midterm ONE - Terms Flashcards
Archaeology
the study of the human past, combing the themes of time and change
Culture
the means of humam adaption based on past experiences in physical/social environments
Artifact
any portable object used, modified or made by humans (stone tools, pottery, metal weapons)
Ecofact
Non artifactual organic and environmental remains which have cultural relevance. (bones, plant remains and soil). Can indicate what people ate or the environmental conditions in which they lived
Stratigraphy
a branch of geology which studies rock layers
Superimposition
bottom layers of strata occurred first
Association
relationship between items within an archaeological site (strata layer/distance)
Matrix
physical material in which archaeological artifacts are found (dirt)
Otzi the Iceman
Dead man that was found in the italian austrian border
Hominid
the group consisting of all modern and extinct Great Apes`
Sahelanthropus tchadensis
Chad (central Africa). oldest know ancestor (7-6mya). flat face, habitual bipedalism
A. Afarensis - Lucy
Hadar, East Africa. 4.2-2.8 mya. Long arms, curved fingers. Bipedal
Homo Habilis
East/South Africa 2.5mya-1.6 mya Increase in Brain size. First stone tool maker
Homo Erectus
East Africa, Asia, Europe. 1.9mya 143kya. First out of Africa
Increase in brain size (800-1000cc) Totally upright, postcranial skeleton almost identical to modern human
Homo sapiens
200 kya-present. Modern humans. Large brain. Vertical forehead. No brow ridge. Use of LANGUAGE, ART, TECH
Neanderthals
200-28kya.Europe SW Asia. Mixof human and ape. Large brain, “big boned” brow bridges.
Effects/Cause of Agriculture
Causes=change of climate+population. Effects=settling+techn+societies
Early domesticates
plants:seed/cereal (weaht/rye, etc) & root crops (potatoes, yams, taro, manioc) Animals:pigs, goats, sheep, cattle
Levels of social/political organization
Bands (hunter gather, egalitarian)
Tribes (Segmentary, settled farmers)
Chiefdom (kinship ranking, craft specialization)
States (classed based hierarchy, centralized bureaucracy, laws, taxes)
Reciprocity/redistribution
gift giving
Characteristic of Hominins
nearly as efficient at bipedal locomotion as humans. Like people, but unlike apes, the bones of their pelvis, or hip region, were shortened from top to bottom and bowl-shaped (shown below). This made the pelvis more stable for weight support when standing upright or moving bipedally. The longer ape pelvis is adapted for quadrupedal locomotion. Early hominin leg and foot bones were also much more similar to ours than to those of apes. This is consistent with the likelihood of early hominin bipedalism. Tkkheir adult brain size was about 1/3 that of people today. As a result, the widest part of the skull of these early hominins was below the brain case.
Tool technologies - Olduwan
- intentionally modified stone tools
- suggest increase of meat in diet
- Hit stones together to chip away
Tool technologies - Achulean
1.5-1.2 mya, made by homo erectus, sharp dual-faced tools with complex shaped edges , too big for arrow tips, mostly hand axes
Tool technologies - Mousterian
120-40kya Europe and W. Asia
- Middle Paleolithic
- flake tools
- suggest cognitive advance by neanderthals
Tool technologies - Clovis
Paleoindian period in north America, tool defined by a distinctive type of fluted point (New Mexico)
Tool technologies - Folsom
Paleoindian period in north America, tool defined by a distinctive type of fluted point but found primarily in the Great Plains
Tool technologies - Solutrean
Special flaking technique to make thin, leaf-shaped points in several sizes. Used for spears, arrows, or knives.
Hominin
the group consisting of modern humans, extinct human species and all our immediate ancestors
redistribution
central supply proportioned by society
