Human Prehistory of Great Salt Lake Human Prehistory Human
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10/11/2010 Human Prehistory To understand human history of Great Salt Lake need to go back to origins of humans. Human Prehistory of Great Salt Lake Human Evolution Human Evolution First hominids lived in Africa ~ 7 million years ago 14 different species identified (best known Australopithecus) First fossils classified as Homo sapiens date from about 200,000 years ago and are called neanderthals (a subspecies of Homo sapiens). (A) Pan troglodytes, chimpanzee, modern (H) Homo ergaster (early H. erectus), KNM-ER 3733, 1.75 My (B) Australopithecus africanus, STS 5, 2.6 My (I) Homo heidelbergensis, "Rhodesia man," 300,000 - 125,000 y (C) Australopithecus africanus, STS 71, 2.5 My (J) Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, La Ferrassie 1, 70,000 y (D) Homo habilis, KNM-ER 1813, 1.9 My (K) Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, La Chappelle-aux-Saints, 60,000 y (E) Homo habilis, OH24, 1.8 My (L) Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, Le Moustier, 45,000 y (F) Homo rudolfensis, KNM-ER 1470, 1.8 My (M) Homo sapiens sapiens, Cro-Magnon I, 30,000 y (G) Homo erectus, Dmanisi cranium D2700, 1.75 My (N) Homo sapiens sapiens, modern 1 10/11/2010 Modern Human Beings Social Organization •Began to migrate outside of Africa 100,000 Migration years ago. North America was the last colonized by hominids. •Believed by many to have replaced the Traditional hypothesis - Beringia (land bridge) Neanderthals by 30,000 B.C.. between Russia and Alaska Genetic Evidence - Asian origin of Native •By 10,000 B.C. Homo sapiens Sapiens could Americans be found throughout the world due to migration. 30,000 to 12,000 years B.P. was first migration The Holocene follows the Pleistocene epoch and began roughly 11,000–10,000 years ago At this time only about 10 sites of this age are known in North America. During the last ice age between 100,000 B.C. and 8000 B.C. the water level in the oceans dropped revealing a land bridge over the Bering Strait connecting Asia and North America 2 10/11/2010 Entering the New World When did humans first enter the New World? When people first arrived in the New World is tied The estimates range from 30,000+ years ago to 13,500 up with where they arrived. years ago. The migration into the New World, no matter when, expanded humanity’s dispersal through 2 new continents. Archaeologists rely on biological, geographical, It is during this time that the scene was set for plant and and linguistic data to help sort out this question. animal domestication and thus the transformation of the Earth’s surface Radiometric Dating How do scientists know the age of All radioactive atoms eventually decay, Carbon 14 archaeological material? eventually decays to Nitrogen again Radiocarbon dating (radiometric dating) Carbon enters living world via PSN The % of C 14 in all living things is the same as the Cosmic radiation (form of neutrons) collides with % in the atmosphere Nitrogen atoms C14iC 14 is not repl eni sh ed once th e organi sm di es Collisons result in loss of proton – now has 6 protons and 8 neutrons Now unstable and now Carbon 14 (number of protons determines what kind of atom) 3 10/11/2010 Radiometric Dating Entering the New World When people first arrived in the New World is tied The decay rate or half-life of C 14 is constant 5,730 years up with where they arrived. Radon 222 = 4 days Uranium 238 = 4.5 billion years Archaeologists rely on biological, geographical, To determine the age of material all that is needed is and linguistic data to help sort out this question. to then know the ratio of C 12 to C 14 atoms within a specimen Particle accelerators are used to do this Entering the New World Beringia route The term for the bridge in anthropology is Three competing hypotheses: Beringia. • By way of the Bering land bridge that •Beringia: The dry-land connection between Asia and America connected Asia and North America that existed periodically during the Pleistocene epoch. several times during the late Pleistocene • At periods of glaciation more water was uptaken and the bridge would appear (up to 1,300 miles wide). • Along the coast of the northern Pacific Rim • By following the ice edge across the northern Atlantic from western Europe 4 10/11/2010 Beringia route Beringia route Between 28-15,000 years ago, Beringia consisted of In northern Asia, archaeologists have found Paleocene steppes and tundra hunting tools. Tundra: Treeless plains characterized by permafrost At Yana RHS (Russia) 30,000 years ago stone tools, conditions that support the growth of shallow-rooted horn, ivory spear foreshafts are found vegetation such as grasses and mosses. More recently, 14-13,000 years ago at Berelekh This environment supported herds of grazing animals. (Russia) shows how well adapted residents were to This environment would have been the same as that in northern Asia. this cold environment. Rhino horn foreshaft Pitulko et al. 2004. Science 303:52-56. 5 10/11/2010 Beringia route Bering Land Bridge Late Pleistocene Sites in Siberia The earliest inhabitants of North America may have entered the continent by way of the Bering land bridge, exposed during maximum glaciation. Beringia route So, Beringia was dry during two times of interest to human migration: The last glacial 75-45,000 years ago, during which the problem for travelers maximum was largely was the glaciers themselves. (not entirely) a North •Laurentian: Pleistocene ice sheet centered in the Hudson American Bay region and extending across much of eastern phenomenon. Canada and the northern United States • Cordilleran: Pleistocene ice sheet originating in mountains of western North America. 6 10/11/2010 7 10/11/2010 Evidence of Human Antiquity Human Artifacts in association with bones of extinct animals Mammoth, Mastodon, Giant Bison, etc. No evidence of human evolution in Western Hemisphere No hominid fossils So, humans have been here long enough for some animals to have gone extinct, but not so long as to have evolved from a pre-Human species Beringia Route Here’s what we know: Geologic Facts The land link was exposed twice, between 50,000 and 40,000 years ago, and again between 28,000 Pleistocene: 1.6 mya-10,000 BP and 10,000 years ago. Most Recent (Wisconsin) Glaciation: begins 75,000 BP Evidence is strong for human arrival during the latter Asian land bridge (Beringia): fully emergent part of the secon d per iod , alth ough h vari ous 40, 000 BP archeologists argue that entry occurred much Ice-Free Corridor between Laurentide and earlier. Cordilleran Ice Sheets open after 13,500 BP Cultural Facts Earliest widespread evidence of humans in North America is post-13,500 BP But, emerging evidence of earlier occupations 8 10/11/2010 Paleo-Indians in the Americas During the Paleo-Indian period, evidence of mobile hunting and gathering comes from widely scattered locations, including many sites in the western United States. The distinctive fluted point is the period’s hallmark artifact. Each face of a fluted point typically displays a groove (or “flute ” ) r esult in g fr om th e r em ov al of a l on g ch ann el flake, possibly to make it easier to use a special hafting technique for mounting the point on a shaft. 9 10/11/2010 Paleo-Indians in the Americas One of the striking findings about Clovis is that is was found in so many places across both continents at nearly the same time in all the places. Distribution of points cross-cuts many environments This suggests that the peoples were of recent introduction to the New World or that the idea of Clovis spread ve ry fast ( it was a g reat idea) These fluted Clovis spear points were hafted to bone foreshafts making for more efficient hunting This means that when a point was thrown it became detachable from the spear shaft This may be the first example of a ‘semi-automatic’ weapon Paleo-Indian Lifeways Megafauna Big game hunters? Clovis people of the American southwest were successful at hunting large game, like mammoths Some association with megafauna (mammoths and mastodons) but usually involving single individuals in locations that suggests chance encounter (associated with water) Mammoth Bison antiquis 10 10/11/2010 Paleo-Indian Lifeways Clovis Culture Paleo-Indians (Clovis) as First Americans • Megafauna: Animals over 100 pounds, including the mammoth, mastodon, giant bison, horse, camel, and ground sloth. Paleoindian Period (13,500-8,000 BP) • Of the sites associated with Paleo-Indians, the most impressive Paleo-Indian Culture are the places where ancient hunters killed and butchered Big game hunters megafauna. • e.g., Olsen-Chubbock, New Mexico (discovered 1930); bison kill site • At many of these kill sites, knives, scrapers, and finely flaked and fluted ppjrojectile p oints are directly associated with the animal bones, all of which are evidence that the megafauna were human prey. No other big game found associated with Clovis points Clovis Culture Fluted Points (e.g, Clovis, Folsom, Plano) Highly mobile; nomadic, seasonal movements Population density low, small, mobile bands Widely accepted as earliest occupants of Americas up through 1970’s 11 10/11/2010 Beringia route Pre-Paleoindian Occupations? 1970s – evidence of possible pre-Clovis occupation Ice free corridor open between Laurentide and Cordilleran glaciers by about 13,500 years ago. Linguistic evidence: some estimate Native American Problem: It appears there are several potential languages diverged from Asian languages 35,000 BP sites that date earlier. • Even so thdtthe dates this pa th open are dbtddebated The Earliest Americans Pre-Paleoindian Occupations? Biological and genetic evidence Prior to 9,500 years ago there are fewer than 2 dozen examples of Mitochondrial DNA: divergence of Native American skeletal remains.