midterm ONE - Terms

Question 1

Archaeology

Answer 1

the study of the human past, combing the themes of time and change

Question 2

Culture

Answer 2

the means of humam adaption based on past experiences in physical/social environments

Question 3

Artifact

Answer 3

any portable object used, modified or made by humans (stone tools, pottery, metal weapons)

Question 4

Ecofact

Answer 4

Non artifactual organic and environmental remains which have cultural relevance. (bones, plant remains and soil). Can indicate what people ate or the environmental conditions in which they lived

Question 5

Stratigraphy

Answer 5

a branch of geology which studies rock layers

Question 6

Superimposition

Answer 6

bottom layers of strata occurred first

Question 7

Association

Answer 7

relationship between items within an archaeological site (strata layer/distance)

Question 8

Matrix

Answer 8

physical material in which archaeological artifacts are found (dirt)

Question 9

Otzi the Iceman

Answer 9

Dead man that was found in the italian austrian border

Question 10

Hominid

Answer 10

the group consisting of all modern and extinct Great Apes`

Question 11

Sahelanthropus tchadensis

Answer 11

Chad (central Africa). oldest know ancestor (7-6mya). flat face, habitual bipedalism

Question 12

A. Afarensis - Lucy

Answer 12

Hadar, East Africa. 4.2-2.8 mya. Long arms, curved fingers. Bipedal

Question 13

Homo Habilis

Answer 13

East/South Africa 2.5mya-1.6 mya Increase in Brain size. First stone tool maker

Question 14

Homo Erectus

Answer 14

East Africa, Asia, Europe. 1.9mya 143kya. First out of Africa

Increase in brain size (800-1000cc) Totally upright, postcranial skeleton almost identical to modern human

Question 15

Homo sapiens

Answer 15

200 kya-present. Modern humans. Large brain. Vertical forehead. No brow ridge. Use of LANGUAGE, ART, TECH

Question 16

Neanderthals

Answer 16

200-28kya.Europe SW Asia. Mixof human and ape. Large brain, “big boned” brow bridges.

Question 17

Effects/Cause of Agriculture

Answer 17

Causes=change of climate+population. Effects=settling+techn+societies

Question 18

Early domesticates

Answer 18

plants:seed/cereal (weaht/rye, etc) & root crops (potatoes, yams, taro, manioc) Animals:pigs, goats, sheep, cattle

Question 19

Levels of social/political organization

Answer 19

Bands (hunter gather, egalitarian)
Tribes (Segmentary, settled farmers)
Chiefdom (kinship ranking, craft specialization)
States (classed based hierarchy, centralized bureaucracy, laws, taxes)

Question 20

Reciprocity/redistribution

Answer 20

gift giving

Question 21

Characteristic of Hominins

Answer 21

nearly as efficient at bipedal locomotion as humans. Like people, but unlike apes, the bones of their pelvis, or hip region, were shortened from top to bottom and bowl-shaped (shown below). This made the pelvis more stable for weight support when standing upright or moving bipedally. The longer ape pelvis is adapted for quadrupedal locomotion. Early hominin leg and foot bones were also much more similar to ours than to those of apes. This is consistent with the likelihood of early hominin bipedalism. Tkkheir adult brain size was about 1/3 that of people today. As a result, the widest part of the skull of these early hominins was below the brain case.

Question 22

Tool technologies - Olduwan

Answer 22

• intentionally modified stone tools
• suggest increase of meat in diet
• Hit stones together to chip away

Question 23

Tool technologies - Achulean

Answer 23

1.5-1.2 mya, made by homo erectus, sharp dual-faced tools with complex shaped edges , too big for arrow tips, mostly hand axes

Question 24

Tool technologies - Mousterian

Answer 24

120-40kya Europe and W. Asia

• Middle Paleolithic
• flake tools
• suggest cognitive advance by neanderthals

Question 25

Tool technologies - Clovis

Answer 25

Paleoindian period in north America, tool defined by a distinctive type of fluted point (New Mexico)

Question 26

Tool technologies - Folsom

Answer 26

Paleoindian period in north America, tool defined by a distinctive type of fluted point but found primarily in the Great Plains

Question 27

Tool technologies - Solutrean

Answer 27

Special flaking technique to make thin, leaf-shaped points in several sizes. Used for spears, arrows, or knives.

Question 28

Hominin

Answer 28

the group consisting of modern humans, extinct human species and all our immediate ancestors

Question 29

redistribution

Answer 29

central supply proportioned by society