Midterm Flashcards
What is Archaeology
the study of material traces left behind by past people, and the people themselves.
The Nature/Culture Divide
the west says that culture and nature are separate, but indigenous cultures suggest otherwise. John Muir wanted to reduce human impacts on nature (preservation), Henry Ford wanted to extract value from and master nature (Industry), and Gifford Pinchot wanted a sustainable use of resources (Conservation).
Relationship Between Place & People
people shape places shape people - why location is important (can also talk about nature/culture divide)
Uniformitarianism
the idea that the way things are changing now are the way things have always changed
Catostrophism
the idea that the world is consistently stable and changes are due to catastrophes
Punctuated Equilibrium
the idea that the world is steady, then there is a big change, then the word becomes steady again
Epistemology
how we know the world
Archeology & Science
similar to other sciences (research design, data collection, test hypotheses, maintain objectivity)
unlike other sciences (close connection to our subject matter - need to move past biases (ex: religious))
Artifacts & Material Culture
aka “stuff” and byproducts of “stuff”
Ecofacts
environmental samples/environment that humans had impact on (ex: domesticated corn)
Taphonomy
the study of site formation processes - natural processes cover and preserve
Feature
can’t physically be removed without change (in situ)
Primary v. Secondary Refuse
primary refuse is in situ (where it was and remained - activity areas intact - think wallet dropped on ground). secondary refuse was moved to a secondary location - collectively disposed (think landfill)
In Situ
in the original place it was left
The Grid
intentional archaeological survey - map a grid and work in squares, digging at specific points and noting what they find in the grid (including depth)
Pedestrian Survey
walking over the land in an organized fashion, nothing surface features of archaeological importance
Shovel Test Pits
on intervals, dig a hole straight down and check for features
Remote Sensing
there are tools (such as ground penetrating radar) that allow archaeologists to sense if there are things underground without digging
Visibility
things such as vegetation may cover up a site and make it hard to find
Obtrusiveness
some sites may be too large and too hard to get into
Provenience
3D location (spatial context) of an object
Archaeology as Controlled Destruction
controlled destruction - will not be leaving everything as it was, but try to note to the best of its abilities
Ground Penetrating Radar
radio waves go down until they hit an object, then bounce back up. the data is collected and shows where an object may be.
Proton Magnetometer
measures protons to see alterations in soil - if something has been dug and reburied for example
Trace Element Analysis
source the raw material to find out where the object came from by using its chemical makeup
Nuetron Activation Analysis
using nuetrons to figure out distinct chemical, which helps find the chemical makeup of an object for trace element analysis
X-ray Florescence
analyzes the elements in an object, finding the chemical makeup for trace element analysis
Experimental Archaeology
recreate objects now to see how could be used (ex: spear throwers)
Ethnoarchaeology
ask and research similar people in current day to figure out how an object was used
Use Wear Analysis
morphology studies - examine surfaces and edges to figure out the function (wear patterns)
Wear Patterns
morphology studies - the pattern of how surfaces and edges were used (examined in use wear analysis)
Zooarchaeology
faunal analysis - tell animal, species, and sex (sexual dimorphism), age at death (bone fusion, tooth eruption), and preparation practices (burn patterns, cut marks)
Paleoethnobotany
study of plants - can tell species of plant and part of the plant (seed, nut, wood, pollen, phytolith)
Environmental Reconstruction w/ C3/C4
analysis of carbon isotopes in animal remains. trees and grasses are photosynthesized different ways (c3 trees - like c13, c4 grasses - don’t like c13) - used to reconstruct the environment
Pathways
photosynthesis pathways: c3 (trees use, which doesn’t use c13) and c4(grasses use - does use c13)
Relative v Absolute Dating
relative - no specific date (older/younger)
absolute - specific date
Stratigraphy
look at land levels to determine age w/ law of superposition
Law of Superposition
stuff on bottom older than stuff on top
Radioactive Decay Dating
can see how long something has been decaying (moving from unstable to stable)- shows age
ex: potassium decays to argon with a half life of 1.2 billion years - shows last time a volcano erupted (good for ancient sites - Laetoli footprints in Tanzania)
C14 Dating
C14 is unsable, so decomposes. Has a half life of 5730 yrs and before decomposition, there are 1trillion c12 for every c14.
Only used on once living things - can see how long something has been dead
Accurate for 200-50000 years ago (AMS extends)
Dendrochronology
use tree rings to date
Calibrating C14 Dates
dendrochronology helps adjust c14 dates, as carbon dating can be skewed by solar radiation
Obsidian Hydration Analysis
obsidian absorbs water when cut open - can see when last cut open
Paleomagnetism
there is a magnetic north that is constantly changing - when heat up an immovable artifact will indicate (through particles) magnetic north at the time it was made, and can date from there
Conflicts btwn Archaeologists and Indigenous Peoples
Archaeology has not been inclusive, and has a history steeped in colonialism.
1620: Pilgrims dug into graves
1840s: Samuel Morton created a cranial library to prove inferiority of Indigenous people - graves and battlefields were looted
Moundbuilder Controversy
not acknowledging the continuation of Native Americans
Antiquities Act of 1906
all pre-colonial archaeological sites “archaeological resources” - controlled by archaeologists (not by NA… double standard)
NMAIA
1989: Smithsonian has to inventory, document, and repatriate funerary artifacts and human remains
1996: add sacred objects and objects of cultural patrimony
NAGPRA
1990 - any places with possession and control of artifacts that receive federal funds have to make inventories in cases of repatriation
Joe Watkins
Indigenous Archaeologists - wrote readings
Kennewick Example
1996 - discovery of human remains that were 9200 years old in WA. Anthropologists tried to stop return to the local tribal group (eventually found that the remains were closely related to this group, despite some differences)
Repatriation
Given back to original tribe
Antiquarians
“Indiana Jones archaeology”
collecting stuff for stuffs sake (no relationships or context)
Moundbuilder Myth
federal government sent people to mounds - shifted to collecting information and learning (rather than assume “mound builder people made”
Cyrus Thomas
Cyrus Thomas
looked past bias and realized mounds made by indigenous people - developed methodology
Federal Interventions
1881 - fund smithsonian to study the mounds (while communities separated by the mounds)
1803 - post purchase of Louisiana territory - Lewis and Clark
Indigenous Removal
removed from places with economic and political values (ex: Andrew Jackson Indian Removal Act of 1930 - Trail of Tears)
Morrill Act
1862: land grant colleges (originally architecture but then expanded) - higher education
GI Bill
funding for education for WWII vets – increase in people studying archaeology
New Deal Archaeology
WPA - created jobs to bolster economy - would find sites that created a need for archaeology. Led to an increase in archaeologists (many African American Women)
Works Progress Administration
to create jobs during the great depression - led to an increase in archaeological sites found
Harriet Smith
very successful black female archaeologist - led her own digs
ociety for American Archaeology
New generation of archaeologists standardized archaeological methods. Raised public awareness for archaeologists.
National Historic Preservation Act
protected archaeological sites by checking development and infrastructure projects
The Short Chronology
1969: National Historic Preservation Act
1969: NEPA (environment)
CRM (cultural resource management) archaeology
1990: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
Folsom Point Discovery
1927: found folsom point between ribs of an ice age bison
doubled imagined time span of the earth
Cultural Evolution
informed most early 20th century archaeology (large part of colonialism)
savagery - barbarism - civilization
stratigraphic excavation - documented long term sequences of cultural history
Boas and critique of Evolution
anthropologist
thought evolutionary models were ethnocentric - observe local differences without universalizing - culture history
Culture History
paradigm until 1960s - defining groups in terms of unique material traits (archaeological cultures)
typology and seriation
things = people
Processual/New Archaeology
Walter Taylor - 1948 critiqued culture history as too descriptive
Lewis Binford - archaeology as a science - testing hypotheses
bands - tribes - cheifdoms - states
Lewis Binford
key thinker behind “new” archaeology
Postprocessual Archaeology
challenged ideas of power relationships in the past
connects political ideas and archaeology
considered multiple perspectives - interpretation is key
Ian Hodder
thinker behind postprocessual archaeology
Wounded Knee (19th & 20th Century)
1890: Massacre at Pine Ridge, SD - tipping point after US gov encroached on Native land and treaties were broken
threatened by Wovoka and the Ghost Dance
1973: treaties broken - AIM occupied for 73 days - gun fire exchanged
AIM
American Indian Movement - founded in 1968 for more rights for Native Americans
Archaeological Theory
how data is interpreted and understood is guided by theory and paradigms
Why We Need It
stops from imposing our sensibilities onto the past and justified what is done
guides methods and assumptions
Typology
part of culture history - categorize cultures of objects to make sequences
Diffusion
spread of traits over space and time (studied in culture history)
Independent Invention
similar groups invent similar items independent of each other - keep in mind when using objects to prove contact
Archaeological Cultures
recurring group of artifacts, etc from a period/region
Normativity
categorize past histories according to our standards (our norms)
Extrasomatic Means of Adaptation
how culture was defined - objects (cultures) are humans way of adapting to the environment
Middle Range Theory
look for comparisons between the beginning and today and fill in the past
Systems theory or Structural Functionalism
seeing society as a complex system - work together to create harmony
Cultural Process
ethics and social values and how they are transferred across generations
Equifinality
different events causing same outcome
Contemporary Archaeological Theory
All 3 still present, with non-dualistic approaches also coming into play.
Contact
assumes that two previously separate things come together
archaeologists use to refer to different people coming together (“first” contact)
connotes short-term connection without long-term change… be careful
ex: glass beads
Pop. Narratives about NA Colonialism
one way street, overwhelming and straightforwards, civilization, NA as all the same, disappearance… makes indigenous people seem weak
The double edged Sword
first slice: “terra nullius” - incapable of change or progression
second slice: idea that they have changed too much - losing authenticity and vanishing
Pueblo Revolt
1680-1693
Po’Pay leads a resistance movement (knotted ropes) - burned churches etc - had control for 13 years
1692 - Spanish retook control; 1693: Pueblo retried (violent response)
some altercations between traditionalists and converted indigenous people
The Complexities of Colonialism
Spanish believed bringing Christianity to Pueblos and protecting from neighboring tribes, but were more concerned with French, who were in the West
(ex: Oto people w/ french attacked “Spanish” - really pueblo)
The Norse or the Vikings
Leif Erickson sails and lands in Canada - creating the first settlement “Vinland” - aka L’Anse aux Meadows
Vinland
colony in norse sagas - believed to be same as L’Anse aux Meadows
L’anse aux Meadows
8 buildings w/ sim. architecture to Iceland and Greenland. Did not stay long & no ev that reached further inland
Tried to establish trade with Beothuk and Dorset, but often ended violently
Beardmore
fake sword in Ontario that “proved” Viking expansion
Columbus
1492 - San Salvador & settled “Hispaniola”
1493 - returned - violent against Carib, Taino, and Arawak people + diseases
established gold mining and encomiendas (but not without resistance)
Ponce de Leon
came on Columbus’s second trip - eventually went to Florida and had violent envounters with the natives, ending in his death
European Colonialism
Power is not a straightforward things - displacement and violence are under all settlements
Missionization
big on conversion - intensified disease impact & replaced Indigenous ways
many converts had no choice
new beliefs: human-like god, hierarchies, and rules (clash with fluidity, animism, etc)
seen through casta paintings
Acculturation
non-directional change in culture “contact” settings
look at artifacts… how many European & how many native - percentage is percent “acculturated”
Lithics
study of stone tools and other stone artifacts
Flintknapping
making stone tools
Paleolithic
age characterized by use of stone tools
Debitage
biproducts of making tools
Unifacial-worked tools
flakes removed on one side
Bifacially-worked tools
flakes removed on both sides
Scrapers
used to scrape
Clovis Points
points with a flute on both sides used by some of the first people in the North Americas
Fluted Points
flute on both sides (poss. used to haft to a spear)
Clovis First Narrative
idea that clovis people were the first people in North America
Horizon Style
far location wise - for a short duration
Hafting
attach to a spear
Clovis Toolkit
the tools used w/ clovis points
Gravers
unifacial stone tools with small pointed projections used to process hides
Where/When Clovis
where: unglaciated areas (possible migrated with animals) across the united states (more in E) often near sources of fresh water
SW/Plains reliably dated - 13200 years ago (Aubery Site TX) - 14000 years ago (Johnson Site TN)
Megafauna
large animals (mammoths) that Clovis came into contact with - little evidence that that was their only sustenance
Clovis/Megafauna
sometimes hunted, but only 16 sites w/ megafauna found - no clear ev
Solutrean Hypothesis
argument that clovis came from w Europe by boat… controversial (no cultural ties - j toolkits)
Younger Dryas
multicentury cold-dry climate - ice–> large change in water circulation
12850 years before present
coincides with megafauna extinction and end of clovis
Clovis Caches
caches of many tools & points (both utilitarian and hypertrophic)
Criteria for Pre-Clovis
traces of human modification in situ in a layer below clovis artifacts which are independently dated to pre clovis
Cerutti Mastodon Site
controversial - single mastadon w/ alleged hammerstones from 130000 years ago
Bluefish Cave
human modified mammoth jaw from 24-28000 years ago. in Yukon Canada. Support idea of staying in unglaciated NW
Swan point
Alaska - human modified mammoth tusk w/ artifacts over from 14500 years ago (stylistic resemblance to Siberia)
Paisley Caves
OR - 14000 years ago with artifacts. Western stemmed bifaces that date older than clovis
Debra Friedkin
TX - 15500 years ago under a clovis layer - resemble clovis so “ancestral”
Meadowcroft Rockshelter
PA - 16-19000 years ago (think c14 dating is off)
Cactus Hill
VA - layer of unfluted bifacial tools with dates of 15-17000 years ago under clovis-like artifacts (potential for disturbance and mixing b/c open air)
Topper
SC - under a clovis layer w/ two possible pre-clovis layers
16000 years ago and 50000 years ago (but questionable)
Monte Verde
Chile - mastadoon bones & traces of human occupation from 14800 years ago - points to maritime routes
Evidence of Sea Routes (during old stone age/Paleolithic)
Channel Islands from 11300-13000 years ago
Increased attention on ecological conditions; rising sea levels –> many submerged sites
genes and languages point to connections
Paulette Steeves
studies indigenous paleolithic - need to listen to indigenous histories
Pleistocene
Ice Age
Holocene
current warm period
Pleistocene-Holocene Transition
ice-age transition - monumental set of environmental changes - shape human history
Folsom Points
large flute - bison killer from 12800 - 11950 years ago. Related to Clovis and found across the continent
kill bisons through corral
Hanson Site (WY) - ev of 3 circular lodges
Lindenmeir Site (CO) - tools
Plano Traditions
lanceolate points that were unfluted (12000 years ago)
Hell Gap site (WY) - tipi like structures for 1000s of years
ended with a decrease of bison size due to decrease of precipitation
Olsen-Chubbuck
CO - river of bone of single kill event - 50000 pounds of meat
Bull Brook
MA - 10-11k years ago - 36 clusters of 40k artifacts in a large oval - large communal caribou hunts (social cooperation) - artifacts from stone 100-300 miles away
Ritual Practices
burial contexts, destroy artifacts (burning or breaking)
Dalton Technology
new tools found in c Mississippi River Valley
asymmetric beveled shapes w/ serrations - resharpening
Oversized Dalton
found some oversized dalton points - for ritual?
Social Inequality
who does what and who gets what? how do they decide?
Institutionalized Social Inequality
Social inequality as determined by roles people play
Archaic Period
period post paleolithic
Great Basin
broad valleys, vertically, largely arid, pine nuts, tall mountains, low deserts, high deserts
Hunter Gatherers
mobile with a broad spectrum diet - always on the move looking for food (no discussion of change) - Desert Archaic… limit how see the past
Cultural Ecology
how humans adapt to different environments
Danger Cave
stratified site w/ 10k years of history
Great Basin Food Intensification
newer processing techniques (more labor) - Milling Sones to make flour & cook in coiled baskets with hard rock cooking
Lovelock Cave
2000 year old decoy ducks
Great Basin Hunting Infrastructure
drive lanes + enclosures for pronghorn hunting
large scale projects - cooperation between different groups
Great Basin Rock Imagery
petroglyphs that are hunting magic or instructions
Evidence for Social Inequality in the Great Basin
3k ya - new villages in the lowland that are more complex - increased food storage & prestige - can lead to inequality (who gets what) but may not be institutionalized
Ethnogenesis
new ethnic groups (considered with the Numic spread)
Acorn Economy
Sierra-Nevada had an acorn-intensive economy around 7k ya - process acorns by leaching in water to reduce tannic acid
Pithouses
pithouses in the ground
Tipi Rings
evidence of tipis - hard to date
Gender in the Great Basin
NV Stillwater Marsh - skeletal show division of labor
Human-Environmental Dynamics in the Great Basin
interact w environment and use to advantage to survive
Evidence for Inequality East of the Mississippi
inter-group - diff values, qualities, and customs
gender and kinship are important in interactions
Eastern Woodland Archaic
8000 years of history in coast, lakes, mountains - culturally diverse and shows regionalization
Shell Mound Archaic
byproducts of living life (long term & repeated usage) on rivers (shells not always from area…)
Persistent Places
places return to over and over
Bannerstones
weights for spear throwers
Borderland Relations
peaceful relations - material patterns (trading - mounds have marine shells even though from MW/MS)
Hypertrophic
used for cultural practices - not just functional
Benton
points similar to clovis
used in cremations, fire-damaged… hypertrophic?
Shell Mound Archaic Diaspora
5000 years ago: Benton in GA/SC - trade
4500 - Finger Lakes in NY (fisher communities)
3800 - riverton pattern
Stallings Culture
Benton move to Georgia/SC between Paris Island (piedmont) and coastal groups (early Stallings)
Stallings and Gender Relations
look at pottery - can tell that right handedness proportions are different - suggests matrilocal pattern
Drag and Jab Pottery
style of pottery design - can tell handedness
Eastern Canadian Subarctic
5000 ya paleo patterns move into Canada from Alaska - meet Beothuk and Innu people, who met Thule 800ya
Paleoeskimos and Maritime Archaic
Paleoeskimos encounter maritime history (and potentially people)
Maritime people date 8500 ya and used ramah chert (culturally significant)
Longhouses
Maritime people lived in longhouses 4500 ya - segmented for family groups 50-100m in length. Associated w/ shamanism (elaborate burials for shamahs)
Groswater Complex
new material practices 3000 years by Paleoeskimo peoples (side notched endblades & small mobile groups)
Dorset Paleoeskimos
2500 ya replaced groswater population - favored ramah chert & reliant on marine resources - eventually move further north (Newfoundland)
Known for art
