Final Flashcards
the epoch we currently live in; began about 11,000 - 10,000 years ago.
The geological epoch during which we now live.
Follows the Pleistocene epoch
Northern hemisphere experienced radical environmental change
Left only polar regions and Greenland with permanent ice caps
Invented equipment to help take advantage of local resources
Hunter-gatherers anticipated many of their developments we associate with agriculture. Became familiar with local plant and animal resources
holocene
ice-free corridor. Land bridge that connected Asia and North America several times during the late Pleistocene. Beringia, the dry-land connection between Asia and America that existed periodically during the Pleistocene epoch. Supported human hunters; adapted to the cold and dry conditions
Exposed during periods of maximum glaciation
Intervals when lower sea levels exposed the floor of the shallow Bering Sea
Accessible depended on:
Climate and glaciation
Sea levels rising, and how people were able to walk across
Do-able, evidence for this
Was along the coast of the northern Pacific Rim. Pacific Coastal Route
Concluded, humans must have entered New World from Asia
Emerged between the Cordilleran and Laurentide ice sheets in Western Canada
bering land bridge/beringia
coast coming from Asia. Geographically possible for humans to enter the New World by coast
Earliest immigrants may have traveled by boat along the pacific coast during the late Pleistocene
Use of canoes, rafts, and other forms of water transport; necessary to carry humans successfully
Used kelp and fish
Passage eased by access to the region’s diverse marine and terrestrial ecosystems, didn’t have to abandon their boats
avoids time constraints on the availability
pacific coastal route
treeless plains with permafrost conditions (frozen ground) that supports the growth of vegetation like grasses and mosses
Supported herds and grazing animals
tundra
large areas of dry treeless plains
supported herds and grazing animals
steppe
Pleistocene ice sheet originating in mountains of Western North America
Ice-free corridor opened between Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets
cordilleran
Pleistocene ice sheet centered in the Hudson Bay region and extending across much of Eastern Canada and Northern United States
Ice-free corridor opened between Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets
Explained the entry of the earliest humans into the Americas
laurentide
North American archaeological complex dating to roughly 13,500 - 13,000 ya; Representative of specialized big game hunters, who may have driven many late Pleistocene species into extinction
Characterized by distinctive fluted projectile points
Earliest dates for an ice-free corridor
Simplest way to get from Old World to the New World was on foot
Humans passed the glaciers and established themselves on both continents
clovis
Paleo- Indian archaeological complex of the Southern Great Plains, around 12,500 ya, characterized by fluted projectile points used for hunting now-extinct bison
Smaller, thinner, proportionally larger central flute
Gave way to long sequence of new point forms
Parallel-flaked projective
folsom
animals over 100 pounds. Ex) mammoth, mastodon, giant bison, horse camel, ground sloth
“Large animals”
Killed and butchered at Paleo-Indian hunter sites, evidence they were human prey
Went extinct in the New World
Led to diets becoming more diverse since megafauna was less abundant
Explosion of meteor or other extraterrestrial object contributed to extinctions
megafauna
referring to early hunter gatherers who occupied the Americas between 13,500 - 10,000 ya
Hunting and gathering sites are found widely scattered throughout the Americas
Hunters killed and butchered megafauna
Used knives, scrapers, finley flaked and fluted projectile points associated with animal bones to hunt
Some believe they hunted megafauna to their extinction, others blame climate and environmental changes
Fluted point
Chiseling away from uniformity in weaponry and hunting behavior
paleo-indian
preserved fecal material, which can be studied for what the contents reveal about diet and health
Found deposits contain seeds, insect exoskeletons, and often tiny scales and bones of fish, rodents and amphibians
Humans remains
coprolites
a stadial, or colder stage, between roughly 13,000 and 11,500 ya. The climate became colder and drier but did not return to full glacial conditions in higher latitudes
Period of climatic change; the climate became colder and drier
Humans took advantage of vulnerable animals who were drawn to shrinking water holes during this time which may have accelerated their extinction
General long-term trend of global warming resumed
Dramatically higher temperatures at the end
younger dryas
also known as Climatic Maximum, episode of higher average annual temperatures that affected much of the globe for several millennia after the end of the last Ice-Age
Altithermal in Western United States
Hypsithermal in the East
Warmer, dry post glacial time period
Huge rain-fed lakes that filled during glacial times evaporated
altithermal/hypsithermal
hunter-gatherers who live in small groups that move camp frequently to take advantage of fresh resources as they come into season, with few resources stored in anticipation of future use
Small groups move frequently to seasonally available resources
Storage for later use is rare, moved around too much, temporary settlements
Maintain stable population density of about one person per 4 square miles
Day-to-day might not always yield a stable diet
foraging
hunter-gatherers who tend to stay in one place for a long time. A task group may range far afield to hunt and collect food and other resources that are brought back to camp and shared among its inhabitants. Valued food resources are commonly stored in anticipation of future use
Groups move less and bring resources back to camp to share with others
Storage for later use is common, more of a home base to stock up, jars and pots with leftover residue
Equipment to fish, hunt, and gather
collecting
North American Archaeological period that follows the end of the Ice Age and traditionally ends with the beginning of the use of ceramics; equivalent to the Meoslithic in the Old World
New options in their altered environment
Dense forests, edible nut bearing trees
Bands pursued coastal sea mammals or combined inland caribou hunting with fishing
Initiated the critical process of domestication and agriculture
archaic
an early postglacial period of hunter-gatherers, especially in north western Europe
Early ecology and foraging economy
Deer skulls with antlers
Modified the environment for their own purposes
Encouraged people to remain longer in one location
Preservation of organic remains
Initiated the critical process of domestication and agriculture
mesolithic
Late Pleistocene and early Holocene period of foragers and collectors in the Near East and adjacent parts of Asia
Livelihood from a range of local resources by hunting, fishing, and gathering
Varied from region to region, season to season
Broaden the definition of food by exploiting a wider range of potentially edible species
Relied mostly on hunting or fishing, resulting in more efficient
Rely more heavily on wild plant resources
New way of making a living, development of food production
Initiated the critical process of domestication and agriculture
epipaleolithic
“New Stone Age,” the change from hunting and gathering to agriculture
Gordon Childe’s view: maintaining field/herds required a long-term commitment from early farmers, proposed that civilization grew out of increasing productivity, social complexity, and economic advantages
Childe’s term for the far-reaching consequences of food production
People became more sedentary
Larger settlements, less people involved in food production and craft specialization
Sedentism may have stimulated the development of agriculture
Fundamental changes brought about by the beginning of food production
Employed nature to produce crops and animals
neolithic revolution
residing in a single location for most or all of the year
more or less settled
spread to villages
can often stimulate food production
natufian established sedentary
sedentary
economic system where individuals aren’t involved in food production, but offer their labor to produce other goods and services
An economic system in which some individuals do not engage in food production, but devote their labor to the production of other goods and services
Potters, carpenters, smiths, shamans, teachers, oracels
Exchange their services or products for food and other necessities
Cloth weaving, pottery production, metallurgy
craft specialization
A state of interdependence between humans and selected plant or animal species. Intense selection activity induces permanent genetic change, enhancing a species’ value to humans
The Fertile Crescent
Interdependence between organism and human
Genetic transformation, modify the genetic makeup of plants or animals and morphological characteristics
Evolutionary process directed by humans
Animal domestication- meat, pulling plow, riding, milk products, wool, leather, horn, bone, manure fertilizer, social status
Other effects- poor health, dental enamel hypoplasia, porotic hyperostosis, cribra orbitalia, increased diseases
domestication
cultural activities associated with planting, herding, and processing domesticated species; farming
Took place across the Americas
Cultural activity
Propagation and exploitation of domesticated plants and animals by humans
Farming and animal herding
Unthinkable without the domestication of plants and animals
Graeme Barker, argues the most profound revolution in human history
Maize, beans, squash, substitute for diets rich in animal protein
Caused diet to change
Overall health quality declined with the development
agriculture
evidence of plant use; analysis and interpretation of ancient plant remains
Referring to the analysis and interpretation of the remains of ancient plants recovered from the archaeological record
Microfossils and macrofossils
archaeobotany
microscopic in size
Small to microscopic plant remains, most falling in a range of 10 to 100 micrometers (μm), or roughly the size of individual grains of wheat flour in the bag from your grocer’s shelf
Examples: pollen, phytoliths, starch grains
microfossil
large enough to be visible to the naked eye
Plant parts such as seeds, nutshells, and stems that have been preserved in the archaeological record and are large enough to be clearly visible to the naked eye
Hard to preserve
Dry, wet, frozen, halt the process of decomposition
Extend valuable insights that archaeo botanists have achieved
Examples: wood, nutshell, seeds
macrofossils
microscopic grains containing the male gametes of seed-producing plants
Palynology is the study of pollen grains
pollen
microscopic silica structures formed in the cells of many plants that survive after decomposition
A microfossil example
phytoliths
subcellular structures that form in all plant parts and can be classified by family or genus; mostly abundant in seeds and tubers
Grains are taxonomically distinctive
Vary according to where they form in the plant
A microfossil example
starch grains
interrupted enamel information
Enamel defect characterized by thin or absent enamel
Part of tooth’s surface or entire tooth may have an overly thin layer of dental enamel
Poor health effect from domestication
dental enamel hypoplasia
an overgrowth of the spongy marrow space of the skull
Less varied diet, nutritional deficiencies
Poor health effect from domestication
porotic hyperostosis
consequence of domestication that is caused by anemia and can be detected in the upper part of the eye sockets
Pathological lesions seen in ancient human skeletal collections
Less varied diet, nutritional deficiencies
Poor health effect from domestication
cribra orbitalia
erosions in teeth caused by decay; cavities
Overall reduction in tooth size
Most common noncommunicable disease worldwide
Affects general health and often causes pain and infection, may result in tooth extraction
dental caries
the larger social order the includes states related by language, traditions, history, economic ties, and other shared cultural aspects
Larger social order that includes culturally-related states
Grew out of: increasing productivity, social complexity, economic advantage
Traits: writing, mathematics, draft animals, wheeled carts and plows, irrigation, sailing boats, standard of weight and measure, surplus production, craft specialization
Neither environment nor culture alone determines the character of a developing civilization
civilization
government that controls a territory
Social classes; citizenship; monopoly on force; administrative institutions; systems of government
Government entity that persists by politically controlling a territory
Complex form of political organization
states
