Chapter 4-Q-A.docx

Altamira: a painted cave site in Spain with Magdalenian Upper Paleolithic images, including the famous Hall of the Bison. Apollo 11 Cave: Later Stone Age site in Namibia in Africa, it contains the oldest known African rock art at 30,000 to 28,000 cal BC. Aurignacian: an Early Upper Paleolithic archa...

Altamira: a painted cave site in Spain with Magdalenian Upper Paleolithic images, including the famous Hall of the Bison. Apollo 11 Cave: Later Stone Age site in Namibia in Africa, it contains the oldest known African rock art at 30,000 to 28,000 cal BC. Aurignacian: an Early Upper Paleolithic archaeological culture, dating between 43,000 and 33,000 cal BC, and associated with modern humans. It is found in Europe and has the earliest evidence for art and musical instruments in this part of the world. Beringia: a land bridge that connected Siberia to Alaska during the Pleistocene; when sea levels rose after the Pleistocene, this land bridge was submerged and the area today is the waterway called the Bering Strait. Blackwater Draw Locality 1: a Paleoamerican Clovis kill and butchery site found near the town of Clovis in New Mexico. This is the source for the name of the Clovis culture and the Clovis point, although these distinctive fluted points were first found at Dent in Colorado. Bluefish Caves: earliest site in eastern Beringia (Canada) dating to 22,000 cal BC. Buang Merabak: one of the earliest archaeological sites in New Guinea, documenting the colonization of Sahul at least as early as 43,000–42,000 cal BC. Carpenters Gap: archaeological site in western Australia dating to 47,000 cal BC, showing the spread of people into inland areas. Caverna de Pedra Pintado: a Paleoamerican site in the Amazon region of Brazil. It documents the wide range of foods that Paleoamericans ate, and it also contains the earliest cave art known in South America. Chauvet Cave: an Upper Paleolithic painted cave in France with the oldest known Aurignacian drawings at 35,000 cal BC; it also has art from later Upper Paleolithic periods. Clovis: an early Paleoamerican culture in the Americas, dating between 11,300 and 10,850 cal BC; they made a distinctive, bifacially flaked stone spear point called a Clovis point and are associated with kill and butchery sites of mammoth and other now extinct animals. Dietz Site: a series of Clovis Paleoamerican camp locales in Oregon. They are situated near a travel route between several different resource areas and contain artifacts made from various stone raw materials found in different parts of this region. Dolní Vĕstonice: an Eastern Gravettian (Mid-Upper Paleolithic) set of sites in the Czech Republic in Central Europe, dating between 30,000 and 27,000 cal BC. It contains evidence for early experiments in firing clay-like sediment (making ceramics) and exceptional burials. El Bajio: a Clovis Paleoamerican site in Sonora in Mexico. This region contains a quarry for stone raw materials, camp sites, and knapping locales where people made stone artifacts. Enkapune ya Muto: also known as “Twilight Cave,” this site in Kenya is one of the oldest Later Stone Age sites in Africa and contains ostrich egg shell beads dating to 40,000 years ago (the dates are on materials that are not calibrated). Epi-Gravettian: a Late Upper Paleolithic archaeological culture found in Eastern and parts of Central Europe from 20,000 to 10,000 cal BC; during this period people were able to recolonize northerly parts of Europe and Siberia. Folsom: a Paleoamerican culture that follows Clovis culture. Folsom dates between 10,800 to 9,800 cal BC. It is characterized by the hunting of extinct bison and is found mainly in the Plains and southern Rocky Mountains in the United States. Folsom Site: a Paleoamerican kill/butchery site of the Folsom culture in New Mexico; it is associated with the hunting of extinct bison. Gravettian/Eastern Gravettian: archaeological cultures of the Mid-Upper Paleolithic, dating between 30,000 and 20,000 cal BC, and associated with abundant “Venus” figurines, experiments with firing clay-like sediments, and some unusual burials; Gravettian is found in Western Europe and Eastern Gravettian in Central and Eastern Europe. Grotte des Contrebandiers: a Later Stone Age site in Morocco where the study of scaled pieces in the flaked stone artifact assemblage suggests that they were used as cores and thus represent an intensive use of stone raw materials that is similar to recycling. Guitarrero Cave: a site in the Andes in northern Peru in South America. Its earliest occupation dates to the Paleoamerican period when people used the cave for short-term visits. In the later Archaic period, it yielded abundant evidence for cordage and textiles woven from plant materials. Hohle Fels Cave: dating to more than 33,000 cal BC, this Aurignacian (Early Upper Paleolithic) site in Germany contains the oldest known female figurine (“Venus” figurine) and the oldest known musical instruments (ivory and bird bone flutes). “Ice-Free Corridor”: a term mainly used to indicate the passageway between the Cordilleran and Laurentide glaciers that covered Canada during the Pleistocene; it is widely thought to be a route used during the peopling of the Americas after 11,500 cal BC. Lascaux: a well-known Late Upper Paleolithic cave art site in France; most of the hundreds of images date to the Magdalenian period. Later Stone Age (LSA): the time period in Africa beginning before 50,000 cal BC; it is characterized by modern humans with modern human behaviors including abundant evidence for symbolism. Madjebebe: The earliest archaeological site in Sahul, dating to 65,000 years ago. The site features a hearth, stone tools including hatchets, and ground ochre. Magdalenian: a Late Upper Paleolithic archaeological culture found in Western and Central Europe from 15,000 to 9000 cal BC; the majority of Paleolithic cave art and portable art (figurines, etc.) were made during this period. “Mammoth Steppe”: a vast dry grasslands set of habitats that characterized the entire region from Western Europe to Alaska during the Upper Paleolithic; it supported vast animal herds such as horses, bison, and mammoth, as well as unusual combinations of plants and animals that are not found together today. Mezhirich: an Epi-Gravettian (Late Upper Paleolithic) site in Ukraine that is a winter base camp; it contains four substantial dwellings built of mammoth bones and tusks, large storage pits, and hearths. Monte Verde: a site in Chile in South America which is one of the earliest sites in the Americas, dating to 12,600 cal BC; the presence of people in South America at this time suggests that some groups entering the Americas may have followed a coastal route from Beringia. O. V. Clary Site: a later Paleoamerican site in Nebraska. It was a winter habitation with activities such as hide working, food processing (of bison), and possibly hide clothing manufacture. Paleoamerican: a term used by some archaeologists to describe the earliest people in the Americas (other archaeologists use the term Paleoindian); their descendants are the Native Americans of North, Central, and South America. Quebrada Jaguay: a Paleoamerican site in Peru that dates to 12,000 cal BC. It contains evidence for the use of maritime resources such as shellfish and fish, rather than an exclusive focus on hunting extinct forms of land mammals. Quebrada Santa Julia: a Paleoamerican site in Chile that is associated with the bones of extinct horse and fluted spear points. It dates to 11,000 cal BC and represents Paleoamerican traditions that are not Clovis. Quebrada Tacahuay: a later Paleoamerican site in coastal Peru. People here continued to focus on maritime resources, especially seabirds and fish. Rose Cottage Cave: a site in South Africa with Middle and Later Stone Age deposits. Sahul: the merged land masses of Australia and New Guinea during the Pleistocene; they were connected to each other by land exposed due to lower sea levels. Schaefer Mammoth Site: a site in Wisconsin in the United States with dates between 12,800 to 12,200 cal BC; it predates the opening of the “ice-free corridor” and suggests that hunter-gatherers may have entered the Americas south of the glaciers by using a coast-hopping route down the western coasts along Alaska and Canada, and then spread east and south. Shawnee-Minisink Site: a Clovis Paleoamerican habitation site in Pennsylvania. It yielded fish and plant remains, suggesting that Clovis diets were much broader than a focus on large animals such as mammoth and mastodon. Sloth Hole: a Clovis Paleoamerican kill site in Florida in the United States. It dates to 11,050 cal BC and yielded more than 30 ivory points. Sunda: the merged land masses of many of the Southeast Asia islands (such as those of Indonesia) and mainland Southeast Asia during the Pleistocene; they were connected to each other by land exposed due to lower sea levels. Sungir: an Eastern Gravettian (Mid-Upper Paleolithic) site in Russia with several spectacular burials, including the double child burial that contained mammoth ivory spears, thousands of mammoth ivory beads, red ochre, ivory pendants, pierced arctic fox teeth, and ivory discs. “Venus” Figurines: these female carvings are found throughout Europe during the Gravettian/Eastern Gravettian period of the Upper Paleolithic; the earliest known “Venus,” however, is from the Aurignacian period at Hohle Fels in Germany. Vilakuav: archaeological site in the northern Sahul in the New Guinea highlands dating to between 47,000 and 42,000 cal BC. Wally’s Beach: early site in Canada dating to 11,300 cal BC, occupied before the ice-free corridor was opened. Modern Humans as Hunter-Gatherer-Foragers Anatomically modern and socially complex Homo sapiens populations spread out of Africa into other parts of the Old World prior to 50,000 cal BC. Timeline: Hunter-Gatherer-Foragers is an illustration of cultural periods in Africa, Europe, Middle East/Asia, the Americas, and Australia between 50,000 and 9500 cal BC. Later Stone Age Africa Within Africa, the period beginning around 50,000 cal BC is called the Later Stone Age (LSA). The LSA is marked by changes in technology, changing dietary patterns, and abundant evidence of symbolic thought. Microliths suggest composite tools based on the principle of interchangeable parts. Bone tools, such as awls, points, and harpoon tips appear in the LSA archaeological record. See The Big Picture: Later Stone Age and Upper Paleolithic Technologies and Tools The importance of fish and shellfish in the diet appears to increase between Middle Stone Age (MSA) and LSA sites. Symbolism is indicated by perforated ornaments and rock art. Enkapune ya Muto (Twilight Cave) in Kenya features 40,000-year-old microliths, bifacial knife fragments, and small scrapers. The site also includes beads made from ostrich eggshell. Modern Kalahari foragers symbolically strengthen alliances with neighboring groups by giving ostrich shell beads as gifts. “The presence of beads at Enkapune ya Muto may indicate that this type of gift-giving social network has great antiquity” (Olszewski 2019:96). Apollo 11 Cave in Namibia features some of the oldest African rock art, dating to 30,000 to 28,000 cal BC. “... Later Stone Age rock art images may be related to visions and sensations experienced during trance states produced during certain types of activities, such as intense dancing” (Olszewski 2019:98). The Rose Cottage Cave site in South Africa reveals many aspects of LSA behavior. Level DB dates between 14,300 and 13,100 cal BC. Planned use of space suggested by 10 hearths, some of them arranged around a large boulder that could serve as a windbreak. Artifact clusters may reflect activity areas within the site. Ochre and hematite (mineral pigments) and ostrich eggshell fragments may reflect artistic endeavors. Evidence of highly flexible subsistence strategies. Human behavioral ecology (HBE) is a theoretical perspective that explores the costs and benefits of behavioral strategies. It has been productively applied to the study of hunter-gatherer-foragers, past or present (see Chapter 1). When applied to Later Stone Age hunter-gatherer-foragers, HBE suggests that they flexibly shifted between highly mobile foraging for resources and more sedentary collecting depending on season, prey availability, and prey size. Hunter-gatherer-foragers make decisions about how to best utilize finite resources, from food to toolstone. Grotte des Contrabandiers in Morocco included small flaked stone artifacts called scaled pieces that could be used as tools, then reused as cores from which even smaller blades could be struck. This efficient “recycling” may indicate a scarcity of good tool stone in the area. Upper Paleolithic Europe The technologies of the Later Stone Age spread out of Africa prior to 50,000 cal BC. When these tools and behaviors expand throughout Eurasia, we assign them to the corresponding period called the Upper Paleolithic, beginning around 45,000 cal BC. The Aurignacian culture of Central and Western Europe dates to between 43,000 and 33,000 cal BC. Their settlement patterns appear to have been comparable to the Neandertals, but the increasing presence of modern behavior (art, music, etc.) in the Aurignacian sets these people apart. Early Upper Paleolithic The earliest modern humans in Europe are found in Russia (Kostenki 12 and 17; 40,000 cal BC), Italy (Grotta del Cavallo), and England (Kents Cavern; 43,000–39,000 cal BC). The Kostenki sites are not Aurignacian, but feature long-distance transport of marine shells (>310 miles), use of bone, antler, and ivory for tools and art, and small mammals trapped for food and fur. “After 40,000 cal BC these types of cultural expressions become commonplace throughout Europe” (Olszewski 2019:101). The art and hunting sophistication of Aurignacian peoples illustrates how they differ from any previous group. A tiny female human figurine (“Venus”) dates to more than 33,000 cal BC at Hohle Fels Cave in Germany. This site also yielded flutes carved from ivory and bird bone (Fig. 4.6; see figure 4.4). Chauvet Cave (35,000 cal BC) contains some of the most stunning Upper Paleolithic animal depictions ever recorded: cave bears, extinct forms of cattle, horses, panthers, reindeer, and rhinoceros (Figure 4.7) (see documentary Cave of Forgotten Dreams). Early tailored clothing is hinted at by the presence of eyed bone needles in Russia dating to 32,000 cal BC. “Using features of the landscape as aids in hunting animals is a good example of the ability of modern humans to obtain information, incorporate this knowledge, and problem solve in new and innovative ways” (Olszewski 2019:102). Mid-Upper Paleolithic The archaeological cultures classified as Gravettian and Eastern Gravettian appear in the Mid-Upper Paleolithic around 30,000 cal BC. “…During the Mid-Upper Paleolithic, human groups became extremely successful in occupying northerly regions even during the winter when temperatures would have been −20 to −8°C (−4 to 17°F) on average” (Olszewski 2019:102, after Van Andel and Davies 2003.) In the Pleistocene, an ecological zone called “mammoth steppe” extended from Western Europe east all the way to Alaska. This combination of plant and animal species (which no longer occurs) created an environment conducive to hunter-gatherer expansion in the north. The cooperative skill of Eastern Gravettian hunters is reflected by mammoth bone structures in Central and Eastern Europe. These megafauna provided both food and shelter. Dolní Vĕstonice in the modern Czech Republic dates to 30,000–27,000 cal BC and features additional evidence of Eastern Gravettian lifeways: They were highly mobile, but large aggregation sites here suggest groups might have combined and settled for extended periods of time. Early experiments with ceramic technology, including a fired clay “Venus” (see Fig. 4.8) figurine, 15,000 years before the sustained production of ceramics elsewhere. An unusual burial including two males and one skeleton of indeterminate sex. All are aged 16–25 years and the indeterminate skeleton has anatomical deformities. These individuals are carefully arranged with red ochre, pierced fox and wolf teeth, and ivory pendants. Similarly, a female (9–10 years) and male (11–13 years) are buried end-to-end with their heads meeting in the center at Sungir, Russia. They are surrounded by elaborate grave goods, and the female has skeletal deformities, possibly indicating special status for individuals with physical impairments in the Eastern Gravettian. The most famous Gravettian/Eastern Gravettian art can be loosely grouped together as “Venus” figurines. Dolní Vĕstonice featured a fired clay version, but similar figures made from ivory, antler, or stone are found throughout Europe. The figurines often have exaggerated sexual features, leading many to propose that they are associated with fertility rites. However, postprocessualists would caution against applying present-day gender assumptions to the Upper Paleolithic. See Peopling the Past: The Role of Art in Late Pleistocene Cultures for some of the challenges of interpreting Upper Paleolithic art. The Gravettian covered nearly 3000 miles and 10,000 years. We cannot assume that the cultural meaning of artistic motifs remained the same throughout that span of time and space. Late Upper Paleolithic The final phase of the Upper Paleolithic, called the Late Upper Paleolithic, begins about 20,000 cal BC. Within this period, we recognize the technological innovations of the Magdalenian in Western and Central Europe and the Epi-Gravettian in Eastern and Southern Europe. Magdalenian and Epi-Gravettian peoples were proficient hunters of reindeer, horse, red deer, and mammoth. They made use of the spearthrower (atlatl; see Fig. 4.10) and, late in the Magdalenian, simple bow-and-arrow technology, fish hooks, and barbed harpoons. All of these indicate adaptation and a broadening diet. Mezhirich (see Fig. 4.11) is an Epi-Gravettian site featuring four mammoth bone structures in Ukraine. Faunal analysis indicates that some of the bones come from hunted animals and some from scavenged carcasses. Mammoth bone was also used as fuel, since the glacial landscape contained little firewood. Caves of the Late Upper Paleolithic are known for their realistic depictions of a vast array of animal species, geometric patterns, and, less often, human figures. Prior to the discovery of Chauvet in 1994, Lascaux (along with Spain’s Altamira, discussed below) was probably the most well-known cave art site in the world (see Figure 4.4.) Lascaux’s “bird man” is an example of how human figures are generally far more stylized (and less realistic) than depictions of other animals. Interpreting Upper Paleolithic Cave Art “The sheer quantity and beauty of Upper Paleolithic cave art has generated enormous interest in how such art might be interpreted, and archaeologists (and others) have proposed a wide variety of ideas” (Olszewski 2019:108). “Art for art’s sake” (as in a museum) is a very Western interpretation, probably an overly simple projection of our own norms on the past. “Hunting/fertility magic” interpretations emphasize the prevalence of food animals in cave art. Such art could be more than just something to look at, but a ritual act to ensure a successful hunt then and in the future when prey species reproduced. We do not share a cultural context with Upper Paleolithic peoples, but we do share essentially the same anatomy and can use our own experience of “altered states” to interpret theirs. Some scholars suggest that entoptic phenomena brought on by drugs, fasting, intense dancing, or sensory deprivation (such as a dark cave) resemble the geometric patterns, swirls, and dots observed on cave walls. Cave art could be a method of symbolically communicating identity, serving as territorial markers of a particular ethnic group. Worldwide Expansion During the late Pleistocene, sea levels were 120 - 140 meters (390–460 feet) lower than today. The resulting exposed land areas created opportunities for the expansion of people into new worlds: Australia/New Guinea and the Americas. Australia/New Guinea At 50,000 cal BC, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, and parts of Indonesia were united as a land mass we call Sunda (see Figure 4.15.) Journeys that today require “island hopping” could have been completed completely on foot in the late Pleistocene. Further, New Guinea, Australia, and Tasmania were connected as a land mass called Sahul. Even at the lowest sea levels, Sunda and Sahul were still separated by a water gap of about 50 – 100 kilometers (30–60 miles.) So a water crossing of some sort would have been necessary for the initial peopling of Sahul. Genetic evidence (mtDNA, nuclear DNA, and Y-chromosome studies) supports a coastal route from the Horn of Africa, along Sunda, and into Sahul (see Fig. 4.14); unfortunately, much of this proposed route is now submerged by rising sea levels. The earliest archaeological evidence in Sahul is Madjebebe in northern Australia at 65,000 years ago. (Again, Australia and New Guinea were not separate at the time and earlier archaeological evidence is likely under water.) Madjebebe includes a stone hearth, tools, hatchets, and ground ochre. Hatchets have not been found in the areas where colonizing populations for Sahul originated, implying that they were invented after colonization. Other early Sahul sites include Vilakuav and Buang Merabak, dating between 47,000 and 42,000 cal BC. (See Figure 4.15.) The Carpenters Gap site (47,000 cal BC) shows migration of humans into more arid inland areas. The Americas Based on mtDNA and Y-chromosome DNA, the first people to reach the Americas originated in Siberia (Russia), with at least some from the Altai Mountains in southern Siberia. Southern Siberia was occupied as early as 45,000 cal BP, and northeastern Siberia as early as 30,000 cal BP. The “Berengian Standstill” hypothesis suggests that some of these people reached the Alaskan area by 25,000 cal BP (based on genetic evidence) but that they were isolated from Siberian populations for 8,000 years during the last glacial maximum. After 19,000 cal BC, worldwide climate began to rebound from the Last Glacial Maximum, and at least some populations migrated east into the Americas. Two main alternate routes into the Americas have been proposed (see Fig. 4.16). The most widely accepted route is Beringia: during the late Pleistocene, a land bridge connecting Siberia and Alaska. This allowed people to migrate into Alaska, but movement further south was impeded by the Cordilleran and Laurentide glacial ice sheets. The opening of an ice-free corridor after 11,000 cal BC created a pathway into modern Canada and the United States. One problem with the land bridge interpretation is the presence of sites such as Monte Verde in Chile, which dates to 12,600 cal BC—before the opening of the ice-free corridor (See Figure 4.17.) Other sites including Schaefer Mammoth Site in Wisconsin (12,800 – 12,200 cal BC) and Wally’s Beach in Canada 11,300 cal BC) also predate the opening of the ice-free corridor. This raises the possibility of a coastal route (similar to the Sunda coastal route to Australia), with boats moving down the west coast of North America, and making their way into the interior via rivers like the Columbia. This interpretation is also accepted by many archaeologists and does not preclude the possibility of a later ice-free corridor migration. Paleoamericans The first Americans are referred to as Paleoamericans (formerly Paleoindians) by many archaeologists. Like the first human inhabitants of Sahul, these people entered a continent where megafauna were unaccustomed to human predation (see Figure 4.18.) See Peopling the Past: Megafaunal Extinctions for a discussion of the “overkill hypothesis.” Clovis and Related Groups The Clovis culture, with its distinctive fluted spear points, is found in many parts of the modern United States, Mexico, and possibly even South America. Materials from this technological tradition consistently date to between 11,300 and 10,850 cal BC (Figure 4.20.) Sites like Blackwater Draw Locality 1 in New Mexico are kill sites featuring large game like mammoths, mastodons, bison, and large Clovis spear points. As a result, Clovis peoples have traditionally been stereotyped as big game hunters to the exclusion of all other resources. In reality, Clovis hunter-gatherer-foragers probably consumed a variety of plant foods and available animals spanning the spectrum from mammoths to mice. The Dietz Site in Oregon includes a number of repeatedly occupied camps, suggesting that not all Clovis hunters were perpetually mobile. The true diversity of Clovis life is also supported by sites in the eastern United States and Mexico, which included base camps (Shawnee-Minisink Site in Pennsylvania), kill and butchery sites (Sloth Hole site in Florida), quarries (El Bajio in Sonora), and caches. Sites such as Quebrada Jaguay in Preu and Quebrada Santa Julia in Chile yielded artifact types that were contemporaneous or nearly so with, but distinct from, Clovis technology. Later Paleoamericans There are many Paleoamerican groups that follow Clovis in North America, such as Cody, Folsom, Hell Gap, and Plano. Folsom groups, named after the Folsom Site in New Mexico and the fluted points found there (see Fig. 4.17), lived primarily in the Plains and southern Rocky Mountains. Sites with Folsom technology date to between 10,800 and 9800 cal BC. The O. V. Clary Site in Nebraska is a late Paleoamerican winter habitation that yields evidence of activities ranging from bison processing to hide working and hide clothing manufacture. Late Paleoamerican sites in South America reflect remarkably localized subsistence adaptations. People at Quebrada Tacahuay in coastal Peru focused on maritime resources: seabirds, fish (including small netted species), and shellfish. The high-altitude Guitarrero Cave in northern Peru includes stone artifacts in context with the bones of deer, birds, and camelids. Caverna da Pedra Pintado in Amazonian Brazil features well-preserved bird bones, snake bones, fruits, Brazil nuts, fish, tortoises, and shellfish (freshwater), as well as evidence of fire hearths and red pigment. Further Reflections: Megafauna in Australia Evidence places people in the Australian Sahul by 65,000 years ago. Humans and Australian megafauna overlapped for tens of thousands of years. Though humans had hunting technology, there is little archaeological evidence for humans hunting megafauna in Australia. Ecological effects of humans on vegetation and consumption of now-extinct bird eggs may have contributed to megafaunal extinctions. Megafaunal extinction in Australia was probably more complex than either simple hunting or climate change.