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106 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Anthropology
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-study of humankind
-subdisciplines: archaeology, physical/biological, cultural, linguistics |
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Archaeology
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-subdiscipline of anthropology
-study of humans through material culture -study of human past |
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diachronic vs. synchronic
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-synchronic = studying a phenomenon at a single point in time
-diachronic = studying how phenomena develop through time |
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material culture
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-consequences of human behavior
-past behaviors no longer exist, but material culture still remains |
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Culture
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-unifying concept in Anthro
-Tyler: "culture is the complex whole which encompasses knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, language, and any other habits or capabilities that a person acquires as a member of society." |
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Jackson Ambani
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-"juju man" (witch doctor) who was casting spells to influence the outcome of soccer games
-initial reaction is disbelief, but anthro tells us that all cultures have superstition |
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Prehistoric Archaeology
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-study of human past before writing
-prehistory occupies 99% of human history |
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Subdisciplines of Archaeology
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-prehistoric
-classical -historical -underwater |
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Classical Archaeology
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-studying a combination of written records, art, and architecture
-often focuses on Greece, Rome, and Egypt |
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Historical Archeaology
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-studying discovered evidence and written records
-often focuses on more recent history |
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Goals of Archaeology
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-culture history=chronology of the past
-reconstruct past human lifeways -understand why societies change |
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Importance of Archaeology
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-How did we come to be here?
-What is our role? How should we live? -Help respond to present challenges -Provides a sense of individual or cultural identity |
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Foundations of Archaeology
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1. Understanding the antiquity of the earth/humankind
2. Darwin's Theory of Evolution 3. Thomson's 3-Age System |
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Creationist stories
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-common in all cultures
-used to help explain aspects of culture/life/social roles -deeply influence the study of the past and the way we ask questions about the physical world |
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Understanding the Age of the Earth
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-people long believed the earth to be 6,000 yrs old(Biblically based)
-skews the way people think about the world/history -Archbishop James Ussher |
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Archbishop James Ussher
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-17th century (1600s)
-claimed world was created in 4004 BC -6,000 yr old estimate leaves no concept of far past, pre-writing, or pre-iron |
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William Dugdale & Michael Mercati
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-WD (17th c.) & MM (1518)
-recognized stone tools for what they were --> tools from pre-iron period of history |
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Archaeology during Enlightenment
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-17th/18th c.
-increased exploration led to new discoveries which challenged the 6,000 yr. old hypothesis |
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Catastrophism
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-idea that earth has been shaped by a series of short, violent events that define history
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James Hutton & Charles Lyell
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-18th c.
-hypothesized that the current features of the earth were created by the same processes throughout history, and which still occur in the present -natural, slowly working, uniform processes -key element is that these took lots of time |
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Unformitarianism
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-theory devised by Hutton/Lyell
-"same natural laws and processes that operate in the universe now, have always operated in the universe in the past and apply everywhere in the universe" -the present is key to the past -key principle in geology -basis for modern archaeology |
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John Frere
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-1797
-found evidence buried at same depth as extinct animals -growing concept that lower layers of soil represent older time periods |
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Jacques Boucher de Perthes
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-1841
-conducts similar work to Frere, but publishes his work |
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Darwin's Theory of Evolution
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-Evolution=best explanation for all change in plants/animals
-Natural selection=mechanism by which evolution occurs -Emphasized change occurring over a long period of time |
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Thomson's 3-Age System
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-antiquarians play a role
-Age of Stone, Age of Bronze, Age of Iron -began to organize artifacts according to this system |
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antiquarians
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-people who began collecting interesting objects
-organized "cabinets of curiosity" -began to wonder how to classify/group certain objects |
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Jens Jacob Worsaae
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-assistant to Thomson
-provides evidence for the 3-Age system by digging in burial sites -he found artifacts in corresponding layers with stone lowest, then bronze, then iron |
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Thomas Jefferson
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-1784
-excavated mounds in VA -wanted to show artifacts as result of indigenous peoples (vs. mystical explanation) -his approach and goal of "proof" changed archaeology |
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Modern Archaeology
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-roots in main concepts about the earth/antiquity
-"professionalizing" of arch -major figures: -General Lane Fox Pitt-Rivers -Sir William Finders-Petrie -Alfred Kidder |
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Radiocarbon dating
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-Willard Libby (1949)
-changed arch through the new ability to give absolute dates to objects |
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William Rathje
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-professor at U of A
-"garbology project" |
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Why study the past?
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-the past is very much like the present
-studying the past can help understand the present and vice-versa |
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artifact
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-objects that owe their form to humans
-objects created or modified by humans |
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ecofact
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-objects that have cultural significance, but don't owe form to human behavior
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feature
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-non-portable artifact
-e.g. kiln, building, hearth, burial, storage pits |
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primary context
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-original deposition of an artifact
-artifact undisturbed by later activity -e.g. Ceren, El Salvador |
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in situ
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-"in place", undisturbed
-quality of primary context finds |
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secondary context
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-artifact that has been disturbed from original position by cultural/natural forces
-e.g. Copan, Honduras |
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site
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-spacial structure/collection of artifacts, ecofacts, and features
-location where human activity took place |
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categorization of sites
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-geographic: "open";"rock shelter"
-fxn: burial, killing, rock quarry -cultural affiliation: hunter-gath -chronological affiliation: prehistoric, stone age |
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aspects of "professional archaeology"
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-recovery of objects
-sequence dating -training schools |
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Ceren, El Salvador
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-Mayan, 0-900 AD
-volcanic eruption perfectly preserved a community -helped learn about "common people" -info: cooking, food, living |
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Copan, Honduras
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-Mayan, 0-900 AD
-remains of many above-ground mayan structures -study of farming populations -study modern maya to help better understand past structures -"extended family household" |
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Teatihuacan, Mexico
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-Aztec, 150 BC - 750 AD
-pyramids; complex urban structure -determined family compound structures from burials within dwellings |
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lineage
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-group of related males or females who usually own land together & perhaps share a unique religious identity
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stratigraphy
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-study of the layers of the earth's sediments
-helps reconstruct past activity -cultural & natural layering -site formation, chronology, local/enviro processes |
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Law of Superposition
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-layers closer to the surface are the most recent
-layers farther from the surface represent progressively older periods -refers to the sequence of sediment layers, not the materials within the layers |
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Main stages of Archaeological Research
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1. Research Design
2. Reconnaissance study 3. Obtain Funding 4. Conduct Research -Implement research design -Data aquisition -Analysis -Interpretation -Publication |
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Archaeological Research Design
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-formulate research question
-devise hypothesis & methods -key element of research project |
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Archaeological Reconnaissance Study
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-prelim study to determine if research in site area is possible
-permissions, safety, deposits, preservation -determines site boundary |
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Strategies for site discovery
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-ask: who? what? where?
-ask local people -foot survey -accidental discovery -construction -surface detection -remote sensing |
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foot survey
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-team members walk in straight lines looking for signs of arch site
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surface detection methods
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-augers, covers(hollow tube), shovel
-test pits: sift through shovelfuls of soil |
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remote sensing methods
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-detect subsurface anomalies
-recessivity detector: electricity conduction underground reveals high resistance areas |
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horizontal excavation
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-investigates wider area of objects near the surface
-more feasible with less time, $, or people -reveals more about contemporary activities |
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vertical excavation
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-digging downward
-reveals info about changes through time |
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provenience
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-3D location of an artifacto or feature i.e. horizontal & vertical dimensions
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Zooarchaeology
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-study of animal remains at archaeological sites
-important b/c humans and animals have intertwined lives -animals=proxies |
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Zooarchaeological contributions
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-proxies=inferences about human life from animal remains
-provides clues: -environment -attitudes about natural world -subsistence/domestication -migration and trade -paleodiet |
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Zooarchaeological research
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1. Gather data
2. Identification 3. Analysis |
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Zooarchaeological data aquisition
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-obtain remains via excavation, screening, flotation
-not all remains will be well-preserved or necc. cultural |
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Identification of animal remains
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-sort material by taxon or element
-based on characteristic markers: -shape, size, bone landmarks |
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landmarks (bones)
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-small features that distinguish bones; mainly between species
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Quantification of animal bones
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-MNI (min. # of individuals)
-NISP (# of identified specimen) |
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MNI
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-min # of individuals
-indicates the # of individuals necessary to result in the number of elements discovered -based on the number of elements found |
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NISP
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-# of ID specimen
-each bone = specimen - ___ # of specimens of ____(animal) |
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Zooarchaeological analysis
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-age
-sex -modification |
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(animal) bone age analysis
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-tooth wear
-epiphyseal fusion |
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epiphyseal fusion
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-helps to show age or pre vs. post adulthood
-epiphysis="cap" @ the end of a developing bone -the extent to which bones are fused can indicate age |
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sex determination of animal bones
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-sexual dimorphisms: body size, canine size, antlers/horns
-muscle attachments |
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modification of animal bones
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-any natural or cultural changes to bones
-e.g. burning, cutting (v-cut) vs. rodent gnawing (w-cut), weathering |
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Artifact-shaping processes
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-behavioral processes
-transformational processes -artifacts, features, sites vary widely in content, age, etc. -must understand complex relationship btwn human & natural forces |
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behavioral processes
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-go into creating archaeological record
-manufacture, acquisition, use, disposal |
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transformational processes
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-occur after deposition
-cultural: human behavior influencing arch record, e.g. trampling, curation, plowing, burials, development, wars, looting -natural processes |
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matrix
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-physical medium supporting/holding record
-e.g. soil, sediment, rocks |
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association
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-artifacts in relation to one another
-which artifacts near one another -relationship btwn 2+ archeaological remains in the same matrix |
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context
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-understanding all discovered elements together
-how artifacts may have gotten there and why? |
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lithics
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-stone tools
-Lower Paleolithic=300k-2.5mya -Middle " " = 40k-100kya -Upper " " = 12k-40kya -Neolithic = 10kya |
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core
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-in lithics, piece of rock from which flakes come off
-flake scars |
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flake
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-piece of rock created by hitting another rock at specific angle
-bulb of percussion, ripples, retouching |
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concoidal fracture
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-controlled conical break of rock
-works when using appropriate material: hard, homogenous, fine-grained |
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blade
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-fragment whose length is 2x width
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tool
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-blade/flake/core that people use to perform some fxn
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Sir John Lubbock
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-published on the idea of prehistoric times
-coined the terms paleolithic vs. neolithic |
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earliest lithics
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-believed ~2.4myo
-Mary Leaky discovered old stone "choppers" in oduvi gorge -"olduwan choppers" = simple tool, few flakes removed, hard hammer percussion |
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chaine operatoire approach
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-tracing the life history of a tool
-Acquisition (obtaining) --> Manufacture --> Use --> Discard -artifacts may be reused |
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Paleoethnobotany
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-study of how people used plants in the past
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debitage
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-waste material produced during lithic production/chipped stone tools
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Sir William Finders-Petrie
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-systematic archaeology
-collection/preservation of all objects |
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Head-Smashed-In
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-6kya
-Alberta, Canada -collection of buffalo bones resulting herding buffalo off a cliff -preferential part removal |
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Paleoethnobotany insights
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-subsistence/diet
-enviro reconstruction -social/econ imbalance -plant domestication -trade -medicinal remedies -worldview/rituals |
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Oduvi gorge
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-Tanzania
-very old site -earliest lithics |
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Paleoethnobotany research
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-organic matter=preservation challenge
-macro vs. microbotanicals -Paleofeces/Human gut remains |
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phyloliths
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-crystal bodies produced in some plant tissues
-inorganic --> preserve well |
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starch grain analysis
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-informs about fxn of stone tools
-tubers don't preserve, but grains can be analyzed |
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stable isotope analysis
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-test for presence of certain isotopes, indicate certain types of plants based on prevalence
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Paleoethnobotany methods
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-excavation/collection
-dry screening -flotation -ID w/reference collection or experimental charring |
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Paleoethnobotany data interpret
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-identification
-quantification: ubiquity, %frequency, density, compar ratio, diversity |
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Kansyore
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-tribe in western kenya (Dean Dale)
-large, open site in Siror -hunter-gatherer -study/classify variation in Kansyore pottery -classification |
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Siror Excavation
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-Dean Dale; Kansyore
-began small scale: 1mx1m grid -5 cm levels of vertical -record: sediments/colors/artifacts |
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Gen. Fox Pitt-Rivers
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-helped standardize/professionalize archaeology through development of standard methods
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Bioarchaeology
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-contextual analysis of human remains
-helps reconstruct prehistoric lifeways |
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Human Osteology
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-206 bones/teeth
-variation -sexual dimorphisms -use to determine sex, age, activity/events, diet, geo affinity -quantification: 2D & 3D & GIS |
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Significant markers on human remains
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-sexual dimorphisms
-long bone robusticity -violence or pathology (e.g. arthritis) -dental wear/caries -stable isotopes/ancient DNA |
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NAGPRA
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-1990
-Nat. Am. Graves Protection & Repatriation Act |
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Woodchipper murder
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-Helle Crafts by husband
-only small frag of bone, hair, teeth, tissue found with wood chips -able to ID as adult, human Euro female w/blond hair -crown and tooth help confirm Helle |
