ANT 104-A Notes: Early Human Technologies
2/7/17
Video #1
AMH (Anatomically Modern Humans) constructed projectile weapons:
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Lighter, more durable, longer ranged spears (called Atlatl)
AMH movement across Europe was easily tracked from these spears, due to the disappearance
of large animals.
o Much of the wipeout of animals occurred in Australia because of AMH, rather than
Africa and Asia where it was mainly inhabited by archaic humans.
Lithic Technology of Homo-Sapiens
1. Soultrean (17-22 kya)
2. Magdalenian (9-17 kya)
3. Microblade Technology (20-30 kya)
o Use of small stone blades, usually attached to the end of another object.
4. Clovis (13 kya)
o One of the most effective hunting technologies
These slight adaptations in tools could have made all the difference in the AMH survival and not the
archaic humans.
Architecture
Terra Amata?
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Hut dating back 400 kya
Made long before AMH
This hut is said to have been naturally made or possibly made by some form of archaic human
(thus the question mark shown above)
Mezhyrich (14-25 kya)
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Structure made of mammoth bones
Appeared that humans dug out ground, placed a stone foundation, and used bones as a roof
Monte Verde (15 kya)
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Post-hole remains
Recently scientists uncovered a preserved chunk of meat, from a mammoth!!
Clothing
Video #2
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Ice-Age
o Archaic humans used bone needles (40-60 kya) to sew skin from a furry animal back
together to use as an item of clothing.
Video #3
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Head Lice can help to determine when clothing was first worn.
Clothing Lice evolved from Head Lice
o The day Clothing Lice evolved, tells us when clothing was first worn. This is because
Clothing Lice can only survive in clothes unlike Head Lice which survive off human blood.
o Scientists have determined that clothing dates back to approximately 170 kya.