Gender and Prehistory

Invisible Gender:

1. What do you think Susan Kent would say about Lovejoy's thesis on bipedalism and monogamy?

2. Explain how Kent utilizes the archaeological record to gather ethnographic data.

3. How does Kent argue against Wilmsen and Denbrow? In what ways does she use space to help her make her arguments?

4. Describe some differences in the archaeological record between Stone Age and Iron Age sites.

5.  What are Kent's main conclusions?

East African Pastoralists:

1. What does Diane Gifford-Gonzalez find especially challenging when studying the ethnographic record of East African Pastorialists?

2.  Describe where Gifford-Gonzalez finds exceptions to androcentrism. Whose work is she supporting?

3. How does Gifford-Gonzalez utilize ceramics to help her argument?

4.What are Gifford-Gonzalez's two concluding observations about East African archaeology?

Early Human Evolution

1. According to the authors, why is understanding the climate of East Africa essential?

2. What is the pulsed climate variability hypothesis and what evidence do these scholars provide to support this theory? 

3. Are there limits to the scientists' knowledge about human evolution? Provide a few examples. 

4. There has been much debate about the chronology of the Ain Hanech Formation in North Africa. What methods do these scholars use to come to their conclusions and whose work are they supporting with this evidence? 

5.What is the "Green Sahara" and what are the problems with this hypothesis? What do these scholars present as an alternative hypothesis?