1. Ancient Peoples and Places
Archaeology 100-D200
Ancient Peoples and Places
Archaeology and the Study of Prehistory…
Week 6: THE NEOLITHIC: NEAR EAST, THE AMERICAS AND THE WORLD. INCREASING SOCIAL COMPLEXITY WITH DOMESTICATION
February 20th & 22nd 2012
Dr. Alvaro Higueras Simon Fraser University, Spring 2012

2. The Middle East and the Neolithic
Agenda of Week 6
The Middle East and the Neolithic
Early agriculture in other parts of the world
Political structures and increasing complexity in human organization.

3. Those 15 points for Session 4 & 5
A. Population of the Americas.
B. The Magdalenian on the way to the Mesolithic.
C. "Sampling” and “sampling”.
D. The sequence of political evolution.
E. Differences between Chiefdom and State?
F. "Qualitative" aspects of the political forms.
G. What are empires for?
H. The most variable stage in the evolution…?

4. I. Redistribution and its evolution.
J. Decline, small vs. large scale societies.
K. The Mesolithic and the environment.
L. What is there to love about the Magdalenian?
M. Megafauna and the evidence.
N. Symbiosis of humans and animals towards domestication.
O. The most important factor in the formation and consolidation of state-level societies?

5. Redistribution… in “simple” chiefdoms
Other mechanisms in more “complex” ones… without R > Accumulation (then “gifts”)
Concentration of power and goods, used of them in “strategic” ways
Chiefdom as a non-existent or short stage in some areas…
Or archaeologists have not been able to document it in the archaeological record of some regions

6. > Cooperation and good teamwork, as a cluster of chiefdoms…
State
> Cooperation and good teamwork, as a cluster of chiefdoms…
> Sustainable resources, dense population, and (further) evolution of a hierarchy
> Physical environment where it controls the activities aspect of social organization such as farming, irrigation, buildings…
> Resolution of Conflict/competition in densely populated societies is the factor, as the state is thereon needed for conflict resolution and management of the land.

7. The center of it all: The Fertile Crescent
It is an area of Mediterranean climate characterized by dry summers and winter rains with enough precipitation to support vegetation ranging from woodlands to open park woodland
South and east of the Fertile Crescent, the open park woodlands give way to steppes and true deserts
It environment today is much drier that at the onset of the domestication process

8. Historical context for the development of agriculture
> Spatial continuity & formation of mounds
Jericho
Çatalhöyük

9. Kebaran and Geometric Kebaran
These sites identified by characteristic stone tools — bladelets
Most sites are remains of small camps made by highly mobile hunter-gatherers
Burials at these sites are rare
No evidence of plant or animal domestication during this period
Plant remains recovered include wild grasses, fruits, nuts, and animals

10. The Natufian
Sedentary hunter-gatherers foraging for food such as emmer wheat, barley and almonds, and hunting gazelle, deer, cattle, horse, and wild boar.
For at least part of the year, Natufian people lived in communities, some quite large, of semi-subterranean houses.
These semi-circular one room structures were excavated partly into the soil and built of stone, wood and perhaps brush roofs.

12. They located their settlements at the boundaries between coastal plains and hill country, to maximize their access to a wide variety of food.
They buried their dead in cemeteries, with grave goods including stone bowls and dentalium shell.
The largest Natufian communities (called ‘base camps’) found to date include Jericho, Ain Mallaha, and Wadi Hammeh 27.
Smaller, short-range dry season foraging camps may have been part of the settlement pattern, although evidence for them is scarce.

13. The Natufian tools
Characteristic stone tool is the lunate, a crescent-shaped bladelet served as hunting tools or as parts of tools made of multiple small pieces
Michael Chazan

14. Natufian settlements
People began the transition to village life during this period
Structures are ovals or open semicircles
Structures consist of undressed stones piled to form walls up to 1 metre high
Structure floors covered with refuse—including stone tools and animal bones
The stone walls are thought to have supported superstructures made of wood and brush
Not clear what function structures served

15. Natufian burials
Burials are commonly found on Natufian sites
In some cases, the skull has been removed prior to burial
Some Natufian burials include shell necklaces and head coverings

16. Natufian subsistence
Natufians practised a broad-spectrum subsistence strategy
They exploited a wide range of wild plants
Most plant species do not show any evidence of having been domesticated
Hunting focused on a single species, gazelle
No herd animals were domesticated
Burials indicate that dogs were part of human society and being domesticated

17. Early Neolithic is divided into two major periods:
The Early Neolithic
Early Neolithic is divided into two major periods:
Pre-Pottery Neolithic A
Dates between 12,000-10,800 years ago
Corresponds to end of the Younger Dryas
The Big Freeze, was a geologically brief (1300 ± 70 years) cold climate period between approximately 12800
Pre-Pottery Neolithic B
Dates between 10,800-8,500 years ago
Corresponds to a period of improved climate

18. The Early Neolithic technology
A shift away from tools made on
bladelets
This period’s toolkit is made on blades with an emphasis on arrowheads
Toolkit includes sickles, ground stone axes, and adzes
Grinding stones for processing grains found in extremely large quantities
Pre-Pottery B sites exhibit highly developed use of plaster

19. Pre-pottery A Neolithic
Settlement size increased during this period
First evidence of communal structures appears
Most impressive of these structures is Jericho tower—9 m high, made of undressed stone and mud brick, attached to the inside of a massive wall
Houses continue to be circular, but settlements larger than Natufian ones

20. Pre-pottery B Neolithic
Round houses give way to rectangular ones
Settlement size increases significantly
Rectangular houses allow sites to be more densely packed than previously
Villages often show high degree of planning
No sense that the regular layout of the sites reflects presence of centralized authority

21. Early Neolithic Ritual
Many ritual objects were hidden—in pits, under floors, in caves—their functions are unknown
Most striking hidden objects are plastered skulls
Human skulls on which plaster faces have been molded
Plaster figures have been found in pits
A cache of ritual objects were found in a cave
includes a cap, a bag, beads, bone tools, arrowheads, a painted stone mask, and a human skull with a net pattern on the cranium

22. Chinchorro burial, Northern Chile
Plastered Skull, Jericho

23. Early Neolithic Domestication
Earliest evidence of plant domestication is seen in contexts from the Pre-Pottery A
Farming developed during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period
A wide range of domesticated crops is found including
Cereals—emmer wheat, einkorn wheat, barley
Pulses—lentils, peas
Legumes—bitter vetch, chick peas

24. The Late Neolithic
Characterized by the development of pottery manufacture
Stone tools, expedient tools, made on local materials with minimal energy investment
Characterized by a limited number of large sites and small dispersed hamlets
Large sites are not densely packed
Symbolic artifacts tend to be stylized animal figurines

25. Late Neolithic subsistence
Importance of hunting continuously declines throughout period
Evidence for animal domestication includes changes in the shape of goat horns
Despite symbolic emphasis on bulls, main source of meat was domestic goat
People still relied on the full range of plants domesticated in the Early Neolithic

26. Tabaqat el-Buma
Directed by University of Toronto
archaeology professor Ted Banning
Part of the Wadi Ziqlab Project; survey of this area of Northern Jordan
Late Neolithic site
Characterized by a number of dwellings that make up a small community
Banning suggests that these small, dispersed communities may have replaced the larger nucleated villages of the Early Neolithic

27. The “cereals used at the Natufian site of Mureybet
The “cereals used at the Natufian site of Mureybet... may not have been growing locally [but]... may have been imported or introduced from farther north... Transport of raw materials across considerable distances is well known in the Near East, adding weight to the argument that cereals were also transported” (Willcox 2005, 539).
We need not imagine this to be the result of an institutionalized market in cereal futures (Bernstein 1996) in order to ask whether microeconomic tools will help us to understand how differential valuation in zones of production and consumption, balanced against the transaction costs associated with such movements of goods, rights, and/or consumers, will further analysis and explanation.

28. Willcox’s : The distribution, natural habitats and availability of wild cereals in relation to their domestication in the Near East: multiple events, multiple centres
(pattern shown as well at a world scale… plants micro adapted to initial environmental features)
The proximity of a perennial water source was the main priority when choosing a settlement location, not the proximity of wild cereal stands. Settlement sites are all situated near a river, spring or lake... Due to the patchy distribution of the two wild wheat species, many sites were situated at some distance from the wild stands.

29. The change from gathering to cultivation was a gradual process
The change from gathering to cultivation was a gradual process. Hillman suggests that it had already started on a small scale in the Natufian, and a knowledge of planting may go back even farther – Mesolithic broad spectrum experiences –
During the initial stages early farmers may have been obliged to frequently replenish their seed stocks from wild stands, which would slow the domestication process. It is not until the end of the 9th millennium BC that we see the appearance of well established farmers with fully-fledged agriculture which produced conditions favourable for the selection of domestic traits

30. Microeconomic models for framing the question of agricultural origins in terms of risk, discounting, economies of scale, and transaction costs. Rather than a functional approach: productive environment or inequality function to facilitate this transformation? Causal approach: climate change, population growth, or feasting. Behavioral ecology economic concepts are applicable whatever the mode of production

31. Politics and Borders in Archaeology
Politics and archaeology frequently intersect in the Middle East
Archaeology has been an important tool for change in places such as Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and Syria
However, Steven Rosen has shown that national borders have had a major influence on the reconstruction of the prehistory of the region

32. Problem:
Modern borders affect the limits of where archaeologists work or visit
Israeli and Syrian archaeologists are unable to cross borders and visit each other’s countries for intellectual exchange
Results:
Lack of communication and fragmentation of the archaeological record
Distorts our view of the past

33. Progress: > Signing of a peace agreement between Israel and Jordan has eased travel between these two countries > Outbreaks of violence keeps travel to a minimum > But ease in travel has improved understanding of the connections between Israel and Jordan in prehistory > Emphasis on understanding local archaeological developments from a global perspective is a useful counterbalance to tendencies to use archaeology to promote nationalist agendas

34. Domesticates in Europe
Origins of domesticated plants and animals can be traced to the Middle East, the “wave”…
No evidence of indigenous domestication of plants or animals
Unresolved questions about domestication in Europe include:
> Did populations of farmers sweep across Europe bringing new crops and new lifeways with them
> Did Mesolithic hunter-gatherers adopt domesticated plants and animals to forge a new way of life?

35. Sheep and goat, as well as some cereals (emmer wheat and einkorn) and pulses (lentil, pea, chick pea, and bitter vetch) had no wild ancestors in Europe during the Holocene.

36. A Feast of Diversity

37. Domestication in Africa
There are 3 major regions where plants were indigenously domesticated in Africa:
1. Northeast Africa—tef, finger millet, and coffee
2. Central Africa—pearl millet, sorghum
3. West Africa—African rice
Domesticated plants introduced from the Middle East include wheat, barley, lentils
Domesticated animals introduced from the Middle East were sheep and goats
Considerable debate surrounds the origin of domesticated cattle in Africa

38. The Sahara desert
Today the Sahara desert is the most dominant feature of the North African landscape
The current desert environment developed in the Sahara only within the last years
Between 14,000 and 4500 years ago there was considerably more rainfall in the Sahara
Extensive human occupation of the region was possible before it became a desert

39. Hunter-gatherers villages
Small villages of hunter-gatherers existed across northern Africa during the period of increased rainfall in the Sahara
Such sites resemble Natufian sites in the Middle East in several ways:
Their size, the nature of the structures on them, the exploitation of a wide range of resources, the use of grinding stones
African also differ from Natufian sites in significant ways:
Pottery and large numbers of storage pits are commonly found on African sites—not in Natufian period

40. African pastoralists
Domesticated animals were introduced before domesticated plants in much of North Africa
Cattle, sheep, and goats appear to have been incorporated into mobile hunter-gatherer societies
Mobile societies with economies focused on maintaining herds of domesticated animals are called pastoral societies

41. Agriculture in New Guinea
Today, agricultural societies of New Guinea emphasize the centrality of pigs and sweet potatoes for subsistence and for developing a social hierarchy
The exchange of pigs is an essential element of political power
Sweet potatoes are an important part of the diet of pigs; therefore, mean political power
Surprisingly, both sweet potatoes and pigs were introduced to New Guinea fairly recently—they were domesticated elsewhere

42. New Guinea domesticates
Genetic research indicates that a wide number of plants were indigenously domesticated in New Guinea
These crops include yams, bananas, taro, and possibly sugarcane
None of these crops are cereals—no seed crops
Traditional agricultural processes in New Guinea involve transplanting suckers, cuttings, or shoots

43. The Andes environment
Andes are the second highest mountain chain in the world
The Andean highlands are divided into four zones based on altitude above sea level:
1. Quechua zone: m, where corn grows well
2. Suni zone: m, where crops indigenous to the Andes are grown
3. Puna zone: m, open grassland for grazing alpacas and llamas
4. Cordillera zone: above 4800 m, not used for agriculture

44. Andean domestication
Domesticated beans from Guitarrero Cave have been directly dated to 4300 BP.
Quinoa seeds have been found in layers years old at Panaulauca Cave
The earliest evidence for domesticated potatoes dates to BP.
Probably not the earliest domesticate potatoes because they were found along the coast, not where wild potatoes grow

45. Andean domestication
Llamas and alpacas (camelids) were domesticated beginning 10, years ago
Llama as pack animal 25 kg at most
Vicuña and Guanaco are still wild camelids
The other domesticated Andean animal is the guinea pig, when domesticated unknown, but perhaps after camelids

46. Preagricultural coastal villages
By 8000 BP small settled villages developed along the Peruvian coast
Houses were built of reeds and grasses over a wooden structure
About 10 families lived in a village at any given time
Burial data indicates that there were not higher status individuals

47. The Cotton Preceramic
Prevalence of cotton seeds and absence of pottery on its sites
These sites are often quite large and contain evidence of monumental architecture
The flat-topped pyramid, Huaca de los Idolos, dates to BP., the earliest known monumental architecture in the New World
The bulk of the Cotton Preceramic diet consisted of fish and shellfish
Populations obtained gourds, squash, chili pepper, beans, and jicima from wild plants
The dominant crop species was cotton, also in the wild, used for making textiles and nets

48. Caral, World heritage site, 2009

49. Preagricultural coastal villages
Inhabitants of these villages were hunter-gatherers who relied heavily on the rich coastal marine resources
A wide range of wild plant resources including seeds, fruits, and tubers were exploited
Cultivated gourds were domesticated; beans and squash may have been cultivated, but they were not significant parts of the diet

50. Pacific currents & society
Humboldt Current: brings cool waters up from the south along the Andean coast
Responsible for the wealth of marine resources that allowed villages to thrive without agriculture
El Niño: a severe reversal of the Humboldt Current; occurs every years
When major El Niños occur, there is a massive decline in fish and shellfish populations on the coast

51. Pacific currents & society
Also causes torrential rains that cause massive flooding and mud slides
Some argue that El Niños have only happened for about 6000 years
The onset of the Cotton Preceramic and El Niño seem to correlate
Perhaps climactic uncertainty played a role in the development of large centres with some reliance on agriculture

52. Domestication in East Asia
Rice was domesticated along the Yangtze and Huai River Valleys, China by 9000 BP.
Millet was domesticated in the Yellow River Valley, China by the Peiligang culture, c BP.
Dogs, pigs, and water buffalo were domesticated in southern China
Pigs and, possibly, chickens were domesticated in northern China
Pottery vessels from Banpo Village site, China.

53. Development of Chinese farming societies
Yangshou culture developed out of the Peiligang culture of the Yellow River
Yangshou villages consisted of both round semisubterranean houses and rectangular houses built on the surface
Wild plants and animals were exploited
Millet was fully domesticated as were dogs and pigs
Pottery vessels were made in many forms with elaborate painted decorations

54. Mesoamerica and North America

55. Mesoamerican domestication
Squash (Curcurbita pepo) was the earliest plant domesticated in Mesoamerica
Earliest squash seeds dated to 10, BP.
Ancestor of squashes eaten today including pumpkins, acorn squash, zucchini, spaghetti squash, etc.
Maize was domesticated from teosinte, a wild grass found in the highlands of Mexico
Earliest maize dated to 6250 and 5500 BP.

56. Mesoamerican domestication
Beans were domesticated independently in Mesoamerica and in the Andes
Earliest date for a Mexican bean is 2500 BP.
It is very likely that beans were domesticated earlier, at the same time as maize

57. Maize in SW North America
Maize and squash agriculture spread to northern Mexico and the southwestern U.S. about 3400 BP. in the Southwestern Late Archaic Period
Initial impact of maize and squash varied across the region
In some areas there was increased sedentism
In other areas, agriculture did not substantially alter the lives of the Late Archaic hunter-gatherers

58. The Formative period
The introduction of pottery into the American Southwest marks the beginning of the Formative period
The introduction of pottery
overlaps with the introduction of beans
Sites with pit houses are common in this period
Formative sites range in size from 1-2 houses to as many as 25-35—one village site has 60 houses
Regional variation in the impact of maize continues into the Formative

59. Optimal foraging model
Assumes that humans act on the basis of rational self-interest to maximize efficiency in collecting and processing resources
Archaeologists use this theory to explain the variation in adaptation to the introduction of maize agriculture
According to optimal foraging theory, diversity exists in the uptake of maize agriculture as the result of rational decisions about the productiveness of the landscape and the returns from maize agriculture

60. Eastern North American domesticates
Late Archaic peoples of eastern North America independently domesticated a variety of plants
Including sunflower, marsh elder, chenopod, and squash
Late Archaic peoples also narrowed their subsistence base—especially in areas with rich supplies of shellfish
Shell middens
The impact of domesticates on subsistence in the Late Archaic was minimal
Hunting and gathering continued to be the basis of Late Archaic subsistence

61. The Adena culture is found in the Ohio River Valley
Adena culture corresponds to the Early Woodland period of Eastern North America
The Adena culture is found in the Ohio River Valley
During the Adena period increasingly large burial mounds were constructed accompanied by increasingly elaborate burial practices
The Great Serpent Mound, Ohio.

62. The Hopewell
In the Ohio River Valley, the Middle Woodland period corresponds to the Hopewell—a culture that built complex earthworks and had elaborate burial rituals
Some Hopewell mounds were built over structures
Massive earthworks were created in a number of forms including circles, squares, and octagons
Some mounds were created over a variety of types of burials, other mounds had intrusive burials in them

63. The Hopewell
The Hopewell exchange network moved exotic goods across huge distances
Quantities of expertly crafted objects made from exotic materials in burials indicate the status of elites

64. Evidence indicates that some earthworks were occupied
Hopewell settlement
According to the vacant centre pattern model, Hopewell earthworks served as the symbolic and ceremonial core of a community that lived across a wide area
Evidence indicates that some earthworks were occupied
Assessing the nature of Hopewell settlements is difficult because of
The widespread modern destruction of the earthworks and their massive scale
The low archaeological visibility of Hopewell habitation sites because of alluvial soil buildup
Hopewell bird claw.

65. Woodland subsistence
Early & Middle Woodland subsistence was based heavily on the cultivation of indigenously domesticated plants
The earliest dates for maize in eastern North America are between BP.
Maize is rare in the Early/Middle Woodland and did not play a major role in the diet
Throughout the Woodland period, hunting and gathering continued to be key elements of subsistence along with the cultivation of local domesticates

66. Maize Agriculture in Eastern North America
By the beginning of the Late Woodland, maize is found as far north as Ontario
Maize was cultivated throughout much of eastern North America by 1700 BP., however
Isotope analysis of skeletal remains indicates that maize did not play a major role in the diet until about 1000 years ago
Turkeys appear to have been domesticated during the Formative period
Turkey domestication in the Southwest and in Mesoamerica were separate events

67. Domestication: Bruce Smith’s model
A coevolutionary model for the indigenous domestication of plants in eastern North America
Smith states that climate change led to increased permanence of human settlements
The shift to more permanent settlements led to gradual ecological changes that resulted in the emergence of domesticated plants over a period of several thousand years

68. Domestication: Smith’s model, in 5 major stages 1
Domestication: Smith’s model, in 5 major stages 1. Garbage heaps around long-term human occupations provided an excellent ecological niche for weedy plants. In these contexts, seeds that sprouted and grew quickly had an advantage 2. People tolerated edible plants and removed unwanted plants 3. People began to encourage and systematically harvest useful plants while weeding out useless ones 4. Seeds of the best useful plants were deliberately planted every year 5. Plants that were clearly morphologically domesticated emerged

69. Domestication: Prentice’s model
Guy Prentice proposed that the domestication of plants might have been the result of intentional actions by individuals
Prentice argues that the introduction of domesticated squash into eastern North America was carried out by male shamans who would have used the gourds as rattles or ritual containers

70. Princess Point Complex
Found in southern Ontario; dates to 650–900 A.D.
Consisted of Algonkian-speaking hunter-gatherers
Important to the debate about whether maize exploitation (agriculture) moved into the area via migration from the south during this time, or whether it was adopted by local groups
Pottery is believed to have started 900 A.D.; however, University of Toronto at Mississauga archaeologists David Smith and Gary Crawford have found evidence for both pottery and a degree of sedentism as early as 540 A.D. in the PPC
Suggests perhaps both local adoption of agriculture and migration

71. Gender Bias and domestication
Watson and Kennedy link the seeming invisibility of people in the origins of agriculture to gender bias
“men are strong, dominant protectors who hunt animals; women are weaker, passive, hampered by their reproductive responsibilities, and hence, consigned to plant gathering” (Watson and Kennedy 1991:256)
Smith’s domestication model is an example of the “passive” form of bias—agriculture just happened unconsciously

72. Gender Bias and domestication
Prentice’s domestication model is active but, tellingly, the agent is explicitly male
Watson and Kennedy propose a model for the adoption of maize in eastern North America that emphasizes the active role of female gardeners
They propose that women, who already had extensive experience growing indigenous cultigens, actively experimented with the Midwestern 12-row maize to develop a variety that was better suited to their region

73. Gender Bias and domestication
The result was the development and spread of eastern 8-row maize
In this model, the adoption of maize in eastern North America was an achievement of the active intervention of women

74. Summing up the evidence
In eastern North America, hunter-gatherer groups had domesticated a number of plant species long before the introduction of maize agriculture
Regional variability continued into the Formative period
Archaeologists try to explain the pattern in terms of optimal foraging theory

75. Early and Middle Woodland Adena and Hopewell cultures
Massive earthworks constructed
Evidence for specialized craft manufacture
Long-distance trade in high status items
Nature of settlement systems remains poorly understood
Introduction of maize at the end of the Middle Woodland period had little impact of the diet