Arielle C. answered • 01/05/21
Teacher's Assistant specializing in Anthropology/Sociology
A) Ancient hominin study has been determined through four major ways, like ancient skeletal foot construction, bone configurations above the foot, footprints, and dietary evidence. The earliest evidence for full bipedalism was achieved by Australopithecus, better known as the fossil Lucy discovered in South Africa several million years ago. It is somewhat difficult to find ancient ancestral and foot bones, as they are very rare to find. Foot structures related to bipedal locomotion include flat feet and have longer toes than their cousins who climbed and stayed in trees. Skeletal constructions above the feet are more common, and archeologists study configurations of the spine, the tilt, and the structure of the pelvis, and the way the femur fits into the pelvis to make conclusions about a human's ability to walk.
B) The origins of agriculture have developed worldwide, from Asia to North America, Africa, and Europe. The earliest date was placed around the end of the Ice Age, which around that time, glaciers melted, sea levels rose, temperatures rose, and ecosystems around the globe reorganized. The study of populations that did not develop intensive agriculture or rice and wheat, narrows the search down. Plant and animal management was and is a familiar concept within hunting and gathering cultures, but it took on a new cycle once natural selection came on. Learning about the study of agriculture teaches us about how to care for the land, and for ourselves, as archeologists understood that the human population only rose significantly after food production was established.
C) The origin of language is difficult to establish; language is not objects, they don't leave an imprint. So researchers and anthropologists and linguists studied the shape of hominid vocal tracts, which didn't permit a modern range of speech, but the overall theory is that earlier hominid could have had a sort of language that used a constricted range of consonants and vowels, or maybe that language began as sign language and then gradually switched to vocal. Symbolic thought is what allows humans to talk about past events, as well as hypothesize about future events. In laments terms it allows us to evoke another reality, be it past or future.
D) The origins of state-level societies begin with advanced study of social stratification, which meant that tribal communities developed a chiefly elite to outrank commoners, and complex social hierarchies, the dense populations, urbanization and food surpluses, etc. Archeologists have to distinguish between primary or secondary states. Archeologists have broadened the scope of their research beyond the traditional focus on rulers and urban elites. Current research now aims at understanding the role of urban commoners, craft specialists, and village-based farmers in the overall organization of ancient states. This is important to know just how societies work and when politics arose.
