Transcript ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE FIRST PEOPLES

ARCHAEOLOGY AND
THE FIRST PEOPLES
Chapter 1
CLOVIS SPEARPOINT
Image Source: http://www.thefurtrapper.com/prehistoric_indians.htm
Folsom New Mexico
• In 1927 spear points embedded in bison
• Carbon dated to 11 000 years BP
• Timeframe for how long people have been
in North America
THE CLOVIS MODEL:
• Clovis New Mexico 1935
• projectile points date to 11 500- 11 000 years BP
• Until recently this was the earliest identified
period in the history of the America’s First
Peoples
• It showed that hunters were probably chasing big
game such as mammoth, camel and bison
• Many researchers believe such practices led to the
extinction of these large mammals
Image Source:
http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2007/05/did_ice_age_spa.html
CHALLENGES
TO CLOVIS
• The evidence at Clovis instilled a paradigm bias
• Researchers therefore did not dig below Clovis era
soil (reference to stratigraphy)
• Monte Verde (Chile) is 1000 years older than
Clovis
• Cactus Hill in Virginia dated to 16 000 years BP
PLANO PERIOD
• Named for the
Spanish words for
“plains”
• 10 000- 7000 BP
big game
disappeared from
North America
www.civili
http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/archeo/cvh/maritim/v65-7.htm
•During this period the Plano people emergedmarked by a change in technology
•Different edge made by stone chipping
ALTERNATIVE EVIDENCE:
LINGUISTICS
• The study of structures in language
• Language evolves over time
• Studied to understand culture and how
languages are interconnected
• Variations in language take a great deal of
time
• The more varied languages in a region the
more time has passed
LINGUISTICS (2)
• North America is one of the most
linguistically diverse regions in the world,
• Many archaeologists believed First Peoples
here pre-date Clovis
• There is no way there could be so many
languages during the Clovis era
PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
• Physical Anthropologists analyze human remains
• They reveal a great deal about human evolution
and genetic development
• Human remains that have been studied show the
peopling of the Americas happened in different
waves of migration
PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY (2)
• Examples:
• The oldest bones of the First Peoples are
closer in resemblance to civilizations from
Japan, Polynesia and Europeans than to
those of modern Aboriginals
Stop and Think!!
• Is it ethical to study human remains?
• Record your initial response on your sheet
CASE STUDY
KENNEWICK MAN
• Dated to 9200 BP
• Remains discovered in the
Columbia River in
Washington State in 1996
• Extremely well preserved
Legal Issues
• NAGPRA (law in the USA- remains
over 500 yrs old are Aboriginal)
• A coalition of 5 Aboriginal groups
claimed him as an ancestor
• Wanted the remains returned to them for
burial
• They won the 4 year court battle
• Stopped any further study of the remains
KENNEWICK MAN
http://www.sciencedaily.com/gallery/fossils_ruins/
archaeology/8/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/science/nature/
4651831.stm
2002 update- Excerpt #1
(click here for article)
• “This treatment of Native American
remains as scientific specimens deprives
native people of the basic right to properly
bury or care for these ancestors," the
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian
Reservation said in a statement.”
Excerpt #2
• “Scientists have argued, however, that Kennewick
Man has the potential to greatly increase evolving
knowledge of how the Americas were populated
and where the early inhabitants came from.”
• Source: Handwerk, Brian National Geographic News, “Disputed
Prehistoric Bones OK to Study, U.S. Rules”, September 5, 2002.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/09/0905_kennewick
.html
Perspective of Archaeologists
• Science: value of information is a priority
over individual subjective needs
• What one person defines as sacred may not
be the same as another’s perspective
• To inquire, analyze and preserve is central
to scientific point of view
• Native populations can benefit from
knowing about their ancestry
Robbins, Gwen. "Bioarchaeology." Appalachian State University. North Carolina,
Boone. 8 Feb. 2010. Lecture.
Perspective of some Aboriginal
groups
• Anthropology in the past was used to search for
proof that one group is superior to another- racism
• Scientific interpretation does not leave room for
alternative understandings – misrepresentation of
how Aboriginals see themselves
• Excavation shows little empathy or respect for
Aboriginal spiritual beliefs
• Associated costs and issues concerning reburial
Robbins, Gwen. "Bioarchaeology." Appalachian State University. North Carolina,
Boone. 8 Feb. 2010. Lecture.
What Kennewick Man will never tell us…
• “…we would never know the form or color of his eyes, skin and hair,
whether his hair was curly or straight, his lips thin or full -- in short
many of the characteristics by which we judge living peoples' racial
affiliation.” Jim Chatters
•
“We will never be certain if his wound was by accident or intent, what
language he spoke, or his religious beliefs. We cannot know if he is
truly anyone's ancestor. Given the millennia since he lived, he may be
sire to none or all of us.” Jim Chatters
"Kennewick Man." Smithsonian Institution National Museum of
Natural History NMNH. Web. 08 Feb. 2010.
<http://www.mnh.si.edu/arctic/html/Kennewick_man.html>. Jim
Chatters