Final Flashcards
(31 cards)
Define assemblage, phase, component, and occupation
assemblage - a collection of artifacts of one or several classes of materials that come from a defined context such as a site, feature, or stratum (spatially limited, never regional)
phase - a series of components within a restricted geographical area sharing one or more distinctive archaeological types. spatially and temporally limited.
component - an archaeological unit consisting of stratum or set of strata that are presumed to be culturally homogeneous
occupation - an assemblage of cultural material resulting from one use of a site by a human group - or a series of very closely related uses that are archaeologically inseparable
What do the basic archaeological units consist of vs the integrative units?
archaeological units - assemblage, component, phase
integrative - horizon, tradition
quantifying animal remains. what do NISP, MNI, MNE, and MAU stand for?
NISP - number of identified specimens
MNI- minimum number of individuals
MNE - Minimum number of elements - like MNI but no sex or age
MAU - minimum number of animal units - sustenance
what are four ways to determine an animals age?
- dentition - tooth eruption, wear
- bones - epiphyseal fusion, size
- antler - number of tines
- horns - growth increments
what are the processes of plant domestication
- larger seed/grain
- reduced branching
- loss or limit of seed dispersal
- loss of seed dormancy
determining sex from human remains. what are the two most informative parts of the human skeleton for sex determination?
- pelvis
- os coxae (ventral arc, subpubic concavity, medial aspect of ischiopubic ramus, greater sciatic notch) - Skull
- nuchal crest, mastoid process, supraorbital margin, supraorbital ridge, mental eminence)
Cranial sutures, pubic symphysis, and dental wear are used to determine the age of juveniles or adults?
adults
MATCH
- Vitamin C deficiency
- Vitamin D deficiency
- Iron deficiency
A. Rickets/Osteomalacia
B. Scurvy
C. Cribria Orbitalia/ Porotic Hyperostostis
1 - B
2 - A
3 - C
when physical trauma to the head is the cause of death what is it called? before and after death?
before - antemortem
cause - perimortem
after - post-mortem modification
what are the four hypotheses for social development and social systems? ICLA
- Irrigation hypothesis - Mesopotamia
- Circumscription - the idea that spatial geographic social structures create cooperative or competitive interactions
- long distance trade hypothesis - some sort of political elite that take control of craft specialization or exotic goods and trade
- Aggrandizer hypothesis - potlatch, gambling and sports
what are the differences between foragers and collectors
foragers
- low logistical and high demand residential mobility
- map onto resources through camp movement
- gather food on an encounter basis
- homogenous resource availability
collectors
- high logistical and low residential mobility
- obtain resources through specialized task groups
- store food for up to a year
- resources are spatially or temporally uneven
what is the Hopewell exchange
- stylistic uniformity
- exotic items traded over long distances
- prosaic items traded locally
- increasing complexity and sedentism
- reciprocity
- thicker ceramics
native American northeast
what are 6 archaeological indicators of ritual?
- focusing on attention
- boundary maintenance with supernatural
- presence of deity or deities
- participation and offering
- archaeoastronomy
- cosmovison
4 problems with identifying religion in archaeology
- loci of religious activities may have other functions as well
- religious artifacts may have has secular uses as well
- religious archaeologists today may be biased
- over-interpretation of artifacts
describe foraging societies
small groups, often mobile, division of labour is by sex and age. no individual or group owns the land.
define pastoralism with emphasis on the difference between intensive and extensive pastoralism
Pastoralists depend on domesticated herd animals on natural pasture, with the division of labour by age and sex. intensive vs extensive, extensive is where minimal labour and money is put into the farms. community land ownership, private herd ownership.
describe coastal and or fishing communities
most likely to be sedentary, and social inequality is more common than that of hunting and foraging societies.
describe horticulture societies
shifting cultivation vs forestry. larger groups, semi-mobile, and more social inequality. horticulturists are similar in the social organization of pastoralists.
What type of agriculture is described?
- permanent fields
- use of fertilizers
- development of social inequality
intensive agriculture
define the following: domestication and cultivation
domestication - a biological process that involves changes in the physical characteristics of plants and animals
cultivation - a cultural phenomenon that involves intentionally preparing fields, harvesting plants, and storing plant parts
define agriculture and list what aspects have to be successful for it to work.
agriculture - the establishment of an artificial ecosystem in which selected species of plants and animals are cultivated and reared.
- propagation
- husbandry
- harvesting/slaughtering
- storage and maintenance
list the 6 primary centers for agriculture and what they produced, in chronological order.
- Southwest Asia - Rye, barley, lentils, chickpeas, flax, pigs, and sheep
- East Asia - millet, pigs, and rice
- Sub-saharan Africa - rice, sorghum, cattle, and goats
- Mexico - gourds, squash, maize (dry central highlands, teosinte is ancient corn), dogs, turkeys, and honey bees
- South America - gourds, tomatoes, beans, potatoes, llama, guinea pigs, and alpaca
- North America - marsh elder and goosefoot
Explain the Oasis hypothesis and Hilly flank hypothesis for agriculture and name the original author of each.
The Oasis hypothesis - Gordon Childe
- claimed that climate change heated the earth and made people flock to oases and therefore cultivate the vegetation surrounding the oasis
the hilly flanks hypothesis - Robert Braidwood
- domesticated species occur where the native ones are still present and that technology was ready to progress 10000 years ago. and that agriculture bring about more leisure time and more food security
What hypotheses for the origins of agriculture is labelled below?
A - population growth meant more sedentary instances and the need to make more food under limited area and limited time.
B - the unintentional relationship between plants and humans including, incidental domestication, specialized domestication, and agricultural domestication where plants are completely reliant on people to reproduce.
C - Food plays a role in social occasions and with growing population and need to impress people needed to make more food more easily
A - Demographic theories - Lewis Binford
B - Evolution and intentionality - David Rindof
C - Feasting Hypothesis - Brian Hayden and Barbara Mender
