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Archaeology > Final-Study Guide Terms > Flashcards

Final-Study Guide Terms Flashcards

1
Q

What makes humans unique compared to other species

A

large brains (highly intelligent), bipedal, reliance on culture

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2
Q

epoch

A

a period of time in history or a person’s life, typically one marked by notable events or particular characteristics.

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3
Q

epochs in order, fossil apes to hominids

A

oligocene (25mya), myocene (23-5 mya), pliocene (5-2.5 mya), pleistocene (2.6 mya-11.7kya)

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4
Q

oligocene

A

25mya

divergence of monkeys and apes (in dentition for example)

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5
Q

myocene

A

23-5mya number and diversity of apes expands throughout africa to europe and asia
-40 genera of apes
today we have just 3 genera and 4 species

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6
Q

pliocene

A

5-2.5mya

  • forests replaced by grasslands led to extinction of most apes
  • important speces existed still
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7
Q

pleistocene

A
  1. 6mya to 11.7kya

- abundance ofthe genus Homo

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8
Q

Hominins

A

directly involved in modern human evolution

  • bipedalism as defining characteristic
  • adaptability to the changing mosaic environment
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9
Q

Sahelanthropus tchadensis

A

in myocene

  • 6-7 mya
  • fossil info based on cranium
  • v flat face unlike the great apes but like humans
  • BUT brain was more like a human than an ape
  • position of foramen magnum suggests bipedalism
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10
Q

Ardipithecus ramidus (Ardi)

A
  1. 4 mya
    - pelvis and foramen magnum suggest bipedalism
    - ardi appears to be human like
    - ape-like feet
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11
Q

Australopithecus

A 
a genus
-4.17-~2mya
-more human-like bones than previous genera/species
-Australopithecus afarensis--Lucy 
-Fully upright hominin
-Modern feet
-Similar pelvic configuration to humans
-Cranial is still very ape-like
-Cranial capacity around chimp size
o	One third the size of human avg
-Prognathic features
o	Forward thrusting lower face
o	Similar to great apes
-tool use!
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12
Q

the genus Homo

A

appears around 2.8mya (pliocene)

  • homo habilis–the earliest Homo species
  • -flatter face
  • -steeper forehead
  • -larger brain 700cc abt half of human average
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13
Q

Premodern or archaic Homo sapiens

A

• 600kya
• come from Africa spread to Europe and S asia
-uses levallois stone tool industry–shaped flakees from prepared cores–use of stone tools in hunting

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14
Q

Anatomically modern humans

A
  • 200kya
  • evolved in Africa and nowhere else
  • migrated elsewhere
  • between 150-100kya migration out of Africa
  • encountered neadertals with some interbreeding
  • aurignation stone tools
  • chattelperronian tools
  • these are incredibly sophisticated stone tools
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15
Q

neandertals??

A
  • now considered a group of premodern humans
  • 130kya to 40kya
  • probably descendants of earlier homo species that migrated
  • possibly from homo erectus

Neanderthal culture
• Mousterian tools
o Refinement of levallois technique
o Dozens of task specific tools
• Subsistence
o Meat
 Similar to contemporary carnivores at the time
 Gathering of plants still occurred
• Burials
o Evidence for compassion
o Care for individuals with trauma
 Like blind, or with lost limb but they still have lived a long life so they are clearly caring about these people
o Symbolic expression through burial goods
• Are they related to modern humans? Dow have neandertal DNA
o For some groups, yes

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16
Q

The upper paleolithic

A 
•	50kya-10kya
•	complex and elaborate lithic technology
•	abundance of non-utilitarian objects
•	much more elaborate burials
•	larger sites
o	populations would come together in a yearly cycle
o	nomadic but with seasonal strategies
	logistical collecting

Early Art
• petroglyphs—designs etched into rock faces
• parietal art—art on a wall such as paintings
• mobilary art—portable

Earliest ceramics were figurines
•	venus figurines
•	35-20kya
•	depicts women of all shapes and sizes, all ages, and all states of fertility
•	they represent women in any stage
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17
Q

peopling of the New World

A

arrived through the Bering strait

  • from russia to alaska
  • the most common answer to how humans arrived in the New World (the Americas)
  • SEE ARTICLE
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18
Q

the key stone ages

A

paleolithic, mesolithic, neolithic

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19
Q

paleolithic

A

distinguished by the earliest stone tools

from homo habilis to end of pleistocene

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20
Q

mesolithic

A

proliferation of regional adaptations and local cultural diversity
o In the New World it is called the archaic period
o At the end of the pleistocene and early Holocene

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21
Q

neolithic

A

after 12kya when domestication of plants and animals replaced foraging as dominant means of subsistence

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22
Q

mesolithic cultural characteristics and geographic differences

A

o Shift in subsistence focus due to extinction or unavailability
o Diversity in environment corresponded to a diversity in cultural adaptations
 Diversity in artifacts settlement patterns and subsistence strategies
o General change in subsistence from megafauna to smaller animals fish shellfish and birds
 As well as reliance on plant foods previously absent
o Encouraged a shift from nomadic existence to a more sedentary one in some regions

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23
Q

Paleoethnobotany (PEB)

A

the study of how past humans interacted with and used plants that is through time and across space!
-microbotanicals and microbotanicals

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24
Q

Macrobotanicals

A

botanical remains that can be seen with the naked eye
Often examined with a microscope
• study charred plant remains bc they preserve morphological traits and we can infer human interaction
• something else here

How do we recover charred macrobotanicals
• through flotation
o accompanied by processual archaeology

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25
Q

microbotanicals

A

Botanical remains that cannot be see with the naked eye
- always examined with a microscope, and often highly process using chemicals
- Includes phytoliths, starch grains, and pollen
Phytoliths = crystals of silica dioxide or glass formed by certain plants taking up this compound from the soil matrix, and then deposited into the intercellular structures of stems, leaves, and roots
Recovered from ground stones, stone tools, and sometimes teeth and soil
Starch grains = composed of glucose unites that act as energy for the plant (in stem, roots, fruits, and seeds)
Recovered from ground stones, stone tools, and sometimes soil
Pollen
Recovered from lake cores and sometimes activity areas, using these data we can reconstruct ancient climates

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26
Q

process of domestication

A
  1. Important plants and or animals are selected and manipulated for reproduction through artificial selection
    • Process in refinement of pants and animals whereby humans select which members of a species will live and produce offspring
  2. After many generation, these new organism no longer resemble their old “wild counterparts, and are now considered new species
  3. Once the result of this process is evident, the organism is now considered domesticated
    • An organism that has been altered by human beings through artificial selection
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27
Q

Plant domestication

A
  • more and larger seeds
  • tougher rachis=branches of the plant
  • thinner hull—outer shell, coat
  • apical dominance—central stem
  • comparing wild vs. domestic
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28
Q

Bioarchaeology

A

o Bioarchaeology is the study of human remains from archaeological contexts
o The field emphasizes integrative, interdisciplinary analysis of the links between biology and culture in past societies

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29
Q

Osteology

A

o The study of human bones

o The branch of anatomy or physical anthropology that deals with human bones

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30
Q

Archeaological contexts of human remains

A

o Types of burial
 Inhumation
 Cremation
 Ossuaries
 Sky burial
o Cemetaries
 Important for: group studies, sample size, seeing changes over time
- Unusual contexts: secondary burial
o Reburial/movement of remains for: practical purposes, ritual reasons, political reasons
- Warfare/violence
o Mass graves
o Distinctive injuries
- Unusual contexts: human sacrifice and cannibalism?
o Evidence: cut marks on bone, remains in hearths, middens, other burials, ritual contexts
o BUT hard to know intent of cuts, exceptions = cultures where this is know
- Unusual contexts: museum collections
o Legacy of early archaeology and anthropology
o Collections useful for large scale studies
o BUT often problems with context

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31
Q

excavations of human remains

A

: we use wood
- Record orientation and context
- Lab analysis
Anthropometric devices

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32
Q

what can we learn from human remains

A

o Demography (age, sex, geographic affinity)
o Life history (pathologies, physical stress, diet)
o Cultural elements (cultural modifications)

33
Q

preservation of human remains

A

o Different levels: very high: mummification/desiccation
o Very low: fragmentary remains
o Causes: climate (desert vs. jungle)
o Deposition (open tomb vs. deep burial)
o Post-mortem processing (cremation, defleshing, etc.)

34
Q

Taphonomy

A

identifying pre, peri, and post mortem processes
o By determining what caused damage to bones wen, we can work to determine: cause of death, process of burial, pre-burial processing, time since death

35
Q

how do we learn age from human remains?

A 
epiphyses 
-	Determining age: cranial sutures
o	Different sutures close at different times allowing age estimation
-	Determining age: tooth eruption
o	Eruption patterns: only useful for aging children and young adults
o	Deciduous (baby) vs. permanent (adult)
o	Relative marker 
-	Determining age: tooth wear
o	Continuous grading system
o	Affected by diet
	Coarse food
	Processing methods vs. modern diet
-	Determining age: pubic symphysis
36
Q

how do we determine sex from remains?

A

pelvis
o Morphological contrasts due primarily to birthing constraints
o Most reliable bones for sex determination
- Determining sex: the skull
- Determining sex: limb proportions
o Various population specific regression formulas
o Possible with most bones
o Assumes you know what population you are dealing with
o Significant amount of overlap

37
Q

how do we learn geographic affinity from human remains?

A

race and ethnicity
- Genetic vs. phenotype vs. culture
- There are certain phenotypes (physical visible traits) that do have geographic patterns
- BUT more genetic variation within populations that between
- Geographic affinity: skull measurements
o In past used to rank “races”
o Craniofacial vs.. cranial traits: prognathism of face, promenance of browridges, shape of orbital bones, shape of nasal cavity
- Geographic affinity: body proportions
o Bergmann’s rule
 Colder climates: shorter limbs with respect to torso
 Hot and dry climates: longer limbs with respect to torso
 Hot and humid climates: small, compact bodies
o Related to heat retention and dispersal

38
Q

how do we lean pathologies from human remains?

A 
disease
o	Some diseases leave damage on bones:
	Tuberculosis, osteoporosis, arthritis, syphilis, leprosy
-	Pathologies: physical injuries
o	Healing patters
	Pre vs. post mortem
	Medical practices 
o	Reflection of life stresses
	Violence/warfare
	Neanderthal hunting injuries
	Medieval knight parry fractures 
-	Pathologies: Malnutrition
o	Growth cessation lines
	Enamel hypoplasia and Harris lines
	Seasonal vs. persistent malnutrition 
	Can tell age at which starvation occurred
o	Specific nutrient/element deficiencies
39
Q

how do we learn lifestyle from geographic remains?

A 
diet
o	Dental caries
	Carbohydrates
o	Tooth wear
	Grit in food 
-	Lifestyle: cultural modifications
o	Meanings and motivations
	Aesthetics 
	Religious beliefs
	Identity
40
Q

what is bioarchaeology beyon bones?

A

ancient DNA, stable isotope analysis and bioarchaeological ethics

41
Q

ancient DNA

A

o Study of the genetics of ancient organisms
o Sources: bone, teeth, hair, paleofeces, surface residues, ice cores, soil cores
o Potential questions: kinship/relatedness. Population size/inbreeding. Marriage patterns (matrilocal vs. patrilocal)
o Limitations: preservation, mitochondrial vs. Y chromosome DNA, destruction of samples, contamination

42
Q

Stable isotope analysis

A

o Look at stable isotopes in bone and teeth
o What elements do we use?
o Carbon/nitrogen
o Oxygen
o Strontium
o What can we determine? Diet, migration, immigration, group differentiation
o Trophic levels (nitrogen uptake), C3 vs. C4 plants, oxygen and climate

43
Q

bioarcaeological ethics

A

o Museum collections, NAGPRA, religious/cultural identity

o Kennewick man

44
Q

forensic anthropology

A

The study of humans for legal reasons

45
Q

The important points about human remains

A

Important archaeological material, found in many archaeological contexts
o We can answer questions about: demography, life-history, and cultural practices
o Many different scientific methods to approach analysis, BUT not clear cut answers, lots of interpretation

46
Q

Traditional view on how complex socieites develop

A

band, tribe, cheifdom, state

47
Q

what is complexity?

A

hard to define, but…
• Relationships—from kin based to class and residency
• Increasing population size
• From mobile to sedentary societies
• From egalitarian to centralized government

48
Q

band

A

small loosely organized kin-based groups
• Egalitarian—everyone has about equal rand, access to, and power over basic resources. Basically no true leaders/elites
• Possibly the oldest form of political organizations

49
Q

Tribes

A

kin-based groups with political integration by unifying factors such as a common ancestry, identity, culture, language, territory
• Over hundreds of people, mobile and sedentary villages
• More complex then bands

50
Q

Band and tribes

A

• Paleolithic groups would be part of band/tribe continuum
• So would early homo
• So would modern hunters and gatherers
• Ability to be mobile is ability to have conflict resolution
• The Kapauku Papuans are tribes?
o More of political organization

51
Q

centralized systems

A

cheifdoms and states

52
Q

cheifdom

A

a regional polity with 2 or more groups/villages organized under a chief

  • constitutes a ranked hierarchy of people
  • over a thousand people in population
  • tribute economy-payments of goods to the chief to then be redistributed across the community
53
Q

State

A

centralized system that has the capacity and authority to make laws and use force to maintain social order

  • ranked by class and/or caste
  • many thousands of people in a population
  • taxes-a financial charge imposed on a community by a government to fund public projects/issues/necessities
54
Q

pros and cons to this traditional view of complexity

A

Pros
- Baseline for understanding general aspect of a society
- For archaeologists—helps us understand/interpret material culture remains
Cons
- Lots of variation within each society/group of people
- People don’t automatically move from band to state
- Are there mobile people within a city? Is there evidence of complexity in hunter-gatherer societies?

55
Q

Poverty Point as a challenge to the Band-to-State complexity view

A

-hundreds of stonehenges
-labor far greater than stonehenge or even dozens of stonehenge yet its hunter-gatherers (1500 and 1200BCE)
• Hunter gatherers societies build Mound A
• How is this simple and not complex? Did they build this with no leadership? Especially since it was built in 30-90 days???-remarkable labor effort of over 1000 laborers working full time
• Hunter-gatherers were very complex, strong organization, sophisticated religion
• Savage to civilization is complex and an incorrect way to look at societies?

56
Q

stonehenge

A

2500BCE
Stonehenge burials
• 240 burials found at the site
• Amesbury Archer near Stonehenge
• This person was born near alps, not near Stonehenge
• This person was injured
• This suggests that people came here to be healed—ritual site on a pilgrimage
Stonehenge as sacred
• Pilgrimage site—think Vatican Jerusalem mecca
• No evidence of village life
• Closest dwellings were 3km away

57
Q

Gobekli Tepe

A

another ceremonial/ritual site
• Located in turkey: 11.6 kya
• Series of pillars, distributed in a ring pattern
• Pillars of gobekli
o Elaborately carved
o Featuring special animals; not animals for food or of economic value
o Ideological value

58
Q

Poverty point, gobleki tepe, and Stonehenge…what do they have in common?

A
  • Ritual sites
  • Evidence of communal gatherings or ceremonial purposes
  • What about for economic practical purposes?
59
Q

Jericho, Israel

A

• Additional real evidence of large-scale communal construction
• 9kya
• village cemetery
• massive stone wall around the community
o required a high level of coordination
• non-local raw materials: Turkish obsidian, turquoise, cowrie shells
o evidence of social differentiation (products not found everywhere at the site)
o evidence trade and a long distance economy
• walls of Jericho
o to protect against invaders
o 6 feet thick
o 12 feet high

60
Q

Catalhoyuk, Turkey

A 
•	9kya: site persisted for 1200 years
•	3 times the size of Jericho
•	one large, continuous structure of houses
•	2000 densely compacted homes within structures
•	no roads or streets
•	is it a city
o	there are NO
	public architecture
	municipal buildings
	palaves
	temples
	government strucutres
	elite residences
•	houses
o	standardized about 25 sq meters
o	typical household activities
	toolmaking, food prep and consumption
o	painted murals
o	3d affixed to the walls
o	little evidence of labor specialization
o	raising cattle and wild foods and domesticates (of wheat and barley)
o	burials beneath the floors of the houses
	living with the ancestors
o	sculpture
•	what can we say>
o	long term occupation at the site
o	densely packed community
o	varied diet
•	what is not well understood?
o	Social complexity consisting of prestige power and control
o	Where are the leaders?
o	Chiefdom without a chief?
•	Great example of the issues with band-tribe-chiefdom-state continuum
61
Q

Mesoamerica—the Olmec

A
  • A pattern of complex structured communities began to form around 3400 years ago
  • Gulf coast of Mexico: Tabasco and Veracruz Mexico
  • Social, political and economic order seen across a wide geographic region
  • A shard set of religions expression
62
Q

Olmec Features

A
  • Art depicting a human-jaguar god
  • Production of jade sculptures
  • Iron-ore mirrors-all over the Olmec area
  • Construction of earthen platforms and earthen pyramids
  • Giant Olmec heads made out of salt? Or stone? Looks like limestone but look this up
63
Q

San Lorenzo, Veracruz

A

prob don’t need to know this BUT
• Earliest Olmec site—3.4kya
• Located near natural, valuable resources
o These resources not available everywhere

64
Q

olmec sites as cities?

A
  • Low populations—no more than a few thousand people per center
  • Olmec centers probably focused on the religious and political functions of the local polity—termed regal ritual centers
65
Q

complexity in olmec society?

A 
Monumental construction as complexity
•	Olmec heads
•	17 found
•	glorify rulers—depict certain people
•	they’re wearing a helmet because there was a ball game that was played in ancient Mesoamerica the rulers would play and either the winner or the loser was sacrificed—unclear which
•	earthen mounds
•	artificial platforms
•	aqueduct system
o	fpr water and agricultural purposes
interconnectedness of communities as complexity
•	common artifact styles
•	cache of figurines
66
Q

Caral, Peru

A

• earliest remains of complexity in the new world
• 4.5 kya
• Caral as the capital city of a larger polity
• Site covers more than 160 acres Piramide mayor
• Canal construction necessary for irrigation since its in a very dry area
• Broad mix of domesticated plant foods
o Squash, beans, chili peppers, guava, legumes, sweet potato
• Coastal resources
o Shell fish-mussels an clams
o Suggests reliance on trade with coastal populations
• Watched doc on this place
• No weapons of war
• No city walls

67
Q

Chavin Culture

A 
south american
•	3kya
•	 centered at chavin de huantar
•	widespread chavin art styles
•	chavin de huantar—strategic location or trade and transportation
•	household archaeology
o	planned neighborhoods
o	drainage systems
o	food storage facilities

KNOW MORE ON THIS??

68
Q

Definition of a state and controversy

A

o Through coercion and force, but consensus is possible too, right??
 For instance consensus occurs in voting
o What’s a class society? Divided by layers distinguished by differential wealth, status and power

69
Q

Hallmarks of civilization

A 
food surplus
social stratification
craft specialists
formal government
urban settlements
record keeping (writing)
monumental works (pyramids and skyscrapers bc require a lot of people)
BE ABLE TO SAY WHY EACH OF THESE IS IMPORTANT--SEE NOTES 11.30
70
Q

Mesopotamia and the 2 main time periods

A

the land between two rivers
• Between the tigris and the Euphrates rivers
• Two primary time periods
o The ubaid 6.3kya
o The uruk 6kya
• Rich floodplain soil, but very few resources otherwise
o No sources for stone, metal
o Few trees for wood construction
o Agricultural lands allowed for complexity to arise
• THE UBAID
o Irrigation
 Irrigation canals to water fields during the summer and for drainage during spring floods
 Created very productive farmlands
o Monumental construction
 Religious elite began to dominate the political and social realms of society
 Priests…..MORE HERE GET SOMEONE’S NOTES
• THE URUK period
o The worlds first city at uruk (also called Warka)
o Population increases at Ur, Uruk, and Eridu
o Elite class with incredibly elaborate burials
o Sacrifices at the royal cemetery of Ur
• Monumental constructions: ziggurats
o Rectangular stepped tower, usually with a temple on top
• Record keeping
o Clay token (used as counting/counters, up to 300 different kinds of them)
 You find them in public and ritual places shows that only the rich had access to record keeping
o Clay containers called envelopes
 These would contain clay tokens
 Kinda like a safe
 But they would impress the tokens on the outside so you would know exactly what was inside, kinda like writing so that they know what was inside
o Cuneiform
 Earliest form of written records
 Symbols on large pieces of clay

71
Q

Ancient Egypt

A

• The Nile valley
• Upper and lower Egypt
• Lower Egypt is to the north and upper Egypt is to the south
o Counterintuitive
• Nile was the gift to Egypt says Herodotus because only place you could grow stuff
• Early ancient Egypt
o Clear evidence of social inequality
o Tombs and mastabas
 Mastabas are mud brick statues on top of the tombs
o Hierkonpolis (or nekhen)
 Main sites of early ancient Egypt
• Hieroglyphic writing
o Writing system in which pictorial symbols are used to convey a sound, object or idea
o Deciphering the hieroglyphs:the rosetta stone
 The top and middle are two forms of ancient Egyptian
 Bottom is ancient greek
 They are translations of each other
 Archeaologists could piece together the language because they knew greek
• Unification of Egypt
o King narmer- the narmer palette
 Show a binding together of upper and lower Egypt on this palette
 The palette is supposed to represent the harmony
o 3100BC
o occurred before the first dynasty
 some call it dynasty 0
• growth of Egypt
o pharaohs—all powerful king who presided over the Egyptian state
o total of 31 dynasties
o entered…GET SOMEONES NOTES ON THIS
• Saqqara pyramid
o Burial monument of djoser, pharaoh of the third dynasty
o All pyramids are dedicated to rulers
• Fourth dynasty—the pyramid age
o Explosion of pyramids as in there are so so many built
o Pharaoh khugu
o 1st pyramid at Giza-completed in 2566GC
o great sphinx probably depicts Khafre, Khufu’s son
o pyramids are clear markers of social stratification and inequality
• Pharaoh Tutankhamun
o King tut
o 18th dynasty
o 8 year old came to power or something and ruled for 10 years
o iconic symbol of civilizations and Egypt
o CLEAR SYMBOL OF SOCIAL STRATIFICIATION
 Deep inequality in ancient Egypt

72
Q

Great Zimbabwe

A

• Located in SE Zimbabwe
• Archaeological interpretations stalled due to racist assumptions
• AD 1100-1600
• Built by ancestors of current African indigenous groups
• Stone-brick structures demarcating the center/elite precinct
• Largest settlement of 200 settlements nearby
o Ancient settlement at about 7sq km
o Located in a strategic zone for trade routes
o Located near valuable resources including obsidian and gold

73
Q

Minoan Crete

A

• Island of crete
• Early hominins from 130kya
• Have been found however first European civilization developed here at 8kya
• Palace at Knossos
o HUGE
o Frescoes esp of bulls and dolphins
• At its height it was the most populous civilization at that time

74
Q

The Indus Valley

A 
•	South asia
•	Civilaization began around 8kya
•	Height of the indus valley at 6-4kya
•	Hallmarks of the indus valley
o	Flood control
o	Cultural homogenization
	Like the Olmec
	Shared religious iconography
o	Indus script
o	No evidence of warfare
o	Trade with Mesopotamia
•	Flood control
o	Indus valley cities thrived in the floodplain
o	Monumental walls and mounds controlled flooding
•	Indus inscription
o	About 4000 inscription have been found
o	5.2kya-4kya
o	largely indecipherable
o	likely served for economic purposes: counting, record-keeping
•	planned uniform urban cities
o	Harappa, mohenjo-daro, and kalibangan follow very similar spatial plans
o	Citadel on western margins of the city
o	Residential areas east of the city
o	Cities did not grow by accretion, but were instead well-though ahead of time
o	Roads are aligned to the cardinal directions
o	All of this suggests that the indus civilization was highly centralized, and tightly controlled
•	Mojenjo-daro
o	Very organized
75
Q

Ancient China

A

• The origin of chinese civilization is scattered all over the country
• Incredibly complex with long distant trade routes
• The original chinese dynaty—the Shang dynasty
o Yin-a shang capital city
o Succession of 12 kings
o Elaborate royal internments (burials)
 See chariots and sacrificed horses in some of these burials
 Jade etc
o Bronze metals
• Qin dynasty
o Emperor qin shihuang, similar to king tut and narber
o He was 13 when he rose to power
o Young and powerful
o United china??
o Most elaborate mausoleum for one individual ever created
 Terra-cotta army
 In military formation
 Represents army protecting tomb of the emperor
 No standardization
 Each one is different
 Reddish brown ceramics
 Shows the reflection of power that one individual had
 more than 8000 soldiers
 Easily the most thought out mausoleum that’s ever been created

76
Q

Inca

A

• Around when Spanish came in early 1500s to South American
• Last in a series of S American states and empires
• Achieved prominence and power in the Andes until Spanish conquest in 1532
• A military empire
• Earlier states suffered from drought
o Inca empire located in a high-altitude river valley unaffected by drought
• 10 million people at its peak
• the quipu record keeping
• macho picchu
o incredible restructuring of land for agricultural terracing
o allowed for arable farmland
o produced up to 2400 kg of maize per year
o they were not affected by drought
• the quipu (khipu)
o system of inca record-keeping
o a series of knotted strings
 used as mnemoninc devices to remember info
 primarily accounting information about 600 surviving khipu
 made out of cloth so relatively well preserved

77
Q

Cahokia

A

missisippian culture
only N. American culture with urban characteristics
located in a floodplain
600-1400CE
most hallmarks of a civilization but NO writing
agriculture
5-10,000 people
mounds (120 total) (monumental structures probably)
6 square miles

78
Q

the maya

A

contemporary with the Olmec (3.4kya) but lasted longer until the spanish came
currently over 25 maya languages
large monumental construction
hieroglyphs (warfare, ritual, marriage, dynastic sequences, numbering systems based on dots and bars)
agriculture
social inequality
pyramids temples and stelae (long stone statue with writings about rulers)

Archaeology (3 decks)

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