Anthropology 101 > midterm 2 > Flashcards

midterm 2 Flashcards

(50 cards)

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1
Q

what is a hypothesis?

A

a testable statement

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2
Q

what is the scientific method

A 
observation 
question 
hypothesis 
prediction
test 
result
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3
Q

what happens once an archaeological site is opened up?

A
  • Once opened up or exposed, they deteriorate quickly

* Ex. Pompeii

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4
Q

what happens with a habitation site?

A
  • Archaeologists will spend time mapping out ring of stones- location and placement may lead to how different sites are connected
    • Tells you something about the environment ex. Door placement
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5
Q

what is founded in a bison kill site? example?

A
  • Lots of bison bone found (prairies)
    • May find tools/projectile points
    • Trauma on the bones
    • Head-smashed-in buffalo jump site
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6
Q

why are historical sites used? how are they found?

A
  • We have documents
    • More recent in time
    • How are sites found?
    • Pedestrian survey
    • Test pits
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7
Q

what does proton magnetometry pick up?

A

• Pick up disturbances

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8
Q

what is space archaeology?

A

Satellite imagery (space archaeology)
• Dr. Sarah parcak
• Used satellite to find sites

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9
Q

what is ground penetrating radar?

A

• Detector that picks up on reflected waves

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10
Q

what is a feature?

A

Feature
• Evidence you don’t pickup
• a collection of one or more contexts representing some human non-portable activity that generally has a vertical characteristic to it in relation to site stratigraphy

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11
Q

what is an artifact?

A

Artifact
• Evidence you pick up and analyze
• Spatial context is important

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12
Q

what are ecofacts?

A 
Ecofacts 
	• Connected with environment 
	• Animal bones 
	• Pollen
	• Phytoliths
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13
Q

what is zooarchaeology?

A
  • Recognize what animal was utilized in that area

* Need knowledge on animal bones

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14
Q

what is taphonomy?

A

• Look for tooth marks etc… Spend more time on items

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15
Q

add dating techniques from textbook

A

• Pg 194-200 in text

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16
Q

what is relative data?

A

• What’s present around area of interest
• Contextual info maintained as you dig down by keeping walls smooth bc you see stratigraphy-
the analysis of the order and position of layers of archaeological remains.
• Law of superposition- lower down is older, on top is newer

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17
Q

what is dendrochronology? (based on biology.)

A
  • Dendrochronology
    • Analyzing tree rings
    • Has to be in an area with seasons; moisture change + growth
    • Rings match up with years
    • Might need to remove a piece of wood
    • Need trees at site- especially ones used in a cultural context
    • Calculating a master sequence
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18
Q

describe K-Ar dating

A

radioactive decay
• Around 60,000 years
• Review- does it take us back to paleolithic?
• Radiometric

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19
Q

describe C-14 dating

A
  • Ratio of carbon atoms in fossil used
    • C-14 is unstable, so it decays after death
    • Ratio of carbon 14 and carbon 12 (Which does not decay) is used to date
    • If near a body of water you need a marine
    • Results must be calibrated
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20
Q

half-life of C-14? importance?

A

Half life = 5730 years remember this number, bc of half life we can only use this on sites 60,000 years or younger

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21
Q

what is subsistence?

Study These Flashcards
A

• Collectors vs producers
• Neolithic 10,000 BP, animal and plant domestication
anthropologists categorize societies based on how they organize themselves

22
Q

describe a band society

Study These Flashcards
A
  • Common social organization of foragers
    • No more than 50 people
    • Equal access to material and social valuables (egalitarian)
23
Q

describe chiefdom

Study These Flashcards
A
  • A leader has privileged access to power, wealth, and prestige
    • Other people share roughly the same status and access to material and social valuables
    • Greater degree of craft production
24
Q

describe states

Study These Flashcards
A
  • A stratified society with unequal access to material or social valuables
    • A defined territory and a centralized govt
    • Led by an elite with the power to tax and a monopoly on using force
25
describe feminist archaeology
• Feminist archaeology: recognizes that traditional approaches have often ignored the presence of women (seeks new ways to include them)
26
describe gender archaeology
* Gender archaeology: questions the binary male-female distinction * Investigates variation in sex, gender, and other human differences by focusing on detailed contextual features of archaeological sites
27
stewardship
stewardship- respect for archaeological remains access to knowledge from the past conservation preferred when it isnt possible
28
principles of ethical conduct
stewardship aboriginal relationships professional responsibility public education and outreach
29
what is domestication? ex?
* The sunflower was domesticated in north america | * Domestication: human involvement in growing and development of plants
30
what is niche construction? what does it buffer?
* Natural selection traditionally sees organisms as adapting to the environment * However, organisms actively engage in niche construction to modify their environments * Niche construction buffers against selection for morphological changes.
31
what is neolithic?
era of farming | • Evidence of dependence on domesticated animals and plants
32
what is the neolithic revolution?
the transition from hunting and gathering to a farm based economy • Paleo diet- doesn't exist, every area had different resources- not just one paleo diet- local variety
33
describe natufian culture
(14,000-9800 BP). Southwestern Asia • Evidence of agriculture: grinding stones, food storage pits, polished stone blades • Pits- no evidence of food storage previously • Grinding stones: grains, corns, spices,
34
what is cultivation?
* For the domestication of plants and animals, careful modification of the environment must occur * Cultivation: activities of preparing fields (sowing, weeding, harvesting and storing products)
35
what is agriculture?
systematically modifying environment in which crops are cultivated and animals maintained
36
3 hypotheses to explain origin of agriculture
readiness, demographic, and multistrand
37
describe the readiness hypothesis
people lived where wild plants and animals that could be domesticated were found
38
describe the demographic hypothesis
agriculture became necessary because of an increase in population
39
describe the multiple strands theory
that include influences of climate, environment, population, technology, social organization, and diet on the emergence of domestication are not appropriate.
40
3 ways to recognize domesticated plants
• Seed size - larger with domestication • Seed coat thickness- thinner with domestication Seed dispersal mechanisms
41
what is horticulture?
* Growing crops with simple tools and methods | * Small scale
42
what is intensive agriculture?
• Techniques are used to cultivate the fields permanently
43
how can we recognize domesticated animals?
* Geographic distribution * Population characteristics * Osteological changes * Limited use of muscles in domesticated animals when compared to wild animals
44
how does domestication occur? ex?
• Domestication can happen multiple times • Can have a gap between domestication events Paw prints were found in a 2000 yr old site in the UK
45
new world domestication?
* Squash seeds found from * Maize from tehuacan valley, Mexico * 5,000-6,000 years ago * Sites found variation in cob size that showed how domestication occurred * Teosinte plant was bred into maize
46
why are certain animals domesticated in certain areas?
ex llamas alpacas | environmental aspects
47
why was sumpweed domesticated and where?
north america • Climate patterns- what was and wasn't being used
48
what are the advantages of food production?
* More abundant, support more people * Creation of a surplus- access to food resources * Long term storage, less of a need to shift around to different locations.
49
disadvantages of food production?
* Demand on environment * Conflict between populations over land control * Health costs- less variety
50
what is the neolithic demographic transition?
• Population growth after agricultural revolution
Anthropology 101
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