Anth112: Introduction to Archaeology and Biological Anthropology - Topic 6 PDF

ANTH112: Introduction to Archaeology and Biological Anthropology Instructor: Denise Huynh October 8 - RECORDED Topic 5 – Modern Humans (and comparison with Neanderthals) Topic 6 – The Upper Paleolithic Readings: Chapter 3 (71-93 chapter 4 (94 – only to page 110) Upcoming October...

ANTH112: Introduction to Archaeology and Biological Anthropology Instructor: Denise Huynh October 8 - RECORDED Topic 5 – Modern Humans (and comparison with Neanderthals) Topic 6 – The Upper Paleolithic Readings: Chapter 3 (71-93 chapter 4 (94 – only to page 110) Upcoming October 8 - ASSIGNMENT #1 DUE October 10 – class is in person October 15 – video for Assignment #2 – watch in class or online October 17 – In person class Homo sapiens Where did we come from? Fate of the Neanderthals Stone Tools of Anatomically Modern Humans  Upper Paleolithic – Approx 45,000 – 11,000 years ago – Archaeological period that corresponds to the first occupation of Europe by modern humans – Hunter-Gatherer Societies – Middle to Upper Paleolithic Transition-marked by a dramatic change in material culture – Industries include microliths and greater emphasis on working of bone and antler – Long distance trade of raw materials  Upper Paleolithic – Tendency towards higher population densities – More regular social gatherings – More stylistic variation in stone artifacts – Hunting herd animals – Central and western Europe were cold and dry – Great ice sheets – Steppe-grassland with occasional stands of trees – Rich variety of plant foods – Changing climate meant constant adaptations in diet  Upper Paleolithic-Industries – Aurignacian – 43,000 – 33,000 cal BC – Microliths known as Dufour bladelets – split-based bone points – Central and Western Europe – Also evident of art, music – Gravettian – Starts 30,000 cal BC – Small hunting points – Found across much of Europe – Occupation of the rich “mammoth steppe”: a combination of plant and animal species conducive to hunter-gatherer expansion in the north. Upper Paleolithic-Industries – Solutrean – Approximately 25,000 cal BC – Bifacial points – Limited to France and Spain – Magdalenian – Starts about 20,000 cal BC – Bone tools and harpoons Upper Paleolithic-Industries – Tools made on blades – Endscrapers – Blades retouched at the end – Burin – used for engraving? – Long distance trade – Sophisticated points used as light projectiles – By the Gravettian-clear evidence of atlatl – Spear thrower – Hooked piece of bone, ivory or wood used to launch a light spear Indirect percussion Upper Paleolithic Burials – Largely absent until the Gravettian period – Some with rich ornamentation-social inequality? – Burials of young children with a wealth of objects indicates that some people were born with high status – Sungir’ 150km NE of Moscow – 28,000 years ago  Upper Paleolithic Art – Hallmark of the Upper Paleolithic – Sharp contrast to the Middle Paleolithic – Mobiliary Art – Portable art objects – Earliest is Aurignacian levels of sites in Germany – Hohlenstein – Lion headed man – Depicts world as is and the world of imagination Upper Paleolithic Mobiliary Art – Gravettian – Venus figurines – Portable representation of the female body – Faces are not detailed – Feet are absent or broken off – Exaggeration of female characteristics, pregnancy? – Fertility goddesses? – From the female perspective? – Also bone flutes, carved atlatls Upper Paleolithic Art – Cave Art – Images of animals and abstract forms and, rarely, humans – Petroglyphs and pictographs – Chauvet Cave – Cave painting continues throughout the Upper Paleolithic – Lascaux and Altamira (famous caves) – Magdalenian period Upper Paleolithic Art-Cave Art –Meaning of the Cave Art? – Hunting Magic – Fertility Magic – initiation – Shamans and Trances – Information and communication – Identity Upper Paleolithic Art –Body Ornamentation –Pierced shells, pierced animal teeth, and bone beads were most likely work as necklaces or attached to clothing Upper Paleolithic-Social Complexity – Site Structure –Huts-inferred from distribution of artifacts –Mezherich, Ukraine – Large circular mass of mammoth bones –No more than a few structures on a site Upper Paleolithic-Social Complexity - Subsistence –Hunting – Seasonal? – Logistical collecting – Cooperative – Driving – Stampeding – Use of atlatl – Megafauna – Fishing – Use of nets Upper Paleolithic Generalizations – Trade – Tool traditions become more complex – New ways of construction (pressure flaking) – Use of atlatl – Burials more complex, status differences – Burst of artistic expressions – Increased social complexity