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Hunter-Gatherers vs. Agriculturalists . Was the discovery of Agriculture a good thing? Some would say “YES!” because it allowed us to feed growing populations over time
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Was the discovery of Agriculture a good thing? • Some would say “YES!” because it allowed us to feed growing populations over time • Some would say “NO!” because early agriculturalists had poor health, and it led to the rise of settled societies and problems associated with them.
Studying Remains • What can you tell from this skeleton? • Ilium (pelvis) male/ female
In addition to the Ilium, compare the male ishium to the female ishium. The distance between ishia in females is larger to allow for childbirth.
Studying Remains • What can you tell from this skeleton? • Tibia Height • Femur and Fibula Height
Why the Bones? • Anthropologists can learn a lot about a population from the skeletal remains of its members • Skeletal analysis can provide insight to how community members lived • Conditions they may have lived under • Their state of health • What contributed to their deaths
The anthropological record of early man clearly shows health declined when populations made the switch from hunting and gathering to agriculture
CASE STUDY • Indian Knoll • Western Kentucky • 445 Skeletons Found • 296 Studied • 3300- 2000 BCE • Hardin Village • Eastern Kentucky • 1,234 Skeletons found • 285 Studied • 1500-1675 CE
Growth Arrest Lines Growth arrest lines, also known as Harris lines, show up on X-rays of long bones as traverse lines.
Harris lines When something occurs to the point that it halts bone growth for more than ten days, it results in a Harris Line. The lines are evident of a lack of growth period. Note the differences on “Tibia A” and “Tibia B”
The Harris Lines found within this tibia scan do not present in consistent intervals. We can determine that events leading to bone growth arrest were long lasting and randomly occurring.
The Harris Lines in Tibia B suggest a reoccurring pattern. Mixing evidence with archaeological data, scientists concluded that food shortages occurred regularly, probably on a yearly basis.
Enamel Hyperplasia Enamel hyperplasia is a defect that occurs when dental enamel doesn’t form completely, usually because of malnutrition or disease. Enamel hyperplasia is identified as a horizontal line, a series of pits or grooves along the outer surface of the tooth.
Osteoporosis Osteoporosis is a severe loss of mineral from the bone. The cortex, which contains most of the bone’s minerals, becomes very thin and fractures easily. It seems to be associated with aging and with malnutrition.
Skull: Porotic Changes Porotic changes are spongy holes that appear in the normally dense bone in the top of the skull and the orbits. They are linked to iron-deficiency anemia.
The classic sign of iron-deficiency anemia presents as a couple of conditions seen in the skull called porotic hyperostosis.
Summary of Findings 1. Life expectancies for both sexes at all ages were lower at Hardin Village than at Indian Knoll. 2. Infant mortality was higher at Hardin Village. 3. Iron-deficiency anemia of sufficient duration to cause bone changes was absent at Indian Knoll, but present at Hardin Village, where 50 percent of cases occurred in children under age five. 4. Growth arrest episodes at Indian Knoll were periodic and more often of short duration; those at Hardin Village occurred randomly and were more often of long duration.
Summary of Findings Overall, the agricultural Hardin Villagers were clearly less healthy than the Indian Knollers, who lived by hunting and gathering 5. More children suffered infections at Hardin Village than at Indian Knoll. 6. Tooth decay was rampant at Hardin Village and led to early tooth loss; decay was unusual at Indian Knoll and occurred later in life because of severe wear to the teeth. The differences in tooth wear and caries rate are very likely attributable to dietary differences between the two groups.
Summary of Findings Overall, the agricultural Hardin Villagers were clearly less healthy than those who lived in Indian Knolls, who lived by hunting and gathering
Who had the upper hand? Hunter gatherers had healthier diets, usually had more resources and weren’t dependent on a harvest. They moved with animals and could take from settled societies if necessary.
RECAP Hunter-gatherers had better bones had no signs of iron-deficiency anemia no signs of infection few (if any) dental cavities fewer signs of arthritis and were in general larger and more robust than their agriculture-following contemporaries.
PALEOLITHIC DIET • The rules of the Paleolithic Diet are simple: Only eat what was available to the early hunter-gatherers. All other foods should be avoided. In effect this is the factory specified diet. • Do Eat:Meats and Fish, Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts, and Berries. • Do Not Eat:Grains, Beans, Potatoes, Dairy, Sugar.
WHY DID AGRICULTURE SPREAD? People are copycats. Ideas were brought from place to place by trade, nomads, cultural diffusion among hunters/gatherers.
Five Characteristics of Settled Societies Advanced Cities Specialized Workers Complex Institutions Record Keeping Improved Technology
A CASE STUDY… The city-state of Ur in Sumer
ADVANCED CITIES Farmers, merchants, and traders brought goods to city Ur included a large bazaar which operated under the barter system Location on the Euphrates River allowed it to be trade center for the entire region
SPECIALIZED WORKERS Settled societies included workers with developed skills in a variety of different areas Having enough food allowed this to take place Metalworkers and skilled workers that created pottery out of clay This greatly helped their economy
Complex Institutions Needed to maintain law and order as well as social organization Government and religion Ur is famous for its temples, or “ziggurats” where people would make sacrifices to the city’s god They also had well-defined social classes
Record Keeping People needed to keep records to continue to advance! Especially government, religion, and the economy All of Sumer used cuneiform- a system of writing on clay tablets- to keep records Also wrote history- used gods to explain events
Improved/Advanced Technology • Settled societies needed an advantage over nomads! • Ur in Sumer had all of the following: • Irrigation System • Pottery Wheel • Bronze (3000 BCE) • Number system • Wheel • Sail • Plow
Why??? Hunter-gatherers were simply out-organized and out-bred. Hunter-gatherers had children, on average, only every 3 to 4 years, while farmers had theirs every 11 months. Chiefdoms, kingdoms, and states only arose after the advent of farming.
AQUACULTURE http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/aquaculture/
