ANT100Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Zhoukou, Acheulean, Food Preservation
19/11/2015
Lecture 3
Reconstructing Worldview/Ideology
• All human societies have complex and elaborate ideologies
• However, they leave particularly ambiguous remains, and many practices simply leave
no evidence—songs, dances, etc.
Arhaeology’s Goal Explaining Culture Change
• Culture change is a big interest
• Mechanisms of change:
1) innovation
a newly discovered or invented thing, idea, or way of behaving
can happen rapidly due to deliberate effort, or slowly and almost
unconsciously
2) diffusion
borrowing by one society of a trait (idea, object, technology, etc.) present in
another society, due to contrast between two societies
will occur only when the borrowing culture sees an advantage and can
develop an understanding of it
3) acculturation
a process of extensive cultural borrowing between two societies, often in
the context of unequal power relationships
particularly associated with colonialism
4) adaptation to environment/environmental change
using culture, not biological change, to adapt
any human society relies on the environment
***most cases of culture change are complex, and involve more than one mechanism
***history and politics are critical in any instance of culture change
Earliest Traces of Human Behaviour
1. Lower Paleolithic (3.3/2.6 MYA-200 KYA)
2. Middle Paleolithic (200-40 KYA)
3. Upper Paleolithic (50-10 KYA)
Stone Tools: The Earliest Indications of Material Culture
• CULTURE = the system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviours, and artifacts that
the members of society use to cope with their world and one another, and are
transmitted from generation to generation through learning
• One of the major behavioural traits which sets humans apart from other animals is the
variety and frequency of our manufacturing and use of tools, and our dependence on
them
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
19/11/2015
• Culture is the primary avenue through which humans adapt to their environment
• Tools are made of stone, wood, bone, etc.
Flaked Stone Tools
• Based o frature, ot groud or ared
• Requires homogenous material—no natural grain—such as flint or obsidian
• When force is applied, a flake is attached from the core (the original chunk of rock)
• The area o the rok fro hih the flake as reoed is alled a flake sar
• Either the flake or the ore is used to produe a tool ore tool s. flake tool
• The Platform is the point of impact where the flake is detached from the core
• The Cortex is the original exterior of stone core
a) Percussion Flaking
Removal of flakes by pressing, rather than striking
b) Direct Percussion
Hammer strikes core
c) Indirect Percussion
Hammer strikes punch, which is placed against core
d) Retouch
Additional flaking along the edge ok a flake to alter the shape, making it into a tool
Oldowan Tool Tradition
• Earliest well-described stone tool tradition (2.6-1.8 MYA in Africa)
• Simple artifacts (4 types)
1) Manuports = pieces of rock transported but not modified
2) Hammerstones = rocks battered or pitted
3) Core tools = pebbles and rock fragments from which flakes have been struck
4) Flakes = thin flakes of rock struck from cores (early archaeologists thought flakes
were waste)
Earliest Manufacturing Techniques Used Direct Percussion
• Hand-held hammerstone
• Bipolar technique
• Throwing
Functions of Stone Tools are Determined by
a) Context (such as found with animal bones at kill site)
b) Use wear (damage on the edge of the tool from use)
c) Experiment (flakes are particularly good for cutting through hide—very sharp)
Use-Wear on 9 Unmodified Flakes from Koobi Flora
Who Made These Earliest Tools?
a) Homo habilis (2.3-1.6 MYA)
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
49
ANT100Y1 Full Course Notes
Verified Note
49 documents
Document Summary
Reconstructing worldview/ideology : all human societies have complex and elaborate ideologies, however, they leave particularly ambiguous remains, and many practices simply leave no evidence songs, dances, etc. Ar(cid:272)haeology"s goal explaining culture change: culture change is a big interest, mechanisms of change, innovation. A newly discovered or invented thing, idea, or way of behaving. Can happen rapidly due to deliberate effort, or slowly and almost unconsciously: diffusion. Borrowing by one society of a trait (idea, object, technology, etc. ) present in another society, due to contrast between two societies. Will occur only when the borrowing culture sees an advantage and can develop an understanding of it: acculturation. A process of extensive cultural borrowing between two societies, often in the context of unequal power relationships. Particularly associated with colonialism: adaptation to environment/environmental change. Using culture, not biological change, to adapt. Any human society relies on the environment. ***most cases of culture change are complex, and involve more than one mechanism.
