12,000 Years of Native American History Bob Shamy
Part 1: Using Anthropology as the Scientific Basis for the Study of Culture Part 2: New Jersey History – BP to European Contact
What is Anthropology? Physical Anthropology Primatology The study of primates. Paleoanthropology The study of human evolution Human Variation Studies: The study of the physical differences in humans. Cultural Anthropology A.K.A. Ethnology Ethnography A.K.A. Participant Observation Linguistics Archaeology
What is Culture? The Culture Concept: Culture is understood as the learned body of knowledge, beliefs, and customs that people use to organize their natural and social environments. Material Traits Tools Clothing Housing ETC. Non-Material Traits Attitudes Behaviors Beliefs ETC.
Culture: No overall consensus as to its meaning…over 300 definitions. An Autonomous Population Unit Distinct Cultural Characteristics Shared Traditions Problems: Cannot Define Cultural Boundaries Cultures are Not Closed and Self-Contained Cultures are in Constant Contact and Change Cultures are Provisional and Transitory Many are Extinct
Culture is a Survival Mechanism An infinite variation in cultural expression, but each meets a certain need – Food, Shelter, Resolve Conflict, Solace, etc. A blueprint of our customs and ideas for living. It is packaged and delivered by symbols. It is pervasive - we are often unaware but it surrounds and envelops us. Items and ideas meld together and make sense.
Fine Arts Storytelling Subsistence Pattern Dancing-Games-Cooking-Dress Observable Material Elements May Include Behavioral Characteristics, i.e. Religion, Handshakes, etc. Surface Culture Deep CultureConception of Beauty – Ideals of Governing – Patterns of Raising Children Notions of Modesty – Cosmology – Relationship to Animals Patterns of Superior/Subordinate Relations – Courtship Practices Conception of Justice – Incentives to Work – Notions of Leadership Tempo of Work – Patterns of Group Decision Making Conception of Status Mobility (Class, Caste, etc.) – Eye Behavior Roles in Relation to Status by Age, Sex, Class, Occupation, Kinship, etc. Conversational Patterns in Various Social Contexts – Conception of Past and Future Nature of Friendship – Conception of Self – Preference for Competition or Cooperation Patterns of Handling Emotions AND MUCH, MUCH MORE…
Cultural Anthropology-Ethnology Ethnography-Participant Observation Social Organization Subsistence Pattern Economic Pattern Political Organization Religion ETC.
Do these concepts inherently reinforce bias when we teach history? PRIMITIVE UNDEVELOPED/DEVELOPED RACE ETHNOCENTRISM/CULTURAL BIAS
Who Were the Indians of New Jersey?
How do we know where a glacier stops?
Ice sheet on Ellsmere Island, Canada
From Tundra: Semi-frozen Sub Arctic Plain To: Deciduous Forests
Changing Flora and Fauna Over Time
The Shoreline 18,000 Years Ago
New Jersey During the Late Pleistocene Epoch Circa 15,000-10,000 BP
Glacial Age Fauna
Hypothetical Eastern Woodland Local Sequence in Archaeology BP 8000 BP 2000 BP Paleo Indian Period Archaic Period Woodland Period
Artifact Typology An Alachua Point Range BP
An Archaeological Local Sequence
The Evolution of Projectile Point Typology
Woodland Period Archaic Hunters and Gatherers Circa 2000 BP Circa 1000 BP Cultivating Grasses, Bow and Arrow Raising Corn, Beans and Squash An Archaeological Local Sequence in NJ Circa 3000 BPPottery Circa 8000 BP Paleo Indians Nomadic Herd Hunters Circa BP Semi Nomadic
Paleo Indians And Mega Fauna
PALEO INDIAN TOOL KIT
Paleo Indian Projectile Points
Woodland Period Archaic Hunters and Gatherers Circa 2000 BP Circa 1000 BP Cultivating Grasses, Bow and Arrow Raising Corn, Beans and Squash An Archaeological Local Sequence in NJ Circa 3000 BPPottery Circa 8000 BP Paleo Indians Circa BP Semi Nomadic Nomadic Herd Hunters Seasonal Campgrounds
ARCHAIC PERIOD POINTS
The Style and Diversity of Projectile Points and Tool Kits Expands With Each Period Tools became varied and include more ground, polished and bone tools. They developed grooved axes, pestles, etc. Fishing becomes more important and net sinkers and fish hooks appear.
Woodland Period Archaic Hunters and Gatherers Circa 2000 BP Circa 1000 BP Cultivating Grasses, Bow and Arrow Raising Corn, Beans and Squash An Archaeological Local Sequence in NJ Circa 3000 BPPottery Circa 8000 BP Paleo Indians Circa BP Semi Nomadic Nomadic Herd Hunters
A Mississippian Monolithic Ax L: 13" Spiro Mounds Le Flore Co., OK Under 10 have been found nationwide.
Great Serpent Mound Ohio Burial and Ceremonial Mounds
Locations of Mound in the Mississippi Ohio Valleys The Mound Builders Heavily Influenced the Native Cultures in the East Coast
The Three Sisters of the Garden
WOODLAND POINTS
EarlyMiddleLate Woodland Period Pottery
Guns, Germs and Steel The First Globalization
EUROPEAN CONTACT
FROM THIS
TO THIS
COLONIAL ARTIFACTS
18 th and 19 TH CENTURY HOMES
LIGHTING BOTTLE AND GLASS MANUFACTURE