Cultural Evolution and Variation Quiz

Terms

• Theories, Hypotheses, and Laws describe how knowledge is gained and evaluated using the scientific method. Theories help structure information and understanding personal biases is important.
• Epistemology is the study of how we know something.
• Speculation involves theories not yet supported by observations. It's crucial for generating new ideas and advancements in scientific understanding.
• Inference is the logical conclusion reached when interpreting data using theory, recognizing its inherent uncertainty.
• Facts are the goals of scientific inquiry, often rare and straightforward.
• Description (what, when, who) and explanation (how, why) are distinct but related aspects of understanding.
• Archaeology is not a perfect science but tries to collect data and explore possibilities.
• Arguments, unlike proofs, are efforts to support interpretations or frameworks rather than prove definitive conclusions.

Arguments

• Proving how and why is typically harder than establishing facts but arguments can build theories.
• Arguments support interpretations and theories, and new data may require further revision or abandonment.
• Proofs are often rare in science.

Evolution

• Evolution is the gradual change in form, particularly from simple to complex forms, applicable to living organisms.
• Biological evolution is well-documented in the fossil record, and evidence of evolution is also observable in labs and daily life.

Evolution is a Fact

• Evolution is a fact and not a theory
• The element of theory is in how something evolves

Archaeology Defined

• Archaeology studies human cultural activities through analysis of remaining material culture.
• It emphasizes the importance of understanding diverse perspectives about the past.
• Archaeology utilizes a wide range of regional, topical, and theoretical viewpoints while remaining unified by a common set of methods

Taphonomy

• Taphonomy examines the processes of site formation that affect the archaeological record.
• Taphonomic processes include both biotic factors (like animals and plants) and abiotic processes (like erosion).
• Archaeologists also examine the circumstances of artifacts as they are found, whether in a lab or in the field, in order to determine if the natural causes impacted the object or if humans were involved.

C-Transforms and N-Transforms

• C-Transforms are deliberate and accidental actions of humans that affect the deposit of material remains.
• N-Transforms are natural forces (such as wind, water, and biological activity) influencing the preservation and burial of material remains.

Stratification

• Stratification, rooted in geology, assumes that the lower layers of a site are older than the upper layers.
• This principle is essential in dating and correlating artifacts.
• Interruptions such as digging, filling, animals burrowing, or water seepage can complicate this straightforward principle.

Association

• Association depends on understanding stratification to avoid mixing levels.
• It suggests that artifacts found together in a specific context were likely used or interacted with at the same time.
• Disturbing events can also impact the correct interpretation.

Analogy

• Analogy is a common method of explanation that compares two things to help understand something less known through something that was already known.
• Important applications of analogy involve exploring the similarities in behaviour of early humans with modern primates

Evolution of the Human Capacity for Culture

• Debate exists on whether or not animals have cultures.
• Animal behavior offers insights into the origins of human behavior.

Strengths of Lewis Binford's Approach and The Mousterian Question

• Binford recognized the differences between cultural traditions and regional variation and the importance of trying to understand the variability.
• Binford emphasized the need to go beyond description to explain the why behind archaeological events.
• The Mousterian Question centred on the debate about whether many different groups occupied Europe or if they were variations of the same group.

Cultural Norms

• Cultural norms are rules and expectations governing behaviour within a cultural group.
• Cultural norms are often unspoken but guide appropriate interactions.
• Cultural norms tend to remain stable over generations, and they tend to be conservative.

Evolution of the Three-Age System

• The three-age system (Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age) is a crude system for classifying material culture.
• It developed with the notion of progression- that things change and become more complex.
• The system was based on the progression/evolution of technology and how these changes occurred.

Natural Selection

• Natural selection is a primary mechanism of evolution.
• Organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and reproduce more.
• This process ensures the traits best suited to a given environment are more common in the next generation.

Eugenics

• Eugenics is the practice of improving the human species through selective breeding.
• Historical implementations have been exploitative.

Memes

• Memes are units of cultural transmission, analogous to genes in biological evolution
• Memes spread through imitation, affecting cultural content.
• Memes are thought to compete with each other like genes and can mutate

Cultural Ecology and Marxist Interpretation

• Cultural Ecology is primarily concerned with the interactions of humans with their environments.
• Marxist interpretation emphasizes the role of social and economic factors in shaping cultures, especially power dynamics.

Ecological Models

• Ecological models are interested in the relationships between people and the environments they inhabit. It emphasizes human dependence/interaction with environments (like predator-prey relations)

Binary Oppositions

• Binary oppositions are a common feature of human thought and cultural systems and are used in structural interpretation.

Cognitive Processualism

• The compromise between Processualism and Post-Processualism, representing an attempt to incorporate insights from other fields into archaeological research.
• It emphasizes the importance of cognition, acknowledging it as a vital aspect in both past and present societies.

Origins and Development of Archaeology

• Archaeologists were at first more concerned with collecting artifacts and stories. and less so on generating new theories and knowledge.
• There was less focus on the scientific aspects and more focus on interpreting cultural heritage or justifying colonial efforts.

Biblical Archaeology

• Biblical archaeology seeks to substantiate the accuracy of biblical texts through archaeological evidence.
• This approach has often been criticized for leaning too heavily on interpretation.
• There is a risk that religious interpretation might overshadow other more likely, interpretations.

Cultural Evolution

• Cultural evolution describes changes in human societies over time.
• Evolutionary theory can be applied to cultural changes.

Post-Processualism and Relativism

• Post-processualism critiques the objectivity of processualism.
• Some approaches are relativistic, acknowledging diverse perceptions of the past, heavily influenced by present viewpoints.
• It is important to acknowledge the role of perspective and personal biases in the interpretation of history.

Critical Theory

• Critical theory emphasizes that interpretations of the past are often shaped by the present and assumptions.
• This approach asks that we reconsider our own assumptions and interpretations.
• This can involve looking at history through the lens of marginalized groups to understand history in a way that is less biased.

Methods of Studying the Past

• Different groups have employed different methods to study the past. These methods span the spectrum of interpretation and evaluation, depending on the individual scholar.
• Methods include ethnography, experimentation, and comparison to modern situations.

Case Studies (e.g., Stonehenge, Natufians)

• Case studies (e.g., Stonehenge, Natufians) offer examples of how archaeological theories are applied to specific locations and time periods.
• The insights are used to gain specific details of past human civilizations.

Technology

• Changes in technology often lead to human interactions and adaptations to the environment, whether beneficial or destructive.
• Humans have often used technology to shape their environment.

Economics

• Distribution of resources in societies often reflect societal norms and power structures.
• Humans prioritize necessities like food and shelter, and the allocation of valued materials or resources will be reflected in those societies.

The Prime Movers

• Humans' biological needs and environment play crucial roles in shaping culture.
• The balance between biology, environment, and the emergence of human-centered cultural constructs.

Test your knowledge on the sources of variation in cultural traits, the significance of 'memes', and the interplay of genes and memes in cultural evolution. This quiz also explores dual inheritance theory and the process of natural selection as it relates to cultural traits.