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Prehistory & Anthropology Flashcards

Prehistory and anthropology exam cards — Clovis culture, Chinese Neolithic cultures, and early human material culture.

12 cards· by GuruOwl

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  1. 01
    Clovis points are not found in ___.
    The Old World (Europe/Asia/Africa) — Clovis is a Paleoindian tradition of the Americas. They are not found outside the New World.
    Clovis fluted projectile points date to ~13,000+ years ago in North America.
    clovispaleoindiangsc-priority
  2. 02
    What are Clovis points?
    Distinctive fluted stone projectile points associated with early Paleoindian hunters in North America.
    clovis
  3. 03
    The Yang-shao culture gave way to the Lung-shan sometime after ___.
    Sometime after roughly 3000 BCE (late Neolithic transition in the Yellow River region; dates vary by subregion, often cited around the 3rd millennium BCE).
    chinaneolithicgsc-priority
  4. 04
    What characterizes Yangshao (Yang-shao) culture?
    A Neolithic culture of the Yellow River region known for painted pottery, millet agriculture, and village settlement.
    chinaneolithic
  5. 05
    What characterizes Longshan (Lung-shan) culture?
    A later Neolithic culture known for fine black pottery, increased social complexity, and more fortified settlements in northern China.
    chinaneolithic
  6. 06
    What is the “Clovis-first” model, and why is it debated?
    The idea that Clovis people were the first Americans; debated because older sites (pre-Clovis) have been proposed/accepted in some regions.
    clovistheory
  7. 07
    What does “fluted” mean for a projectile point?
    A channel flake removed from the base, creating a flute that helps haft the point to a shaft.
    lithics
  8. 08
    What is a key subsistence association of many Clovis sites?
    Big-game hunting (including mammoth/mastodon in some contexts), alongside broader foraging.
    clovis
  9. 09
    Where did Neolithic agriculture first develop in China?
    Primarily in the Yellow River (millet) and Yangtze River (rice) basins.
    chinaagriculture
  10. 10
    What is stratigraphy used for in archaeology?
    Relative dating and site interpretation by reading layered deposits — lower layers are generally older than upper layers (law of superposition).
    methods
  11. 11
    What is radiocarbon dating used for?
    Estimating the age of organic materials (up to ~50,000 years) based on decay of carbon-14.
    methods
  12. 12
    What is a “type fossil” / diagnostic artifact?
    An artifact form so characteristic of a culture or period that its presence helps identify that culture (e.g., Clovis points).
    methods