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160 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Which culture in Mesopotamia shifted toward the riverbanks?
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Hassuna
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Did irrigation start earlier in the north or the south of Mesopotamia?
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The north (7,000 BC). 6,000 BC for the south.
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What was the earliest culture in southern Mesopotamia?
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Sammaran
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The rapid population increase in the south of Mesopotamia was due to what?
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The wheat and barley agriculture made possible by the rich delta area.
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The descendant culture of the Hassuna was called what?
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Halafian
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How can we tell chiefdoms may have developed in the Halafian culture?
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Specific types of pottery show spheres of influence of larger towns.
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What is a chiefdom?
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A kin-based political system in which some families have power over others.
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When was the period of slightly more rainfall in Mesopotamia and what was the result of this?
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7000-6000 BC. It helped spread agriculture.
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When was the Ubiad and what was its significance?
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5800-4600 BC. It signalled the beginning of a transition to urbanism.
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When was the early Sumerian culture?
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4600-3800 BC.
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What was the first city of the Sumerian culture?
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Uruk
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When did writing begin and why?
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3400 BC, for accounting
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Why was metallurgy originally developed and what did it later become?
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First developed for ornaments, it later became an arms race
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When was cold-hammered copper developed?
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6,000 BC
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When and where was smelting and casting copper developed?
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5000-4000 BC in Iran
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When was bronze technology invented?
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3000 BC
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When and by whom was iron technology invented?
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1400 BC, by the Hittites
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When was the wheel invented?
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3000 BC
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When were fully agricultural villages seen in Mesoamerica?
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2300 BC
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When was the preclassic period in Meso?
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1500 BC-300 CE
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When was the classic period in Meso?
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300-900 CE
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When was the postclassic period in Meso?
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900-1521 CE
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What is the bestknown preclassic civilization? When and where did they exist?
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Olmecs in southern Mexico, 1500 BC to 300 CE
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Who held most of the political power in the Olmec civilization?
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the priesthood
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What was one unifying factor of the Olmec culture?
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A common religion characterized by the weir-jaguar motif
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What is the most important site of the Olmec culture?
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La venta
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When did the population of Teotihuacan peak?
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600 CE
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What was one important factor in Teotihuacan's control of outlying areas?
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Trade (mostly pottery)
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Did Teotihuacan have irrigation?
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Yes. They used stream water from surrounding volcanic mountains.
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What led to the collapse of Teotihuacan?
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salinization of agricultural fields
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Where was the Mayan civilization located?
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Southern Mexico
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How were crops grown in the Mayan civilization?
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On the ridges of mud between slow-flowing streams, harvested by raking out water lilies.
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Explain the Mayan calander
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52-year cycle, continuation of time ensured by human sacrifice
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Why did the Mayan civilization decline?
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chronic warfare between ceremonial centers
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What was the capital of the Aztec civilization?
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Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico city)
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Was the Aztec society stratified?
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Yes- priestking and professional army
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What is chinampa?
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The Aztec's highly efficient agricultural system: floating gardens fertilized by mud from lake bottom
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What led to the collapse of the Aztec civ?
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Conquest by the Spanish, who had made alliances with Aztec's enemies
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What is a civilization?
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Complex society with true cities. Complex economy with fulltime religious leaders
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What is a city?
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Concentrated settlement with population above 5,000
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Who was the first to consider the origins of civilization?
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VG Childe
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What was the prevailing theory about the origins of civilization before VG Childe?
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Unilinear theory (all civilization spread from a single source)
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What was VG Childe's theory of the beginnings of civilization?
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Civ. began simultaneously in Egypt, Mesoamerica, East Asia, and the New World. Metallury was the trigger (it required fulltime specialists, leading to a need for a food surplus, leading to trade)
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What are six characteristics of civilization?
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economic classes competing for political power, writing, markets and money, leadership cross-cutting family ties, organized religion, and monumental architecture
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What is the Hydraulic Theory of civilization beginnings and who proposed it?
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Wittfogel. The need to regulate water supply led to hierarchies.
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What is one problem with VG Childe's Metallurgy theory about the beginning of civilization?
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The characteristics of civ. don't always appear in the order he described.
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What is one problem with Wittfogel's Hydraulic theory of civilization?
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Water is plentiful in Mesoamerica, and irrigation in Mesopotamia doesn't fit the timeline.
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What is the trade theory of civilization beginnings and what is one problem with it?
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Trade led to political power being held by merchants. However, in most cases, merchants do not hold power.
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What is the warfare theory of civ. origin and what is one problem with it?
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Villages were forced to organize for defense and offensive purposes. In Mesoamerica, most cities lack fortifications.
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What is the ecology model of civ. origin and what is one problem with it?
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fertile areas produce enough food to support craft specialists. It fits in Mesopotamia but not in Mesoamerica
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What is the population growth model of civ. origin and what is one problem with it?
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Civilizations develop to relieve the stresses caused by population growth. However, not all large societies form civs.
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What are the six theories of civ. origin?
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Metallurgy, hydraulic, trade, warfare, ecology, population growth
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Art in ancient times was produced by which species?
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ONLY AMHs
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When does art appear in different parts of the world?
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29000 BP in Australia
31000 BP in France patterns, 70000 in Australia animals, 50000 in Australia |
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what is the best-supported theory of the purpose of art?
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Shamanic trance visions
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When did technology grow advanced enough to allow people to occupy extremely cold environments?
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Upper Paleolithic
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What effect did the move north in the UP have on the population and territories of humans?
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Populations decreased but territories grew larger due to wide territory range of food resources
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When did people arrive in New Guinea and Australia?
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38000 BC for New Guinea, 60000-33000 BC for Australia
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What is the evidence for people sailing to the New World in ancient times? What is this hypothesis called?
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Boqueirao rock shelter, Brazil, 45500 BC
Calico Hills 30000 BC Pre-Clovis Hypothesis |
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How much lower were the sea levels during the Wisconson glacial period than they are today?
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100 m
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When was the Bering strait land bridge open and where did the first migrants probably originate from?
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40000- 8000 BC, North China or Japan
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Why did people migrate to the New World?
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following prey
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What is the earliest securely dated site in NA and when is it from?
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Meadowcroft rock shelter, Penn. 12500 BC
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what is the earliest phase of human culture in NA and when did it take place?
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Clovis culture, 11200 to 10900 BC
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What is one possible explanation for the rapid expansion of the Clovis culture?
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They hunted mammoths, which had large territories.
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Why is it unlikely that the Clovis hunting of mammoths led to their extinction? What is a more plausible explanation?
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Humans hunted megafauna in Africa for 500,000 yrs and they didn't go extinct. More likely: greater seasonal fluctuations
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After the Clovis culture, what are some examples of cultures?
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Folsom culture on the plains, buffalo hunters
Desert tradition in the SW, ate small desert animals and vegetables Archaic period in eastern forests, plant foods and deer (bow and arrow) |
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When did the Mesolithic period begin?
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12000-10000 BC
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On what did the people of the epipaleolithic subsist?
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they were advanced hunter-gatherers
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Why did the subsistance patterns change at the end of the Pleistocene?
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Large herd animals disappeared, so people shifted to plant foods and smaller game (intensification)
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When did the Ice Age end?
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13000 BC
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When were modern sea levels reached?
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5000 BC
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What climate event happened 10950-9650 BC?
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the Younger Dryas Interval, a cold episode
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What population changes were discussed by Fekri Hassan?
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humans, like other predators, were rare. Intensification in the UP led to an increase in population to 8.5 million, nearly the carrying capacity of 9 mill.
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What was one important technological innovation in the epipaleolithic?
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Microliths: small backed elements on composite tools
-maximizes usable stone -small and light, good for arrows -often with poison |
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What are four theories of the origins of food production?
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the Oasis theory, the population pressure theory, the broad spectrum theory, and the social causes theory
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Describe the Oasis theory of food production(who it's by, what it entails, and a problem with it)
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By VG Childe. At the end of the Pleistocene, areas became desert as rainfall moved north. People moved to oases of favorable conditions; loss of big game led to domestication of wheat, barley and rye. However, some early sites are outside the oasis areas.
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What is the population pressure theory of food production?
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Binford and Cohen. Population increased to carrying capacity. Pushed to non-favorable areas, need food production to survive there. Problem: Some early food production sites in favorable areas.
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What was Cohen's modifiation to Binford's theory of food production?
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Population increases in favorable areas led to food production in order to increase carrying capacity, spurred on by Younger Dryas Interval. Problem: skeletons don't show nutritional stress
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What is the Broad Spectrum theory of food production and who was it developed by?
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Kent Flannery. From 20,000-9000 BC, big-game hunting was replaced by seasonal resources exploitation. People moved resources, reducing the need to move.
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What is the social causes theory of food production, who was it developed by, and what is one problem with it?
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Barbara Bender. complex societies developed social elites; agriculture developed to support them. Encouraged by the need to trade luxury goods for food. Problem: ignores influence of environmental change, trade and elites are often AFTER agriculture
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Describe the Kebaran culture.
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12,000-9,000 BC. Microlithic tech. Hunter-gatherers. Epipaleolithic.
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Describe the Natufian culture.
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9,000-8,500 BC. Microlithic tech. Large sites. Grindstones. Sickle gloss (possible farming). Late Epipaleolithic to Neolithic.
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Describe the pre-pottery Neolithic.
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8,500- 7,500 BC (ex Jericho). Agriculturists. Settled villages. Microlithic tech. Hunting and fishing. Domestic animals.
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When was rye domesticated?
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10,000 BC
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When and where were the first domesticated animals?
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Sheep in Iraq, 8,900 BC
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When were cows domesticated?
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6,800 BC
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Which six areas did food production develop in?
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Middle East, sub Saharan Africa, Yangzi and Huangho valleys (China), Thailand, New Guinea
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The theory of evolution was developed simultaneously by who?
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Charles Darwin and Alfred R Wallace
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What is adaptive radiation?
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evolution of species to adapt to a new niche
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When were the earliest primates?
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70-65 MYBP
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What led to reduction of territory for apes?
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A drought in 13 MYBP, leading to reduction of forests
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When is the Upper Miocene fossil gap?
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8-4.5 MYBP
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What is the earliest hominid characteristic?
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Bipedalism
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When was the earliest true hominid, and by what date were they definitely present in Ethiopia?
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7 MYBP in Chad, definitely present by 4.4 MYBP
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Describe Stem Australopithecines
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7-2.5 MYBP. bipedal. slow but energy efficient.
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What species developed from Stem Australopithecines?
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Australopithecus afarensis in East Africa, Australopithecus aetheopicus in East Africa, and Australopithecus africanus in South Africa
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From which species in Homo habilis descended?
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Australopithecus africanus
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When were the first stone tools and what was the tradition called?
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2.6 MYBP, Oldowan
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When was the Lower Paleolithic?
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2.6 MYBP- 200,000 BP
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Which two technological traditions were in the Lower Paleolithic?
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Oldowan (2.6-1.6 MYBP)
Achulian (1.6 MYBP-200,000 BP) |
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By what date was stone tool manufacture common?
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2 MYBP
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When did Homo habilis evolve into Homo erectus?
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1.8 MYBP
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When did humans expand out of Africa?
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1.8 MYBP
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What is a palimpsest?
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A mix of archaeological material in which behavioral patterning is obscured by post-depositional disturbance
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What is the Taphonomic Bias?
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Meat preserves better than plant matter.
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By what date was art a worldwide phenomenon?
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25,000 BC
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When did people most likely cross to NA?
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20,000 BC, during the last Ice Age
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What important event happened during the last Ice Age?
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Globalization
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When was the Holocene?
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After 10,000 yrs ago
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What is the warm part of the Holocene called? The cold part?
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Warm= Bölling-Alleröd Interstadial
Cold= Younger Dryas Interval |
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What effect did the retreating ice during the Holocene have on settlement?
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large areas in NA and Europe were now available for settlement which hadn't been previously
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Why did plants grow so well during the Holocene?
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The atmosphere was 1/3 richer in CO2 than today
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What was one important faunal change in the Holocene?
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megafauna were replaced by deer
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When did the population near carrying capacity and what was one direct effect of this?
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10,000 BC. Forced people to solve problems locally
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When was the bow and arrow invented and when did it reach NA?
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9,000 BC in Africa and the Middle East, 200 BC to the Americas
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What are microliths?
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Geometrically shaped barbs on weapons
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when was the European Mesolithic?
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8,000- 3,500 BC
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Why is Star Carr significant?
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As a testing ground for theories about hunter-gatherer societies
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What were the three periods of the European Mesolithic?
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7,500-5,700 BC Maglemose
5,700-4,600 BC Kongemose 4,600-3,200 BC Ertebölle |
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What is ecotone?
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The transitional zone between environments
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What is ma-ast?
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The rich fruit droppings of trees
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What technology allows analysis of food domestication?
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SEM (Scanning electron microscopy)
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What is swidden agriculture?
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Slash and burn
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What effects did food production have on human life?
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Quality and length declined
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What are the three important characteristics of animal domestication?
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Control of feeding, breeding, and movement
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What is the time period when food production began?
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The Neolithic
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Where are the earliest farming sites located?
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The Levantine corridor
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Netiv Hagdud is an example of what?
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An attempt to cultivate only one crop
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When were the earliest farmers in Egypt and Sudan?
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4,300-3,300 BC
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What are some characteristics of maize as a crop?
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It is not easy to cultivate and does not stand alone in a diet.
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What was the tool tradition in which the first tools were created for specific tasks?
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Achulean
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When was the first controlled use of fire?
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SA: 1.2 MYBP
North India: 700,000 BP China: 460,000 BP |
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What were the consequences of fire use?
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Ability to inhabit cold climates, food is easier to digest, requires pre-planning to stockpile fuel, sleep-wake cycle altered, and possible development of language
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How did late Homo erectus hunt?
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Close combat. This requires great musculature
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What is one advantage of males hunting?
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They are more reproductively expendable
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In the Oldowan and early Achulean, how was feeding conducted?
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Individually... little sharing
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When did symbolic thought develop in Northern Europe?
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35-42,000 BP
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What is the replacement model of MP-UP transition?
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Chris Stringer proposed an abrupt cultural/biological transition
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Which humans have the most varied DNA?
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Africans
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What does the small variation in mDNA mean?
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AMHs split of from Archaic Homo sapiens recently
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When did AMHs split from Archaic Homo sapiens?
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150,000 BP
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When was the cognitive leap?
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50-35,000 BP
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What was the difference between settlement patterns of Neanderthals and in the UP?
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Neanderthals settled in a radiating pattern, 15km radius.
UP settled in a circulating pattern, 60km radius |
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When did true ethnic groups separated by language develop?
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Upper Paleolithic
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What were the three major pre-Dynastic chiefdoms in Egypt?
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Naqada, Nekhen, and Maadi
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What is another name for the Egyptian chiefdom of Nekhen?
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Hierankopolis or "City of the Falcon"
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What is one important artifact found in the chiefdom of Nekhen?
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The Narmer Palette
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When did writing become fully developed in Egypt?
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3100 BC
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What is a nome?
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A province
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When was the Old Kingdom in Egypt?
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2575-2180 BC
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When was Egypt unified, and by whom?
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3150 BC, by Narmer
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When was the Middle Kingdom in Egypt?
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2040-1640 BC
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When was the New Kingdom in Egypt?
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1530-1070 BC
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What was the Egyptian capital during the Old Kingdom?
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Memphis
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What was the religious significance of pyramids?
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Ladders on which the Pharaoh climbed to take his place among the stars.
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What was the Egyptian capital during the Middle Kingdom?
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Thebes
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What was the image of the Pharoah in each of the three Egyptian time periods?
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Old Kingdom: Gods
Middle Kingdom: "Classical period" Humans New Kingdom: Powerful military leaders |
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What led to the downfall of Egypt?
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After the death of Ramses III, foreign rulers threatened the throne. Egypt was conquered by Persians in 343 BC and Alexander the Great in 332 BC.
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What two commodities fueled the Saharan camel trade?
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Gold and salt
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