Sites Flashcards
Olduvai, East Turkana (Africa)
Early Homo; bigger brained, possible ancestor of later Homo. 1.8-1.4mya. Lower Palaeolithic site where the Zinjanthropus skull was found. Oldest assemblage of tools, Oldowan. Early hominins here were home-based foragers.
Malapa, South Africa
Australopithecus sediba; possibly a transitional species between australopithecus and Homo. 1.9mya
Taung; Sterkfontein, South Africa
Later australopithecus (A africanus) Quite derived/mixed traits, likely evolutionary dead end. 2.5-2.0mya
West Turkana, East Africa
Paranthropus aethipicus. Highly derived, very robust. These were very likely a dead end and were the likely ancestor of later Paranthropus. 2.4mya
Laetoli; Hadar (East Africa)
Australopithecus afarensis. Possible ancestor of later hominins. “Lucy”, well known skeleton. 3.6-3.0mya
What hominins were the earliest documented bipeds?
Australopithecus afarensis.
Aramis, East Africa
Ardipithecus ramidus. Not well studied, not derived by probably bipedal. 4.4mya
Toros-Menarla (central Africa)
Sahelanthropus; the earliest hominin, bipedal? ~6.0mya
Where was the oldest well-dated H. erectus in Africa found? How old is it?
East Turkana; great amount of variation seen among individuals, possibly due to sexual dimorphism. Smaller and more gracile. 1.7mya.
Where in Asia was there very late survival of Homo erectus? How many years ago?
Ngangong, China. 70,000-40,000ya.
Where is the most famous H. erectus site in Asia, where evidence of populations adapted to temperate (cold) environments? How many years ago?
Zhoukoudian, China. 780,000ya.
Where was the first discovery of H erectus from anywhere, showing dispersal out of Africa?
Sangiran, Java. (Indonesia)
There is evidence of dispersal out of Africa by ____mya.
1.6mya.
Where did archaeologists find a well-preserved cranium that provided the best evidence of full H erectus morphology from any site in Europe?
Ceprano, Italy. 900,000-450,000ya.
Sima del Elefante; Atapuerca, Spain.
Oldest evidence of hominins in western Europe, possibly not H erectus. 1.2mya.
Dmanisi, Republic of Georgia
Oldest well-dated hominins outside of Africa; small bodies, small brained, not like full H erectus. 1.75mya. May represent an earlier dispersal from Africa than one that led to wider occupation of Eurasia. Variation is bigger between Asian and African forms than within, could indicate separate species. Similar body proportions to H erectus but brain case of H africanus.
Where was the best post cranial evidence of H erectus from anywhere found?
Nariokotome, Kenya.
Kabwe; Broken Hill, Zambia.
nearly complete skull; mosaic features. Browbridge very robust but braincase expanded. 130,000+ya. Transitional looking fossil. Ancestor of H. sapiens in africa?
Bodo, Ethiopia
Earliest example of African H. heidelbergensis.
Which site displayed evidence of butchering 600,000ya? By which hominin?
Bodo, Ethiopia. African H. heidelbergensis.
Where is the earliest site of H. heidelbergensis? How many years ago?
Gran Dolina, Spain. 850,000ya. Spanish anthropologists place them in separate species called Homo antecessor.
Site known for as “pit of bones”, or “sima de los huesos”, where 28 individuals were found.
Atapuerca, Northern Spain.
Why was Sima de los Huesos significant, evolutionarily speaking?
Very early evidence of Neanderthal ancestry, earliest evidence of deliberate body disposal of the dead. 600,000-400,000ya. (early Neanderthal)
What is the significance of the skull found in Swanscombe, England?
Shows considerable brain expansion.
Dali, China.
Nearly complete skull, best evidence of H heidelbergensis in Asia. 230,000-180,000ya.
Name the site where a 200,000 year old partial skeleton showing relatively large brain size was found; some Chinese scholars suggest it as a possible ancestor of early Chinese H. Sapiens.
Jinniushan, China.
Vindija, Croatia.
best evidence of Neanderthal in eastern Europe; latest well-dated site.
LaChapelle, France
Most famous Neanderthal site; historically provided early but distorted (bent over, primitive creatures) interpretation of Neanderthals. 50,000ya. Represents extreme example in Neanderthal variation.
Shanidar Cave, Iraq.
well-preserved Neanderthal skeletons. One individual with several injuries, indicating the cared for the injured and buried the dead. 70,000-60,000ya.
Tabun, Israel.
110,000ya. Best evidence of early Neanderthal in S.W. Asia. The year makes it contemporary with H. sapiens. Suggests the two co-existed.
Which hominin was found in Flores, Indonesia, and what was its significance?
H. floresiensis. Late survival of very small-bodies and small brained hominins on island of Flores; designated as a separate species from modern humans.
Cro-Magnon, France
Famous site of H sapiens sapiens, early modern humans in France.
How old is the H. floresiensis site?
95,000-13,000ya.
Where was the earliest well-dated modern human from Europe found? How old is it?
Oase Cave, Romania. 35,000ya.
Where was the earliest well-dated human from outside Africa found? How old is it?
Skhul, Israel. 110,000ya.
Qafzeh, Israel.
Early modern human site, showed considerable variation between fossils (fairly robust)
Which hominins were found in Herto, Ethiopia? How long ago?
H. idaltu. 160,000-154,000ya.
What is the significance of Homo idaltu?
best well-preserved and best dated early modern human from anywhere; placed in a separate species from living H. sapiens.
What population is “on the verge of anatomical modernity but not yet fully modern”.
H. idaltu.
Where was the oldest modern human found 195,000ya?
Omo, Ethiopia.
What tool assembly are the Cro-Magnon fossils associated with?
Aurignacian tool assemblage of the Upper Palaeolithic industry.
What is the significance of “Flo” who was found in Liang Bua Cave, in Flores.
tiny brain, only 3 feet tall. Living on flores only 13,000ya! Suggests they drifted onto the island on rafts.
What is the significance of the child’s skeleton found at Abrigo do Lagar Velho, Portugal?
Some suggest it is a hybrid, evidence of, interbreeding of Neanderthals with modern humans.
Where was the oldest modern human find from China?
Tianyuan, China.
How old is the skull, the oldest modern human find in Asia, from the Niah Cave (Borneo), Indonesia?
45,000-40,000ya.
Yana RHS, Russia.
Earliest evidence of Late Pleistocene hunters beyond the Arctic Circle in Northern Siberia; stone tools and horn and ivory spear fore-shafts similar to that found much later on North American Paleo-Indiann sites.
In what years did the Bering land bridge form and where?
75,000-45,000ya and 25,000-11,000ya (periods of maximum glaciation). Between northeastern Asia and Northwestern North America.
Berelekh, Russia.
Archaeological evidence of Arctic human adaptations, 14,000-13,000ya.
Monte Verde, Chile.
A pre-Paleo-Indian site; widely accepted pre-clovis evidence of human presence in the New World.
Which Paleo-Indian sites were found with artifacts associated with the remains of mammoths?
Colby, Wyoming and Naco/Lehner, Arizona.
Pedra Pintada Cave
Early site with evidence of broad-spectrum hunter-gatherer way of life in the tropical rain forest.
Where was the bison kill site, when a herd was stampeded across a narrow gully, originally found?
Olsen-Chubbuck, Colorado.
What was the name of the North American human skeleton that led to a nine-year court battle between scientists and aboriginals as to whether or not they were permitted to study his remains?
Kennewick (Washington).
Which late pleistocene Paleo-Indiant culture/hunter-gatherers were known to hunt now-extinct giant long-horned bison in the American Southwest?
Folsom. 12,500ya
Who were the hunter-gatherers of the Great-Plains?
Plano. 11,000-9,000ya
Why were the Plano only associated with killing modern fauna?
They had unfluted spears and dart points,
Which Paleo-Indian culture had distinctive adze woodworking tools, in addition to unfluted spears and dart points?
Dalton. 10,500-10,000ya.
Who were the earliest universally acknowledged Late Pleistocene hunter-gatherers who occupied much of North America below the facial ice masses of the northern latitudes; used distinctive fluted spears or dart projectile points?
Clovis. 13,200-12,800ya.
Where is the deeply stratified site that contains rich evidence of Desert Archaic life ways in the American Southwest located?
Danger Cave, Utah. 10,000-historic times.
What is the significance of the Koster site in Illinois?
It documents the changing life ways of prehistoric Native Americans in the midwest during the Archaic period.
Where was the most elaborate example of planned communities in the Southeast during the late Archaic times (contained a large series of earthworks, nearly 1 square mile!)?
Poverty Point, Louisiana.
Which site provided insight into the species-specific cycle of hunting of Mesolithic peoples in Europe, some 10,500ya?
Starr Carr, coast of England. Were aided by domesticated dogs and spears tipped with microliths. We know they followed particular species in different species based on the antlers of deer and elk found at the site.
Which mesolithic villages were eventually submerged underwater and what was their significance?
Argus Bank and Tybrind Vig, Denmark. They provided excellent preservation of human burials, canoes, fishing gear and fabric. Indicates fish were mainstay of diet, could have encouraged them to stay in the same location for longer.
Who were the collector-type hunter-gatherers who established sedentary settlements in part of the Near East after 12,000ya?
Natufian
Ohalo II, Israel (Lavant)
Kebaran or pre-kabaran campsite; preservation of huts, living floors, grass bedding, and plant remains. Small-grained grass seeds appear to have been staple food.
Why is the 13,100-12,000ya Neolithic site of Abu Hureya, Syria important?
Hunter-gatherer site that spans the cold and dry climactic conditions of Younger Dryas; shows evidence of increasing diet breadth as preferred plant foods became less available.
Dhra’, Jordan
Evidence of plant cultivation, food storage and settled communities after the end of the Younger Dryas. 11,000ya.
What is the significance of Jericho, West Bank?
One of the earliest sedentary communities founded in the Levant; Jericho began in Natufian times and was occupied throughout the Neolithic.
Kebara and El Wad, Israel.
Sites where hunter-gatherers supplemented their diet by harvesting the wild ancestral varieties of wheat and barley.
Which epipaleolithic hunter-gatherers harvested rich wild plant and animal resources of the Nile region upriver from modern Answan?
The Qadan culture of Egypt.
Which popular site was populated by african hunter-gatherers who made early use of wild cereal grasses on the southern edge of the Sahara between 12,000 and 9,000ya?
Ounjougou, Mali (sub-saharan Africa).
Which Old World site represented a transition from seminomadic herding to sedentary villages and towns? How many years ago?
Mehrgarh, Pakistan. 8,000-6,000ya.
What is the significance of Las Colinas and Snaketown in Arizona? How old are these sites?
Displays ties to Mexican civilizations and centres of civilization; Hohokam sites. 1,000 years old.
Where is the famous Monks Mound (the largest prehistoric earthwork in North America) located?
Cahokia, Illinois. 1,200-600ya. A large Mississippian town.
Mesa Verde, Colorado. 1,400-700ya.
Known for their well preserved “cliff dwellings”; Anasazi sites.
Windover, Florida
7,300ya. A human burial site that yielded the bottle gourd, the earliest known domesticated plant in eastern North America.
Which site provided early evidence of maize cultivation in the Balsas Valley of S.W. Mexico?
Xihuatoxtla, Mexico. 8,700ya
Name the site: Small cave in Oaxaca, occupied by 4-6 persons; early dated contexts for pumpkin-like squashes and maize cobs,
Guilt Naquiz, Mexico. 10,200-9,200ya.
Guitarrero Cave, Peru.
Early evidence of cultivated plants in Andean South America. 8,500ya.
Which ancient culture of the S.W. U.S. is associated with preserved cliff dwellings and masonry pueblo sites?
Anasazi.
What is the name of the prehistoric village culture of northern Mexico and southern Arizona/New Mexico?
Mogollon.
Where was there early evidence of South Indian agriculture based on native crops of lentils and millet, plus the introduction of domesticates such as wheat and barley?
Ash Mound, India. 5,000-4,000ya.
Bandpo, China
During Yangshuo period (Neolithic); excavation of 100 houses that were part of sedentary community. 7,000-6,000ya.
Archaeological culture that contains earliest Neolithic farming communities in central Europe. Also known for lined pottery.
Bandkeramik culture. 7,000ya.
What region of New Mexico contains several important Anasazi sites, many of which are characterized by monumental public and ceremonial architecture?
Chaco Canyon.
Which multistory building comprised of ~600 rooms was the primary town of Chaco Canyon?
Pueblo Bonito.
Catalhoyuk, Turkey.
Large early and complex Neolithic site that served as a religious and trade centre 9,000ya. The community housed thousands in mud-brick houses with only rooftop entrances. Was not a true city.
Uruk, Iraq. Age & significance?
Earliest city; associated with the Sumerian civilizations of Mesopotamia. 5,500-1,800ya. Includes the Temple of the Sun and Temple of the Goddess of Love.
Ur, Iraq.
City containing ~1,800 graves, including 16 royal tombs.
What is a Sumerian mud-brick temple pyramid called?
Zigurat.
Hierakonpolis, Egypt.
5,300ya. Early Nile Valley urban centre located south of Thebes; associated with the unification of Egypt as one polity; Home to Narmer Palette.
Where is the great sphinx located?
Old Kingdom pyramid complex located south of Cairo in Giza. 4,500ya.
What is the significance of the Valley of the Kings?
It is where more than 50 New Kingdom subterranean tombs of pharaohs (including King Tut) were found.
What was found in the Shi Huangdi Tomb? 2,200ya.
The first emperor of China and an entire terracotta army.
What is the elaborate site associated with the earliest phase of civilization in northern China?
Erlitou, China. 4,000ya.
Where is the most extensively excavated large Indus civilization city in South Asia?
Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa (Pakistan). 4,600-3,900ya.
What is the major Maya city in western Honduras with an estimated population of around 27,000 at its peak?
Copan, Honduras. 1,600-1,200ya.
What was found at the site of La Venta, Mexico?
small Olmec jade figurines. 2,800ya
Teotihuacan, Mexico.
Earliest city-state to dominate the Valley of Mexico. It became one of the largest urban centres in the New World up to the 19th century.
What was the Toltec capital in the Valley of Mexico? What are its dates?
Tula, Mexico. 1,200-850ya.
Which Peruvian site shows evidence of social differentiation and a certain amount of centralized power?
Aspero, Peru. 5,000-4,000ya.
Moche, Peru.
Possibly the first true city in the Andes.
Chavin de Huantar, Peru.
Chavin civic ceremonial centre in the northern highlands of Peru. 2,900-2,500ya.
Where was the Olmec civic-ceremonial centre in southern Veracruz?
San Lorenzo, Mexico. 3,150-2,900.
Where did we find the most convincing evidence for the use of fire, how many years ago?
Gesher Benoit Ya’aqov, Israel. 790,000ya.
Where is there evidence of premodern humans and H erectus co-existence?
Java Ngandong site.
El Sidron, Spain.
Smashed bones found together in a cave suggests they were killed or all died together. Hypothesized that they were a band of hunter-gatherers. 49,000ya.
Kebab Cave, Mount Carmel. (Asia)
Most complete Neanderthal pelvis and thorax, ~60,000ya. Hyoid bone indicating language use.
