bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Postprocessualism and the Nature of Science: A Response to Comments by Hutson and Arnold and Wilkens
Authors: VanPool Todd L. , VanPool Christine S.
Published: April 2006

The comments by Hutson and Arnold and Wilkens challenge our 1999 argument that postprocessual research can be scientific. Both critique our characteristics of science. Arnold and Wilkens contend that postprocessual research is never scientific, because postprocessualists do not evaluate knowledge claims using information derived independently from the claims being evaluated. We argue that Arnold and Wilkens' criticisms are based on an inaccurate characterization of our arguments. We also argue that their claim that postprocessual perspectives do not use independently derived knowledge claims when evaluating propositions about the past is simply incorrect. Hutson argues that science cannot be demarcated from other academic research, so determining whether some postprocessual research is or isn't scientific is a moot issue. We argue that while science does share similarities with other academic pursuits, it remains a useful problem-solving strategy that can be differentiated from non-scientific scholarly pursuits. In addition, we agree with Hutson that a 'synergy through disunity' is desirable within archaeology, but again argue that such a synergy will not be produced through an intellectual conflict phrased in terms of “processual science” vs. “postprocessual non-science”.
Regional Variation in the Pattern of Maize Adoption and Use in Florida and Georgia
Authors: Hutchinson Dale L. , Larsen Clark Spencer , Schoeninger Margaret J. , Norr Lynette
Published: April 2006

Dietary reconstruction using carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes from archaeological human bone samples from coastal Georgia and northern and Gulf Coast Florida dating between 400 B.C. and A.D. 1700 serves to illustrate the complexity of the agricultural transition in that region. Isotope analysis of 185 collagen samples drawn from early prehistoric, late prehistoric, and contact-period mortuary sites encompasses two major adaptive shifts in the region, namely the adoption of maize agriculture in late prehistory and the increased emphasis on maize during the mission period. Prior to European contact—and especially before the establishment of Spanish missions among the Guale, Yamasee, Timucua, and Apalachee tribal groups—diet was strongly influenced by local environmental factors. Before contact, coastal and inland populations had different patterns of food consumption, as did populations living in Georgia and Florida. Coastal populations consumed more marine and less terrestrial foods than inland populations. In general, maize was adopted during the eleventh century A.D. by virtually all Georgia populations. However, with the exception of the Lake Jackson site, a major Mississippian center in northern Florida, Florida populations show little use of maize before contact. Following European contact, maize became wide-spread, regardless of location or habitat within the broad region of Spanish Florida. Missionization appears to have been an important factor in the convergence of native diets toward agriculture and away from foraging. This increased emphasis on maize contributed to a decline in quality of life for native populations.
Daily Practice and Material Culture in Pluralistic Social Settings: An Archaeological Study of Culture Change and Persistence from Fort Ross, California
Authors: Lightfoot Kent G. , Martinez Antoinette , Schiff Ann M.
Published: April 2006

This paper presents an archaeological approach to the study of culture change and persistence in multi-ethnic communities through the study of daily practices and based on a crucial tenet of practice theory-that individuals will enact and construct their underlying organizational principles, worldviews, and social identities in the ordering of daily life. The study of habitual routines is undertaken in a broadly diachronic and comparative framework by examining daily practices from a multiscalar perspective. The approach is employed in a case study on the organization of daily life of interethnic households composed of Native Californian women and Native Alaskan men at the Russian colony of Fort Ross in northern California. Recognizing that different opportunities and choices existed for household members in this colonial setting, we explore how they constructed their own unique identities by examining the spatial layout of residential space, the ordering of domestic tasks, and the structure of trash disposal. We argue that trash deposits and middens in built environments, which often accumulate through routinized tasks, present great promise for examining the processes of culture change and persistence in archaeology.
Incipient Urbanization and Secularization in Tiahuanacoid Peru
Authors: Schaedel R. P.
Published: April 2006

This paper shows that two previous lines of evidence (radiocarbon dating and historic dynasty lists) for calculating absolute dates in prehistoric northern Peru produce a hiatus between the regional Classic and the late periods (kingdoms and confederations), which can best be resolved by expanding the time span of the Tiahuanacoid (Middle) period. Material evidence is adduced for this longer period by quantifying total construction for the last three precolonial periods on both the northern and central coasts. This procedure indicates that the last two periods combined were only half as long as the preceding Tiahuanacoid period and provides the temporal basis for postulating that the late-period trends, such as urbanization and secularization, were evolved largely during Tiahuanacoid times.
New Discoveries at the Clovis Site
Authors: Warnica James M.
Published: April 2006

Excavations at the Clovis site near Portales, New Mexico, in 1962 and 1963 produced much new information on the Llano complex. This work, which was done principally by the El Llano Archaeological Society (Portales, New Mexico), yielded the skeletons of four mammoths and other Pleistocene faunal remains and enlarged the tool inventory of the Llano complex. Significant ancestral ties with the Upper Paleolithic of Siberia, which have been postulated on the basis of prismatic blades and blade-tools collected from the Clovis horizon seem to be further confirmed. Further information on the size range of Clovis projectile points has been obtained from small projectile points found in the mammoth-bone bed. Analysis of lithic materials from the Clovis site reveals extensive use of Alibates flint from the Canadian River valley of Texas.
Production and Transport of Blanks and Tools at the French Middle Paleolithic Site of Combe-Capelle Bas
Authors: Roth Barbara J. , Dibble Harold L.
Published: April 2006

Recent studies of Middle Paleolithic lithic assemblages have focused on questions of interest to lithic analysts everywhere, including the effect of raw material availability, occupation span, and tool maintenance on assemblage characteristics. In this paper, we add to the growing database on Middle Paleolithic assemblages using material recently excavated at Combe-Capelle Bas in the Dordogne region of southern France. The site provides a unique opportunity for addressing questions concerning lithic assemblage variability because it is located on a high quality flint source. We present data on core reduction, blank selection, raw material procurement, and lithic transport that provide information on lithic use pertinent for both Old World and New World archaeologists. Our data show that raw material availability and group mobility influenced blank selection, production, and transport at Combe-Capelle.
Paleoindian Colonization of the Americas: Implications from an Examination of Physiography, Demography, and Artifact Distribution
Authors: Anderson David G. , Gillam J. Christopher
Published: April 2006

GIS-based, least-cost analyses employing continental scale elevation data, coupled with information on the late glacial location of ice sheets and pluvial lakes, suggest possible movement corridors used by initial human populations in colonizing the New World. These routes, demographic evidence, and the location of Paleoindian archaeological assemblages, support the possibility of a rapid spread and diversification of founding populations. Initial dispersal, these analyses suggest, would have been most likely in coastal and riverine settings, and on plains. The analyses suggest areas where evidence for early human settlement may be found in North and South America. In some cases, these areas have received little prior archaeological survey. The method can be used to explore patterns of human migration and interaction at a variety of geographic scales.
Settlement and Sea-Levels on the Central Coast of British Columbia: Evidence from Shell Midden Cores
Authors: Cannon Aubrey
Published: April 2006

Coring of shell-midden sites provides a regional chronology of site settlement in the Namu vicinity on the central coast of British Columbia. Coring proved an accurate and cost-effective alternative to traditional test-excavation, and its application in only two short field seasons doubled the number of sites tested in this region. The dating of basal cultural deposits from the cores shows initial occupation of sites ranging from 10,000 to 800 B.P. These dates exhibit a strong linear relationship with the current elevation of deposits above average high tide, suggesting that the settlement history of known shell-midden sites in this region is strongly linked to gradual long-term decline in relative sea levels.
Critique of the Claim of Cannibalism at Cowboy Wash
Authors: Dongoske Kurt E. , Martin Debra L. , Ferguson T. J.
Published: April 2006

The article by Billman et al. contributes to a growing body of data that demonstrates the complex variability of the Pueblo world during the twelfth century. Although the article's title promises a comprehensive review of major cultural and environmental processes (drought, warfare, cannibalism, regional interactions), relatively little theory regarding these processes informs their research design, and much of their interpretation is based on weak inferences. Their empirical data are not used to test alternative hypotheses or rigorously examine expectations derived from modeling. Dynamic aspects of cultural patterns relating to migration, settlement, environment, abandonment, mortuary behaviors, conflict, and group identity are implicated in their research but are not adequately contextualized. Our response to the study by Billman et al. is intended to provide a critical yet constructive commentary, propose fresh ways of thinking about what assemblages of disarticulated and broken bones might mean, and reformulate how research questions are being asked.
The Role of Adaptation in Archaeological Explanation
Authors: O'Brien Michael J. , Holland Thomas D.
Published: April 2006

Adaptation, a venerable icon in archaeology, often is afforded the vacuous role of being an ex-post-facto argument used to "explain" the appearance and persistence of traits among prehistoric groups—a position that has seriously impeded development of a selectionist perspective in archaeology. Biological and philosophical definitions of adaptation—and by extension, definitions of adaptedness—vary considerably, but all are far removed from those usually employed in archaeology. The prevailing view in biology is that adaptations are features that were shaped by natural selection and that increase the adaptedness of an organism. Thus adaptations are separated from other features that may contribute to adaptedness but are products of other evolutionary processes. Analysis of adaptation comprises two stages: showing that a feature was under selection and how the feature functioned relative to the potential adaptedness of its bearers. The archaeological record contains a wealth of information pertinent to examining the adaptedness of prehistoric groups, but attempts to use it will prove successful only if a clear understanding exists of what adaptation is and is not.
The Numic Spread: A Computer Simulation
Authors: Young David A. , Bettinger Robert L.
Published: April 2006

We develop a mathematical model for the spread of Numic-speaking peoples across the Great Basin in the second millennium A.D., in accord with the ideas of Bettinger and Baumhoff (1982), who suggested a competitive interaction between the Numic and Prenumic peoples of the region. We construct differential equations representing two competing populations that spread by a diffusion process across an area representing the Great Basin. The demographic variables are fixed to agree with ethnographic data, while the migration rates are fitted to the estimated time for the completion of the spread. The model predicts a spatial distribution of the Numic languages in satisfactory agreement with observations and suggests new avenues of investigation.
Predicting Maize Agriculture among the Fremont: An Economic Comparison of Farming and Foraging in the American Southwest
Authors: Barlow K. Renee
Published: April 2006

Variation in the costs and benefits of maize agriculture relative to local foraging opportunities structured variation in the relative intensity of agricultural strategies pursued by prehistoric peoples in the American Southwest. The material remains of Fremont farmers and horticulturists, long identified as the "northern periphery" of Southwestern archaeological traditions, are examined as a case representing extreme intersite variation in the economic importance of farming. New data quantifying the energetic gains associated with maize agriculture in Latin America are compared to caloric return rates for hunting and collecting indigenous foods. These data suggest that prehistoric maize farming was economically comparable to many local wild plants, but that intensive farming practices were most similar to very low-ranked seeds. The model predicts a continuum of pre-historic strategies that included horticulture within a system of indigenous resource collection and high residential mobility at one end, and at the other sedentary farmers heavily invested in agricultural activities with residences maintained near fields during a significant portion of the growing season. Differences in agricultural strategies should have been strongly influenced by the effects of local ecology on the marginal gains for time spent in maize fields and the abundance of key, high-ranked wild foods, not harvest yields per se. Increasing agricultural investments are expected with decreasing opportunities to collect higher-ranked foods, while decreases in time spent farming are expected only with increases in alternative economic opportunities.
Mapping Poverty Point
Authors: Kidder Tristram R.
Published: April 2006

Even though the general configuration of the Poverty Point site has been known for over forty years, the entire site was mapped for the first time in 1999–2000. In this paper we examine how Poverty Point has been portrayed in the archaeological literature. Tracings of stereoscopic aerial photographs were used to construct previous maps of the site. Features that could not be traced because of tree cover were interpolated. Succeeding representations of the site show different features and emphasize the symmetrical form of the site, including the presence of ridges separated by aisles. The 1999–2000 map demonstrates that earlier images of the site overemphasize earthworm symmetry. Our data suggest that the northern aisle does not exist and may have been introduced into earlier maps in order to complete a hypothesized regular site plan. Images of a site like Poverty Point are powerful representations of a perceived reality. For example, existing maps of Poverty Point have been used to bolster claims that the site represents a "great town," with a large population and some kind of centralized leadership. Despite a considerable history of research at Poverty Point map data alone cannot and probably will never provide sufficient evidence to support or reject such a claim. While mapping alone cannot answer questions about the nature of site organization or social behavior, differences between existing images and the current topographic map underscore the need to view maps and pictures of Poverty Point as a means for generating testable hypotheses, rather than an end unto itself.
Lava, Corn, and Ritual in the Northern Southwest
Authors: Elson Mark D. , Ort Michael H. , Hesse S. Jerome , Duffield Wendell A.
Published: April 2006

Fifty-five pieces of lava with impressions of prehistoric corn have recently been recovered from NA 860, a small habitation site near Sunset Crater Volcano in northern Arizona. Archaeological, geological, and botanical information suggest that husked ears of corn were deliberately placed in the lava's path when the volcano erupted in the mid-to-late eleventh century A.D. Over 40 kg of basalt lava containing the hardened corn casts were then taken to NA 860 located 4 km away from the lava flow. At the site, the rocks underwent lithic reduction to expose the casts. We suggest that these "corn rocks" are indicative of ritual practices, perhaps serving as an offering made to appease the forces responsible for the eruption. Although both prehistoric and modern offerings are commonly associated with volcanoes in other parts of the world, this is the first evidence from the Southwest United States of possible ritual behavior related to volcanism.
Another Mayan Hieroglyph for “Day”
Authors: Beyer Hermann
Published: April 2006

Charles P. Bowditch reproduces about seven different signs as hieroglyphs for Kin, “day,” in his fundamental work on the Maya calendar. They are: (1) the sun-disk, (2) the head of the sun-god, (3) the head of a sun-bird, (4) the dog's head, (5) the conch, (6) the inverted Ahau and (7) the composite glyph day-sky, sun-disc and Caban. There can be identified still a few more hieroglyphs as representing the same idea.

In this paper we shall treat of a new sign, generally composed of a quincunx (a variant of the character for “greenstone”) and a skull (Figure 1, a, b and f), for which the value “day” can be proved.
House Types of the Middle Fraser River
Authors: Smith Marian W.
Published: April 2006

Ties between northeastern Asia and northwestern America are frequently postulated but have never been satisfactorily worked out in detail. Forms of subterranean or semi-subterranean houses and of large plank buildings were known in both regions and this fact has been used to suggest northern Asiatic-American relationships. It seems clear that some prehistoric ties did exist between the two regions but their exact nature remains unknown. Fuller data and more careful comparisons are needed and one segment of the American distribution is therefore given below.
Manifestations of a South Florida Cult in Northwestern Florida
Authors: Goggin John M.
Published: April 2006

A number of unusual ornaments of gold and copper were found several years ago in a site on Apalachee Bay, Wakulla County, Florida (Fig. 74). This site lies in the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge a few hundred feet east of its lookout tower, several hundred yards south of the headquarters, and a mile northwest of the St. Marks lighthouse. The site is a burial ground, showing no signs of habitation other than some sherds and flakes of chert scattered on the surface. The burials are found close under the sandy surface on a small natural ridge which lies along the shore where high land merges into extensive marshes. Nearby are two other sites, both shallow refuse areas. One lies about 150 yards to the west, near the gate of the present lookout tower. The other is under the buildings of the present refuge headquarters.
Pollen Analysis and Mexican Archaeology: An Attempt to Apply the Method
Authors: Deevey Edward S.
Published: April 2006

The studies reported here were made during a brief field trip to Mexico in the summer of 1941, when two weeks were spent in Mexico City and one week was spent in Michoacán. In so far as archaeological material was touched, they represent a venture into a field of research in which the author possesses no competence or previous training. The main object of the trip was limnological, and financial resources were meager. How blind the resulting gropings were was fully appreciated only after the trip, when a better acquaintance with the literature on Middle America was possible. Although some definite results were achieved in the form of a respectable pollen sequence 6.2 meters in length, obtained from deposits of the modern Lake Patzcuaro, the pollen analyses from cultural sites in the Valley of Mexico and at Tzintzuntzan were negative. Nevertheless, it is felt that their publication is justified, since the method, if properly applied, holds distinct promise, and future workers will undoubtedly wish to know what was done and wherein the failure lay.
Archaeological Investigation in Central Alaska
Authors: Rainey Froelich
Published: April 2006

The area referred to in the following summary of investigations includes the valley of the Tanana River, sections of the Central Yukon Valley above the mouth of the Tanana, and the upper Copper River Valley. This sub-arctic region, inhabited by bands of semi-nomadic Athapascan Indians, by white traders, trappers, miners, and only recently by a few farmers, presents unusual difficulties to an attempt to discover archaeological sites. This is due not only to the sparse population and limited cultivation but to the characteristic mantle of moss, brush and forest that obscures all evidence of ancient dwelling sites. No habitable caves or rock shelters have been found. Under these circumstances, investigations must depend primarily upon information obtained from the present natives and upon accidental discoveries made by white settlers in very limited cultivation and in placer mining operations.
A Geologically Dated Camp Site, Georgian Bay, Ontario
Authors: Greenman E. F. , Stanley George M.
Published: April 2006

The field work described below was part of a general survey of the Manitoulin District, by arrangement with authorities of the National Museum of Canada, Ottawa. This work, extending from July 7th to September 15th, 1938, under the direction of the senior author, was done for the Museum of Anthropology of the University of Michigan. The present report on an early site on Great Cloche Island is in two parts. The first concerns the archaeology, and the second the glacial geology. Both statements present only the details necessary to an understanding of the general nature of the find, and will be followed by a more complete description in a Museum of Anthropology publication.
Projectile Points
Authors: Browne Jim
Published: April 2006

Due, I believe, to the lack of a working knowledge of the bow and the atlatl, the tendency with some archaeologists is to date sites by the size of projectile points. In this paper, the writer hopes to prove this method is wrong.

The pre-historic peoples, and especially the nomadic peoples, lived by hunting. The atlatl and spear, or the bow and arrow, were in daily use during a period covering many thousands of years. These peoples were thinkers, inventors and experimenters, and it is reasonable to expect that they all made and used very efficient projectile points. The sole purpose of a projectile point is to pierce the hide of an animal and to enter the body cavity deep enough to cause a hemorrhage that will in time kill the animal. Two agencies will cause the penetration—speed and weight.
A Prototype for the Southern Cult
Authors: Willey Gordon R.
Published: April 2006

Eastern archaeologists are familiar with the phenomena which have, in recent years, been interpreted as the Southern Cult. Although there is some dispute concerning the functional nature of the Cult, its exact position in the prehistoric time scale, and the sources which inspired it, there is common recognition of its elements and widespread occurrences. These component elements are artistic motifs and certain specialized, non-utilitarian artifact types which are bound together by a unity of style and technical treatment. The geographic occurrences are predominantly Southeastern but extend from the Atlantic to the western periphery of the Mound Area. The intrinsic qualities of the elements easily lend them to interpretation as ritualistic symbols and paraphernalia, and their frequent appearance in large mound sites adds to the implications of ceremonial import.
Discovery of the Chavín Culture in Peru
Authors: Tello Julio C.
Published: April 2006

In 1919, while exploring the basin of the Mariash or Pukcha River, one of the upper Amazon affluents, I found in Chavín de Huantar evidence of a culture that, up to then, had not been given due recognition. I proved that certain buildings and other products of aboriginal art found there belonged to a quite distinctive cycle of culture–that of the Chavín stone culture. Monolithic figures of serpents and felines, representing human heads, and stelae, obelisks, sundry utensils, and other objects decorated with incised or carved figures in plane, high or low relief, representing grotesque felines, serpents, fish, lizards and birds are the main features of this culture, whose area of diffusion had then been reconnoitered only in the provinces of Huari and Pomabama.
What Are the Burnt Rock Mounds of Texas?
Authors: Kelley J. Charles , Campbell T. N.
Published: April 2006

In the Edwards Plateau and Trans-Pecos regions of southwestern Texas are a large number of archaeological sites which have been referred to as “burnt rock mounds.” Although this name is now well established in the archaeological literature of Texas, one looks in vain for a satisfactory statement concerning the origin and nature of these rather unusual sites. Quite a number have been excavated, but as yet few detailed reports on individual sites have appeared. The authors of recent reports assume that the term “burnt rock mound” is well understood and, although implying that it represents a distinct culture trait, do not explain what it means. It is evident that many archaeologists do not understand its meaning, for at recent archaeological meetings outside of Texas the writers of this paper have frequently been asked, “Just what is a burnt rock mound?” In view of this, it seems advisable to put on record a brief summary of what is known at present about the formation of these sites.
Trepanation and the “Catlin Mark”
Authors: Goldsmith William M.
Published: April 2006

This paper deals with the confusion of a certain anomalous condition of the human skull with one type of trepanation. Evidence is presented to show that many specimens exhibited as examples of a certain type of trepanning are clear-cut cases of this congenital bilateral fenestra in the parietal bones. As is generally known, trephining was performed by ancient man to relieve certain maladies such as headaches caused by “demons kicking up a fuss” inside the skull. The excruciatingly painful operation was performed with a crude knife, piece of glass, or sharp-edged stone. Trephining probably flourished in Neolithic times, especially in Bohemia and western Europe. Trephined skulls have been, reported from Bolivia,, Central America, Mexico, Peru, and various other localities.
The Dark Phase of the Moon and Ancient Maya Methods of Solar Eclipse Prediction
Authors: Satterthwaite Linton
Published: April 2006

In this short paper the aim is to eliminate from consideration what seems to me a misleading lack of precise statement—if not an actual and important error in astronomical fact—in the recent writing of Robert H. Merrill. It seems proper first to make clear my conviction that laymen in astronomy have a proper place in the study of ancient Maya astronomy, even if mistakes are sometimes made which must seem naive to a professional astronomer. Merrill is by profession a civil engineer, and I am a garden-variety archaeologist. As a matter of fact, laymen are probably responsible for more sound progress in this field than are the all-too-few professional astronomers who have become interested. The names of Förstemann, Morley, Guthe, Teeple, and Thompson come to mind at once.
Crania from Wyoming Resembling “Minnesota Man”
Authors: Howells W. W.
Published: April 2006

In the summer of 1935, a road gang working in the vicinity of Torrington, Wyoming, near the north bank of the North Platte River, was blasting for road material in the face of a low bluff. Among the debris of one explosion they found several broken skeletons, together with a few stone artifacts and some bone beads. The artifacts were dispersed among the workmen, but the skeletal material, together with a few of the beads, came into the hands of Dr. S. H. Knight, Professor of Geology at the University of Wyoming. On a trip to New York he brought the cranial fragments to the American Museum of Natural History, where they were restored by the author.
The Quantitative Investigation of Aboriginal Sites: Comparative Physical and Chemical Analysis of Two California Indian Mounds
Authors: Cook S. F. , Treganza A. E.
Published: April 2006

The investigation of archaeological sites in North America has in the past concerned itself predominantly with the discovery and examination of burials and artifacts and associated fauna. This purely qualitative approach has been essential to the elucidation of problems in the culture history of aboriginal man. At the same time, except in such cases where obvious stratigraphy displays itself, few efforts have been directed toward the analysis of the matrix itself, the deposits in which the more spectacular bones, pottery, and implements of war are embedded. Nevertheless, it is wholly possible that accumulations of debris, such as habitation mounds or midden deposits, may be able to supply information of a quantitative character which will throw light upon the population, living conditions, and ecological status of the former inhabitants. A recent study1 based upon older excavations of California shell mounds has indicated the type of information which might be obtained. The present paper explores certain aspects of the methodology applicable to the general problem.
The Eastward Extension of Puebloan Datings toward Cultures of the Mississippi Valley
Authors: Krieger Alex D.
Published: April 2006

This article is based on an address to the society for American Archaeology at its annual meeting on May 17, 1946 at Indianpolis. A following address by Dr. Waldo R. Wedel desalt with the chronology of central Plains cultures. As the two chronologies embraced a very considerable portion of the United States and were in rather remarkably close agreement, it was suggested by retiring editor Byers that they be published in this journal.
Possibilities of an Aboriginal Practice of Agriculture among the Southern Diegueño
Authors: Treganza Adan E.
Published: April 2006

Mainly through force of habit and lack of factual data, the general tendency has been to view Southwestern agriculture as arising from a Basketmaker-Puebloan center. Recently G. F. Carter has clearly demonstrated that, in addition to the above, there was a second center of equal importance and antiquity, mainly in the area occupied by the ancient Hohokam and their successors, the Pima-Papago. It is with the latter center that the present paper is concerned.
The Interrelation of Population, Food Supply, and Building in Pre-Conquest Central Mexico
Authors: Cook S. F.
Published: April 2006

This paper is frankly exploratory, designed to test the possibility of applying historical and archaeological evidence to the solution of certain problems in demography and human ecology for which it is impossible to secure data of more conventional character.

The Central Mexican region was selected because it contained for a very long time perhaps the densest population on the North American continent and because the annalistic as well as archaeological information concerning it is remarkably copious. Specifically the area is defined for present purposes as that included in the present states of Vera Cruz, Hidalgo, Tlaxcala, Puebla, Mexico, Federal District, Morelos, Oaxaca, Michoacan, and Guerrero. This territory is not an ethnic or economic entity since it includes both coastal and highland cultures together with numerous independent linguistic stocks. On the other hand it corresponds to the most intensive area of archaeological investigation outside of Yucatan and is more or less coterminous with the so-called “Aztec Empire” as the latter existed in 1520.
Aerial Photography and Archaeology
Authors: Reeves Dache M.
Published: April 2006

Aerial photographs were employed in archaeological work as early as 1880. The results proved the value of aerial photographs, but the methods of raising a camera aloft were unsatisfactory until the invention of the airplane. Also the quality of cameras and sensitive plates was not very good in the early days. For these reasons, aerial photography was applied to archaeology infrequently until after the World War.

Military operations accelerated the development of airplanes. Cameras were designed especially for air use and the quality of lenses and plates was improved greatly. This resulted in a rapid growth of aerial photography. The applications of aerial photographs were limited almost entirely to military uses, including mapping. The post-war development followed similar lines. Aerial photography was found to be indispensable to military operations and all air forces devoted considerable attention to this specialty.
Some Artifact Sites of Early Man in the Great Plains and Adjacent Areas
Authors: Schultz C. Bertrand
Published: April 2006

During the past fourteen collecting seasons, paleontological expeditions of the University of Nebraska State Museum have excavated a large number of sites which contained the bones of extinct mammals associated with the artifacts of Early Man. Many of these sites have been reported but some data have not been published. All of the studies of Early Man have been carried on from a paleontologic and stratigraphic point of view. It is hoped that a faunal and stratigraphic sequence connecting the Pleistocene and Recent will eventually be established, and that Early Man's relation to this sequence will be determined. It is the purpose of this brief paper to summarize the work relating to Early Man which has been done by the field parties of the University of Nebraska State Museum since 1937. The explorations have been confined chiefly to Nebraska, New Mexico, Texas, and Wyoming. Since the studies of the Nebraska sites have, for the most part, been published, the discussion will be confined to the sites in the latter three states.
Implements from Lake Mohave
Authors: Adams Robert McCormick
Published: April 2006

Archaeological reconnaisance work along the ancient shore lines of desiccated Lake Mohave, located south of Death Valley in California, has been interpreted by Mr. and Mrs. Campbell and their associates. Groups of implements were found along the old beach line located above the present playa. These were found at approximately the same vertical elevation. Most geologists, including D. G. Thompson, O. E. Meinzer, and E. Antevs, are concurrent in the belief that the desiccation of this lake took place in late Pleistocene times; although Thompson believes the antiquity to be uncertain. The age of the lake, together with neighboring lake beds which are also desiccated, was interpreted by geologists before archaeologists became interested in the problem; however, it is possible that the groups of implements found exposed in the beaches might be considerably younger than the Pleistocene phase of the lake's existence. The presence of modern camp sites containing materials typologically different than those mentioned above was determined at the southern portion of the lake near existing or recent springs.
The Function of Paddle and Anvil in Pottery Making
Authors: Fewkes Vladimir J.
Published: April 2006

Recently I published a brief notice on constructional methods in pottery making, which occasioned a number of interesting comments. The majority of the communications and verbal discourses centered upon the seeming error, on my part, “to exclude the paddle and anvil manipulation from the suggested classification.” It will be recalled that the notice in question stated: “On the basis of the work thus far accomplished, the following classification ofstrictly manualbuilding methods of constructing pottery vessels may be suggested.” The emphasis onhand manipulationand the express limitation tobuilding proceduresappear to have made little if any impression on some readers. It seems in point, therefore, to outline briefly the function of the paddle and anvil in pottery making, as derived from my studies of literature and specimens, as well as from certain empirical knowledge. Admittedly, this note does not pretend to settle any problem nor to be conclusive; rather its aim is to call attention to the need of accurate technical detailing.
The Island 35 Mastodon: Its Bearing on the Age of Archaic Cultures in the East
Authors: Williams Stephen
Published: April 2006

The possibility of the contemporaneity of man and the mastodon in America has been a vexing one for more than a hundred years. In 1839 Albert C. Koch first reported that he had found evidence to support such a claim (Montagu 1942); and the situation today remains much as it was then, confused and without absolute certainty. It would, perhaps, be worthwhile at the outset to make explicit the distinction between the mammoth and the mastodon. Mammoths are fossil elephants, family Elephantide, which were restricted in the New World to North America.
Geological Confirmation of Native Traditions, Yakutat, Alaska
Authors: Laguna Frederica de
Published: April 2006

An open file report of the U.S. Geological Survey, “Glacial Features and Surficial Deposits of the Malaspina District, Alaska,” by George Plafker and Don J. Miller, 1957, not only indicates some of the periods when the Icy Bay-Yakutat Bay area was open to habitation, but seems to confirm native traditions of great antiquity. I am indebted to Don Miller for bringing this report to my attention.
Momil: A Formative Sequence from the Sinú Valley, Colombia
Authors: Reichel-Dolmatoff Gerardo
Published: April 2006

Early in 1954 the author and his wife were stationed by the Instituto Colombiano de Antropología at Cartagena, on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. This provided the opportunity to continue their program of archaeological research on the Colombian coastal area which, at an earlier date, had already led to the formulation of a tentative time and space framework (Reichel-Dolmatoff 1954). While during most of 1954 a survey of the area surrounding Cartagena was made (Dussán de Reichel 1954; Reichel-Dolmatoff 1955), the dry season of 1954–1955 was spent in making a reconnaissance of the Sinú Valley, southwest of Cartagena. During a 4-month trip excavations were carried out at 2 major sites and extensive surface collections were gathered from some 20 others.
Formative Period Cultures in the Guayas Basin, Coastal Ecuador
Authors: Evans Clifford , Meggers Betty J.
Published: April 2006

Growing knowledge of cultural sequences in Mesoamerica and in Peru has caused archaeologists interested in correlating these areas and explaining the derivation of various traits to look longingly at the little-known intermediate region occupied by Ecuador and Colombia. In the fall of 1954 an invitation by Emilio Estrada, Director of the Museo Arqueologico “Victor Emilio Estrada” in Guayaquil, Ecuador, gave us the opportunity to make a brief survey and to excavate stratigraphically a few sites in the Guayas Basin on the central coast of Ecuador (Fig. 1). One of the sites excavated (R-B-l: La Chorrera) and two included in the survey (R-B-2: Al Frente el Tejar and G-D-8: 5Jaupe) produced potsherds and other artifacts of types that have been classified as belonging to the Formative period in Middle America and Peru.
The Eastern Dispersal of Adena
Authors: Ritchie William A. , Dragoo Don W.
Published: April 2006

In the upper Ohio Valley, Adena mounds and their burials are less complex than, but essentially similar to, those of the major Adena centers of Ohio and Kentucky. Chronologically, they belong in the middle and late Adena periods. Two Adena sites much farther east have been found on Chesapeake Bay; they are closer in trait inventories and in radiocarbon dates to upper Ohio Valley sites than to Adena sites farther west. A reappraisal of evidence from the Northeast, particularly the Middlesex focus of New York, strongly suggests the movement of Adena people as far as the St. Lawrence River, although the proportion of Adena traits diminishes as distance from the Ohio Valley increases. Still another Adena dispersal, probably contemporaneous with this one, has previously been postulated to account for the Copena complex of Tennessee and Alabama. The cause of these rapid and far-reaching movements was probably the arrival or growth of Hopewell people in Illinois and Indiana and soon after in Ohio.
Dating the Ulua Polychrome Complex
Authors: Epstein Jeremiah F.
Published: April 2006

Distinctive polychromes from the Ulua valley, northwestern Honduras, formerly dated from possibly Early Classic to the conquest, are restricted to Late Classic. Ulua wares have Late Classic associations at Copan and other sites. A newly demonstrated Early Classic occupation of the Ulua valley is not found at the major polychrome sites. Plumbate is not associated with the Ulua complex and in northeastern Honduras it first appears in the Cocal horizon overlying the Late Classic Selin horizon in which Ulua pottery occurs.
The Position of Ipiutak in Eskimo Culture —Reply
Authors: Collins Henry B.
Published: April 2006

The greater part of Larsen's paper is a restatement of the Ipiutak theory rather than a reply to my two specific criticisms. I feel that this theory is based on a series of questionable assumptions rather than facts, but as Larsen properly insists on “sound scientific documentation and not mere statements” I will not attempt to discuss the theory as a whole in the space available here but refer to a recent publication which gives my views (Collins, 1954, pp. 78-85). The second half of Larsen's paper deals for the most part with the second of the two points I raised, the relationship of the Ipiutak and Old Bering Sea cultures. This is a crucial point for the Ipiutak theory, for if I am correct the type culture of the “palae-Eskimo” complex, from the evidence of both archaeology and radiocarbon dating, is later than cultures assigned to the “neo-Eskimo” complex and also more closely related to them than to other “palae-Eskimo” cultures.
Ancient Population Centers of Santa Rosa Island
Authors: Orr Phil C.
Published: April 2006

As a result of work on Santa Rosa Island during 1947-1950, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History has completed a survey which includes 142 ancient Indian village sites. On the California mainland intensive cultivation, construction and pot-hunting have pretty well eliminated the natural surface conditions of Indian sites, but on Santa Rosa Island, due to its isolation, there are many sites untouched by modern man. Consequently, it was possible to set up a system of classification of the sites undisturbed by civilization on a basis of natural physical conditions.
Whistles from Arizona
Authors: Kidder A. V.
Published: April 2006

The two specimens here illustrated (Fig. 83) were found in 1925 by E. H. Morris and the writer in a cave opposite and a little above the White House, Canyon de Chelly, Arizona. They lay together about 50 cm. deep in loose sand. They are doubtless Anasazi, but as no other artifacts were found in association it is uncertain whether they are of Basket Maker or Pueblo manufacture. Made from bird bones, apparently ulnae of a large species, they are of identical workmanship, the ends cut squarely across, the shafts polished as if from long handling. The ends of each one's single oval perforation are sharply edged. Directly below the perforation is a little mound of a dark brown, gummy substance, troughed lengthwise (Fig. 84). This throws trough-canalized air, blown from either end, up against the sharp edge at the opposite end of the perforation, producing a shrill whistling note.
Archaeological Explorations in Southern Peru, 1954–1955
Authors: Rowe John Howland
Published: April 2006

From March, 1954, through the whole of the year 1955 the University of California at Berkeley sponsored a program of archaeological field work in southern Peru and related studies in museums of the United States. In Peru the expedition worked out of 2 bases, one at Cuzco in the highlands and the other at lea on the south coast. It was concerned primarily with archaeological survey and exploration, although excavations were also made at 2 Inca period sites in the coastal area studied. The expedition staff consisted of John H. Rowe, Director, Dorothy Menzel (Mrs. Francis A. Riddell), Francis A. Riddell, Dwight T. Wallace, Lawrence E. Dawson, and David A. Robinson.
The Place of Chronological Ordering in Archaeological Analysis
Authors: Brainerd George W.
Published: April 2006

The article which precedes this one describes a statistical technique for the chronological placement of archaeological artifact collections. The purposes of this paper are first to describe the rationale of archaeological analysis under which the data and problem as presented to Robinson were formulated, and upon which the validity of his solution therefore depends, and second to describe analytic and interpretive work which I have based upon his results.
Ware Groupings and Decorations of Woodland Ceramics in Illinois
Authors: Fowler Melvin L.
Published: April 2006

This Study deals primarily with the pottery from a series of 8 Middle Woodland village sites in the central Illinois River valley (Mason, Tazewell, Fulton, Peoria, and Marshall counties in Illinois, see Fig. 62). Comment regarding 3 other sites is also included. All of these sites but one are either directly associated with Hopewellian burial mounds or have Hopewellian pottery and other artifacts scattered throughout the debris. There are numerous other sites known with material similar to these sites, but they are not included here due to the small number of sherds in each of these sites (for example, F°77, Fv88, and others reported on by Cole and Deuel in 1937).

The purpose of this particular study is twofold. First of all an attempt is being made in this report to present indications of changes through time and style preferences in a rather well-known culture. It is hoped that these indications will help us to understand the temporal position of the different sites and to build up a body of information that will allow better understanding of the various cultural forms, in this particular case, pottery.
An Archaeological Site in the High Sierra of California
Authors: Lathrap Donald W. , Shutler Dick
Published: April 2006

Along the eastern side of the Great Valley of California is the Sierra Nevada, a great mountain chain 500 miles long and 75 wide. The Sierra Nevada has a gradual western slope and an abrupt eastern face fronting the arid Great Basin. The long western side, which contains the main timber belt, was heavily populated in its lower elevations in the pre-Caucasian period. In contrast, the High Sierra above 5000 feet was visited only seasonally by aboriginal groups. The archaeology of this latter zone is little known because it has been assumed that archaeological remains are scanty, and, as a consequence, little work has been carried on. Recent investigations have demonstrated, however, that at some of the seasonal campsites repeated occupation over a long period of time resulted in fairly extensive accumulations of occupational debris.

During the late fall of 1953, exploratory excavations conducted at Vermilion Valley in the High Sierra of Fresno County provided evidence of an extended period of intermittent habitation at an aboriginal camping place.