Chapter 5-Q-A.docx

‘Ain Ghazal: a large Pre-Pottery Neolithic B village site in Jordan with rectangular, stone-walled houses. It has two caches of plaster statues of humans and also plastered human skulls, figurines, beads, and enormous quantities of artifacts reflecting everyday life. There was a shift from the use o...

‘Ain Ghazal: a large Pre-Pottery Neolithic B village site in Jordan with rectangular, stone-walled houses. It has two caches of plaster statues of humans and also plastered human skulls, figurines, beads, and enormous quantities of artifacts reflecting everyday life. There was a shift from the use of mainly wild plants and animals early in the occupation to a later reliance on domesticated plants and animals. ‘Ain Mallaha: a Late Epipaleolithic (Natufian period) site in Israel. It dates between about 13,000 to 9600 cal BC and is an example of a small village in the Mediterranean forest region of the Levant. Ahupuaʻa: Divisions of land in Hawai`i running from the inland mountains to the sea, each with a diverse set of resources allowing self-sufficiency. Control of nature through its manipulation: a postprocessual explanation for the origins of food-production. It postulates that people attempted to control wild resources through rituals, food storage, and food processing technologies. This led to domestication as the wild resources were transformed into controlled resources. Dhra’: a Pre-Pottery Neolithic A site in Jordan. It was a small village with circular stone-walled dwellings that used mudbrick in the construction of the upper portions of each structure. Domestication: changes over time in the features of wild plants and animals that made these species more attractive to humans for a variety of reasons. These were genetic changes that were “selected” due to human manipulation. Wild barley and wheat, for example, easily disperse their ripe seeds due to a brittle rachis (the plant part holding the seeds) when the plants are disturbed by the wind. Plants with a tough rachis that does not allow natural dispersal of seeds are the domesticated form. The genetic changes from brittle to tough rachis barley and wheat mean that ripe seeds stay on the plant until harvested by humans. This is advantageous for humans but not the plants. Epipaleolithic: an archaeological term most often used to refer to hunter-gatherer-forager groups living in the Middle East in the interval between 23,000 to 9600 cal BC. Feasting Model: feasting is a strategy that allows the sharing of food resources and brings prestige to those who host the feasts. It is one possible explanation for the origins of food-production because it hypothesizes that increasing the abundance of certain foods (to be used in feasting rituals) through their manipulation resulted in domestication. Fertile Crescent: the arc of Mediterranean forest running from Jordan/Israel/Lebanon north toward Turkey and northern Syria and then south and east through the Zagros Mountains. Göbekli Tepe: an unusual Pre-Pottery Neolithic A and B site in Turkey. It has structures that incorporate large T-shaped pillars; early structures are circular, while later ones are rectangular. Many of the T-shaped pillars are decorated with motifs such as snakes, aurochs, gazelle, felines, and other images. The excavators interpret the site as a ritual center with each structure being a temple. Other archaeologists suggest that each structure is a household with both ritual and daily activities and that the motifs on the pillars may reflect family images, similar to clan designs. Hillazon Tachtit: a Late Natufian phase site of the Late Epipaleolithic period in the Levantine Middle East where evidence for an elaborate burial ritual associated with an elderly woman from a hunter-gatherer-forager group has been found. Hostile Pleistocene Theory: an explanation for the world-wide origins of food-production in the Holocene. It attributes this transition to the fact that climatic conditions during the Pleistocene were not conducive to dependable reliance on plant foods. With less extreme climatic fluctuations in the Holocene, hunter-gatherer/forager groups could manipulate plant foods more successfully, resulting in their abundance and domestication. Jericho: a large site in the West Bank in the Middle East, it has many different periods of occupation. During the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A, it was a moderate-sized village of circular dwellings that were associated with a monumental stone wall, stone tower, and external ditch. These monumental features are unique for this time period. Kfar HaHoresh: a Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site in Israel in the Middle East. It appears to have been a mortuary complex with evidence for burials, plastered skulls, skull removal, feasting, and lime production to make plaster for the burial areas. Kharaneh IV: a very large aggregation site in the Azraq Basin area of eastern Jordan. It was occupied during both the Early and Middle Epipaleolithic, and yielded evidence for long-distance exchange for marine shells, dwelling structures, hearths, burials, and the hunting of gazelle and aurochs. Mesolithic: an archaeological term used in some parts of the Old World, such as Europe and Asia, to describe late hunter-gatherer-forager groups. The chronology associated with this term varies from region to region. For example, in Europe, the Mesolithic is found between 10,000 to 5000 cal BC. Natufian: an alternative name for the Late Epipaleolithic period in the Middle East, dating between 13,000 to 9,600 cal BC. During the Early Natufian, which coincided with the climatic optimum, several small village sites were established in the Mediterranean forest area, indicating more permanent settlement. A return to colder and drier conditions during the Late Natufian corresponds to a return to much higher mobility by hunter-gatherer-foragers. Niche Construction Theory: the idea that humans actively change or manipulate features of the landscape around them and resources in those landscapes in ways that build a niche or habitat in which they can be successful over long periods of time. It incorporates evolutionary ideas from biology and applies them to humans. “Oasis” theory: a model for the rise of agriculture, suggesting that environmental changes led to clustering of people, plants, and animals at oases—with close association leading to revolutionary change—the “Neolithic Revolution.” Ohalo II: an Early Epipaleolithic site on the shore of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. It contains thousands of well-preserved organic remains such as wild cereal grasses. This demonstrates very early and intensive use of a plant food that became one of the major domesticates some 10,000 or so years later. There is also evidence that hunter-gatherer-foragers may have lived at this site year-round. Political Complexity: a term used to describe societies for which social classes have replaced kin groups in societal organization. Politically complex societies can be kingdom, state, or empire polities. They usually have one or a very few ruling elite, although one exception may have been the Indus Valley. Population Pressure: Increasing population size and density. Some archaeologists argue that population pressure was a major pressure leading to agriculture innovation. Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN): the earliest part of the Neolithic period in the Levantine region of the Middle East, dating between 9600 to 6250 cal BC. Numerous small and large villages with evidence for complex ritual activities are present. People of the PPN relied heavily on the cultivation of wild plants and the hunting of wild animals, and their economic strategies eventually led to genetic changes characteristic of domestication. Readiness Theory: a mosaic development theory to the rise of agriculture, suggesting that it took time for diverse knowledge and appropriate technologies to come together successfully in the right ways for agricultural exploitation of species to occur. Shubayqa 1: a Natufian settlement site in Jordan (12,650 cal BC) including evidence of the world’s oldest bread. Small Seed Investment: an origins of food-production idea based on ecological habitats in eastern North America. It notes that heavy use of edible small seeds is a seasonal activity that does not conflict with the gathering of other food resources. Manipulation of these small seed producing plants leads to the domestication of some of them. Social Complexity: a term often used to describe societies which are no longer egalitarian in social structure. There are status and rank differences between people, although relationships usually are still based on kin groups. Uyun al-Hammam: a Middle Epipaleolithic site in the western highlands of Jordan (Levantine Middle East). It contains a cemetery in which several humans are buried with parts of animals such as tortoise shells, goat horns and deer antler, and foxes. This indicates that human-animal symbolic associations were part of hunter-gatherer-forager societies long before the appearance of settled communities. Wadi Madamagh: a small rockshelter site in the Petra region of Jordan. It has cultural materials of the Early Epipaleolithic period and an emphasis on the hunting of wild goats, which were common in the rugged terrain in which the site is situated. Younger Dryas Theory: the rapid cooling and aridity of this late glacial period was used as an explanation for the origins of food production. It assumes that as climate worsened, hunter/gatherer-forager groups began to manipulate plants and animals to assure their availability and abundance. For the vast majority of the time that Homo sapiens (and our hominin predecessors) have walked the earth, we subsisted by hunting, gathering, foraging, and fishing. “To date, the hunting way of life has been the most successful and persistent adaptation man has ever achieved” (Lee and DeVore 1968:3). The term “hunter-gatherer-forager” is used here to encompass the range of mobility exhibited within this mode of subsistence. Some hunter-gatherer-foragers are highly mobile, occupying ephemeral short-term sites. Others are more sedentary, establishing settlements occupied for months or even longer. Chapter 5 briefly examines some of these semisedentary foragers, representing the Mesolithic and Epipaleolithic periods (Europe), the end of the LSA (Africa), and the Archaic (Americas). Near the end of the Pleistocene, some hunter-gatherer-foragers incorporated plant and animal species into their diets that were particularly well suited for domestication. In some cases, these species were cultivated/bred and established food production economies. Food production economies spurred the accumulation of surpluses and, in many cases, the development of social and political complexity. Why this subsistence shift (often called a revolution) occurred where and when it did has long been debated. Chapter 5 discusses a variety of proposed archaeological explanations. The End of the Ice Ages We tend to focus on Upper Paleolithic hunter-gatherer-foragers as meat eaters. This is mostly a result of preservation bias: animal bones preserve better than plant materials. Residue analysis of stone tools from Russia and the Czech Repubic reveals that people were grinding plants like cattails and ferns to make a basic flour by 30,000 – 28,000 cal BC. Animal domestication is another trait usually associated with later peoples, but it began in places well before the end of the Pleistocene. Evidence of dog domestication dates to as early as 29,700 cal BC in Siberia and Belgium, and many other parts of the world after 12,000 cal BC. Domestication would be repeated over and over in many regions, and it is a surprisingly simple process: Humans act as agents of “artificial” selection by controlling the reproduction of plants and animals, and favoring individuals with attributes useful to people. It is hard to believe that something so simple could remake the world, but these were our first steps from being a species of foragers to a species of (mostly) farmers. “Domestication represented a key economic transition and fundamentally altered social organization, social relationships, and behaviors within and among human groups” (Olszewski 2019:133). The Old World Changing climatic conditions at the Pleistocene/Holocene transition made much of the Old World more favorable for hunting-gathering-foraging and people continued to live as they had in the terminal Pleistocene. In some parts of the Middle East and Asia, however, people modified their subsistence practices in ways that would eventually be called revolutionary. Middle East In the Middle East, the last part of the Pleistocene, in which hunter-gatherer-foragers were prevalent, is called the Epipaleolithic: 23,000–9600 cal BC. This period is best understood in the Levant (see Fig. 5.2), and we call this specifically the Levantine Epipaleolithic, which can be divided into Early, Middle, and Late periods. Early Epipaleolithic Dating from 23,000 to 17,000 cal BC, the Early Epipaleolithic in the Levant was a cool, dry period that coincided with the Last Glacial Maximum. Early Epipaleolithic hunter-gatherer-foragers, such as those at Wadi Madamagh (Figure 5.2), were highly mobile, staying at small sites for only days or weeks at a time. The site of Ohalo II was near one of the favorable well-watered areas of the Early Epipaleolithic, the Sea of Galilee in Israel. After its occupation, Ohalo II was covered by rising water levels, creating unusually good organic preservation. It was probably occupied year-round and included: Several brush hut dwellings. Fish bones. Wild barley and other cereal grasses (10,000 years before they were domesticated). Wild almond, olive, pistachio, and grape. Kharaneh IV, in the Azraq Basin of Jordan, was also well watered and likely occupied year-round as an aggregation site for groups in the Levant. Middle Epipaleolithic The Middle Epipaleolithic, between 17,000 and 13,000 cal BC, was somewhat warmer and wetter than the preceding period. Many hunter-gatherer-foragers remained mobile, but Kharaneh IV continued as a year-round aggregate occupation in the Middle Epipaleolithic. See Peopling the Past: Aggregation Sites in the Levantine Epipaleolithic. “Aggregation sites such as Kharaneh IV are important because they document the complexity of social life long before settled villages and food production economies” (Olszewski 2019:137). Uyun al-Hammam in the western highlands of Jordan contained eight burials and 11 individuals in the earliest cemetery of the region. Some of these burials included grave goods like partial animal skeletons (fox, aurochs, deer, gazelle, and tortoise). Late Epipaleolithic The Late Epipaleolithic (13,000–9600 cal BC) is also called the Natufian period. The Early Natufian (13,000–11,000 cal BC) coincided with the warmer, wetter climatic optimum. During this time, desert was overtaken by lusher environments like Mediterranean forest and steppe. The forest was characterized by abundant cereal grasses, acorns, gazelles, and long-term human settlements. Hunter-gatherer-foragers in the steppe of Jordan, Syria, and southern Israel were more mobile. Early Natufians, at sites like ‘Ain Mallaha in northern Israel, were able to establish villages because cereal grasses ripen in the summer, acorns are collected in the fall, and both are storable resources. Early Natufians also had settlement sites in the steppes, such as Shubayqa 1 in Jordan—where the world’s oldest bread was discovered (12,650 cal BC). Favorable habits like Mediterranean forest began to recede with the return of colder, drier conditions around 11,000 cal BC. With this climatic change, Late Epipaleolithic people returned to a more mobile life but retained elements of social complexity developed during the preceding warm period. Hilazon Tachtit, a cave site in Israel, contains evidence of feasting and the ritual burial of at least 28 individuals. One was a disabled elderly woman buried with 50 tortoise shells, an auroch’s tail, an eagle wing, a boar leg, marten skull, and human foot (not one of her own). This odd assortment of grave goods may indicate that she was a ritual or religious specialist. Transition to Food Production in the Middle East Epipaleolithic groups in the Middle East used wild plant foods intensively, including barley and wheat. The early domesticates of the Middle East are still widely used today: emmer and einkhorn wheat, barley, chickpeas, lentils, and peas (one exception is bitter vetch, domesticated in the Neolithic, but not a major food crop today). The precise location where these crops were first domesticated is still uncertain. Wheat and barley have been traced to the Levant, possibly the Jordan Valley. However, some researchers argue that all of these major crops originated in a small region in southeastern Turkey and northern Syria. Domesticated cereals, lentils, and chickpeas were present in the last part of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic, after 8,500 cal BC. The origins of many of today’s major food animals is somewhat more widespread: Goats domesticated in the Zagros Mountains region, sheep in the Zagros and Taurus Mountains, around 8000 cal BC. Cattle in the wetter forests and marshlands of northern Syria about 7500 cal BC. Pigs in southeastern Turkey, probably between 7000 and 6400 cal BC. In the Levant, the earliest part of the Neolithic period (9600–6250 cal BC) is called the Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN), divided into the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) and B (PPNB). Pre-Pottery Neolithic A Most PPNA sites are small and, like sites of the Late Natufian, reflect a mobile lifestyle. Dhra’ in Jordan is an exception, with mudbrick- and stone-lined structures, and a population between 40 and 130 people. The village of Jericho in the West Bank was occupied from Nautfian to Pottery Neolithic times. During the PPNA, Jericho had structures like Dhra’, but a much larger population of 225–735 people. The most unique features of Jericho were an 11.5-foot-tall stone wall, 28-foot-tall stone tower, and external ditch. The function of these features is debated—everything from defensive structures to protection against flash floods. There is little archaeological evidence of warfare that would have necessitated defense against attacks. Regardless of their function, these massive stone structures (reflecting organization and labor) set Jericho apart from earlier periods. Göbekli Tepe (“Potbelly Hill”) is an especially intriguing site in southeastern Turkey occupied in the PPNA and PPNB. Göbekli Tepe’s most notable features are massive (10–16 feet tall, weighing up to 10 tons) T-shaped pillars with elaborately carved animal motifs, some arranged in circles (see Fig. 5.7). Comparable structures do not appear elsewhere until thousands of years later. Archaeologists working at the site interpreted it as a ceremonial locale, or temple, because of the abundant evidence of symbolism and ritual, and apparent lack of domestic dwellings or debris. Others have identified signs of everyday life and interpret Göbekli Tepe as a habitation site. Asia In Asia, the same general time period is called the Mesolithic or Epipaleolithic (usage varies, and some prefer Upper Paleolithic; see Fig. 5.1). Mesolithic hunter-gatherer-foragers utilized microblade technology and were largely mobile, though they became more sedentary collectors during warmer climates. Sites in Asia include very early coarse pottery with dates as early as 16,350 cal BC. The advent of pottery is important since pottery can be used both for storage and as a cooking vessel. “The fact that pottery technology appears so early in China means that hunter-gatherer-forager groups there had at least one critical element that was important in later food production economies” (Olszewski 2019:145-146). Africa The early part of the Later Stone Age in Africa predates or is contemporary with the Upper Paleolithic in Eurasia, and the later part of the Later Stone Age is contemporary with the Epipaleolithic in the Middle East and the Mesolithic in Europe. Food production economies emerged later in Africa than in other parts of the Old World, eventually including millet, sorghum, ensete, guinea rice, yams, and possibly locally domesticated cattle. Europe Mesolithic Europeans never independently developed food production economies. As in Africa, some hunter-gatherer-foragers adopted only parts of the food production economies that were eventually introduced from the Middle East. The New World In the New World, the Paleoamerican period (see Chapter 4) ends about 8000 cal BC and transitions into what we call the Archaic or Preceramic (a term used mostly in South America). Archaic groups generally show a more diversified, broader diet than Paleoamericans (though the “Big Game” specialization of Paleoamericans is exaggerated). People in multiple regions of the New World began to experiment with plant and animal species, eventually leading to the domestication of some. Domestication zones included “the North American East, Mexico and Central America, and Pacific coastal and Andean South America” (Olszewski 2019,146). North America Types of resources used in Archaic North America varied widely by region and habitat. In these habitats, gourds were domesticated around 3000 cal BC, most likely for use as containers and/or floats, although their seeds were bitter, but edible. The earlier bulk processing of nuts paved the way for similar processing of smaller seeds, such as sunflowers and sumpweed, after 3000 cal BC. Archaic peoples of the Southwest did not domesticate any plant species native to the region, but adopted maize from Mexico about 2100 cal BC. The cultivation of maize likely began as a strategic supplement to mobile foraging (not unlike Mesolithic hunter-gatherer-foragers in Europe). Mexico/Central America Early plant resources included: squash and gourds, lima beans, cactus fruits, nuts, Mexican plum, foxtail millet, and teosinte (a pretty ordinary grass that would later change the world as maize). Other domesticates from this region include turkey, beans, squash, avocados, and chilies. South America Chapter 14 will focus on the Andean highlands, but Archaic people of Ecuador, Peru, and Chile had several important developments: By 6000–4800 cal BC, the people of Site 80 were beginning to cultivate squash and maize adopted from Mesoamerica. In the Early and Middle Preceramic periods, Andes peoples hunted camelids, the wild precursors of the llama and alpaca domesticated in the Late Preceramic. These animals, the largest domesticated anywhere in the Americas, were sources of meat and wool, and were used as pack animals to transport heavy loads in the mountainous terrain. Other domesticates from South America include guinea pigs, quinoa, potatoes and sweet potatoes, and cotton. Why Food Production? “Because agricultural surpluses were the ‘fuel’ of earlier socially and politically complex societies, there has been intense interest in the processes that were involved in the transformation from hunting-gathering-foraging to agriculture” (Olszewski 2019:148). Many early explanations for the foraging to farming transition were developed in the Middle East and Mesoamerica. Ideas Current ideas about the origins of agriculture tend to focus on multiple interrelated variables such as environmental change, human decision making, and social and symbolic activities. Ideas about the origins of agriculture include: Oasis theory: suggesting that environmental changes led to clustering of people, plants, and animals at oases—with close association leading to revolutionary change—the “Neolithic Revolution”—particularly in the fertile crescent. Readiness theory: a mosaic development theory to the rise of agriculture, suggesting that it took time for diverse knowledge and appropriate technologies to come together successfully in the right ways for agricultural exploitation of species to occur. Population pressure: Increasing population size and density. Some archaeologists argue that population pressure was a major pressure leading to agriculture innovation. Younger Dryas Theory: A theory relating climate change at the end of the Pleistocene to the rise of agriculture. The theory assumes that a worsening climate led to hunter/gatherer-forager groups manipulation of plants and animals to assure resource availability. Small seed investment: an idea related to the origin of food production noting that investing time in the seasonal use of small seeds is a viable survival strategy. Feasting model: This model suggests that the cultural importance of feasting rituals led to manipulation and ultimately domestication of food resources. Control of nature through its manipulation: a postprocessual explanation suggesting that rituals and new technologies for food storage and processing led to domestication as resources were more closely controlled. Hostile Pleistocene theory: this explanation suggests that humans might have developed domesticated food resources and agriculture sooner, but did not until the hostile environment of the Pleistocene subsided. Niche Construction Theory: the idea that humans actively change or manipulate features of the landscape around them and resources in those landscapes in ways that build a niche or habitat in which they can be successful over long periods of time. It incorporates evolutionary ideas from biology and applies them to humans. See The Big Picture: Niche Construction Theory and the Origins of Food Production. Bruce Smith argues that the early Holocene was an ideal time for hunter-gatherer-foragers to experiment with favorable plant and animal species, to construct cultural niches, and to pass along this knowledge as traditional knowledge. Complexity in the Archaeological Record Around the world we see a similar pattern in the archaeological record: food production usually precedes increased population and more sedentary lifeways; sedentism leads (in some cases) to food surpluses; surpluses are sometimes controlled by a subset of the population; social complexity and political complexity increase. Social Complexity For many archaeologists, social complexity refers to societies that are not egalitarian. In egalitarian societies, such as most hunter-gatherer-foragers, there is little private ownership, resources are generally shared, and leadership is not centralized around one or a few “elite” people. That said, egalitarian societies are not necessarily restricted to hunter-gather-foragers and may be found in villages and other settings. As societies become ranked, certain individuals or families have greater access to, or control over, resources. This emergence of social inequality can be seen in the archaeological record in the form of house types and burials. Some residences might be larger or spatially removed (elevated, in a prime location, etc.) from “average” houses. Individuals may be buried with elaborate grave goods, a reflection of their higher status in life. Political Complexity Political complexity is an extension of social complexity, that part of complexity that involves centralized political power and decision making. Archaeologists often define political complexity in terms of states, kingdoms, and empires. At the same time, “stateless societies” also have political organization and governance, and not all states develop the same characteristics in the same ways. Political complexity may be archaeologically visible in the centralized use of space (primary centers surrounded at increasing distance by other settlements), hierarchical layers of bureaucracy, and increasing importance of ritual power (in which leadership is perceived as being divinely ordained). As we will see in the upcoming chapters, there are specific sites and regions that diverge from this generalized pattern of social and political complexity in fascinating ways. Themes in Politically Complex Societies The Individual and the Group “Identity is an expression of social roles, relationships, ideals, and classes” (Olszewski 2019:160). A simple example of this is changing conceptions and ideals of beauty through time. Rubens’ paintings of well-fleshed women in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries represent an idealized feminine form of the time, one that differs from depictions in modern Western media. In the Classic Maya (see Chapter 13), sites like Copán featured public sculptures of idealized male forms. These were placed where guests would see them and every aspect of the sculpted figure’s posture, dress, and accessories reinforced social messages. Similarly, Egyptian women were carved with very slender necks and youthful, finely drawn faces. Egyptian males and females were depicted with kohl (a cosmetic). Females were shown standing or seated, whereas males were striding and in motion. These are minor details, but they express much about individuals and societal expectations. Cornering the Market Elites are more often depicted in ancient art than commoners because they had the resources necessary to create or commission “nonessentials” like personal portraits and ritual iconography. How social stratification begins within a society is one of the big questions of human history. Why do individuals initially “buy into” systems that seem to primarily benefit the few at the expense of the many? In other words, how do elites become established? For example, commoners’ tribute payments to elites in the Mississippian did little to improve their situation, and probably made things worse. They were raided (i.e., the Moundville elites did not protect them) and suffered many effects of ill health by giving away nutritious food as tributes. The threat of military coercion is one explanation for allegiance at great personal expense, as we saw in the Inka Empire. In other cases, elites provided positive reinforcements like feasts, ritual activities, and reinforcement of shared ideology (especially when elites were seen as having divine powers). These are some reasons that elites were able to “corner the market” on surpluses and personal wealth. Ideology Ideological systems have their own sets of motifs, shared by members, that may be spread across very large geographic areas. For example, the Chavín Horizon in Andean South America. People across a wide region, probably with different local ethnic identities, shared feline and raptor iconography, and a preference for U-shape temple design. Many major religions are practiced by millions of people around the globe, like Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. These large ideologically based groups have shared imagery but also local variations on the shared theme. To have unquestioned authority, it helps to be divine. Futher Reflections: Thinking About Food Production It is important for us to reflect on the origins of food-production economies, since they form the basis for most modern-day societies. Year-round availability of multiple foods through the market is a relatively new phenomenon. The global shift away from local and seasonal foods has implications for both the diversity of our diets and the social networks in which we are immersed.

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