Exam 1 Review Flashcards
1
Q
Anthropology
A
- The study of humans
2
Q
4 field approach of anthropology
A
- Archaeology
- Cultural anthropology
- Biological anthropology
- Linguistic anthropology
3
Q
4 fields of archaeology: >1. Prehistoric archaeology 2. Historical archaeology 3. Nautical archaeology 4. Classical archaeology
A
- Before history (the written record)
> May embed -ve meaning > e.g. pre-lit
4
Q
4 fields of archaeology: 1. Prehistoric archaeology >2. Historical archaeology 3. Nautical archaeology 4. Classical archaeology
A
- Post-European Contact
- Written record could be helpful but also problematic (intentionality)
5
Q
4 fields of archaeology: 1. Prehistoric archaeology 2. Historical archaeology >3. Nautical archaeology 4. Classical archaeology
A
- Study of the remains of boats and ships, and the cultures that created and used them
6
Q
4 fields of archaeology: 1. Prehistoric archaeology 2. Historical archaeology 3. Nautical archaeology >4. Classical archaeology
A
- Branch of archaeo frm tradition of Petrarch
- Focus on classical civilizations of Mediterranean
> Particularly: Ancient Greece, Rome, the Near East
7
Q
B.P.
A
- Before Present
*- AD1950 arbitrarily selected as the zero pt
> e.g. 884BP = 1950 - 1066AD
8
Q
B.C.E.
A
- Before Common Era
- Same as BC
9
Q
C.E.
A
- Common Era
- Preceding CE = BCE
- Current Era notation sys = alternative to Dionysian era system (BC, AD)
> 2 sys = numerical equivalent
10
Q
A.D.
A
- Anno Domini = in the year of the Lord > No AD0 > Denoted by 0BC - Same as AC (after Christ) - e.g. AD1066
11
Q
B.C.
A
- Before Christ
- e.g. 3200BC
12
Q
Kennewick Man
A
- 5’8” male died at ~45y (from 9400ya)
- Diet: 2/3 prolines from fish + limited starchy food
- Severe disease / malnutrition @5y
- Minor arthritis in knees, elbows, lower back, and neck due to intense physical activity (daily)
- Damaged nerves @ left arm
- Survive from many injuries (chest, head, right shoulder, left elbow)
-* Suspected to be a Native American culturally affiliated with 5 modern tribes
> Proved not Native American
13
Q
Culture
A
- A set of rules and standards
That when acted upon by the members of a society - Produce behavior that falls within the range of
What members consider proper and acceptable - Reconstructed thru:
1. Shared sets of artifact types and styles
2. Shared specific / more general time periods
3. Shared geographic / environmental setting
4. Shared settlement patterns
14
Q
Site (week 3, reading 1)
A
- Places where artifacts, ecofacts, and features are found tgt
- Most archaeological sites
= NOT in areas subjected to extremes of climate / volcanic activity
> Levels of preservation vary enormously
15
Q
Artifact (week 3, reading 1)
A
- Portable objects used, modified, or made by ppl
- e.g. stone tools, pottery, metal weapons
16
Q
Feature (week 3, reading 1)
A
- Non-portable artifacts
- Human modified components of a site / landscape
- e.g.
> Simple feature: postholes
> Combination with remains hearths, floors, ditches, storage pits
17
Q
Ecofact (week 3, reading 1)
A
- Organic and environmental remains NOT made by humans
- e.g. human skeletons, animal bones, plant remains, soil and sediments
18
Q
Context (week 3, reading 1)
A
- A find’s (whether artifact, ecofact, feature) context consists:
1. Immediate matrix
2. Provenience
3. Association with other finds - If looters disturb a site + shift aside material
> Primary context: destroyed by looters
> Secondary context: archaeologists subsequently excavate that shifted material > need to recognize that it is in a secondary context
19
Q
Matrix (week 3, reading 1)
A
- Conditions and make-up of soil / sediment surrounding the material
- ONLY in special circumstances preserve organic material
- Usually some sort of sediment such as gravel, sand, or clay
20
Q
Association (week 3, reading 1)
A
- Occurrence tgt with other archaeological remains
- Usually in the same matrix
21
Q
Provenience
A
- Horizontal and vertical position within the matrix
22
Q
Ethnography (week 2, reading)
A
- Description and analysis of contemporary cultures
- Based almost entirely on in-depth fieldwork
*- Comparative study of cultures =
Goal: - Cultural characteristics of a particular ethnic / social group
- Components:
1. Formulation of generalizations abt culture
2. Drawing comparisons - Method: participant observation
> Anthropologist lives in the society being studied
23
Q
Ethnohistory
A
- Branch of anthropology
Concerned with the history of ppl and cultures,
Especially non-Western ones
24
Q
Ethnographic analogy
A
- Logic of using customs and adaptions known
From ethnographic / historical sources
To interpret archaeological record
> If 2 things are similar in some respects
> Then they must be similar in other respects
> Interpret remains by comparison to historical cultures - Common method in Mayanist sturdies
25
Q
Experimental archaeology
A
- Tasks / objects frm the past are replicated
> Compared with the archaeological remains - e.g. replicate stone tool, pottery
(Pottery = hard to carry > associate with ppl staying in the region)
26
Q
Zooarchaeology / archaeozoology
A
- Animals in archaeology
- Focus: interaction btw animals and human in the past
- e.g. domestic animals, hunting > symbolic meaning
- Methods: collect dead animal bodies / bones:
1. Identification and quantification
2. Contributions to and changes in ancient diet
3. Domestication (domestic VS wild, mike production, kill-off pattern)
4. Bone tools, ornaments, and crafting technologies > trade
27
Q
Paleoethnobotany
A
- Study of botanical remains @archaeo sites
- Analysis + interpretation of interrelations btw ppl and plants
- Examine natural surroundings of flora + human-controlled flora on site
28
Q
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1846)
A
(?) - Mississippian conical mound excavation - Surveyor, architect - Dig tunnel in mounds > Find no evidence of monument to warriors, alternating soil and bone > Conclude it is a burial mounds
29
Q
C.B. Moore (1852-1936) (week 2, reading)
A
- Excavate major archaeo sites @American southeast with steamboat Gopher
*> Antiquarian: more interested in objects than reconstructing lives of ppl - Interested in collecting objects as own interest
*- Models of organization and efficiency
> Conduct preliminary investigations > locate likely sites - 1st investigations: shell middens + sand burial mounds @Gulf Coast of Florida
> Florida’s eastern shore
> Sea Islands of coastal Georgia + South Carolina
*> Black Warrior River Alabama @1905 to excavate Moundville (pre-Columbia’s art, prominent regional center)
30
Q
Warren K. Moorehead (1866-1939)
A
- Work @Ohio, New England
- “The Force”: the burial sites
> Give artifacts to workers if they find them - Found big objects only (NOT using screen)
> Destroy the site and take away large pieces
*- Able to predict for next burial sites > nail a lot of sites
*- Predictive Model: identify cultural area > look for similar evidence - NOT concern with spatial relationship (which is much valued today)
31
Q
Antiquarianism
A
- An interest in classical antiquities (ancient objects)
*- Focus on objects themselves, NOT to understand ppl / culture that produced them
> Focus, but narrow (fail to see big picture) - Usually associate with -ve: unhealthy obsession with the pass, value objects indiscriminately becoz of their age, state of decay, rather than becoz of their meaning / significance
32
Q
Nels Nelson (1875-1964) (week 2, reading)
A
*- Promote stratigraphy, layering in sites (superposition) @1912 in New Mexico’s Galisteo Basin
- 1st solid chronological framework abt excavations and analysis of pottery
- Hooked when excavated Uriah, north of San Francisco
- MA thesis: shell middens surrounding San Francisco Bay
> Discuss location of sites relative to available natural resources
> List animal bones found in the shell heaps
> Later excavate shell mounds @Florida; Caves @Kentucky, Missouri
> Central Asia @1925
> North American + European fieldwork till 1943
33
Q
A.V. Kidder (1886-1963) (week 2, reading)
A
- Modified Nelson’s concepts
*> Interest NOT only on objects, but also reconstruct the past - Field techniques controlled excavation and analysis, multidisciplinary, stratigraphy to construct cultural chronology
*- Decipher meaning from potsherd (fragment of pottery) - 1st expedition to northeastern Arizona
> Then examine prehistoric Southwestern ceramics
> Pecos Pueblo, massive prehistoric and historic period ruin @southeast of Santa Fe, New Mexico
> Maya ruins of Central America
34
Q
James A. Ford (1911-1968) (week 2, reading)
A
- Use Nelson’s principles
> Launch a series of stratigraphic excavations
> Design to define prehistoric sequence - Recreate social and political networks responsible for the colossal enterprise
*- Integrate scheme of surface collection + classification
*- Refine seriation - Synthesize ceramic chronologies into patterns of regional history
- Propose basic division btw earlier Burial Mound Period and subsequent Temple Mound Period @across greater Southeast
35
Q
***Walter W. Taylor (1913-1997) (week 2, reading)
A
- Writer of “A study of archaeology” @1948
> Blast elders of Americanist archaeology, esp AV Kidder
**- Conjunctive approach: use functional interpretations of artifacts and their contexts > reconstruct daily life of the past (NOT creating trait list) - Emphasized:
1. More anthropology in archaeology (i.e. ethnographic analogy)
> if excavate: less extensively and more intensively
2. Quantification of data - use statistics
3. Test hypotheses in scientific way > problem oriented research
> excavate to answer research Qs broader in scope than simply “how old” and “how many museum quality artifacts”
4. Use specialists to extract info frm archaeo artifacts + ecofacts
5. Study ALL remains > NO more biased view based on ONLY a portion of excavated material
> Recover + decode the meaning of unremarkable food remains
6. Study general cultural laws + processes
36
Q
New archaeology (week 2, reading)
A
- Approach to archaeo that arose @1960s
- Emphasize understanding of underlying cultural processes
+ The use of scientific method - Today’s version of “new archaeology” = processual archaeology
37
Q
Lewis Binford (1931-2011) (week 2, reading)
A
- Champion of “processual”
- Archaeo must transcend potsherds
To address cultural evolution, ecology, and social organization
**- The father of “new” archaeology:
1. Concern with few remains preindustrial ppl
> 1st hand operation of disappearing cultural adaptations
2. Concern with methods used to reconstruct the past > scientific:
(a) Formulate hypotheses and test, (b) random sampling
3. Artifacts = examine in terms of cultural contexts, in roles as reflections of technology, society, and belief systems
> e.g. human ecology > explain origins of plant domestication
38
Q
Kathleen Deagan (1948-) (week 2, reading)
A
- Pioneer for women in archaeology
- Specialize in Spanish colonial studies
- Study intermarriage and descent > mixed descent = mestizos
> Concern ppl + culture behind artifact
> Explain social + cultural behaviors - Long-term excavations @St. Augustine Florida
- @Northern Haiti: discover earliest well-documented point of contact btw Spanish + Native American ppl
- European colonists coping with New World environment
39
Q
Processual archaeology (week 2, reading)
A
= New archaeology
- Seek to understand the nature of cultural change
By a study of variables which cause it,
Usually in a manner characteristic of new archaeology.
- Formulate hypotheses > answer Qs > test against data > formulate law
- Stress: dynamic relationship btw social + economic aspects of culture and environment
40
Q
Postprocessual critique
A
- Postprocessual archaeo critic processual:
> Statistics will never explain subtleties of culture and behavior - Emphasize social factors in human societies:
1. Active role of individuals as decision makers
2. Meaning-laden contexts in chi decisions are made
3. Culture must be understood as sets of symbols
That evoke meanings and
That these vary depending on particular contexts of use and
the histories of artifacts and the people who use them
41
Q
Typology
A
- Organizing types (common characteristics) of artifacts by time period
- Form and decoration
- 1st step in archaeo analysis
- Necessary in comparing assemblages + determining time sequence
- e.g. group of potter assembled by those with long necks, those with handles
> Sub-groups based on variations in handles shape / decoration
42
Q
Seriation (week 2, reading; week 4, reading 2)
A
- Organizing styles by time period
- Assumption: 1 cultural style slowly replaces an earlier style over time
- Focus: changes over time in attributes / frequency of appearance
> Dated sites based on their frequency of several artifact styles - A relative dating technique
- Once the variations in a particular object have been classified by typology
> Often shown falling into a developmental series
> Sometimes = single line; sometimes branching lines
43
Q
Settlement system
A
- The entire set of settlements used by a. Community
- e.g. All the camps used by a band of hunter-gatherers
44
Q
Formation of the archaeology record (week 3, reading 1)
A
- Taphonomy = Study of formation process abt
Which finds came to be buried and
What happened to them after they were buried - Types of formation:
1. Cultural formation process: intentional/accidental activities of human beings as they make/use artifacts, build/abandon buildings, plow fields
(a) Original human behavior (4 major activities): acquisition of raw material, manufacture, (storage), use, disposal
(b) Deliberate burial: hoards (deposit prized possessions in ground during conflict/war); burial of the dead
(c) Human destruction of archaeological record
2. Natural formation process: natural events that govern BOTH burial + survival of archaeo record
(a) Inorganic materials; (b) organic materials
> See differential preservation
45
Q
Differential preservation
A
- Different material preserve at different rates
Organic:
1. Chalk - preserve human + animal bone well
2. Acid soils - destroy bones + wood within a few yrs
3. Sandy soils - brown/black marks = skeletons
4. Copper - favor preservation of organic remains
5. Salt+oil - preserve woolly rhinoceros w/ leaves + fruits ard@Poland
Inorganic:
1. Stone tools, fired clay, gold, silver, lead - preserved well in all environm
2. Copper - can corrode (acid) depending on soil conditions
3. Iron - NOT survive in uncorroded state - Inorganic materials may well have been equaled / superseded in abundance and importance by objects that usually do NOT survive (e.g. wooden tools / baskets)
46
Q
***Climatic variables
A
- Acidic (NE woodlands)
> e.g. bod bodies in peat bogs, Ozette (BOTH wet preservation) - Arid (American SW, high Andes)
> e.g. The Tomb of Tutankhamun (dry preservation) - Wet - submerged + frozen (Siberia, Greenland, Alaska)
> e.g. Ice Man (ice preservation)
47
Q
Rare preservation contexts (?week 3, reading 1)
A
1. Dry environments > e.g. The Tomb of Tutankhamun 2. Cold environments > e.g. Ice Man 3. Waterlogged environments > e.g. bod bodies in peat bogs, Ozette
48
Q
Guest lectures
- Where
- Research focus
A
- Ebert
- Janz
- Brouwer Burg
- Newman
49
Q
Ebert’s lecture
A
- Settlement system
- Large settlement system but with individual hse
- Research focus: Maya cultural context in Burlee
- Methods:
1. Pedestrian survey (pros: work w/ limited resources, funding, man power; cons: miss important info, even big city)
2. Small plane that carry laser (LiDAR)
> Peel away buildings/this on ground surface
> NO need to cut down trees in jungles
> Reveal this exist underground - Highlights:
1. Sediment archaeology (developed @1960s) - Key questions:
(a) How did ppl organize on landscape?
(b) How did they make living?
(c) Political-social systems
(d) Economic interaction - Social unit: household (family) > community > cities > nation
2. Sediment hierarchy: core=city, 1st branch=hamlets, 2nd brand=house
3. Interaction btw ppl:
> Core=governing body (collect taxes, food), trade market, direct control on hamlets
> Hamlets: bring resources to city for trading
50
Q
Janz’s lecture
A
- Mongolia: harsh extreme climate(-40 @winter to 100 @summer)
> Dramatic change - Research focus: how human adapt to environment change, how human change the environment as well
- Excavation include: burials, habitation sites
- Methods:
1. Geoarchaeology: stratigraphy + soil types, dating sediments, microbotanical remains, mapping landforms
2. Species identification: species list > identification > taphonomy > weights and counts (In dry cave, only burned seeds survived)
3. Ecological modeling (GIS based)
51
Q
Brouwer Burg’s lecture
A
-
52
Q
Newman’s lecture
A
- Research site: artifacts (tools, pots), body remains, architecture, trace @Maya sites
- Zooarcaheology: collect dead animal bodies / bones
1. Identification and quantification (e.g. use: teeth, bones > jewelry)
2. Contributions to and changes in ancient diet (Bronze age to Neolithic > Increase in sheep; becoz of technologies to raise sheep / climate change etc.)
3. Domestication- Mouflon - ovis orientalis > wild;
sheep - ovis aries > domesticated species tends to be smaller - Milk production (raising female for reproduction and milk production, killed when they stop producing);
kill-off pattern (male > female)- Bone tools, ornaments, and crafting technologies (>trade)
- Mouflon - ovis orientalis > wild;
53
Q
Eolian / Aeolian deposition
A
- Deposits affected by wind / processes related to wind
- Dessert, wind blow (e.g. Mongolia)
- Can bury materials intact / with little disturbance
- Erosion can collapse and displace materials
- Particle movement can alter archaeological material thru abrasion
54
Q
Alluvial deposition
A
- A region of soil deposited by a river / streams
> Flooding water (e.g. water blank)
55
Q
Colluvial deposition
A
- Gathering of sediments on a slope / soil erosion
- Typically in dry valleys of chalk lands, valley sides
- e.g. Mudslide
56
Q
Post-depositional disturbance
A
- Erosion
- Human destruction
- Plant / animal
57
Q
Stratigraphy
A
- Successive deposition of superimposed layers,
Either of natural or cultural material
> Basis for chronological sequences
> Lower deposits lay down earlier than overlying layers
58
Q
Ozette
A
- @ Washington US Northwest Coast
- @AD1750: mudslide buried part of whale-hunting settlement
- Then sea strip away the mud
- Found wealth of organic material:
1. Several cedar wood long hse (21*14m): carved panels, roof-support posts, low partition walls
2. Contain hearths, cooking platforms, sleep in benches, mats
3. >50,000 artifacts (wood + plant material) in fine preservation
4. A red cedar meter high carved whale’s dorsal fin
5. Wale bones
59
Q
Ice Man
A
- Oldest fully preserved human body (due to low conc of O2)
> 1st prehistoric human ever found with everyday clothing and equipment - Killed by exhaustion (frozen) / violent death @Italian mountain ~3300BC
- Dark-skinned male @mid- to late 40s; 1.56-1.6m, 54kg; tattoos
- DNA links to northern Europe
- Worn teeth (esp front incisors) > eat coarse ground grain
- Reduced nail growth due to serious illness 2-4months before death
60
Q
Bog Bodies (week 3, reading 1)
A
- Peat bogs: northern latitudes (e.g. southern England, continent of Europe, Ireland)
- Bog bodies: individuals frm violent death, executed as criminals, killed as sacrifice
> Threw into bog - e.g. Denmark’s Tollund Man
> Due to acid: within skin, disappeared bones and most internal organs, except stomach and its content - e.g. Prehistoric human brain @Florida
- Lake-dwellings rival bog bodies
> e.g. @Neolithic Charavines in France
> Preserve wooden structures, artifacts, textiles, nuts, berries, fruits
61
Q
Rockshelter
A
- A natural cave with a roof of overlying rock
That extends beyond the sides of the cave - A cave form by a ledge of overhanging rock
> Shallow cave / cliff overhang was used by humans to provide shelter
> Esp hunters and gatherers
62
Q
Regional survey
A
- Broad survey includes
Total environmental setting around an archaeological site - Attempt to systematically locate previously unknown sites in a region
63
Q
Predictive model
A
- Use of GIS and other tools to construct a model of a site location
> Predict particular kinds of archaeological sites
Based on tendency to occur in the same kinds of place - A somewhat simplified representation of a physical process
That yields information with predicative value
64
Q
Sampling units
A
- Transects (straight paths)
- In large-scale surveys
- Areas of dense vegetation (e.g. tropical rainforest)
> Easier to walk along a series of paths
- Pros:
(a) Easily be segmented into units; (b) useful for finding sites; (c) record artifact densities across the landscape - Squares
- Pros:
(a) Explore more area to survey; (b) increase probability of intersecting sites - Combination of transects + squares
- Transects to cover long distances
- Squares to larger concentrations of material are encountered
65
Q
Surface survey
A
Goal: 1. Mapping features 2. Distribution of surviving features 3. Recording and possible collecting artifacts frm ground surface - 2 basic kinds of surface survey: 1. Unsystematic - Fieldwalking > Scan ground along path > Record location of artifacts and surface features 2. Systematic - Less subjective - Grid system > walk systematically + record finds more accurate
66
Q
Subsurface testing
A
- Testing under the surface
- Use remote sensing techniques carried out at ground lvl
> Include soil resistivity detector, magnetometer, radar techniques
67
Q
Remote sensing techniques
A
- GPR
- Soil resistivity
- Magnetometer
- LiDAR
68
Q
GPR
A
- Ground Penetrating Radar
- Physical and chemical changes in the ground
In related to the presence / absence of buried materials of interest
Can be measured and mapped
69
Q
Soil resistivity
A
- A remote sensing technique
- Measures changes in conductivity
By passing electrical current thru ground soil - Often depends on moisture content (near the surface)
- Buried features are usually detected by differential retention of ground water
70
Q
Magnetometer
A
- A device that can detect intensity and direction of Earth’s magnetic field
> Identify changes in magnetic fields within soil/sediment
That caused by subsurface features, hearths, kilns, metal artifacts - 2 designs:
1. Proton magnetometer (Pros: absolute measurement of field strength; Cons: time consuming, absolute measurements taken at diff times have to be calibrated for varied earth’s field strength effect)
2. Fluxgate magenetomets (Pros: continuous reading, less time consuming; Cons: NO measurement of direct field strength) - Pros:
1. Locate features w/o disturbance of ground
2. Carry out excavation directly to most promising areas
71
Q
LiDAR
A
- A measuring system that detects and locates objects
On the same principle as radar
But uses light from a laser - Pros: NOT time-consuming, extend accessibility, millimeter accuracy, zooming in-and-out, virtual reality like gaming in environment
- Cons: Images back-white
72
Q
GIS
A
- Geographic Information Systems
- A computer system that stores, organizes, analyzes, and displays geographic data
73
Q
Attribute analysis
A
- Tracks the distribution of certain characteristics
Thru an entire population of artifacts
74
Q
Microwear / usewear analysis (week 4, reading 1)
A
- Study of w ear patterns on edges of stone tools
> Tool used on what? - e.g. edge damage on scraper, fragments (associated with butchered elephant remains in site @Israel)
- Combined with experimental archaeo
> Determine firstly whether the find really is humanly made
75
Q
Residue analysis
A
- Analysis of remains left on vessels
To determine wt the artifact contained / was used for
> e.g. Blood, starch remain on artifact
> Based on residues frm 3400y old pottery @HOnduras
> Include honey, cocoa powder, coca nibs
76
Q
Pottery analysis (week 4, reading 1)
A
- Pottery = hard-wearing
- Potsherds = common find on sites
- Simple observation:
1. Hand
2. Throwing on wheel (after 3400BC)
> Telltale spiral of ridges and fingertips marks - Experiment and ethnographic studies: how it was fired
> Glazed: fired over 900C in enclosed kiln
> Oxidation: dark shred = temp too low to fully oxidize OR
insufficient firing duration
77
Q
Temper
A
- Material that mix with clay
To prevent shrinkage and cracking
When the clay is dried / fired
> Improve drying and firing qualities
- Cut a small piece of pottery
> Chemical make-up (may be INAA)
78
Q
Thin section (pottery)
A
- Removal of a very thin slice of material frm pottery
- Ground down to 0.03mm before mounting on slide
- Must be thin enough to determine details of crystals and other structures
- Examine under petrological microscope
- Identify source of raw materials frm which the object was made
- Work of David Peacock: pottery bowls traded over long distances @3000BC in Neolithic times
79
Q
INAA
A
- Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis
- Determine the concentration of trace and major elements
In a variety of matrices - Sample subject to a neutron flux
> Produce radioactive nuclides
> As radioactive nuclides decay
> Emit gamma rays
> Energies are characteristic for each nucleotide
80
Q
XRF
A
- X-Ray Fluorescence
- Versatile, non-destructive technique
- Methods:
1. Elements are identified by wavelengths of spectral lines
2. Concentrations are determined by intensities of these lines - Reveal detailed information abt chemical composition and crystallographic structure of natural and manufactured materials
- Pros:
1. Apply on pottery, obsidian, glass, some metal
2. Non-destructive
3. Suitable for analysis of major elements in a specimen
4. Possible automation of recording and changing sample
> Faster than spectrometry
81
Q
Trade and Exchange
A
- Transfer of goods and services btw ppl
Either individuals / societies - Trade: more specifically to formalized economic relationships of modern societies
- 3 different forms of exchange:
1. Reciprocity
2. Redistribution
3. Market exchange - Different spatial patterns of traded items > Mode of exchange
1. Down-the-line: distinct decline in quantity as distance frm the source increases
2. Directional exchange: traded directly frm source to distant point w/o any intermediate exchange - Valuable goods: feathers, ivory, shell, jade, amber, gemstones, gold, copper, finest textiles
82
Q
Production, distribution, consumption (week 4, reading 1)
A
- Production:
(a) Artifacts made frm unaltered materials
- e.g. stone, wood, plant + animal fibers, other materials (bone, antler, shell, leather, etc.)
(b) Synthetic materials
- e.g. pottery, metals (alloying)
> Trade + exchange > distribution - Distribution
- Key Qs:
(a) How societies operated
(b) How they interrelated socially + economically
- 4 mechanisms: direct access, down-the-line, freelance (middleman) trading, emissary trading (trader=representative of central organization)
- Spatial distribution of finds: understand exchange mechanisms
- e.g. distribution studies of obsidian
> Source frm Near East, trade down to central Anatolia)
> Within 320km supply zone = direct access; contact zone = down-the-line; no traders
- Quantitative studies: e.g. fall-off analysis > statistical indication of which method was in use - Consumption
83
Q
Interaction Spheres
A
- Regions for trade and exchange
- e.g. Hopewell interaction sphere
84
Q
Site function within Settlement system
A
(?)
- Temporary camp
- Long-term housing
85
Q
Relative dating techniques
A
- Dating method where
Phases/objects can be put
Into a sequence relative to each other
> Earlier than / later than / contemporary with an event - NOT tied to calendrically measured time
*- All dating was relative
EXCEPT where links with historical events could be proved - e.g. stratigraphy, seriation
> Useful becoz chronometer is dates cannot be obtained
86
Q
Absolute dating techniques
A
- Determination of age with reference to a specific time scale
Such as fixed calendrical system / in BP
Based on measurable physical and chemical qualities
OR historical associations such as coins and written records - e.g. Dendrochronology, conventional radiocarbon dating, accelerator mass, spectrometry (AMS), Obsidian hydration, thermoluminescence (TL)
87
Q
Dendrochronology
A
- Tree-ring dating
- Thinner annual rings = lower precipitation
- Build tree-ring chronologies by starting with living trees and then finding progressively older specimen
> living tree > dead tree > old log cabin > prehistoric ruin > long-living tree
88
Q
Conventional radiocarbon dating (C14 dating)
A
- Applicable to organic materials (charcoal, bone, shell, etc.)
- Found materials older than at 1st sight appeared
- Method: based on unstable, radioactive 14C isotope and its predicatable presence in atmosphere, equal to < 1%
> Half-life cycle: decay @5568y rate - Cons:
1. Date NOT precise but carry an error margin
2. Diff of ensuring that they relate securely to an archaeological layer
3. Effect of materials up to 40,000y only
> NOT applicable to study human origins
4. Need multiple samples to properly date a site for better estimation
89
Q
AMS / AMS radiocarbon dating (week 4, reading 2)
A
- Accelerator Mass Spectrometry
- A relatively new method of radiocarbon dating
- Proportion of carbon isotopes is counted directly
Rather than using indirect Geiger counter method
Using an accelerator mass spectrometer - Pros: reduce quantity of stable material required
90
Q
Obsidian hydration
A
- Obsidian has only ca. 2% water
- When fractured, fractured surface begins to hydrate and develop a crust “hydration band”
- Thickness of hydration band equivalent to time since fractured
> In California, for example, approximately 1 micron of thickness of hydration band is equal to 1000 years - Need lots of samples to get average date
- Pros: Inexpensive BUT you need obsidian in your site to use it
91
Q
TL (week 4, reading 2)
A
- Thermoluminescence
- Chronometric method of dating ceramic + burnt stone artifacts
(Any thing that has been heated >500C)
By measuring stored energy created when they were first fired - Based on principle that ceramic material contains small amounts of radioactive impurities (e.g. potassium, uranium, thorium)
> Emit alpha and beta particles + gamma rays > cause ionizing radiation - Heat of pottery causes electrons and holes be released frm trap
> Combine in the form of thermo-lumine-scence - Light emitted affected by:
1. No. Of flaws in crystal
2. Strength of radioactivity to which it has been exposed
3. Duration of exposure - Older pottery > more light produced
- Accuracy at ~10%
- Overlap with radiocarbon in time period for which it is useful
(50,000-300,000y)
92
Q
Potassium-Argon (K-Ar) dating
A
- Based on rate of decay for radioactive isotope of Potassium, Potassium 40 and ratio to Argon which is a byproduct of decay
- Used in volcanic contexts to date ash layers
- Useful for dating very old sites
- Cons: - Huge error ranges
- Subsequent eruptions mess up isotope ratios
> Fix age of many early hominin fossils frm East Africa
93
Q
Grid system
A
- A system for recording data
In 3-dimensions from an archaeological excavation
94
Q
***Studying subsistence
A
- Subsistence = action or means by which an individual or gp supports themselves
- Main focus: food > wt ppl eat + all that goes into obtaining wt they eat
- 2 types of subsistence study:
1. Directly: (a) faunal analysis, (b) plant remains, (c) coprolites
2. Indirectly:
(a) environmental reconstruction (ecofacts, pollen, phytoliths)
(b) settlement patterns (hunter-gatherers VS agriculturalists; farmers VS fishermen)
(c) technology
(d) human skeleton remains (bone isotopes, subsistence stress, nutritional inadequacies, paleopathology)
95
Q
Pollen (Palynology) (week 5, reading)
A
- Study of plant pollen, spores,
And certain microscopic plankton organisms
In both living and fossil forms - Useful in reconstructing past “regional” environments
> Pollen diagrams document how
local + regional vegetation has changed over time
96
Q
Phytoliths (week 5, reading)
A
- Tiny silica particles contained in plants
- These fragments can be recovered frm archaeo sites
Even plants themselves have decayed - Less sensitive indicators of plants on site
- BUT demonstrate which plant stems were present on site
97
Q
Coprolites (week 5, reading)
A
- Preserved fecal material (desiccated feces)
- Provide evidence of diet, health, food storage practices
- Useful indicators of plants + small animals
98
Q
Faunal analysis (week 5, reading)
A
- Identify and interpret kinds of animal remains (bones, shells, antler)
> Age/size of anime > decide wt seasons a site was occupied - Direct evidence to Qs:
1. Which species were hunter/collected for food
2. How many animals were killed
3. how they were captured
4. What butchering Methods were employed
Goals:
1. Reconstruction of past human-animal relationship
2. Reconstruction of past animal environment
3. Basic requirements for good faunal analysis:
(a) large samples, (b) careful excavation (to avoid bias), (c) comparative samples
Issues:
1. Most animals (ca.99%) die and do not preserve
2. Preservation is best when ground water is alkaline (non-acidic)
3. Emplacement shortly aft death is essential to preservation
99
Q
**Biases in faunal samples
A
- Differential preservation: bones vary in resistance to decay
- NOT only humans cause bone accumulations in sites
100
Q
Comparative collection (week 5, reading)
A
- A skeletal collection of modern fauna
Of both sexes and different ages
Used to make identifications of arcaheofaunas - Classification into:
1. Taxon: classify skeletal element to taxonomic category (species, genus, family, order)
2. Size classes: to 1 of 5 categories based on body size
101
Q
MNI (week 5, reading)
A
- Minimum Number of Individuals
- Newer way of comparing bone frequencies than NISP
- Most accurate when:
1. Use fine stratigraphic divisions (fine-grained > coast-grained)
2. Bones are not overly fragmented - Bias in skeletal part counts
> Fewest possible number of ppl / animals in a skeletal assemblage
> Estimate of how many ppl / animals are present in a cluster of bones
102
Q
NISP (week 5, reading)
A
- Counts based on Number of Identified Specimens
- Bias in skeletal part counts
> Skeletal differences + differential rates of bone preservation
> Some species will be represented more than others - Pros: useful for comparing large no. of collections frm diff sites
- Cons: limitation in reconstructing human behavior at a single site
103
Q
Seasonality
A
- Identify season by distinctive corps, animal behaviors
That can only be found during certain seasons - Define time when cultural / natural activities occurred
104
Q
Kill site (week 5, reading)
A
- Area where early hunters killed game (animal) for food
- Important: becoz physical remains were left there by early ppl
105
Q
Head smashed in
A
- A buffalo jump located @foothills of Rocky Mountains in Alberta Canada
- Used for 5,500y by indigenous ppl to kill buffalo
> Drive them off 11m high cliff - Camp @foot cliff provide ppl with everything they need to process a buffalo carcass (e.g. fresh water)
- Estimated no of buffalo slaughtered 123,000 over the years
- Usage of carcass: bones>tools; hide>dwellings+clothing
- Importance of site: go beyond just providing food + supplies
> Enjoy leisure time, pursuer artistic + spiritual interests
> Increase cultural complexity of society
106
Q
Agate basin fauna (week 5, reading)
A
- @1916 discovered by William Spencer in eastern Wyoming
*- Hill’s conclusions:
1. ~10780 radiocarbon ya: small group of Folsom hunters
2. Camped by Agate basin site @late March / early April
3. Killed 11 bison (4M, 4F, 3 immature), 5 antelope
4. Partially butchered bison at kill site, brought entire limbs back to camp
5. Antelope carried back to camp as in large proportion
6. Folsom hunters NOT relied heavily on meat storage
*- Methods:
1. Identify bones thru comparative collection
2. Differences btw count by NISP VS MNI (conclusion frm MNI)
3. Reconstruct human behavior:
> Bison long bones > high in meat + marrow
> Brought back only high-utility portions + left axial skeleton @kill site
VS
> Remove feet + lower limb bones of antelope < Little meat + marrow
> Carried rest of antelope back
*> Ethnoachaeo suggest several factors for making decision of which parts of an animal to transport home: (a) distance back to camp; (b) no. of hunters present; (c) weather; (d) terrain; (e) food needs of household
4. Seasonality (>NO storage habits)
107
Q
Chauvin de Huantar fauna (week 5, reading)
A
- Celebrated ceremonial center @Andes 3150m above sea lvl 850-200BC
- 1 of the earliest civilizations in South America
- Initial settlement = small ceremonial center surrounded by numerous domestic structures that made up a vigorous highland community
- Location @key trade route midway
- Miller: trash @ center’s several thousand inhabitants > what they ate
> Early: domesticated llama (consumed maize) head + foot 53%, white-tailed deer 31%, rarer animal bones used for tools than food
> Later: domesticated llama leg bones 83%, deer frequency drops dramatically - From head + foot > leg (decrease survival of leg bones):
> (a) Differential preservation: bone density (dense foot bones > leg bones), butchering patterns (break leg bones to get marrow > fragments), carnivore gnawing
> Bias to modern faunal assemblage
> (b) Ch’arki effect: freeze-dried llama meat
> @Puna where ch’arki is made: found foot bones (heavy, dense)
> NOT suitable for trades
> @downhill intermontane valleys: ch’arki chunks
*> Behavior behind bones: taphonomy alone NOT account for faunal distributions
108
Q
Age/sex kill profiles
A
- Catastrophic
- Attritional
- Managed herd
109
Q
Catastrophic
A
- A pattern of distribution of an animal population
= Result of death by natural causes - Mortality pattern is based on bone- or tooth-wear analysis
*- Older age group the fewer the individuals it has
110
Q
Attritional
A
- Distribution of ages in an animal population
= Result of selective hunting / predation - Kill-off pattern vulnerability: male > female; young, old > mature
> Raising female for milk production
111
Q
Managed herd
A
- Kill female animals when they stop producing milk (old)
- Immediate kill-off upon hunting: male > female
112
Q
Fauna and status
A
(?)
- Resident
- Visiting fauna
- Transient fauna
113
Q
Human impact on animal populations
A
(?)
- Prey + hunting
- Domestication
- Destruction of habitat
114
Q
Goals of anthropological archaeology
A
- Document + explain
Origins and development of human culture
Through the recovery, documentation,
Analysis of material remains + environmental data
115
Q
Preservation conditions
Favorable and NOT
A
- Rapid burial
- Possession of hard parts (shells, bones, teeth)
- Elements under different environments
> Inorganic, organic materials (see differential preservation)
116
Q
Historical progression of American archaeology
A
- Governed by federal and state laws
>* Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) @ 1990
> Repatriation of Native American human remains to their culturally affiliated tribes - Kennewick Man: Scientists vs Native American
> Rise ethical questions:- What gives archaeologists right to poke into the past, right to study the dead?
- Who owns the past?
- Who gets decide?
- Names = power, right (e.g. American Indian / Native American)
> Use term preferred by the particular tribe in question - Archaeo = Science, pure, simple OR responsive to humanistic concern
> BOTH: Sci = self-correcting, susceptible to cultural biases; Hum = downplay scientific standards of evidence
*- Archaeo NOT just abt dead, also abt living
> Work closely with indigenous ppl to achieve goals of scientific archaeo
117
Q
Strengths and weaknesses of dating techniques
A
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
118
Q
Strengths and weaknesses of remote sensing and non-invasive techniques (week 3, reading 2)
A
Strengths:
1. Cheaper + less destructive than random trial trenches
2. Selective in deciding which parts of site should be fully excavated
Weaknesses:
1. Depend on contrast btw buried features and their surroundings
2. Costly in equipment and time
119
Q
Interpreting the archaeological record
A
-
120
Q
Sustainable archaeology
A
-
121
Q
*** History periods of American archaeology
A
- Speculative (AD1492-1840): antiquarianism, lost tribes, spacemen, vanished races
- Descriptive (AD1840-1914): Squire and Davis, Cyrus Thomas, CB Moore, WK Moorehead
- Chronology (AD1914-1940): begin anthropology, AV Kidder, Nels Nelson, evolutionism, racist ideologies, Eurocentric
- Context + function (AD1940-1960): seriation and typology, sequencing and ordering of index fossils, e.g. Rouse, Ritchie
- Explanation (AD1960-1990): “new archaeo”, processual, scientific archaeo
- Post-processual (AD1990-2010): importance of individual actors, agency, self-reflective
- Processual plus (AD2010-present): processual methods with inclusion of insights offered by the post-processual critique
122
Q
*** Bias in skeletal part counts
A
- NISP: Number of Identified Specimens
- MNI: Minimum number of Individuals
- Skeletal part numbers depart frm anatomically expected becoz softer bones do NOT preserve as well
123
Q
**Bias in determining species
A
Better represented if…
- Species with more bones
- Smaller animals (carry to the site whole)
- Species with easily diagnostic bones
- Species whose bones remain diagnostic aft fragmentation
124
Q
4 field approach: >1. Archaeology 2. Cultural anthropology 3. Biological anthropology 4. Linguistic anthropology
A
Goal:
- Main source of knowledge for human past
- Illustrate full diversity of human culture and society
- Show how humans have changed and adapted
Method
- From material remains
125
Q
4 field approach: 1. Archaeology >2. Cultural anthropology 3. Biological anthropology 4. Linguistic anthropology
A
Goal:
- Study diversity of living societies
Method:
- Ethnogrphers who live for a time within those societies
> Observe their behavior at 1st hand
- Focus shift: non-Western societies
> Specific groups within Western societies
> e.g. immigrant communities, inner-city groups
126
Q
4 field approach: 1. Archaeology 2. Cultural anthropology >3. Biological anthropology 4. Linguistic anthropology
A
Goal:
- Human evolution and physiology
Sub-field of biological anthropology:
1. Paleoanthropology: fossil and skeletal remains
2. Human ecology: biological adaptation to environment and disease
> e.g. patterns of nutrition, fertility, genetics > population history
127
Q
4 field approach: 1. Archaeology 2. Cultural anthropology 3. Biological anthropology >4. Linguistic anthropology
A
Goal:
- World languages
> Development and interrelationships
128
Q
Depositional environments
A
- Non-depositional (e.g. lakeshore)
- <10% artifact distribution 40cm below ground surface - Accretions (e.g. rock-shelter)
- Little separation btw occupation - Alluvial (e.g. floodplain)
- Dark lines in btw light soils layers = human activities
- Better preserved by sand layers
- Example sites: Winooski Burlington, Milo Maine, Howe Farm in Winooski River Intervale - Eolian (e.g. wind blown)
- Example sites: Magnolia, Anguilla Caribbean (hurricane) - Colluvial (e.g. mudslide)
- Example sites: Panamax Guatemala @2005, Camarillo California @2014, Santa Catarina Penula Guatemala @2015 - Volcanic
- Example sites: Pompeii @southern Italy, Scott’s Head Dominica
129
Q
Characterization
A
- Discover sources of traded goods
- Basic requirements:
1. Obvious source of material that distinguishes its products frm those coming frm other source
2. Past 40y: analyze small samples with accuracy
> Precise description of the material
3. Sources of material being sufficiently diff
> Distinguishable thru scientific analysis - Sourcing of materials by characterization depends crucially on our knowledge of the distribution of raw materials
