ANT-1430 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Osteoarthritis, Syphilis, Dental Caries
Document Summary
Find traces of behavior (e. g. , stone tools, footprints, etc. ) Fossilization is the process by which organic material is replaced with inorganic minerals, often preserving the shape of the original organic material. Can vary in speed, but usually takes at least 10s of thousands of years. Law of superposition -things on top of something else is going to be younger in date. Relative position based on frequency of certain artifacts or features. Only works on organic matter (most fossils have lost datable organic matter)/ limited to 80,000 years bp. Cultural practices (e. g. , ritual, marking identity, showing off) Hands, feet, long bones, pelvis, vertebra, skull. Must be long-lasting to have an impact on skeletal morphology. Things people (in groups) do that leaves impact on skeleton. Being too much of one or the other is not good. Reconstructing behavior (diet, locomotion, disease, violence, cultural practices) Why bones might not become part of the fossil record.
