Lecture 21 - H. sapiens Dispersal Flashcards
(32 cards)
what were probable routes out of Africa
Africa –> Middle East –> SE Asia –> Europe/N. Asia, Australia –> N/S America
what are the oldest sites we know of
- Daoxin, China - 80-120 Ka
- Lake Mungo, Australia - 40Ka, maybe as much as 68 Ka
- Cro-Magnon, France - 28Ka
AMHS in SE Asia
Daoxian, China discoveries
- only teeth, 47 specimens
- c. 80-120 ka
- a lot of cavities = diet rich in carbs
AMHS in SE Asia
Sulawesi
- Indonesia, c. 44Ka
- oldest cave paintings
- ochre, use of hand stencils
AMHS in Australia
how could AMHS reached Australia
- Australia, New Guinea, and Tasmania were connected during Ice Age
- watercraft still necessary to reach Australia
AMHS in Australia
describe the marsupial megafauna & their fate
- lots = 1000+ kg
- go extinct around c. 45 ka
- overkilling or climate change?
AMHS in Australia
Madjedbeb Rock Shelter, Australia discoveries
c. 65 ka
sophisticated tech
- stone points
- ochre crayons wrapped in mica
- grinding stones w/ochre & seed residues
- hatchet heads
AMHS in Australia
Lake Mungo
- discovered in 60s/70s
- 40 ka, but maybe as much as 68 ka
- earliest hominins in Australia
- sophistcated burial with ochre
AMHS in Europe
Cro-Magnon, France
- Les Eyzies, France, c. 28 Ka
- excavated 1868, one of the earliest found
- Eurocentrism unchallenged until Mount Carmel work in 1930s
- ~6 skeletons found at site with stone tools, carved reindeer antlers, ivory pendants and shells
AMHS in Europe
Oldest H. sapiens sites in Europe
- 46 ka, Bacho Kiro Cave, Bulgaria
- Fragmentary bones analyzed via DNA and proteomics (ZooMS)
- Suggests 15-20 ka overlap with Neanderthals
- Châtelperronian industry (Unclear if maker is AMHS, Neanderthal, or both) –> Pendant carved in bear teeth
AMHS in Europe
what was the Upper Paleolithic revolution view
- Conventional wisdom used to maintain that the appearance of AMHS in Europe coincided with ‘Upper Paleolithic Revolution’ c. 40 ka (Mellars, 1996)
- Until evidence from Africa started to be taken more seriously -> “The Revolution that wasn’t” (McBrearty and Brooks, 2000)
AMHS in Europe
main conclusions from A. Brooks & McBrearty paper
- Behavioral modernity is not associated with abrupt change
- No single cognitive “explosion” that led to the modern human mind
-Gradual acquisition of typically modern human behaviors, starting in Africa
what was the Upper Paleolithic
- Starts c. 45 ka
- Increased diversity of raw materials
- Specialized tool types
- Symbolic expression (often animals)
- Organized settlements w/ built shelters/structures, central hearths, storage pits
AMHS in Europe
what were the upper paleolithic revolution takeaways
- Take-away: modern behavior emerges along with AMHS, not along with European arrival
- No matter what, clear signs of behavioral innovations by at least 60 ka
- Material culture is not everything: some modern hunter-gatherer populations leave barely any traces!
broad spectrum revolution
what was Aurignacian
- appears c. 43ka
- bone & antler tools + weapons
- stone tools made out of blades = long & thin
- groove cuts at the bottom for hafting
- several other tools like awls
broad spectrum evolution
Aurignacian artifacts
- flint blade
- blade core - most efficient way to get most material out
- leaf point
-bone tools - atlatl: spear thrower –> adds force and speed during spear throwing b/c acts like arm extension
broad spectrum revolution
what did expansion of diet include
- small mammals
- fish
- birds
broad spectrum revolution
Kostenki, Russia discoveries
- c. 35-35 Ka
- abundant hare, foxes & wolves
- fur? based on the cutting
- would have involved using traps/snares
- early domesticated dog evidence
behavioral modernity
recent hunter-gatherer groups traits
H-G with abundant, predictable wild food resources tend to be:
- Less mobile
- Larger groups, denser populations
- Social strategies for redistribution (gift, exchange network)
- Complex technologies
- Increased economic and social differentiation
behavioral modernity
what was population density at sites like
- sites occupied longer, by larger groups more modified
- (semi-) permanent structures with mammoth mandibles
behavioral modernity
networks
- increased survival during changing climates
- social security system (trade)
- Gifting - exchange & reciprocity
–> comes with incr4eased symbolic value of items
–> Standardization
behavioral modernity
complex tech: canteens - evidence
- Diepkloof, S. Africa - c.
- ostrich eggshell
- engraved
- used as canteen - increased mobility?
behavioral modernity
complex tech - ceramics
- Dolni Vestonice, Czech Republic - c. 25 Ka
- 100s of figurines
- fired in kilns
- predates use of clay for pottery
behavioral modernity
complex tech: weaving
Dolne Vestonice, CR - c. 25 Ka
- clay impressions reveal weaving
- baskets used to collect plants?
- nets for catch fish or birds?
