bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Quantitative Investigation of Aboriginal Sites: Complete Excavation With Physical and Archaeological Analysis of a Single Mound
Authors: Treganza A. E. , Cook S. F.
Published: April 2006

In a recent paper we explored the possibility of comparing the physical and chemical characteristics of aboriginal sites by the small-sample method. The two mounds investigated showed clear differences with respect to certain features. Whether or not there were quantitative distinctions pertaining to other properties depended upon the validity of the sampling method. It thus became apparent to us that a further investigation should be made wherein the results obtained by sampling could be tested by comparison with data based upon practical certainty. In other words one mound should be sampled and at the same time be completely excavated so as to determine the actual values for the entities under consideration. Concomitantly, an opportunity would be offered to make an archaeological analysis of an aboriginal site in its entirety, including a tabulation of all the cultural elements present, such as artifacts and burials.
Archaeology in the Southwest
Authors: Roberts Frank H. H.
Published: April 2006

Archaeological investigations in the Southwestern field proceed apace. New facts and fancies burst forth in such profusion that the trend of the studies is well-nigh obscured by the complexity of information emanating from the area. The specialists at times find it difficult to comprehend developments. Hence there is little wonder that students and laymen are prone to succumb to a sense of futility when they view the welter of material on the subject. To many the archaeology of the Southwest now seems so involved, so cluttered with minutiae that it has become dull and stupid and can no longer be regarded as the source for a fascinating story of the cultural and material growth of a primitive people. Yet the new chapters being added are even more interesting than those with which most people are familiar.
An Archaeologic Reconnaissance in South-Eastern Michoacán, Mexico
Authors: Osborne Douglas
Published: April 2006

During the summer of 1939, Dr. D. D. Brand led a party of graduate students in anthropology into Mexico with the purpose of studying the archaeology of the state of Michoacán and adjacent areas. After preliminary examination of the better known ruins in the northern part of this state, the party broke up and each individual went into a previously determined area in southern Michoacán or neighboring Guerrero or Mexico. The several resulting manuscripts are available in the Department of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico.
Association of Man with Pleistocene Mammals in the Sandia Mountains, New Mexico
Authors: Hibben Frank C.
Published: April 2006

A cave deposit in New Mexico has recently been discovered which seems to combine all the favorable circumstances under which the association of man with extinct mammals may be conclusively demonstrated. In the fall of 1935, one of the students at the University of New Mexico reported to the Department of Anthropology that he had located several caves in the Sandia Mountains east of Albuquerque. He also produced such tangible evidence of archaeological remains found on the floor of the caves that an investigation was initiated to survey these and other previously reported caves. Most of them, as might have been expected, indicated but slight occupation of man, recent or ancient.
Pottery from the Ozark Bluff Shelters
Authors: Dellinger S. C. , Dickinson S. D.
Published: April 2006

The Ozark Uplift of northwest Arkansas and southwest Missouri has been a fertile field for archaeological investigation. Natural conditions have greatly facilitated research here, for despite the humidity of the region, there are numerous dry shelters or caves formed by the weathering of shale beds beneath limestone strata in bluffs along White River, its tributaries, and the Cowskin River. Debris, burials, and pictographs show that the Indians had used the shelters as combined homes, cemeteries, and places for ceremonials. In contrast to village sites in the lowlands of Arkansas, the bluff shelters afford more than a fragmentary picture of Indian life. Here, the burials are complemented by remains fortuitously preserved through absence of moisture, and the entire cave floor is comparable to the middens of the lowlands. The archaeological materials illustrate the complete life cycle of the aborigines. Cradleboards and burial wrappings, foodstuff and human feces all contribute to a reconstruction of Bluff-Dweller life.
Empiricist and Experimental Trends in Eastern Archaeology
Authors: Bennett John W.
Published: April 2006

Several exceptions have been taken recently to the use of “guess dates,“ assumptions, hypothetical sequences, the theory of cultural continuity, and other concepts in eastern and middlewestern archaeology.1 These criticisms lay bare a division of opinion on several fundamental issues of method and theory, and it is the purpose of this communication to shed some light on the conflicting views. We may at the outset indulge in some labelling, not for purposes of name-calling, but to provide handles for verbal manipulation. It is the opinion of the writer that two trends in method and theory can be distinguished: one we may call “empiricist,” the other, “experimental.” Reasons for the choice of these rather mouth-filling terms will subsequently become clearer. Also note we do not use the word “school” this term implies a company of individuals, all subscribing to a special dogma, whereas the contemporary trends actually crosscut several “schools” in archaeological thought. In many cases, individual archaeologists exemplify both of these trends in their own work.
Ruins of Eskimo Stone Houses on the East Side of Hudson Bay
Authors: Manning T. H.
Published: April 2006

Archaeological material obtained from Eskimos on the east side of Hudson Bay has been described by Mathiassen, Quimby, and Jenness, but no systematic excavations have been made in the area. Mathiassen was told by Mr. S. Berthfi of Reveillon Frdres that there were house ruins of turf and stone on the east coast of Hudson Bay at Kovik Bay, Mosquito Bay, and Cape Dufferin, and also on the Ottawa Islands; and by Mr. Perdy of the Hudson's Bay Company that there were house ruins at Cape Wolstenholme and many around Port Harrison. Obviously, Mathiassen concluded that these were regular houses of the Thule type. Quimby6 found only oval and rectangular tent rings on the Belcher Islands, and assumed that the semisubterranean houses characteristic of the Thule culture were lacking.
Un vaso “Thin Orange” del pais Caranqui, Ecuador
Authors: Caamano Jacinto Jijón Y
Published: April 2006

Hace quince años dió a conocer el Dr. Max Uhle un vaso proveniente de la hacienda “Cusin,” situada a las orillas del lago San Pablo, parraquia de San Pablo, Cantón de Otavalo, Provincia de Imbabura, República del Ecuador, que calificó de figura legftímamente Maya, pero la comparó, desgraciadamente, con objetos y relieves que si con él tienen alguna afinidad no eran, por cierto, los más adecuados para convencer a los americanistas de la verdad de lo que el afirmaba. La publicación hecha por el Dr. Uhle ha pasado, por lo que sabemos, inadvertida; así hemos creído oportuno hacer una nueva descripción del vaso de “Cusín,” que hemos podido reexaminar, prolijamente, gracias a la gentileza de la Sra. Dña.María Lasso de Eatsman Cox.
Trade Materials at Spiro Mound as Indicated by Artifacts
Authors: Bell Robert E.
Published: April 2006

The archaeological site commonly referred to as Spiro is becoming more and more a topic for discussion among Mississippi Valley archaeologists. This developing interest and enthusiasm in the Spiro site has been stimulated in various ways; by examination of artifacts in private collections or in museums, by an increasing reference to Spiro materials in the literature, and through recognition of Spiro as a grandiose example of the so-called “Southern Cult” complex. Although there has been considerable interest in the site, little synthesized information has been published. Only recently, Orr has presented the most definitive facts available.
A Comment on “The Pedestal Vessels of the Madisonville Site”
Authors: Fenenga Franklin
Published: April 2006

In a recent note, John W. Griffin has suggested that the form of the pedestal vessels from the Madisonville site is derived from a European model. He quotes Holmes, who thought the design was possibly copied from the work of southern neighbors (Middle Mississippian?), but rejects this conclusion on the basis that “the pedestal of this vessel can hardly be considered related to the annular bases and occasional pedestal-like bases of Middle Mississippi vessels.”
The Archaeology of Ludlow Cave and Its Significance
Authors: Over W. H.
Published: April 2006

The origin and culture of the older archaeological material taken from Ludlow Cave, Cave Hills, Harding County, South Dakota, in July, 1920, has been subjected to some discussion and speculation. The cave was named after William Ludlow, Chief Army Engineer of the Department of Dakota, who visited it in 1874 while accompanying the Custer Expedition from Fort Abraham Lincoln to the Black Hills.

The cave is located in the northeast quarter of section 12, township 21, range 5 W, in the extreme northwest corner of the state in the Sioux Forest Reserve. Geologically, it is in the Ludlow Division of the Laramie formation, Upper Cretaceous Period. It is irregular in shape, extends back thirty-nine feet, and is sixteen feet wide and ten feet high. The entrance was partially blocked by rocks, each weighing several tons, which had fallen from above.
Tree Rings—The Archaeologist's Time-Piece
Authors: Haury Emil W.
Published: April 2006

Since 1929 Southwestern archaeology has stood on a much surer footing than at any other time in the history of its development. This stabilization is due to the research of Dr. A. E. Douglass of Tucson, Arizona, whose inquiries into the reaction of trees to weather, from an astronomic standpoint, led, as a ramification, to the use of the annual growth rings in trees in dating the pre-Spanish remains of man in the Southwest. From the standpoint of the archaeologist, the most significant progress date in Dr. Douglass' study was June 22, 1929. On that day ended a long search for a particular sequence of rings needed to complete the ring record. This sequence was found in a log in the Showlow ruin, and united two chronologies then extant, the one a floating series of five hundred and eighty years, the other an historic series extending from 1929 to about 1280 A.D.
Nebo Hill, A Lithic Complex in Western Missouri
Authors: Shippee J. M.
Published: April 2006

Twenty-Six years of periodic reconnaissance along the Missouri River bluffs in western Missouri have revealed numerous archaeological sites on which repeated finds of long well-made blades, lanceolate in form, have occurred. These typical blades are not found in the artifact inventories of the reported manifestations of the region, but do seem to bear striking similarities to artifacts of the lithic cultures of the Great Plains. Brief mention of this complex has appeared (Shippee, 1940, p. 12; Wedel, 1943, p. 102) but it has not been fully characterized. Data now available will be presented here; they are tentative until supplemented by excavation.

The four sites which will be described are located in Clay County, Missouri, within a few miles of Kansas City (Fig. 4), in which area the Kansas River joins the Missouri. The prairies of eastern Kansas are relatively close by. The topographical locations and artifact inventories of these sites are practically identical.
The Second Sheguiandah Expedition, Manitoulin Island, Ontario
Authors: Lee Thomas E.
Published: April 2006

In the Summer of 1953, archaeological investigations were again carried out by the National Museum of Canada on the early Sheguiandah site, Manitoulin Island. Previous work (Lee 1954a) showed that the hilltop had been occupied by at least 4 successive cultures. These were represented by: (1) a thin surface scattering of what is probably Point Peninsula; (2) a prolific level of materials closely related to George Lake 1 (Greenman 1943); (3) a thin level producing early projectile points; (4) a level of large blades not identified culturally. A number of problems demanded further examination. Insufficient charcoal had been found for radiocarbon dating. Professional archaeological and geological opinions on the dates had ranged so widely as to be almost useless. Two of the 4 cultural levels remained unexplained and the presence of another was suspected. The level of projectile points was too thinly represented. No bones had been found, although part of the site was regarded as a habitation area.
Climate Change and Culture History in the Grand Canyon Region
Authors: Schwartz Douglas W.
Published: April 2006

In order to appreciate a given culture or phase of culture at one point in time it is important to have a knowledge of the possibilities that are open to its bearers through the environment. An awareness of the environment and its changes is even more important in order to understand the dynamics of the culture history of any area. It is with this objective, a more complete knowledge of the climate of a particular region with an attempt at understanding its culture history, that this paper has been written.
Plains-Promontory Relationships
Authors: Gunnerson James H.
Published: April 2006

A reconsideration of material collected from Promontory Point, north central Utah (Steward 1937) suggests that Promontory-Plains relationships may be closer than hitherto realized. Moreover, while several traits of the Promontory culture occur in more than one Plains archaeological complex, some are limited to the Dismal River aspect, suggesting the possibility of close ties between the Dismal River and Promontory peoples. Steward noted that a few traits (hoop and dart game, hand game boneS, side notched projectile points, end scrapers) represented in the Promontory culture were also found in the Plains. Hill and Metcalf (1941: 188, 197) pointed out that tubular steatite pipes and blunt bone “punches” or “flakers” occurred in both Promontory and Dismal River. This paper enumerates still other resemblances.
A Report on Recent Archaeological Investigations in the Lagôa Santa Region of Minas Gerais, Brazil
Authors: Evans Clifford
Published: April 2006

As a supplement to the recent review of H. V. Walter's book, The Prehistory of the Lagôa Santa Region, some additional information about the nature of his recent archaeological work is of interest. After the completion of our own year of archaeological field work in the Lower Amazon, three days were spent in the Lagôa Santa Region, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais with Mr. H. V. Walter studying his collections, and visiting and excavating with him some of the rock shelters and caves. Two sites, not mentioned in his report, are of such archaeological importance in the preceramic cultural history of South America that they should be brought to the attention of other archaeologists.

By way of introduction, it should be stated that Mr. Walter, the British Vice-Consul in Belo Horizonte, is primarily interested in paleontological data, a quest which for fifteen years has led him to extensive exploration at his own cost in the caves in and around the Lagôa Santa region.
Preliminary Results of Archaeological Investigations at the Mouth of the Amazon
Authors: Evans Clifford , Meggers Betty J.
Published: April 2006

Recent years have seen increasing archaeological research in South America, but little of it has been undertaken in the tropical forest regions. In an attempt to fill a portion of this gap we spent the period from July, 1948 to July, 1949 in archaeological survey and excavations on the Islands of Marajó, Mexiana, and Caviana in the mouth of the Amazon and in the Territory of Amapá, (Brazilian Guiana). At the close of the field work the material was analysed, classified, and described in Brazil, and compared with collections from the region not available in American museums. It is upon these preliminary studies and comparative analyses that the following discussion is based; and although the basic classifications and ceramic typologies will not be changed, some alterations in over-all conclusions may be made as the final report nears completion.
Cultural Variation Within two Woodland Mound Groups of Northeastern Iowa
Authors: Beaubien Paul L.
Published: April 2006

Although many large mound groups, are found in northeastern Iowa, little information concerning the prehistory of this region has been published. Results of limited early investigations, presented by Cyrus Thomas in the 12th Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, are indicative of a fertile field. Records of the pre-1900 Hill-Lewis survey, preserved in the files of the Minnesota Historical Society, include descriptive notes and maps locating many Iowa mounds which have since been destroyed. Field reports by the late Ellison Orr, assistant supervisor of a statewide archaeological survey, made in the 1930's by the Iowa State Historical Society, may be found in the collections of the Society at Iowa City. Articles by the late Charles R. Keyes (1934, 1951), field supervisor of this latter project, describe the wealth of the state's prehistoric resources. Nevertheless, the data concerning the contents of the mounds in northeastern Iowa is meager.
The Hogge Bridge Site and the Wylie Focus
Authors: Stephenson Robert L.
Published: April 2006

The Lavon Dam and Reservoir, under construction by the Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army, is one of the many projects throughout the country which will soon obliterate information relating to the prehistory of North America. This particular project is located on the East Fork of the Trinity River in Collin County, Texas, 21 miles northeast of Dallas. It was scheduled for completion in January, 1952.

The Trinity River is one of several major rivers flowing in a southeasterly direction across the state of Texas. It heads in four branches north and northwest of the city of Dallas and flows into Galveston Bay and thence into the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 40 miles due east of the city of Houston. The East Fork (and its principal tributary, Pilot Grove Creek) is the easternmost of the headwater branches. It rises in Grayson County and enters the main stream in southwestern Kaufman County.
Paddle and Anvil Appearance of Some Sonoran Pottery
Authors: Owen Roger C.
Published: April 2006

While engaged in recent ethnological field work in the San Miguel Valley of northeastern Sonora, I had occasion to observe a potter at work. This area, in aboriginal times, was inhabited by the Opata Indian tribe. Today it is predominantly mestizo racially, and culturally is a blend of aboriginal, early Spanish, and Mexican traits. I was assured by many people that the potter, who is extremely Indian in appearance, was “pura indigina.”
The Little Harbor Site, Catalina Island: An Example of Ecological Interpretation in Archaeology
Authors: Meighan Clement W.
Published: April 2006

The islands off southern California have attracted archaeological attention since the 1880's, yet actual site reports on island archaeology are virtually nonexistent. This report presents data on excavations at Little Harbor, Catalina Island. It is the first published site report for Catalina Island and the first complete description of a site excavation for the Channel islands as a group. Chronologically, the radiocarbon dating of the site provides a key reference point for time placement of several southern California complexes.
The Edgar Site, Northwestern Wyoming
Authors: Coe Michael D.
Published: April 2006

The area around Cody in northwestern Wyoming is extremely rich in archaeological sites. One of these, the Horner or Sage Creek site, is now well known as the locus of the Cody complex, a varied group of “Yuma” implements dated about 5000 B.C. (Wormington 1957: 127-8). Extensive tipi-ring sites have been found on the tributaries of the South Fork of the Shoshone River and in other locations near Cody. These so-called tipi rings are perhaps related to those of the Boysen Reservoir in west central Wyoming (Mulloy 1954a). There are also indications of hunting camps of the Crow, Shoshone, and Ogalalla Sioux whose trails met here in protohistoric and early historic times.
Two Woodland Vessels from North Dakota
Authors: Raymond Wood W.
Published: April 2006

The demands of salvage archaeology in the Missouri Basin have directed attention to those culture complexes concentrated along streams. Two previously undescribed and unusual vessels from North Dakota suggest the presence there of Woodland cultures not recognized in the riverine regions.
A Preliminary Segregation of Etowah, Savannah, and Lamar
Authors: Fairbanks Charles H.
Published: April 2006

Centering in Georgia and extending to the adjacent portions of the states of Tennessee, Alabama, North and South Carolina are a series of archaeological complexes characterized by pottery with a complicated stamped decoration. These complexes have not yet been sufficiently defined. This paper will attempt a partial statement of the resemblances and differences between the major divisions of the group. It will not attempt to evaluate the excavations in a detailed manner. This material is what Holmes (1903, pp. 130-137) called the South Appalachian Province in which he lumped all the stamped pottery from the southeastern area. The Swift Creek Complicated Stamped material as defined in a preliminary paper by Kelly (1938, pp. 25-31, Pl. 11, a) will not be considered here. It has become evident in recent years that subdivisions of the rest of the material could be made and that they would have temporal or spatial significance.
A Shell Snake Effigy from British Honduras
Authors: Meighan C. W. , Bennyhoff J. A.
Published: April 2006

During a field trip to British Honduras in the summer of 1950, the carved representation of a serpent sketched in Figure 116 was seen in the private collection of Mr. Eustace Evans of Belize. Esthetically, the piece is designed and executed with a skill that makes it an outstanding example of aboriginal art. The specimen is also deserving of description because it is stylistically unusual for the Maya area, being quite different from the traditional Maya artifacts.
The Clay Figurines of Acambaro, Guanajuato, Mexico
Authors: Peso Charles C. Di
Published: April 2006

For the past eight years, stories have appeared concerning a vast collection of animal and human figurines of great antiquity, gathered in the vicinity of Acambaro in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. Senor Waldemar Julsrud possesses some 32,000 of these artifacts in his private collection. These ceramic figures consist of such forms as Brontosaurus, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Stegosaurus, Trachodon, Dimetrodon and other Mesozoic reptilian life-forms. Also included in the collection are a number of modern life-forms such as cow, horse, hippopotamus, elephant, rabbit, and dog. Even more fabulous is the number of miniature Egyptian sarcophagi found in the collection.
Unusual Georgia Petroglyph
Authors: Smith Margaret Perryman
Published: April 2006

This petroglyph (Fig. 138) was found about ninety years ago in Douglas County, Ga., on a hill on the north banks of Sweetwater Creek, not far from where this creek empties into the Chattahoochee River.

The petroglyph is quite different from any of the other known Georgia petroglyphs. The peculiar shape of the stone and the distinctive type of its markings make it one of the most interesting and rare examples of stone carvings in Georgia. The apparently purposely cut deep notch in the bottom of the stone is most puzzling and poses the problem of whether the stone might have been made to be placed upon a cross beam or a ridge pole.
Experiments in the Use of Atlatl Weights
Authors: Peets Orville H.
Published: April 2006

Evidence is supplied that the weights often attached to atlatls do not add to the force of the dart. An experiment was made with a copy of the atlatl with stone weight from Baylor Rock Shelter and cast with and without the weight showed no significant difference. It is proposed that the purpose of the weights was to secure balance on the hand of the atlatl-dart combination. The superiority of the harpoon over the arrow in carrying a line is given as explanation of overlapping of relics of bow and atlatl along water courses.
An Alluvial Site on the San Carlos Indian Reservation, Arizona
Authors: Haury Emil W.
Published: April 2006

The Mountainous belt of east-central Arizona has produced little evidence bearing on the problem of human history prior to the introduction of pottery and agriculture and the development of village life. In terms of the Christian calendar the events since about A.D. 1 are understood with varying degrees of clarity and reliability, but before the beginning of the Christian era the record for this region is still largely a void. The nature of the terrain, composed mainly of mountains with narrow, steeply pitching, and deeply entrenched valleys, has been unfavorable for the formation of the kind of alluvial deposits in which early human remains are often found. But there is no reason to suppose that the ecology of a mountainous region was less attractive to people of a primitive subsistence economy than were the plains or the broad low-lying intermountain valleys.
Radiocarbon Dates from Ellsworth Falls, Maine
Authors: Hadlock Wendell S. , Byers Douglas S.
Published: April 2006

Through the kindness of H. R. Crane and the Radiocarbon Laboratory, Michigan Memorial, Phoenix Project, ages of 2 samples of charcoal submitted by us have been determined. The samples in question were secured by us at the Smith Farm, Ellsworth Falls, Maine, during the summers of 1949 and 1950. Sample M89 was run twice and assays at 4150±450, and 3800±400, average 3959 ±310 or 2005 B.C. Sample M90 assays at 3350 + 400 or 1400 B.C.

These samples were gathered and brought in under circumstances that would be frowned on today. Pieces of charcoal were put in cloth specimen bags which had been used several times and laundered in a washing machine. Workers had not at that time received instructions regarding methods and containers, and it is certain that some of the pieces were brought in in sandwich bags. Whatever the method of collecting, results are consistent with other radiocarbon dates for comparable horizons in the northeast.
Basketmaker III Human Figurines from Northeastern Arizona
Authors: Morris Earl H.
Published: April 2006

Human figurines in the Basketmaker III collections resulting from excavations in the Prayer Rock district of northeastern Arizona by the Bernheimer Expedition and Carnegie Institution of Washington are of two classes; those made of clay and those fashioned from vegetable substances. The former have been described from several localities. The latter have not been previously recorded. Of the clay variety there are, whole or fragmentary, 23 representatives; of the vegetal, 4.
Notes on Two Archaeological Discoveries in Northern Alaska, 1950
Authors: Solecki Ralph S.
Published: April 2006

Several significant pre-Eskimo finds related to early aboriginal occupations in North America were made north of the Arctic Circle during the 1950 season in Alaska. These discoveries were made within and just bordering the northern side of the Brooks Range mountain province. Two of the more important finds were made by Milton C. Lachenbruch and Robert J. Hackman of the U.S. Geological Survey. Another important find was made by Irving, a student at the University of Alaska (Giddings, 1950, p. 20). Lachenbruch's and Hackman's specimens were submitted to the writer for study and are described summarily in this paper. It is reported that Irving found lithic cultural remains similar to those found by Hackman not far from the latter's station near Anaktuvuk Pass.
Comments on Rouse's Article on the Area Co-Tradition
Authors: Martin Paul S.
Published: April 2006

I have read Irving Rouse's recent article on the Southwestern co-tradition (“On the Use of the Concept of Area Co-Tradition,” American Antiquity, Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 221-5, 1954) and I must say that it fills me with mild astonishment. I fear that Rouse's strictures may have generated confusion in the minds of some students and may have given rise to the suspicion that any general formulation of Southwestern culture history is invalid or at least premature. In order to dispel these doubts I wish to discuss our underlying philosophy in this matter.

My general reaction to Rouse's article is to ask whether Bennett really intended the co-tradition concept to apply only to Peru? Has Rouse correctly codified Bennett's idea of a co-tradition and is Rouse's strict interpretation a proper one? If an affirmative is the response to these queries, then I must admit that in the narrowest and most literal terms the area co-tradition cannot be applied to the Southwestern area of the United States. At best, it would apply only to a few spots in the world in which the highest cultures have developed.
A Smiling Head Complex from Central Veracruz, Mexico
Authors: Zenil Alfonso Medellin , Peterson Frederick A.
Published: April 2006

Various authors in the past have speculated on the epoch and culture to which the so-called “Laughing Faces” belonged. But with only a small number of sporadic finds they have not been able to explain satisfactorily their origin, cultural epoch, symbolism, or typological evolution. There exist, however, some useful works on the subject, such as those by Phillip Drucker, C. W. Weiant, J. L. Melgarejo, Vladimiro Rosado Ojeda, Alfonso Medellin Zenil, and Fredrick Peterson.

In the fall of 1952 the antiquity market of Mexico City was suddenly flooded with sculptured pieces of which the “Laughing Faces,” or “Smiling Heads,” formed the chief part. Their source was made known when the Presidente Municipal (Mayor) of the village of Joachin, in the municipality of Tierra Blanca, Veracruz, denounced illegal excavations in his territory. The looting of the archaeological zones had taken place in the small communities of Los Cerros and Dicha Tuerta.
Cruciform Artifacts of the Sierra Occidental
Authors: Howard Agnes McClain
Published: April 2006

Investigators in the western and northwestern areas of Mexico as well as in southern Arizona have for a long time been familiar with a rather curious type of artifact, the possible purpose of which has thus far defied even logical speculation. Moreover, in spite of the fact that these artifacts are of relatively wide distribution and are numerous enough to escape the designation “rare,” there is only the most meager reference to them in the literature. This artifact is a cross, usually quite well made, of obsidian, chalcedony, serpentine, or other stone and there is even one reported of moonstone (Kelly 1945, Fig. 47 a). One of similar form but made of coarse lava was found at Topolobampo, Sinaloa (Ekholm 1942). The size of the crosses varies from quite small ones to larger ones measuring as much as 5 inches diagonally tip to tip.
Recent Radiocarbon Dates for Central and Southern Brazil
Authors: Hurt Wesley R.
Published: April 2006

Radiocarbon dates from caves and shellmounds in central and southern Brazil indicate occupation extending over a 10,000-year period, during which major climatic changes occurred. Correlation of these dates with geologic context of the sites indicates a close agreement with the theoretical climatic fluctuation and changes of sea level proposed by Fairbridge.
Artifacts of Paleo-Indian Type, Maracaibo, Zulia, Venezuela
Authors: Cruxent J. M.
Published: April 2006

Paleo-Indian type artifacts of the Manzanillo complex consist of crude tools, such as choppers and scrapers, made of silicified wood. The find is related to the El Jobo chronology and is also compared with other complexes in North and South America.
Reply to Thomas
Authors: Irwin Henry T. , Wormington H. M.
Published: April 2006

Thomas criticizes the authors’ use of cumulative curves for the comparison of Paleo-Indian industries. While accepting Thomas’ theoretical point of view, we attempt to explain the use of the curves in meaningful and pragmatic terms.
Assessing the Archaeological Significance of Mahamaes
Authors: Moseley M. Edward
Published: April 2006

On the coast of Peru farming in mahamaes or sunken gardens fed by ground water offers an alternative to canal irrigation. The possibility that mahamaes were influential during the early stages of farming is examined and rejected on theoretical and empirical grounds. The possible significance of farming in sunken gardens during later pre-Columbian times is briefly examined. It is suggested that mahamaes were important mainly as a supplemental form of farming in areas immediately adjacent to the coast.
The Rancho La Brea Skull
Authors: Kroeber A. L.
Published: April 2006

This apparently unfinished study of the still poorly described La Brea skull was written in 1914. Measurements by Kroeber and John C. Merriam and photos by Merriam are included. The skull is identified with the earliest of three racial subtypes of California Indians recognized by Kroeber. Robert F. Heizer provides data on a recent radiocarbon date at La Brea and explains that Kroeber's three subtypes were later verified by the detailed work of E. W. Gifford.
Volume in Pottery and the Selection of Samples
Authors: Willey Gordon R.
Published: April 2006

Archaeological excavations in certain New World areas, such as Mesoamerica, yield great volumes of potsherd refuse. When the purpose of excavation is primarily chronological or sequential, there is reason to save, classify, and tabulate total excavated collections of sherds from stratigraphic cuts; but when the principal use of pottery debris is for gross dating of architectural or settlement features, it is debatable if the same detailed counting procedures are necessary. Examples from the Maya Lowlands are cited and reference is also made to procedures in handling large quantities of ceramic material in Middle Eastern archaeology. The question is left open for comment.
Ceramic Stratigraphy and Tribal History at Taos Pueblo
Authors: Ellis Florence Hawley , Brody J. J.
Published: April 2006

Until land claims made the usefulness of data on their history important, excavations at modern New Mexican pueblos were prohibited by their people, whose conservatism varies only in degree from tribe to tribe. In 1961, the Taos Council agreed to permit brief trenching of their oldest refuse mound and of their ancestral ruin 200 yards to the east of the present site. Comparisons of sherd complexes indicated that the lowest levels of the Taos refuse mound picked up the types of the upper levels of the older site, which dated between A.D. 1325 or 1350 and 1450. Surface survey in the valley, checked against Taos legend, provided a history that covers an earlier period.

Complex I (Taos Black-on-white and associated types: A.D. 900-1300) saw Taos ancestors, not all of the same language, moving into the valley from the north and west in small religious society or kiva groups. Some settled north of the present Taos pueblo and others concentrated in the Ranchos de Taos-Pot Creek area. Later, they all moved together to the present area of Taos, settling on the site just east of the modern pueblo. Here they were joined by a group which came up from the Santa Fe area, introducing a variant of the Mesa Verde-derived pottery being made there. This produced Complex II, which dates after A.D. 1300. By 1450 the amalgamated tribe abandoned the site after a legendary battle and fire, sometimes erroneously attributed to Spanish incursions. They moved a few hundred feet westward to the present location of Taos Pueblo. In the succession of pottery types here, heavy-designed Tewa Polychrome is found in varying amounts from bottom to top of the refuse mound. Black-on-white ware disappeared and Taos Micaceous ware, developed between A.D. 1550 and 1600 (earlier than hitherto thought), became the dominant type. Polished Black ware, closely resembling that from the Santa Fe-Tewa area, but probably made locally, appears in Taos about 1400 and was at least as common as Taos Micaceous there during the 17th century. Taos Micaceous is the only type made today.
The Identification of a Prehistoric Bone Tool from the Midwest: The Deer-Jaw Sickle
Authors: Brown James A.
Published: April 2006

Worked deer jaws have been found in a large number of sites in the Plains and Midwest, and a variety of functions have been attributed to them. This paper singles out a typologically well-defined group of deer jaws from Mississippian sites and argues for their identification as sickles. The argument is confirmed by the pattern of wear that appeared on an experimental deer-jaw sickle made by the author. The striations that appeared on the buccal surface constitute the most conclusive evidence linking the experimental tool with the archaeological specimens.
Further Comments on the Archaeology of San Clemente Island, California: A Reply
Authors: Warren Claude N.
Published: April 2006

McKusick and Warren defined culture complexes on San Clemente Island as distinct collections of artifacts, spatially isolated, and representative of a local cultural adaptation. In doing so, they were reticent about interpreting each of their three culture complexes as culturally distinct and gave several alternative interpretations. Townsend misinterpreted this definition of culture complexes and considered the alternative interpretations as contradictory statements and the qualifying statement as disclaimers. Furthermore, Townsend overemphasized the importance of disturbance in the sites tested by McKusick and Warren and the importance of steatite on San Clemente Island. A more studied analysis by Townsend could have resulted in more constructive criticism.
Pottery and Cucurbita Species
Authors: Whitaker Thomas W. , Cutler Hugh C.
Published: April 2006

The identification of pottery artifacts modeled after Cucurbita species from the Mochica culture of Peru is discussed. The evidence strongly suggests these artifacts were modeled after cultivars of C. moschata, not C. pepo as reported from time to time in botanical literature.
A Quantitative Examination of Virginia Fluted Points
Authors: Fitting James E.
Published: April 2006

In an attempt to compare a large number of fluted points in the Eastern United States, metric data were coded on punch cards and analyzed statistically. A sample of fluted points from Virginia was tested in a trial study. It was found that some attributes showed significant but predictable clustering. The variation in fluting pattern between geographical areas within the state was significant.
The Selection of Samples from Large Sherd Collections
Authors: Cowgill George L.
Published: April 2006

When sherd collections are enormous, it is extremely desirable to have procedures for discarding portions of the material which minimize risks of losing useful information and are easy to apply. It is suggested that sherd lots be made the sampling units. Lots from each provenience category relevant for a given problem can be listed, and then a random sample of lots from each category included in the sample. Since the value of a sample depends more on its absolute size than on the proportion of the population it represents, it is suggested that ceramic categories be roughly ranked according to their scarcity. A relatively small number of lots from each provenience category will provide an adequate sample of common ceramic categories, while a larger number of lots are needed for rare categories. This procedure insures that certain lots will be preserved in their entirety, while common sherd categories may be discarded from other lots if they do not add much to any sample of interest.
Comments on Archaeological Data Requirements and Research strategy
Authors: Struever Stuart
Published: April 2006

The attempt to delineate the processes underlying cultural evolution has become a central problem for archaeology today. Yet, present attempts to explain prehistoric culture change are based on exceedingly fragmentary archeological evidence, a fact resulting partly from inappropriate research strategies and partly from the “one-man scholar” basis on which archaeological research has been traditionally organized.

This paper shows that certain long-held assumptions about the nature of culture which have governed excavation strategy and methods limit the value of currently existing data for attacking processual questions. The paper also examines both the quality of archaeological data required for discovering evolutionary process and the research strategies necessary for recovering these data. It argues that these research strategies cannot be put into effect unless the scale of archaeological staff, facilities, and funding increases greatly, and equally important, unless the concept of how research is organized changes.
Techniques of Making Plastic Casts of Artifacts from Permanent Molds
Authors: Rohner John R.
Published: April 2006

A method for making duplicates of projectile points or other ethnic artifacts is presented. A two-piece mold of RTV silicone rubber is made over the object. Cold-cure acrylic, colored with dry pigment, is incorporated in the mold to produce a replica of the original artifact, in both color and texture.
Of Hohokam Origins and Other Matters
Authors: Hayden Julian D.
Published: April 2006

The present weight of evidence indicates that the Sierra Pinacate, Sonora, was an enclave occupied continuously from the end of the Altithermal period by people of the Amargosa complex, who, as Areneños, spoke a dialect of Papago in historic times. It is proposed that the Amargosans spoke an ancestral Piman tongue and that the present range of Piman speakers, from the Gila River to the Río Santiago in Jalisco, represents the extent of the Amargosan occupation. At the extreme southern end of the range, Amargosans were in contact with Mesoamerican culture, and they acquired pottery making, canal irrigation, and other specialized traits from this contact. Given the corridor of Piman speakers from south to north, a group of these southern people is thought to have brought the Vahki phase of the Hohokam, en bloc, to Snaketown on the Gila River, about 300 B.C. There the culture developed and expanded until A.D. 1400, with varying rates of accretions of traits and immigrants from the homeland. At that time, Piman-speaking Sobaipuri from the east, belonging to the Sonoran Brownware tradition, invaded the Hohokam territory and conquered it. Descendants of captive Hohokam survive as the Buzzard and Red Ant moieties of the Papago and Pima. Yuman entry into the South-west is thought to be late, opposing Schroeder's Hakatayan theory. A redefinition of the term "Hohokam" is proposed. It is suggested that this term be confined to the culture pattern which developed in the Gila Valley and thus to separate the Hohokam from those Amargosans who developed in the Sonoran Brownware tradition, who might be called the "Ootam."
Estimates of Maya Population: Comments on Thompson's Comments
Authors: Haviland William A.
Published: April 2006

The historic Maya habit of abandoning a hut after the occupant's death, and the tendency to move communal sites, may be responses to population decimation and foreign political domination following breakup of the Mayapan hegemony. If so, it is doubtful that they should be projected back to the Classic Maya.
Twenty-Five Years of Eastern Archaeology
Authors: Haag William G.
Published: April 2006

Archaeological research in the Eastern United States is reviewed from the period of large-scale excavations sponsored by federal relief agencies to the present period of trend toward interdisciplinary approaches. An early interest was the identification of the archaeological ancestors of historically and ethnographically known tribes. The need for objective and descriptive classifications led to the development of the McKern or Midwestern Taxonomic Method. Recent developments include the use of functional and evolutionary concepts experimentation with statistics to validate analytical and classificatory techniques, discovery of stratigraphic evidence and the perfection of seriational techniques, emphasis on the value of geological and biological data and the combination of these with archaeological information to produce an ecological approach, and attempts at broad culture-historical synthesis. The introduction of radiocarbon dating, which exposed the extremely conservative time estimates of Eastern archaeologists by greatly lengthening the chronologies, is seen as the major contribution of the past 25 years.
Twenty-five Years of Archaeology in the Greater Southwest
Authors: Lister Robert H.
Published: April 2006

Archaeological research in the Southwestern United States is reviewed in terms of advances in interpretation and in method and theory during the past quarter-century. Interpretative advances include the clearer understanding of the early Big Game Hunters, the filling of the gap between the early hunters and the sedentary villagers with manifestations of gatherers and collectors such as the Cochise and Desert cultures, the demonstration that the Desert culture has an antiquity comparable to that of the Big Game Hunters, the definition of the Anasazi, Hohokam, Mogollon, Sinagua, and Patayan variants of the sedentary, pottery-making agriculturalists, and the delineation of the connections between the Southwest and the northern Mexican portion of Nuclear America. Advances in method and theory have been most evident in the control over chronological problems, the development of interdisciplinary approaches, the establishment of culture classifications and pottery taxonomy, and the attempt to achieve problem-oriented archaeology in large salvage projects. The Southwest has long been characterized by long-term excavation at single sites or in small areas and by local development of academic and field training programs in archaeology.
Administrative Problems of the River Basin Surveys
Authors: Stephenson Robert L.
Published: April 2006

Within the River Basin Surveys, Smithsonian Institution, administration and scientific research are closely integrated but separate efforts. The one depends upon the other and vice versa, throughout, yet they require different kinds of orientation. This basic principle of simultaneous integration and separation can and should be applied to all anthropological research. Problems that must be met in administration are those of finance and the fiscal year, personnel procedures, supply and equipment, geography and logistics, coordination of scientific needs and available funds, and finally specimen and record processing. All of these have their special aspects in the River Basin Surveys but apply in general to all phases of anthropological research.
Poverty Point Sites in Southeastern Louisiana
Authors: Gagliano Sherwood M. , Saucier Roger T.
Published: April 2006

Two small shell middens, containing numerous Poverty Point objects and associated with a 4000-year-old subdelta of the Mississippi River, have been located in the Pontchartrain Basin. Dated by the radiocarbon method at approximately 1740 B.C., the sites have been established as a separate phase of the Poverty Point horizon. A third site, characterized by abundant imported stone and a well-developed microflint industry, is believed to be contemporaneous with the Poverty Point and Jaketown sites.
Past Climate of the Navajo Reservoir District
Authors: Harris Arthur H.
Published: April 2006

The hypothesis is advanced that Yellow-bellied Marmots (Marmota flaviventris) are affected in their geographic distribution by seasonality of precipitation in such a manner that their presence in Southwestern archaeological sites indicates a minimum of about two inches of winter precipitation. Application of this hypothesis to past changes in marmot distribution in the Navajo Reservoir District (northwestern New Mexico and adjacent Colorado) indicates an early period of high effective moisture produced predominantly by summer rains. At about A.D. 700-800, there occurred a change to dominant winter precipitation which lasted until ca. A.D. 1000 or later. This model agrees with previous work based on faunal analysis but is exactly counter to that proposed on the basis of alluvial and pollen studies.