers above and below to get time range
Potassium-Argon dating
what concept assumes people are subject to forces like natural selection the same as all other organisms
the human niche
- we actively/unknowingly change our ____ unlike other organisms
- Activities and jobs are considered a ____ in human society
niche
human breeding strategy
raise as many babies as you can to survive
How did we survive in a hostile, competitive world (4)
altruism, kin selection, group selection, reciprocal altruism
any behavior benefits the group at the expense of the individual’s self interest
Altruism
- is one answer to (apparently) altruistic behavior
- Have altruistic behaviors because they have relatives in the group, thus more likely to have these behaviors if relatives are in group
kin selection
- another explanation of altruistic behavior
- Based off genes - altruistic genes; one in the species can have a traitor gene that allows them to not think altruistically (i.e.: scar from “The Lion King)
group selection
- most likely explanation of altruism with in apes and people
- “You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” - if one is exhibiting altruistic behaviors the others will
reciprocal altruism
DeWall said that reciprocal altruism comes from
empathy and food sharing
DeWall believes that the emotional satisfaction of ____ feels good
altruism
Last common ancestor of chimps and humans was
6-7 mya in the late Miocene
When did bipedal locomotion evolve in an essentially modern form
3.5 mya
Why is bipedal locomotion preferred
energy efficient for long distances, leaves our hands free
what was the sexual reproductive strategy model by Lovejoy
Asks the question of how did females get males to cooperate with them in raising children
Fundamental Selective Triad
different for males and females; energy for each differs in where energy is distributed between males and females
- Food
- Safety
- Reproduction
Lovejoy argues for ____ based on female assurance of paternity and male provisioning behavior
pair bonding
Pair bonding leads to (3)
- males putting energy into raising children with females
- assurance of paternity
- food sharing ~ feeding females so they have more energy for raising children
Why did males evolve to have smaller canines
-because women and sexual selection (pair bonding); males want females to pick them
Females evolved _____ and ______
permanently enlarged breasts and ovulatory crypsis (hidden ovulation)
Hidden ovulation evolved after
humans became bipedal and sexual organs were hidden
Early humans lived in what kind of groups for protection
Males in the outer circle and men in the inner circle
Homo habilis was discovered by the Leakeys at
Olduvai Gorge in 1960 @ 1.6-1.9 mya
The first skull was found at
E. Turkana, Kenya 1.8 mya
Tool use (specifically stone) began at about
3 mya
The Leakeys referred to the early stone tool industry (3 mya)
Oldowan industry
What are the 3 different stages of Oldowan tools
cobble, chopper, discoid
what is the Type A Oldowan typology
Artifacts without bones: Specific possibly modified rocks
what is the Type B Oldowan typology
Artifacts with remains of a single animal (=butchery site)
what is the Type C Oldowan typology
Artifacts with remains of several animals (=living floors or camps)
Key Early locales for Type A
- Gona, Hadar, Ethiopia @3-2 mya
2. Shangura Formation, Ethiopia @2-1 mya
Key Early locales for Type B
- FLK N Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania @ 1.8-1.5 mya
Key Early locales for Type C
- FxJj5 at Koobi Fora
2. FLK “Zinj”
Human Behavior emerging through (3)
pair bonding, tools, larger brains
Food is the only ____ we have made _____
biological function; social
What were hand axes used for? (5)
a. Butchering animals
b. Digging for tubers (potato like roots)
c. Stripping bark from trees
d. Hunting- smaller animals
e. Flake dispensers
Time range for the Oldowan tool technology
1.5 mya to 300,000 ya
Bifacial technology is dated at approximately
1.4 mya
Acheulian refers to
hand axe variation
What is adaptive radiation
When people leave for scavenging, increase in cranial capacity (and critical thinking), also diversification of niches
Define reverse polarization
when the poles switched (north becomes south) which occurred approximately between 700,000-400,000 ya
What site produced evidence that people were becoming hunter gatherers?
Olorgesailie, Kenya @ 700,000-400,000 ya
What was found at the Olorgesailie, Kenya site?
Huge number of Gelada baboon bones (95) and 60 hand axes
The gelada baboons found at
Olorgesailie were mostly
young males that lived on the fringe that died one by one
The cut marks on the baboon bones show either
pre-humans were eating meat OR leopards killed the baboons and the humans scavenged the scraps
What site was a human tooth found where there were 100,000 stone tools and remains of 40-45 individuals
Zhoukoudian Cave, China @ 600,000 - 230,000 ya
After 400,000 ya people began to adapt to
diverse niches
People at about 400,000 ya are lumped into the group of
archaic homo sapiens
_____ begins at least 400,000 but is not ubiquitous after 300,000 ya
controlled fire use
Evidence of fire
fire pits and hearths (rings or rocks)
Fire makes the people able to _____ and _____
move into caves and can start to cook
Where were fire hardened wooden spears at 400,000 ya are found at _____ and ______
Clacton, England and Shoningen, Germany
What site shows evidence of big game hunting
Torralba-Ambrona, Spain @ 400,000-200,000
Torralba-Ambrona, Spain had the remains of
a lot of big animals (40 elephants)
What site of a cave that has hearths, room partitions, bed depressions, probably occupied here during the winter and fall
Lazaret Cave, France: @ 300,000 ya
An open air shelter that was used for spring and summer housing, hut like structure, wall posts, hearth, bed depressions, bathroom type area, FOOTPRINT FOUND
Terra, Amata, France: @ 300,000 ya
What was the hypothetical settlement pattern for
a. Torralba - Ambrona: migratory herds in mountain passes = fall
b. Lazaret Cave: protection for winter = winter/early spring
c. Terra, Amata, France hut: coastal resources = late spring/summer
On the island of Jersey, the remains of a mammoth and wooly rhinos discovered at the base of a cliff suggest
organized game drives
- easier way to kill things
- would use fire to drive animals over
_______ care for their old
neanderthals
Sometime in 250,000 ya a morphologically distant group evolved in Europe and the Middle East called the
Neanderthals
Facial features of neanderthals
i. Big brow ridges, big foreheads
ii. Bigger teeth
iii. Occipital bun present (on the back of the cranium)
iv. Less of a chin
Body features of neanderthals
i. Broad body
ii. Limbs are a little shorter
iii. Unsure about hair growth
Allometric growth, surface area and volume, bodies reacting to heat and cold in specific ways
neanderthals
How do bodies react to hot and cold
hot, dry desert (E. Africa) will be tall and skinny; cold arctic will be short and stocky
where is the geographic range for neanderthals
Europe and the Middle east; mostly concentrated in France
Neanderthals produced symmetric, regular flakes using sophisticated methods such as the
Levallois technique
_____ tool assemblages are more diverse than Acheulian assemblages
mousterian
mousterian tool assemblages include
Hand axes, points, side scrapers, denticulates
_____: multiple materials used to make tools - combination to make things (this is a huge innovation)
Composite
Why were neanderthals clearly hunters
Their bodies were built for thrusting spears at animals, like elk
Neanderthal rock area site, excavated by Bordes, where the tools were put in categories
Combre Grenal, France
Bordes-Binford Debate (Mousterian Problem)
- Bordes developed cumulative frequency method, analyzed stone tools into groups
- Binford disagreed with him and put the tools into differnt groups
Who disagreed with Bordes and Binford and what was their argument
Dibble who said that Bordes types are actually part of continuous reduction sequences
Explain the Mousterian problem where the assumption that the typology has cultural meaning is flawed
a. Neanderthals would ‘whack’ tool if it was becoming dull and it would become type 2 and another Neanderthal would pick it up to sharpen it and ‘whack’ it again and it would become type 3 - tool reuse
Neanderthal burial where
- Had hyoid on skeleton
- this allows people to talk
- Hands are placed in a specific way
- Single burial
Kebara Cave, Mt. Carmel Israel - @ 50,000 ya
Neanderthal burial where
-Family burial
Le Ferrassie Rock Shelter, France
Neanderthal burial where
- Grave goods
- One skeleton showed signs of being stabbed - oldest analysis of violence
- Another young burial present - found flower pollen on skeleton suggesting burial with flowers
- Bear heads found in cave
Shanidar, Iraq
Two kinds of human beings’ meeting and the meeting brought forth the
Symbolic revolution, us vs them
Years for the Chatelperronian sites
40,000 - 35,000 ya
Explain the imitation model between humans and neanderthals
- Evidence suggests that the two groups lived side by side for a long time (this is when acculturation occurs)
- This model assumes that Neanderthals imitated humans rather than developing symbolic behavior on their own due to a lack in intellectual capabilities and speech skills
What is the criticism of the imitation model
- “acculturation” is a subjective concept
- There is no evidence to suggest that Neanderthals are inferior
There are no grounds to suggest that the biological differences between humans and Neanderthals resulted in
intellectual differences
Does Mellars agree with D’Errico?
To some extent but basically, he argues that D’errico’s emphasis on the radiocarbon dates is flawed because radiocarbon dating is a flawed process and that the stratigraphic record might suggest the opposite
earliest modern human fossils out of Africa are in
the middle East @ Qafzeh @ 95,000 ya and Skhul @ 100,000 ya
What are the two competing hypothesis for origins of h. sapiens sapiens
- Multiregional model: we left Africa and evolved
- The single origin model (also called out of Africa): we evolve in Africa and this is who all later people and h. s. sapiens conquer
Humans are less genetically variable than most other species, but
highly polymorphic
Modern human variation suggests we have undergone a population explosion, preceded by one or more
population bottlenecks
A “bottleneck” was created when
human populations were reduced to 10,000 people
A major second migration out of Africa beings at
65,000 - 50,000 ya - all non-Africa humans descend from this migration
____ has the most genetic variation
Africa
When did the Great leap Forward occur
Around 45,000
Early symbolism is displayed in what and where
bone tools in Mousterian assemblages at Katana, Zaire dating to 90,000 ya
Red ochre was symbolic of
blood (speculated to be menstrual blood)
Explain sham menstruation
- Women paint themselves to trick the men first into not having sex
- Women use red ochre and actual menstrual blood to trick the males
- Based on the lunar cycle (dark moon) = males continue to hunt and then get sex after they bring home meat
Sham menstruation creates a “sex strike” which is
when the women are ‘menstruating’ so they cannot have sex so therefore the men need to go out and hunt
What is the hallmark of upper Paleolithic technology is
blade technology
When does the transition to the upper Paleolithic occur?
unevenly between 45,000 - 25,000 ya and occurred in waves
Soultrean was mostly
- elaborate tool carving; symmetrical
- Had huts (kind of looked like teepees)
- Cave painters
Pauls fav quote from power and watts
“Symbolism emerged as a set of deceptive sexual signals aimed by kin-coalitions of females at their mates for the purpose of exploiting male muscle-power”
Females manipulated males because
they needed a high quality diet both for herself and for the offspring
A male should aim to reduce time spent searching for a fertilizable female and then reduce the time spent waiting for access to the female at her fertile moment
Optimal foraging theory
idiosyncratic personal style, reflecting expression of personal identity (i.e. assertive style)
mobiliary
cave murals were what type of upper Paleolithic art
parietal
Widespread appearance of Upper Paleolithic art is most dramatic signal of the
The Great Leap foreward
- Out of carved rock or ivory
- Always women
- Distributed in Eastern regions, Siberian step and Dordon (Spain)
venus figurines
Depicts clothing of women (a skirt)
Venus of Lespuge
- Depicts hairstyles or head coverings
- Gives a lot of style depictions
Venus of Willendorf
There were huge paintings in what 2 caves
Lascaux Cave, France @ 20,000 - 17,000 ya and Altimira Cave, Spain @ 24,000
personal style of art (i.e.: jewelry)
assertive style
group style that represented the values of the group
emblemic style
what are the 5 traditional interpretations of paleolithic art
- Art to tell a story
- female-male dichotomy
- hunting magic
- totemism/shamanism
- socialization rituals
Symbolic attachment to nature through self
Totemism
what was cave art usually made with
charcoal or pigments (like indigo, ochre) and was binded with spit
Venus figurines by soffer explains
women and how the figurines gave insight to the psyche of women and clothing and how they saw themselves
“Paleolithic Art: Explaining it” by: Barton was brought up in class because
the math was wrong, so do not believe everything you read
At the time of the downturn of ice age there is an increase in
venus figurines
sahul is
australia and new guinea
Intentional migration occurred with _____ to get to new guinea/aust bc
BOATS (as early as 60,000ya) because they needed boats to get to island
Came from indonesia to australia over
a land bridge
_____ are the only people who can live in outback around the desert - they know where the water and food are
Aborigines
The Bering land bridge to the new world was
exposed during glaciation and animals migrated across
First widespread culture in north america is
Clovis
- @ 12,900 - 13,500ya
- Created flute like spear heads
- Elephant hunters
“The Colonization of Australia” by: Davidson shows
people migrated over there and indicates people have cognitive ability - does not believe cave art brought about human behavior
You can track the climate with
pollen
What is the Younger Dryas?
- @ 12,900 - 11,600 ya
- Could have been reason why Clovis culture ended
- Return of the ice age
What are the debated causes of the Younger Dryas
Causes debated: timed to draining of Lake Agassiz, also timed to asteroid striking N American ice sheet - both of these events may have help to upset the Atlantic Conveyor belt and thus causing the ice age.
once people came to New Zealand they started going extinct (large flightless bird)
Moa
What major extinctions occurred in Europe and Asia (3)
Wooly mammoth, wooly rhino, Irish elk
What major extinctions occurred in Australia (1)
Giant Kangaroos (in Sahul) (A lot of Kangaroo species)
What major extinctions occurred in New World (7)
Mastodon, GIANT SLOTH, glyptodon, tigers, horses, bison, camels
The ____ the animal, the more likely it is to go extinct
larger
Explain the Blitzkrieg model
people came in and wiped out the animals
What is Donald Grayson’s counter argument to the Blitzkrieg model
- Bird fauna went extinct at same rate
- Few kill sites
- Climate change is real culprit
Why does Paul think the mass extinctions occured
perfect storm: climate change + people = extinctions
“Late Pleistocene and extinction” by: Barnosky
how ecological effect (climate change) and human technology allowed for the large extinction of bigger animals
