Exam II Review Sheet
Environmental Anthropology
Fall 2011
Key terms & Concepts to know:
intensive agriculture
artificial selection & domestication strategies
zea mays (maize)
Guilá Naquitz
Tehuacán
Xihuatoxtla rockshelter
water management
social evolution
stratification
craft specialization
transhumance
agropastoralism
nomadic pastoralism
risk diversification
grasslands – transitional biomes
Mongols
Saami
Masaai
Ariaal
Gabra
finn
mixed subsistence strategy
patrilineal descent
polygyny
swidden – slash & burn
fallowing
monocropping
polyculture
Yanomamo
Waorani
tropical rainforest biome
Precolumbian agricultural systems in the Basin of Mexico
chinampas
check dams
hydraulic engineering
Aztecs (Mexica)
vertical environmental zonation
influences on crop growth in high altitudes
high altitude micro-habitats
terraces
canals – hydraulic engineering
potatoes (solanum sp)
quinoa
food storage – Inka warehouses
charqui
chuño
chicha
bofedales
tools and techniques of horticulturalists
bitter manioc
tapir
plantains
copal (protium copal)
cacao
strangler fig
ceiba (wakah chan)
jaguar (embodiment of Maya kings)
monkeys (embodiment of Maya scribes)
witz
caves (ATM & Chechem Ha)
autosacrifice
stingray spines
Describe some of the long-term effects of plant and animal domestication on
humankind.
Discuss the process of plant domestication. Use examples of certain plants, such as
maize, in specific places (sites) in the Americas.
What kinds of linkages existed between the social, natural and physical environments of
the ancient Maya?
Discuss some of the prominent characteristics of Native American farming systems in
the Valley of Mexico during precolumbian times.
What are some of the most pressing environmental constraints humans living in high
altitude environments must cope with? In what ways is altitude a limiting factor in
environmental adaptation?
How did the Inka and other precolumbian Andean peoples extend the carrying capacity
of their vertical, high-altitude environment? Be sure to discuss the concept of
altitudinal (vertical) environmental zonation.
Discuss some of the characteristics of social life among pastoralist peoples.
What are some of the unique adaptive strategies humans have developed for living in
tropical rainforest environments? Use specific examples from the Waorani or the
Yanomamo.
Describe the process of swidden or slash and burn agriculture. How does it work?
Where and why is it used?
Summarize the major differences between horticulture and agriculture as energy
extraction strategies. What factors influence the adoption of one strategy over another
for some human groups?