Archaeology Midterm 1

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Domestication in the Near East

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Mobile Foragers -->
Sedentism-->
Pop./Resource Stress-->
Domestication-->
Agriculture

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Querns

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Natufian grinding stones

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Domestication in Mesoamerica

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Mobile Foragers-->
Domestication-->
High Corn Yields-->
Sedentism/Pop. growth-->
Agriculture

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Natufian Phase (Near East Domestication)

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11000-9000 BCE
Sedentary foragers.
Ain Mallaha, Israel
Natufian sickles for harvesting grain.

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Archaic Period (Mesoamerican Domestication)

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8000-1000 BCE
Tehuacan Valley & Valley of Oaxaca

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Guila Naquitz Cave (Archaic Period)

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8750 - 6650 BCE
Foragers with seasonal camps.
Domesticated squash by 8000 BCE
Ate rabbit, deer, maguey, mesquite.

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Tehuacan Valley (Archaic Period)
10000-7000 BCE

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Foragers with seasonal camps.
Domesticated squash.
Grinding stones.
Domesticates 6% of diet.

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Tehuacan Valley (Archaic Period)
5000-3400 BCE

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Mobile foragers
Domesticated corn, bean, squash (14% of diet)

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Tehuacan Valley (Archaic Period)
3400 - 1500 BCE

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Settled village life
domesticates up to 50% diet

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Differences between Near East and Mesoamerica in Domestication

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Plant Productivity, Plant Genetics, Animal Ecology

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Middle Paleolithic

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South Africa (~160 - 60 kya)
Blombos Cave
Carved & Cut Ochre (~160 kya)
Klasies River Mouth

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Middle Paleolithic Stone Tools

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Microliths - tiny shaped flakes (72 kya). Heat treated.

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Upper Paleolithic

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~40- 10 kya

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Upper Paleolithic Tools

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Ivory needles
stone blades & compound tools
harpoons, spears, awls
Spear-thrower

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Upper Paleolithic Textiles & art

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Marine shell beads (trading, migration)
Animal figurines
'venus' figurines (28-22 kya)

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Upper Paleolithic subsistence

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foraging & seasonal mobility

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Dolni Vestonice

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Upper Paleolithic site (25 kya)
crafts, rituals, triple burials, ochre-stained bones

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Lascaux Caves, France

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17 kya
over 2000 paintings

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The Cosquer Cave, France

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27-19kya
penguins, jellyfish, seals & mammals painted

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Peopling of Australia (~40 kya)

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Lake Mungo

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Archaeology

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The scientific study of past peoples & cultures from the deepest prehistory to the recent past through the analysis of material remains

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Richard Hansen

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Studied El Mirador
Ancient Guatamalan Mayan city

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William Rathje

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the garbage man

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Pseudoscience

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People using the language/structure of science to present patently false information

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Piltdown Man Hoax

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Charles Dawson & Arthur Smith Woodward
Claimed predecessor to apes & humans. Actually composed of two different animals

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Gustav Kossina
(1858-1931)

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wrote "German Prehistory: a Pre-eminently National Discipline." Total nationalist bunk.

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Artifacts

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Made by people. Portable.
(e.g. Ceramics, tools, baskets, metal, glass)

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Ecofacts

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Not necessarily human made
(e.g. animal & plant remains, soil chemistry, landscapes)

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Human Remains

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skeletons & teeth.
In some cold, oxygen-low places: skin, hair, tissues

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Features

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discrete locations within sites
(e.g. middens, burials, storage pits, post holes, hearths, structures)

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Sites

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Places with evidence of human activity
(e.g. roads, caves, houses, camps, agricultural fields, cities, ceremonial centers)

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Archaeological Research Methods: Step 1

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1) Design formulation/implementation

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Archaeological Research Methods: Step 2

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2) Data Acquisition (field work)
a) Phase 1 (Reconnaissance & Survey)
b) Phase 2 (testing)
c) Phase 3 (excavations)

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Archaeological Research Methods: Step 3

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Processing & Analysis (lab work)

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Archaeological Research Methods: Step 4

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Interpretation

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Archaeological Research Methods: Step 5

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Dissemination & Conservation

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Stratigraphy & strata

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layers of material & their study

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Absolute Dating

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How Long ago?

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Relative Dating

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In what order did events occur relative to one another?

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Context & Associations

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Where & Relations

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Primary Contexts (in situ)

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where the artifacts were when buried

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Disturbed Contexts

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You aren't the first to touch them since they were placed there.
Associations have been disturbed.

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Provenience

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context. Where you found it.

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Provenance

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where it came from originally

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Carbon-14 Half Life

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5730 years.
Covers 40-60 kya.

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Stratigraphy

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Law of Superposition: if it's bottom of the stack it's older

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Law of Association:

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Things found together were likely put there at the same time

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Dendrochronology

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Counting tree rings. An absolute dating method

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Uniformitarianism

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there is no evidence to suggest that the natural processes our dating methods rely on have ever been different

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Seriation

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relative changes in the freq. of artifacts or styles linked to absolute dates

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Fossil evidence of hominids

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65 mya: grasping hands
25 mya: no tail; teeth shape; swinging arm

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Holocene (or Anthropocene)

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Climate all over became warmer

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Beringia

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dry land bridge
60-13 kya

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2 possible paths along Beringia

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Overland
along the coast in boats hugging shore

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Folsom Points

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used by big game hunters in N.A.
11.5-10 kya

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Clovis Points

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throughout N.A.
13.5 kya Lasted 500 years

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Monte Verde II, Chile

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12.5 kya
No projectile points.
Temporary community. Round structures. Hafted stone tools, tent stakes

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Monte Verde I, Chile

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33 kya
Possible that humans were in the Americas earlier than anyone thought possible.

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Caverna de Piedra Pintada

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Anna Roosevelt 1996 excavations. Possibly 13 kya old.

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Past-Pleistocene Adaptations

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Megafaun disappear. (10 kya) Overkill or climate change (things got warmer).

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Between Paleolithic and Neolithic (i.e. foraging and farming)

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Mesolithic (Eurasia/Africa): 11000-5000 BCE
Archaic (Americas): 8000-1000 BCE

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Vedbaek, Denmark

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Mesolithic. 5000 BCE.
Diverse foods, Semi-sedentary. Transitioned between two environments. Organized settlement.

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Vedbaek, Denmark pt II

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22 individuals buried. Mostly extended posture. Social differences (old men buried w/ antlers). Ochre. Men buried with tools, women with adornment.

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Carrier Mills, IL

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Archaic (4000-3000 BCE). Continuous occupation. Diverse foods, transitional locations.

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Carrier Mills, IL cemetery

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>154 burials. Body position varies by age. 21% infants. Most adornment with men. Both men and women with tools. Women died later.

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Bottle Gourd

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First domesticated plant. 12 kya

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Einkorn Wheat & Emmer Wheat

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9000-7000BCE

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Wild Teosinte to Corn

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7000-1000BCE

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6 Characteristics that make an animal good for domestication

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1) can breed in captivity
2) predictable personality
3) flexible diet
4) reproduce/mature quickly
5) minimal flight instinct/fear of enclosure
6) recognize social hierarchy

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dogs

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first domesticated animal
genetic evidence: 100kya
archaeological evidence: 14 kya

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Domestication Habitat Hypotheses 1: Oasis Theory

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1930s. people, animals, and plants congregate in oases, competition prompts domestication

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Domestication Habitat Hypotheses 2: Natural Habitat

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1940. Domestication occurs in wild ancestors' natural habitat

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Domestication Habitat Hypotheses 3: Population Pressure or Edge Hypothesis

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1960s. Farming is hard, so moving must have been motivated by pop. growth pressure. Domestication most rapid at edges of fertile zones

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Domestication Habitat Hypotheses 4: Social Hypothesis

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1970s. Domestication had social reasons, not all used for food.

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Domestication Habitat Hypotheses 5: Mutualism

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1980s.
Domestication is symbiosis, happens in spite of human intentions.

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Pleistocene

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2.6mya to 10kya

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Lower Paleolithic

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2.6 mya to 140 kya (first evidence of stone tools)

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Middle Paleolithic

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140kya to 40 kya

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Upper Paleolithic

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40 kya to 10 kya

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Distinctly human traits

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bipedalism!!, big brains, hair & fur amt., diet (teeth), sexual dimorphism is less pronounced, sweat glands

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Skeletal Markers of Bipedalism

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Skull location (foramen magnum), spinal shape ('s'), less bowed legs, no opposable toes

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Why walk upright?

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more efficient foraging, free hands for hunting/carrying, improved vision, reduced exposure to UV

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Fully Modern Humans (FMH)

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200 kya in Africa
80 kya spreads all over globe

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Lower Paleolithic: Homo Habilis

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2.5-1.6mya
Olduwan tools

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Lower Paleolithic: Homo erectus

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1.8mya to 100 kya
fire &
Acheulian tools

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Lower Paleolithic: Homo Heidelbergensis

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600-200 kya

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Middle Paleolthic

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Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis (250kya- 25 kya)

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Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis

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burials, Mousterian tools (140 kya- 40 kya). Disappeared from? competition, too specialized to cold, absorbed through interbreeding