1
ARCH 100 Ancient Peoples and Places Midterm One Lecture
Notes Covers- Ch.1, Ch.3 (p. 72-90), Ch. 4 (p. 95-125), Ch. 5
(p. 129-140) Spring 2026 Academic Calendar Simon Fraser
University
ARCH100 Midterm One Lecture Notes
Covers: Ch.1, Ch.3 (p. 72-90), Ch. 4 (p. 95-125), Ch. 5 (p. 129-140)
LECTURE 1: Ancient Peoples and Places
• Anthropology study of humans
o Includes study of human biology, behavior, interaction w/ environment, & culture
o 4 fields of anthropology:
▪ Cultural anthropology study of MODERN social groups (typically groups are people of diff
cultural background than the anthropologist studying them; studying own culture called
sociology)
• Frequently study social behaviors (i.e. belief systems, kinship systems, ways of
obtaining/producing food)
• Includes: ethnology, ethnography ( subfield of cultural anthropology; living
people studied using firsthand observation)
▪ Archaeology study of past human behavior as reflected in material culture/items left
behind (esp. artifacts), doesn’t necessarily need to be study of past exclusively
• Can be ancient items (stone tools millions of years old) or recent items like
modern garbage
▪ Physical/biological anthropology
• Biological includes: primatology, human variation, paleoanthropology
• Physical anthropology biological/physiological study of humans, their ancestors,
and their relatives
o Frequently involves study of human skeletons, assessing diet, disease,
population genetics, etc.
▪ Linguistic anthropology
• Study languages (typically strictly verbal, no written form)
• However, linguists do work in arch. when ancient scripts are present
o Paleoanthropology study of human cultural/biological evolution by archaeologists/biological
anthropologists; commonly applied to biological anthropologists studying early hominin fossils (before
30,000 years ago)
o Bio-archaeology study human bones found in more recent periods to identify features of
individuals/populations
o Ethnoarchaeology discipline that uses study of behaviors of living people to better understand past
patterns in use of cultural materials, site organization, and settlement systems
o Geoarchaeology geological analyses used to aid in interpretation of archaeological sites/landscape
formation in which sites are located, and landscape features
o Palynology specialty focusing on study of plant pollen to better understand past environments,
human impact on environments, hominin diet, and climate change
o Archaeometallurgy archaeological specialty concerning study of how metals were produced/used in
past
o Zooarchaeology study of animal bones found at archaeological sites; usually identify genus/species,
provide info on types of animals present, examine animal bones for stone artifact cut/percussion
marks, evidence of use as tools, presence of shaped boned tools, and burning
• Science means of obtaining reliable, factual, objective info about world
o Relies on observation/reasoning/evaluation of reliability in conclusions
o Self-correcting (meaning errors are exposed and re-investigated)
o Underlying principles:
▪ There’s a real/knowable universe, operates according to understandable
rules/laws/principles
▪ These laws are consistent across space and time, can be discerned/understood by people
o Scientific method:
▪ Observe
▪ Induce general hypotheses/possible explanations for observations
• Hardest part (many possibilities not thought of so only few get tested)
▪ Deduce specific things that must also be true if hypothesis is true
▪ Test hypothesis by checking against deduced implications
o Occam’s razor explanation/hypothesis that explains a series of observations w/ fewest
assumptions/leaps (of faith) is best explanation for hypothesis
• Nazca lines
o Hypothesis that clever ancient Peruvians built the lines after sighting certain animals since they
could…
▪ Sight a straight line
▪ Move stones off desert floor
o Hypothesis that extraterrestrials drew the lines or instructed/inspired the Nazca to but require…
▪ Intelligent extraterrestrial life with interstellar craft
▪ Having this technology developed at that particular point in time
▪ Aliens to be relatively close and/or to visit earth
▪ Aliens to need immense/bizarre airfields that are very rough
▪ Aliens to have odd need to see birds/monkeys/fish drawn on ground
• Human brain essentially unchanged over last 100k-195k years
o Ancients likely as intelligent as us but only lacked same accumulated knowledge as us
, 2
• Atlantis connection idea that one (lost) advanced civilization inspired/contributed to “unexplainable”
technology exhibited by some civilizations
o Common theme: technology for building pyramids originated in Atlantis (Egyptians and Maya learned
how to from Atlantians)
, 3
▪ Problems w/ idea: no real similarities b/w Mayan and Egyptian pyramids
• Smooth vs. stepped
• No stairs vs. stairs
• Solid fill vs. rubble fill
• Tomb marker vs. platform for temple
• One building event vs. multiple building events
• Separated in time by 1500-2000 years
• Egypt separated from supposed Atlantis time by 5000-6000 years
▪ Claims of evidence of Atlantis been identified w/ practically every corner of globe
• Moving heavy stones: building great pyramids
o 3900 year old, middle kingdom, wall painting from tomb of Djehutihotep
o Statue on sledge >20 feet tall, weighs more than 57 tons
o Required 176 men pulling on ropes, using water/oil as lubricant on sand to make moving items easier
(less resistance)
o Man on statue clapping hands to keep time for pullers
o Interior stones are rough, casing stones fit together well
o “Boning rods” used to check if placed item was straight
o Raising stones – examples of ramps at Giza, some heavy stones show signs of lever sockets
• Stonehenge built in stages over a couple of 1000 years
o Phase 1: the earthwork circle
o Phase 2: burials and timber structure
o Phase 3a: the bluestones
o Phase 3b: sarsen circle and trilithons
• Baghdad battery (1936, Iraq) ceramic vase w/ cylindrical copper tube inside, iron rod inside copper tube, held
in place by asphalt plug
o Claimed to produce weak electric current when filled w/ electrolyte
o Cited as evidence of advanced knowledge
▪ No evidence of electrolyte found in vase (claims that wine traces found could’ve worked as
electrolyte, but much better choices like saltwater available)
▪ Unknown what battery was powered by? Where wires connecting it are? Could be used for
electroplating?
▪ Argued as electricity source for ancient light bulbs in Egypt
• Problems:
o BATTERY is ~2000 years old from Iraq, LIGHT BULB ~4500 years old
from Egypt
o Evidence for oil lamps and soot on temple ceilings in Egypt (no need
for other lights)
o When temple was built and carvings done, there was exposure to
sunlight – no reason for any kind of light
• Saqqara bird model made of wood, length 5.6 inches, wingspan 7.2 inches
o Found in tomb near Saqqara (1898)
o Dated to ~200 B.C.
o Evidence that Egyptians had advanced knowledge of aerodynamics (but not capable of flight)
▪ Centre of gravity too far back, no horizontal stabilizer, anhedral increases instability
o Could be child’s model
o Based on carved reliefs, could be used on boat masts as “weathervane” – explains vertical tail
• Peruvian golden jet aircraft (A.D. 500-800)
o Couple of inches long
o Evidence of advanced civilization
o Could be a ray, bird, or mythological creature
• Archaeology commonly used to establish “deep history” of occupation and substantiate nation’s claim to
area/territory (can be misused)
o Desire for more “romantic” past – to believe in a “golden age” when humanity was less corrupt
LECTURE 2: Archaeological Methods
• Context ( i.e. site where it was found, location within site, relationship to other cultural/natural materials found
at site, surface find of recorded during excavation, etc.) is significant
• Research design set of methods based on research question that archaeologists use in their survey/excavation
projects to provide framework for investigating questions about past
o May define which areas of world would be most appropriate for certain type of research (i.e. if origins
of humans, then Africa) – may investigate single/multiple sites
▪ Single site helps examine long term processes
▪ Multiple sites gives insight into how people of particular time periods organized activities
• Diff archaeological site types: hunting stands, tool preparation sites, burial sites (intentional/accidental), food
processing/procurement sites, camp sites, rock art sites, cities
• Frequently find sites by accident, usually by systematic survey
• Areas selected for study, pedestrian surveys conducted archaeologists go out and walk them at equally-
distanced intervals, walking in systematic manner (walking N over terrain), looking for traces of past
activity/artifacts
o Easiest in dry environments w/ minimal vegetation; in heavily vegetated areas, surveys modified to
include methods like shovel probes (pits are dug at equal distances)
o When sufficient amount of evidence found, area is called a site
▪ Contains artifacts, may/may not contain structures
• Sites mapped and gridded prior to excavation
o Remote sensing used sometimes – gives better idea where buried items are located using technology
ARCH 100 Ancient Peoples and Places Midterm One Lecture
Notes Covers- Ch.1, Ch.3 (p. 72-90), Ch. 4 (p. 95-125), Ch. 5
(p. 129-140) Spring 2026 Academic Calendar Simon Fraser
University
ARCH100 Midterm One Lecture Notes
Covers: Ch.1, Ch.3 (p. 72-90), Ch. 4 (p. 95-125), Ch. 5 (p. 129-140)
LECTURE 1: Ancient Peoples and Places
• Anthropology study of humans
o Includes study of human biology, behavior, interaction w/ environment, & culture
o 4 fields of anthropology:
▪ Cultural anthropology study of MODERN social groups (typically groups are people of diff
cultural background than the anthropologist studying them; studying own culture called
sociology)
• Frequently study social behaviors (i.e. belief systems, kinship systems, ways of
obtaining/producing food)
• Includes: ethnology, ethnography ( subfield of cultural anthropology; living
people studied using firsthand observation)
▪ Archaeology study of past human behavior as reflected in material culture/items left
behind (esp. artifacts), doesn’t necessarily need to be study of past exclusively
• Can be ancient items (stone tools millions of years old) or recent items like
modern garbage
▪ Physical/biological anthropology
• Biological includes: primatology, human variation, paleoanthropology
• Physical anthropology biological/physiological study of humans, their ancestors,
and their relatives
o Frequently involves study of human skeletons, assessing diet, disease,
population genetics, etc.
▪ Linguistic anthropology
• Study languages (typically strictly verbal, no written form)
• However, linguists do work in arch. when ancient scripts are present
o Paleoanthropology study of human cultural/biological evolution by archaeologists/biological
anthropologists; commonly applied to biological anthropologists studying early hominin fossils (before
30,000 years ago)
o Bio-archaeology study human bones found in more recent periods to identify features of
individuals/populations
o Ethnoarchaeology discipline that uses study of behaviors of living people to better understand past
patterns in use of cultural materials, site organization, and settlement systems
o Geoarchaeology geological analyses used to aid in interpretation of archaeological sites/landscape
formation in which sites are located, and landscape features
o Palynology specialty focusing on study of plant pollen to better understand past environments,
human impact on environments, hominin diet, and climate change
o Archaeometallurgy archaeological specialty concerning study of how metals were produced/used in
past
o Zooarchaeology study of animal bones found at archaeological sites; usually identify genus/species,
provide info on types of animals present, examine animal bones for stone artifact cut/percussion
marks, evidence of use as tools, presence of shaped boned tools, and burning
• Science means of obtaining reliable, factual, objective info about world
o Relies on observation/reasoning/evaluation of reliability in conclusions
o Self-correcting (meaning errors are exposed and re-investigated)
o Underlying principles:
▪ There’s a real/knowable universe, operates according to understandable
rules/laws/principles
▪ These laws are consistent across space and time, can be discerned/understood by people
o Scientific method:
▪ Observe
▪ Induce general hypotheses/possible explanations for observations
• Hardest part (many possibilities not thought of so only few get tested)
▪ Deduce specific things that must also be true if hypothesis is true
▪ Test hypothesis by checking against deduced implications
o Occam’s razor explanation/hypothesis that explains a series of observations w/ fewest
assumptions/leaps (of faith) is best explanation for hypothesis
• Nazca lines
o Hypothesis that clever ancient Peruvians built the lines after sighting certain animals since they
could…
▪ Sight a straight line
▪ Move stones off desert floor
o Hypothesis that extraterrestrials drew the lines or instructed/inspired the Nazca to but require…
▪ Intelligent extraterrestrial life with interstellar craft
▪ Having this technology developed at that particular point in time
▪ Aliens to be relatively close and/or to visit earth
▪ Aliens to need immense/bizarre airfields that are very rough
▪ Aliens to have odd need to see birds/monkeys/fish drawn on ground
• Human brain essentially unchanged over last 100k-195k years
o Ancients likely as intelligent as us but only lacked same accumulated knowledge as us
, 2
• Atlantis connection idea that one (lost) advanced civilization inspired/contributed to “unexplainable”
technology exhibited by some civilizations
o Common theme: technology for building pyramids originated in Atlantis (Egyptians and Maya learned
how to from Atlantians)
, 3
▪ Problems w/ idea: no real similarities b/w Mayan and Egyptian pyramids
• Smooth vs. stepped
• No stairs vs. stairs
• Solid fill vs. rubble fill
• Tomb marker vs. platform for temple
• One building event vs. multiple building events
• Separated in time by 1500-2000 years
• Egypt separated from supposed Atlantis time by 5000-6000 years
▪ Claims of evidence of Atlantis been identified w/ practically every corner of globe
• Moving heavy stones: building great pyramids
o 3900 year old, middle kingdom, wall painting from tomb of Djehutihotep
o Statue on sledge >20 feet tall, weighs more than 57 tons
o Required 176 men pulling on ropes, using water/oil as lubricant on sand to make moving items easier
(less resistance)
o Man on statue clapping hands to keep time for pullers
o Interior stones are rough, casing stones fit together well
o “Boning rods” used to check if placed item was straight
o Raising stones – examples of ramps at Giza, some heavy stones show signs of lever sockets
• Stonehenge built in stages over a couple of 1000 years
o Phase 1: the earthwork circle
o Phase 2: burials and timber structure
o Phase 3a: the bluestones
o Phase 3b: sarsen circle and trilithons
• Baghdad battery (1936, Iraq) ceramic vase w/ cylindrical copper tube inside, iron rod inside copper tube, held
in place by asphalt plug
o Claimed to produce weak electric current when filled w/ electrolyte
o Cited as evidence of advanced knowledge
▪ No evidence of electrolyte found in vase (claims that wine traces found could’ve worked as
electrolyte, but much better choices like saltwater available)
▪ Unknown what battery was powered by? Where wires connecting it are? Could be used for
electroplating?
▪ Argued as electricity source for ancient light bulbs in Egypt
• Problems:
o BATTERY is ~2000 years old from Iraq, LIGHT BULB ~4500 years old
from Egypt
o Evidence for oil lamps and soot on temple ceilings in Egypt (no need
for other lights)
o When temple was built and carvings done, there was exposure to
sunlight – no reason for any kind of light
• Saqqara bird model made of wood, length 5.6 inches, wingspan 7.2 inches
o Found in tomb near Saqqara (1898)
o Dated to ~200 B.C.
o Evidence that Egyptians had advanced knowledge of aerodynamics (but not capable of flight)
▪ Centre of gravity too far back, no horizontal stabilizer, anhedral increases instability
o Could be child’s model
o Based on carved reliefs, could be used on boat masts as “weathervane” – explains vertical tail
• Peruvian golden jet aircraft (A.D. 500-800)
o Couple of inches long
o Evidence of advanced civilization
o Could be a ray, bird, or mythological creature
• Archaeology commonly used to establish “deep history” of occupation and substantiate nation’s claim to
area/territory (can be misused)
o Desire for more “romantic” past – to believe in a “golden age” when humanity was less corrupt
LECTURE 2: Archaeological Methods
• Context ( i.e. site where it was found, location within site, relationship to other cultural/natural materials found
at site, surface find of recorded during excavation, etc.) is significant
• Research design set of methods based on research question that archaeologists use in their survey/excavation
projects to provide framework for investigating questions about past
o May define which areas of world would be most appropriate for certain type of research (i.e. if origins
of humans, then Africa) – may investigate single/multiple sites
▪ Single site helps examine long term processes
▪ Multiple sites gives insight into how people of particular time periods organized activities
• Diff archaeological site types: hunting stands, tool preparation sites, burial sites (intentional/accidental), food
processing/procurement sites, camp sites, rock art sites, cities
• Frequently find sites by accident, usually by systematic survey
• Areas selected for study, pedestrian surveys conducted archaeologists go out and walk them at equally-
distanced intervals, walking in systematic manner (walking N over terrain), looking for traces of past
activity/artifacts
o Easiest in dry environments w/ minimal vegetation; in heavily vegetated areas, surveys modified to
include methods like shovel probes (pits are dug at equal distances)
o When sufficient amount of evidence found, area is called a site
▪ Contains artifacts, may/may not contain structures
• Sites mapped and gridded prior to excavation
o Remote sensing used sometimes – gives better idea where buried items are located using technology
