Anthropology Final Exam Cards

Front 1

Egypt

Back 1

Differences between periods (Pharaoh ruling style, international relations, typical constructions)

hieroglyphic writing- oldest language began is pre dynastic combination of phonograms, logograms, and determinatives

geographic/environmental traits- affected culture and ideology, solar cycle, annual flood, animals and plants, and desert vs. valley of death

idea of unification- from the Early Dynastic period it is to preserve ma’at an da balnce of forces unifying social and political differences and upper and lower egypt, mortuary complexes

(Djoser; the Giza complexes)- djoser is the tomb of the 1st king of Old Kingdom 3 rd dynasty ,

why pyramid construction- symbol of kingship/ tomb/ palace, News article about mummified animals

Front 2

Indus Valley

Back 2

Writing- undeciphered one of the earliest writings mix of images and texts

city settlement patterns- clustered around rivers,

specialization- economic specialization of population growth and dentistry no self sufficiency, access limited support workers living quarters with food, Indus craft centers,

standardization- of trade through weights 13.65 grams most common fraction or multiples, tax collection and exchange

Front 3

Mesoamerica, general

Back 3

difference from Old World states (think environment)- Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador

shared traits- temple- plaza complex, maize agriculture, ballgame religious beliefs blood sacrifice calendar and astronomy writing

basics of religion and sacrifice (or, why blood sacrifice?)-polythistic multiple gods animism living temples for gods and the idea that earth is living such as water sources and mountains are praised and bloodletting through human sacrifice is because the gods performed this create man so people must sacrifice to get gods attention and give them back their blood to please them or the world will fall into chaos

Front 4

Olmec

Back 4

what is a horizon- a widely distributed set of cultural traits and artifacts whose distribution timeline suggests a rapid spread of ideology and artifacts and also people too

Nature of Olmec society- early chiefdoms on Gulf Coast, mother civilization precursor of all Mesoamerican cultures (not true though) and there is no one ruler but multiple city states with a series of chiefdoms

Front 5

Maya

Back 5

Nature of Maya politics- Independent art states multiple of them no central capital for all conflict for control

Unifying characteristics-

stela- monuments with long count dates,

Palenque (why important/interesting)- one of the earliest civilizations with multiple dialects spoken had divine kings and even QUEENS they sacrificed and bloodlet, collapse

Front 6

Aztec

Back 6

Triple Alliance (what is that?)- alliance of 3 city states- Tenochititlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan,

Tenochtitlan- a city state of the toltecs arrival of Nahuatl- spakers around 1100 CE it was the capital of alliance and was place of the fruit of the cactus,

Chinampas- a method of Mesoamerican agriculture which used small, rectangular areas of fertile arable land to grow crops on the shallow lake beds in the Valley of Mexico.

Function/definition of calpolli (neighborhoods)- it is a big house used for a general meeting place within a neighborhood

religious observations- Huizilopochtli, ceremonies, ad rituals of pulque (alcoholic maguey), factors in the conquest (of all Mesoameria)- Spainards and indigenous mesoamericans, tribute-offerings to deities sacrifice of captives salves and orphans

Front 7

South America

Back 7

Major geographic features (mountains, river valleys)-, horizons vs. intermediate periods

Front 8

Chavin Horizon

Back 8

Cross-reference with textbook- Chavin de Huantar site- pilgrimage, emergent social inequality

Early intermediate period- Nazca, Nazca confederacy

Nazca and Inca river drainages, 200-600 CE, and independent allied cities

Front 9

Nasca

Back 9

Nasca lines- geoglyphs, shapes geometrics simple animals and plants, made by removing parts of desert pavement, visible from ground, ritual pathways

Front 10

Moche

Back 10

Tribute labor at Cerro Blanco site- it was evidence of Moche labor tax and the precursor to inca mit’a system

Sipan (info and significance; relate to iconography)- iconography of warrior elites and human sacrifice, the site was Moche influenced, rich burials showing stratification and it was heavily looted

Front 11

Inca

Back 11

Tawantinsuyu- name given to Incan empire by Incas, aspects of empire building & administration (esp. quipu, roads, colonies, taxes)- had a well built road system that facilitated troop movement with rest stops- tampas and official messengers used the roads, quipus were for recording numerical data with a system of strings and knots there were colonies of transplanted population, there were taxes of goods and labor through military service, construction, farming, or specialists importance of panaqa & mummies, split inheritance, ayllu, inca vs. Aztec differences

Front 12

Historical Archeology

Back 12

Purposes- locate, prove, re interpret, write, and salvage history,

definition- the study of material remains of past societies that also left behind some other form of historical evidence, Jamestown (questions it answers, significance)