Exam 13: Understanding Key Transitions In World Prehistory

In the 19th century's most influential archaeology textbook, Pre-historic Times, as Illustrated by Ancient Remains, and the Manners and Customs of Modern Savages (1865), John Lubbock argued that:

Agriculture developed only once roughly 10,000 years ago in the Near East, and from there spread rapidly throughout much of the world.

Which of the following is true of Maya kings?

Archaeology constructs specific historical sequences in order to

The "density-equilibrium theory," which explains the origins of agriculture as a product of population growth that eventually causes the human population to exceed the hunting and gathering carrying capacity of an environment, was proposed by:

One effect of the 19th century comparative method was:

The "irrigation hypothesis" argues that large-scale irrigation was directly responsible for the origin of archaic states. This hypothesis was suggested by:

In the early 20th century, Franz Boas and his students:

In anthropological terms, a civilization refers to:

What can likely explain the formation of the Maya state?

To an archaeologist, "civilization" refers only to those cultures with writing systems, public performance in the form of plays, and full-time musicians.

John Lubbock's influential archaeology textbook Prehistoric Times (1865) led to the belief that contemporary "primitives" were living relics of prehistory; therefore questions about the past could be answered simply by observing a living culture that approximated the archaeological culture in question.

The difference between modern cultural evolutionary paradigms and 19th century unilineal evolutionism is:

When analyzing the origins of agriculture

The paradigm known as unilineal cultural evolution:

The comparative method of 19th century social science took diversity in the world's cultures and put them in an evolutionary sequence. Those with "simple" technology were at the bottom of the scale, and those with the most complex technology were at the top.

Which of the following is likely to have played a part in the origins of agriculture?

Archaic state formation did not occur anywhere until roughly AD 500; archaic states then spread rapidly from their birthplace in the Near East throughout much of the world.

Optimal foraging theory operates on the principle that humans will select foods that offer high return rates, or the most calories for the amount of time invested in procurement and processing.

Anthropology the paradigm of unilineal cultural evolution.