ANT2000 - Lecture notes 1-19, 21 PDF

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8/22/Anthropology​: the study of humankind in all times and placesDifferent disciplines​: medicine, history, art, bio, sociology, genetics, political science, econThe Anthropological Perspective: ​holistic >climate change; what are the different factors that led to our current climate crisis?...

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8/22/19 Anthropology: the study of humankind in all times and places Different disciplines: medicine, history, art, bio, sociology, genetics, political science, econ The Anthropological Perspective: -holistic >climate change; what are the different factors that led to our current climate crisis? >How are the effects interpreted by people in a given area?; how are people affected? -comparative >example: work, time >cross-culturally, do people work the same amount of time >are western societies privileged by more free time? >what gender works more >effects of different work conditions? -realistic >”relativistic” >cultural relativism: the idea that one must suspend judgment of other peoples’ practices to understand those practices on their own cultural terms; avoids ethnocentrism >ex: China's one-child policy? Female genital cutting >you have to understand the other society’s pov >Franz Boas (1858-1942) >understand  , not necessarily believe it’s “right”; you’re allowed to feel conflicted; be respectful

-”Make the strange familiar and the familiar strange” -Be open-minded -anthropologists don't have to travel -Anthropology is about everything human -The study of human variation -Biological variation: >our 6 million year past includes at least three genera and many species of humans (hominins) >today we are all one species - homo sapiens - but biologically variable ● We can understand this variation as adaptations to environment, as physiological plasticity, and as a result of interplay between culture and biology

-Social variation: >societies ranging from small bands of mobile foragers to populous nation states and beyond >variation has been understood alternately as: 1) Evolutionary stages 2) Ecological adaptations 3) Histories of connections among societies -Cultural variation:

-Anthropology in NA traditionally divided into four subfields: 1) Biological (or physical) anthro 2) Sociocultural anthro 3) Linguistic anthro 4) Archaeology -Biological (or physical) anthro: >study of humans as biological organisms, but w/ the interest in the interaction between bio and culture (biocultural approach) >specialties: Paleoanthropology (evolution), molecular anthro (genetics), paleodemography, biomechanics, and primatology -Sociocultural anthro: > study of human thought and practices in the context of contemporary or historical cultural settings >specialties: ethnography (study of particular cultures through fieldwork) and ethnology (cross-cultural research to develop generalizable knowledge and theory) >applied work: economic development, environment, law… -Linguistic anthro: >study of human language: its origins, history, structure… -Anthropological archaeology: >study of the human past through the analysis of material remains -What is Culture? >a society’s shared and socially transmitted ideas, values, and perceptions, which are used to make sense of experience and generate behavior >idealist, behaviorist, and holistic definitions >many different conceptions (more than 164 as of 1952)

-Culture is a human universal ● Culture does not equal civilization ● All people have culture ● What about other animals? -Characteristics of culture: 1) Learned 2) Shared 3) Dynamic 4) Integrated 5) Symbol-based

8/27/19 -through 14th c the genesis version of divine creation accepted as explanation for biological diversity ● Earth was young (4004 bc according to archbishop ussher (1581-1656)) ● Species were unchanging (“fixity of species”) ● Species arranged in a hierarchy (“Great Chain of Being”) -Challenges to doctrine: ● Discovery of New World and circumnavigation of globe exposed Europeans to diversity never seen before ● 1514, Copernicus challenged Aristotle's notion that earth was fixed at the center of universe; later elaborated by Galileo ● Other discoveries in physics and bio suggested that phenomena were governed by natural laws (e.g. gravity) -Carolus Linnaeus -By 16th C, interest in bio div was great -Linnaean classification system formed basis for taxonomy -included homo sapiens into his scheme -Jean Baptiste Lamarck -first to propose a process of biological change -hypothesized a dynamic interplay between organic forms and environ -”acquired traits” (ex. Giraffe necks) -Georges Cuvier -opposition to lamarck: believed in the fixity of species and young earth chronology -suggested that extinctions in fossil record came as a result of regional catastrophes such as biblical flood

-locations of catastrophe were then repopulated from nearby, unaffected regions -Charles Darwin -1831 set sail on 5 yr global expedition aboard HMS Beagle -left believing in the fixity of species and shortly later grew doubtful (finches) -Charles Lyell -principle of uniformitarianism -implied slow, gradual change (not catastrophism) -required deep geological time -Thomas Malthus -essay on the principle of population -populations increase faster than the rate of resources -life is full of competition, a struggle to survive -Darwinian natural selection -Variation exists in a given population of a species -under given set of environmental conditions, certain members possess traits that allow them to survive and reproduce more often than those lacking such traits (some selected for , others against ) -with each generation, population evolves, adapts -to darwin, evolution was simply “descent with modification” (never said survival of the fittest), it had no particular direction, no purpose -darwin’s unanswered questions: 1) What is the source of new biological variation in a given population? 2) How are traits passed from generation to generation in sexual reproduction? Molecular Genetics: -genetic mutation is the ultimate source of NEW biological variation -knowledge about mutations caused some to reject natural selection as a mechanism of change -in the 1930s, genetics and Darwinian theory was wedded in what was called the “New Synthesis” -both are relevant: natural selection operates on variations created by mutation (and other sources)

8/29/19

Primates: -offer clues about our own biological and behavioral evolution -comparative anatomy ● Allows inferences about the behaviors of our ancestors ● Provides basis for reconstructing evolutionary relationships (phylogeny) General trends in primate evolution -mammalian advantages: homeothermy, large complex brain, live birth, lactation, and prolonged mother-infant bond, heterodontic dentition ---- all features support flexible behavior and learning -primates (including humans) have kept generalized anatomy of our early mammalian ancestors >structural generalization enables behavioral flexibility Primate characteristics: -grasping hands and often feet with opposable thumbs -nails instead of claws -forward-facing eyes (stereoscopic vision) -intelligence (brain big relative to body) -parental investment in young -social nature Primate diversity: -more than 190 (over half endangered) -tremendous variation in size, diet, and locomotion Primate classification: -prosimians >lemurs, lorises, tarsiers -anthropoids >new world monkeys, old world monkeys, apes Prosimians: -”pro-simian” (literally, before monkeys) -includes lemurs, lorises, and tarsiers -smaller brain than monkeys -acute sense of smell -mostly nocturnal -toothcombs, grooming claw -vertical clinging and leaping Anthropoids (monkeys and apes) -mostly diurnal

-reduced sense of smell -excellent color vision -larger brains than prosimians -improved hand eye coordination -longer period of infant dependency

NW Monkeys:

OW Monkeys:

-platyrrhine (flat nosed) -Some have prehensile tails -arboreal

-catarrhine (downward facing nose) -none have prehensile tails -some arboreal, some terrestrial

Monkeys:

Apes:

-most have tails -smaller brains -backward-forward shoulder and hip joint mobility -young mature more quickly

-none have tails -larger brains -increased shoulder and hip joint mobility (rotation) -young dependent longer

Lesser (small) apes:

Great apes:

-gibbons and siamangs -southeast asia -brachiation

-africa - chimps, bonobos, and gorillas -asia - orangutan -closest relatives of humans

Ape culture? -tool use and other complex social behaviors observed among all four species of great apes -traditions vary between groups -transmitted through imitation and social learning -some persist for generations Video Notes: -human characteristics in apes

-swimming “party” -eat bushbabies (small nocturnal primate) -eat a various diet (like meat) -use spear for hunting - lethal weapon with their strength -jane goodall - ape emotions; first to point out that apes make and use tools -apes learn to ask for help (even from humans); cooperation, teamwork -apes will help humans -they can understand what someone else wants and can interpret someone else’s actions as good or bad -sense of justice -bonobos are more cooperative than chimps -captive bonobos fought against humans trying to remove dead body -can learn numbers -chimps are impulsive -no shared commitment to a shared goal with chimps -mother refused to let go of dead baby 9/5/19 -Stone age -Bronze age -Iron age -Lower paleolithic (about 3.3 million yrs ago - 200,000 yrs ago) -Middle paleolithic (about 200-40,000 ya) -Upper paleolithic (about 40-10,000 ya): cave art After the paleolithic? (end of ice age) -mesolithic -neolithic (invent agriculture, domesticate animals)

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Australopithecus afarensis (“Lucy”) 3.85 - 2.95 million ya Harmand, Sonia: discovered in 2015 - 3.3 million yr old stone tools from Lomekwi (Kenya) “Oldowan” choppers (previously thought to be the world’s oldest tools) -> Homo habilis 2.4-1.4 million ya Homo erectus 1.89 mil - 143,000 ya -> Nariokotome Boy (“Turkana Boy) From Australopithecus to Homo -> Why? The evidence: thinner arms, longer legs, bigger brains… creativity? Intelligence? Caring? Meat-eating - high protein, high calories = bigger brains? “Man the hunter” or “man the hunted”? Controlling fire: 1 million years ago (Wonderwerk Cave, South Africa)

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“Hobbits” on Flores Island 50,000 ya (Homo floresiensis) Homo heidelbergensis

-Homo neanderthalensis >interbred with modern humans -first domesticated animal is the dog - from wolves -people came to the americas by boat, island hopping 9/10/19 Hunter-Gatherer Diversity: -societies whose economies are based largely or exclusively on the exploitation of wild plant and animal foods -forms of human adaptation with great time depth and enormous geographical expanse ● Represents over 95% of human prehistory ● From arctic to deserts, from mountains to coasts ● Today’s groups but a small fraction of those of the past -modern examples: >San >Australian aboriginal peoples >Inuit >many Amazonian peoples Understanding Hunter-Gatherers: -perspectives have changed over time: 1. Ethnocentric bias of life w/o food production 2. “Noble savages” 3. “Original affluent society” 4. Victims of colonialism 5. Professionals 6. None of the above? All of the above? Ecological Perspectives: Hunter-gatherer diversity understood in ecological terms -availability of resources, e.g., plants vs animals Social Typological Perspective: Common features of band-level societies -small population size and density

-extensive, not intensive land-use -mobile settlement -egalitarian social relations -lack of property beyond personal tools/ornaments -labor divided only by age and sex -fission to resolve dispute or crisis -leadership is situational, nonpermanent ...but not as common as once thought -the mid-20th century idea of band society overlooked connections to other societies and dismissed deviations as anomalies Gobekli: Turkey, built around 12,000 yrs ago What are we to make of this? -mode of subsistence (hunting, gathering, fishing) does not determine cultural complexity or scale of society -it is true that no state-level society arose in the absence of food production, but absence of food production does not limit human societies in the ways we might assume -hunting and gathering is often today a political choice and probably has been for a long time -cannot blithely use modern H-Gs as good analog for the ancient past

9/12/19 Domestication and the Neolithic Revolution The Neolithic: -period after ~12,000 ya when food production replaces hunting/gathering as the dominant mode of subsistence Revolutions: -Industrial Revolution ● V. Gordon Childe (1920s): “Neolithic Revolution” -”Civilization” ● Settled farming villages, larger populations, greater “social complexity”? -Domestication ● Corn ● Morphological traits: flower cluster compaction, loss of natural shatter mechanism of seed dispersal, uniform maturation of fruit, increased seed mass, reduced seed coat thickness ● A domestic animal is one whose mate choice is influenced by humans and whose tameness and tolerance of humans is genetically determined

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Breeding controlled by humans Appearance and/or behavior differs from wild ancestors Tolerance of proximity to people smaller/larger Floppy ears (manifestations of neoteny) Animals couldn’t survive on their own (dogs, cats) Tamed does not equal domesticated

-Natufian Hunter-Gatherers

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From 12,000 to 10,000 ya From 12,000 10,000 years ago, hunter gatherer population known as Natufian inhabited “the western flanks” of the Zagros Mountains ▪ collected wild wheat and barley for food ▪ Maintained mobile settlement, utilizing wild plant resources seasonally

● ● ● -Intensification ● Wild plants increased in importance as climate grew increasingly drier and less predictable ● Natufians sought the densest stands of wheat and barley and came up with technological innovations to improve returns > sickles and containers for harvesting > storage facilities > grinding basins

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Due to these innovations, …

-Gradual domestication ● Transported kernels into areas that were marginal for the natural propagation of wild wheat and barley ● Created genetic drift effect by introducing only kernels with tough rachis ● Also, exposed plant to new conditions, new selective factors ● Eventually, people recognized favorable traits and began cultivating ● Final step - deliberate planting -Consequences of Agriculture ● Settlement? ● Accumulation of food surplus ● Accumulation of material culture ● Specialization ● Social stratification ● Warfare Questioning the Neolithic Revolution: How revolutionary was it? -sweeping effects of agriculture are undeniable > increased carrying capacity/population > sedentary existence > tech. Innovation > social differentiation -adoption of agricultural lifestyle was always a process, never an event -all of these “advancements” also found among hunter-gatherers Does agriculture equal progress? -decline in overall health -increase infectious disease -did not free people from vagaries of nature -not a better life for everyone, only for nonproducers -not proven sustainable

9/17/19 EXAM: -know the date ranges of the eras -the book: don’t panic about specific vocab, just read through the book, points at the end of chapters -lectures, videos -names: memorize, why they’re important

-mesolithic: after the ice age, people hunting and gathering -40 mc and 2-3 essay q’s -lamark and linneaus, etc -sungir, russia: kids buried head to head -know specific examples to back up essays -perspective on hunter-gatherers -cave art, what it means, how can we tell what it means, what it says about humans -is agriculture a better alternative to hunter-gathering

9/24/19 Cities and States What is civilization? -a term with ethnocentric connotations, notions of refinement and progress -literally, “living in cities” -traditional hallmarks: cities, writing, craft specialization, stratification, state-level government Defining the State: political institution established to manage and defend a complex stratified society with a defined territory -states generally have authority to: ● Make and enforce rules ● Levy taxes; redistribute surplus labor and wealth ● Use military force -Locations of early states: mesoamerica (Mayas, Aztecs), Andean region (incas), nile valley (egypt), mesopotamia, huang ho river region (shang), indus river region (harappa) Purpose of States: Integrative or Coercive? -Athens: integrative, provide services to people, people can live happily and healthily under state -Sparta: coercive, maintain power of ruling elite, minority elite, crush any rebellion State Origins: Hydraulic Theory -helps explain the occurrences of early states in river valleys -based on premise that irrigation was essential for the high crop yields needed to sustain growing neolithic communities -state developed out of centralized efforts to control the construction and operation of irrigation systems

State Origins: The Trade Imperative -agriculturally rich lowland areas lacked many other essential resources -material disparities led to the development of expansive trade networks -communities and elites who succeeded in acquiring scarce commodities grew in size and power State Origins: Circumscription and Warfare -natural impediments to expansion or migration led to dense circumscribed (constrained, limited, bounded in by outside forces) populations -internally, this led to competition and eventually stratifications -externally, it encouraged wars over limited territory, culminating in rise of a centralized dominant power State Origins: Action Theory -states arose through the self-serving actions of forceful leaders -absolute control justified through appeal to religious authority -divine powers used to subjugate rivals Archaeological things associated with states -monumental architecture -propaganda of the ruling elite (Vladimir Putin) -luxury objects Adoption of writing? -earliest: cuneiform in mesopotamia, hieroglyphs in egypt, 4th millennium BC (five thousand years old) -chinese oracle bones c. 1200 BC -mayan glyphs c. 250 BC -Ge’ez c. 500 BC (ethiopia) city-like attributes: dense, cosmopolitan, planned Why do states fail? - Internal conflict? - Disease? - Catastrophe? - Climate change? Uruk, the world’s first city -by 5500 years ago, it covered over 100 hectares with population of over 10000 people (modern day Iraq) -population reached eventually over 50000 -surrounded by 7 m high wall with guard towers

-included a massive ziggurat (mud-brick platform supporting public and religious structures) -strict sociopolitical hierarchy Greater Cahokia, AD 900-1300 -intensive corn-based agricultural economy in the american bottom of the mississippi river valley -chiefly elite made legitimate through connection with cosmos -part of cultural developments throughout much of eastern NA -..... The big bang -something happened at AD 1050 that drew people to cahokia -series of ritual events leading to elaborate tombs and other sacred infrastructure -big bag tied to emerging leadership with claims to the cosmos (i.e. prophets) -expanded outward with religious colonies Lost cities: mystery of cahokia - why did North America’s largest city vanish? Empires: many ethnicities ruled by a centralized state

9/26/19 African Archaeology -africa has the longest archaeological record in the world -hugh trevor-roper, historian, 1960s: “there is only the history of Europeans in africa. The rest is darkness” -”trevor-roper trap”: history is only valid and important if its history like european history Cities in Africa (large) -Nubia -Timbuktu, Mali 1100s AD: center of Islamic scholarship, architecture, mosques -Jenne-jeno: terra-cotta sculptures -”Nok” culture 2,000 ya: nok figurines (also terra-cotta) -Great Zimbabwe: Shonah

Pastoralism: a social and economic system based on the raising and herding of domestic animals

10/1/19 Historical Perspectives on Human Classification Early Perspectives: -Classical antiquity - physical differences mostly attributed to the environment -Middle ages - classical view melded with biblical...