bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
River Basin Surveys: Origins, Operations, and Results, 1945-1969
Authors: Jennings Jesse D.
Published: April 2006

Archaeological thought is dynamic. It progresses toward new goals, or veers from one to another and, as the pendulum of orthodoxy swings, the archaeologists' perception of what constitute appropriate foci for research changes with almost every student generation. Given such change and variation, it is small wonder that trends and events of the past rapidly grow dim in the discipline's collective memory; or that current trends are often taken for granted (particularly by students) as being fixed and immutable.
“This, too, Will Pass”: Moss-Bennett in Perspective
Authors: McGimsey Charles R.
Published: April 2006

A monarch who suffered many hours of discouragement, urged his courtiers to devise a motto short enough to be engraved on a ring, which should be suitable alike in prosperity and adversity. After many suggestions had been rejected, his daughter offered an emerald bearing in inscription in Arabic “This, too, will pass” [Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, Little, Brown and Company 1937:509].
Mesoamerica: Events and Processes, the Last Fifty Years
Authors: King Jaime Litvak
Published: April 2006

Paul Kirchhoff defined the whole region(Its trait was a bloody religion)Then came Caso, BernalMacNeish, Willey et al.And of E. Willys Andrews, a legion.The Chilam Balam of Chapultepec

By the early thirties Mesoamerican archaeology was already indelibly marked. Ricketson, at Uaxactun from the late twenties, and Caso, at Monte Alban, had the general sequences for the culture area as early as that.
Fifty Years of Archaeology in the Northeastern United States: A Retrospect
Authors: Ritchie William A.
Published: April 2006

Our editor has asked me to prepare a personal account of the most important processes and events that affected the archaeology of the northeastern United States during the last 50 years. This is no small undertaking, considering that the larger part of our knowledge of the prehistory of this area has accumulated during that time. Moreover, because the inception of my service in unraveling the prehistoric events in the Northeast precedes the period by a decade, it may be difficult to confine my summary to post-1935. As a further complication, my recollections, especially of the precise ordering of the theoretical deliberations, may not be wholly consonant with those of some of my colleagues. Nevertheless, I offer the following necessarily very concise summation.
Comments from Copenhagen
Authors: Randsborg Klavs
Published: April 2006

The Society for American Archaeology, celebrating its 50th anniversary, is known in Scandinavia almost exclusively for its journal. Lack of funds and of common research interests have kept most European archaeologists from crossing the Atlantic for the hectic annual get-togethers. American Antiquity, however, is widely read in northern Europe although the number of actual subscribers is probably quite small. But the attention paid to the journal is a relatively recent phenomenon. Before the sixties only a tiny team of Scandinavian archaeologists, perhaps just a couple—Gutorm Gjessing, the late Norwegian expert on circumpolar cultures, and Carl-Axel Moberg, the Swedish archaeologist with a deep interest in the nature of archaeological inquiry—kept up with American literature and with American Antiquity.
Between Philosophy and Archaeology
Authors: Wylie Alison
Published: April 2006

The journal of the Philosophy of Science Association,Philosophy of Science, celebrates its fiftieth anniversary this year, and in honor of this has reprinted the Table of Contents from its first issue as well as the lead article, “On the Character of Philosophic Problems” by Rudolf Carnap (1984). Carnap's object in this article is to determine just whatphilosophicalproblems in science are. He took this to be a question about what distinguishes the “standpoint” of a philosopher from that of the empirical investigator (1984:6). He begins with the observation that “philosophers have ever declared that their problems lie at a different level from the problems of the empirical sciences . . . the question is, however, where one should seek this level” (1984:5).
Contact between Native North Americans and the Medieval Norse: A Review of the Evidence
Authors: McGhee Robert
Published: April 2006

Historical and archaeological evidence relating to Norse activities in the New World early in the second millennium A.D. is reviewed, together with archaeological evidence relating to contemporaneous aboriginal occupations of the regions probably reached by the Norse. The Norse probably contacted Indian populations in southern Labrador and Newfoundland, Dorset Palaeoeskimos in northern Labrador, and Thule Eskimos in Greenland and perhaps in the eastern Canadian Arctic. Speculation on the nature of relationsips between the Norse and these groups is presented, and it is concluded that occasional contacts involving both trade and plundering probably occurred over a period of several centuries. There is no evidence to indicate that these contacts had any major influence on aboriginal North American populations, and it is argued that such influences are unlikely to have occurred. The most important result of contact between these groups was the prevention of European colonization of the New World for half a millennium.
Fire and Ice: New Evidence for the Production and Preservation of Late Archaic Fiber-Tempered Pottery in the Middle-Latitude Lowlands
Authors: Reid Kenneth C.
Published: April 2006

Fiber-tempered potsherds recovered from three sites of the Nebo Hill phase in western Missouri and eastern Kansas date to between 4550 and 3550 radiocarbon years (2600–1600 B.C.) and represent the earliest dated vessels in the midwest. The occurence of fiber-tempered pottery at this time period and this far north and west of the traditionally-defined southeastern hearth for such wares requires a major reappraisal of the assumed distribution and antiquity of Late Archaic ceramics in eastern North America. This report describes the ceramic sherds from the Nebo Hill type site in terms of their method of manufacture and probable use, and identifies factors influencing their survival and preservation in the middle-latitude lowlands. It is proposed that the temperate latitude distribution pattern of shallowly-buried, fiber-tempered potsherds is shaped primarily by the variables of time, ambient moisture and temperature, and ware porosity, and is not necessarily isomorphic with the prehistoric distribution of fiber-tempered vessels.
Microwear, Microdrills, and Mississippian Craft Specialization
Authors: Yerkes Richard W.
Published: April 2006

Samples of microdrills, microblades, and microcores from the Powell Mound (11-Ms-46) and the Dunham tract (11-S-34/4) of the Cahokia site near St. Louis, and a small number of Jaketown perforators from the Poverty Point site, Louisiana, were examined for microwear traces, using the methods outlined by L. H. Keeley. Many archaeologists have assumed that the microdrills in the Cahokia microlithic industry were used by craft specialists to produce drilled disc beads and other items made from marine and freshwater shell. Microwear analysis of the Cahokia microdrills showed they were specialized tools, used almost exclusively to drill shell material, while the Jaketown perforators were used to drill a variety of materials. This alone does not establish the existence of craft specialization at Cahokia. The distribution of microdrills and shell artifacts at Cahokia and throughout the Cahokia settlement system on the American Bottom indicates shell craft production was not restricted to “guild areas.” The shell beads produced by the microdrills may have served as ritual tokens or currency as well as ornaments, but they were not necessarily produced by full-time specialists who were part of a state-level society.
The Mesoamerican Pecked Cross as a Calendrical Device
Authors: Worthy Morgan , Dickens Roy S.
Published: April 2006

A method of using the Mesoamerican pecked cross as a 365-day or 365 1/4-day calendrical device is proposed. The method consists of placing, removing, and discarding objects in the pecked holes of the arms of the motif in a prescribed sequence. This use does not preclude other uses or meanings of these figures, nor their function in calendrical reckonings more complex than the solar year.
Observations on Maya Subsistence and the Ecology of a Tropical Tree
Authors: Peters Charles M.
Published: April 2006

The results from an autecological study of the growth, reproduction, and population dynamics of Brosimum alicastrum (ramón) in southern Mexico are applied to the controversy surrounding the use of this species in Maya subsistence practice. The frequent occurrence of B. alicastrum near ruins is explained by its competitive advantage on shallow limestone soils coupled with a continual input of bat-dispersed seed. Populations of the tree at Tikal are then compared with other naturally occurring populations as an example of how a detailed ecological analysis may furnish valuable insight into the historical use of a plant species. The Tikal populations are shown to be atypical in terms of phenology, productivity and breeding systems, suggesting that some form of artificial selection may have been practiced by the Maya.
A Comment concerning “Testing Flotation Recovery Rates”
Authors: Pendleton Michael W.
Published: April 2006

Since carbonized seed species differ in buoyancy characteristics, and since certain conditions may cause carbonized seeds to become nonbuoyant, the use of both buoyant and nonbuoyant modern carbonized seed species as a recovery standard is suggested in order to provide a more representative measure of flotation device effectiveness. Recovery standards utilizing modern carbonized seeds should be viewed as probable, rather than absolute, determinations of flotation device recovery efficiency because the effectiveness of flotation systems can be significantly altered by subtle changes in technique.
The Emperor's New Clothes
Authors: Madsen David B.
Published: April 2006

The use of systematically derived site location data in defining subsistence systems has increased markedly. However, the logical fallacy in the approach has never been discussed. Sites in a particular environmental setting may have been occupied for a variety of reasons at a variety of times (this is particularly true of "ecotone" sites). As a result, the assumption that a particular adaptive strategy may have been in force is, in the absence of any subsistence data, extremely questionable. Locational data may be useful in formulating hypotheses which can be tested through procurement of subsistence data, but in themselves they cannot be used to demonstrate the accuracy of a hypothetical subsistence system.
The Formation of Artifact Assemblages at Workshop/Habitation Sites: Models from Peace Point in Northern Alberta
Authors: Stevenson Marc G.
Published: April 2006

Two complementary models illuminate the formation of artifact assemblages at one type of prehistoric hunter-gatherer campsite—the workshop/habitation site. One model posits three successive stages in the activity contributing to the distribution and composition of lithic artifact assemblages. The other describes the formation of assemblages near exterior hearths and similar features. These models are discussed with reference to the Peace Point site, a rapidly buried and deeply stratified workshop/habitation site in northern Alberta. The implications of these models for refining our understanding of formation processes at other types of hunter-gatherer campsites are noted.
Reply to “Errors in Vierra and Carlson's Presentation of Bartlett's Test of Significance”
Authors: Vierra Robert K. , Carlson David L.
Published: April 2006

Acknowledgment is made of Healan's corrections of our previously published paper. Clarification of some of the differences noted is also presented.
If an Orange Falls in the Forest, is It Eligible? A Comment on Tainter and Lucas
Authors: King Thomas F.
Published: April 2006

Tainter and Lucas (1983) have given us a cogent and useful critique of the “significance concept” that is a fundamental part of historic preservation and “conservation archeology” as practiced in the United States. I have no real disagreement with their arguments or with their conclusions, although I am not sure they can be operationalized.
Contact Period Rural Overpopulation in the Basin of Mexico: Carrying-Capacity Models Tested with Documentary Data
Authors: Williams Barbara J.
Published: April 2006

The carrying-capacity model applied to the Basin of Mexico by Sanders et al. is tested by Contact period hieroglyphic data on population and landholding from the rural tlaxilacalli (ward) of Santa María Asunción. Two calculations are made of the theoretically maximum tlaxilacalli population, one using the Sanders et al. parameters, and the second based on Asunción data. The analysis confirms the accuracy of Sanders et al.'s maize yields and average per-capita maize-consumption rate (if a variable of seed set aside is included), but suggests revision downward of household size. Although for the wrong reasons, the Sanders model correctly predicts the range of population for Asuncion. The balance between simulated household maize consumption and production shows that carrying capacity under viable, long-term strategies had been exceeded for poor and average agricultural years in the Contact period. At the tlaxilacalli level, grain deficits of greater than — 50 percent are projected for poor years, a — 28 percent deficit to + 11 percent surplus in average years, and surpluses of 10 to 74 percent in good years. In average years, to meet the maize requirements of the recorded population, continuous cultivation rather than 1:1 fallowing must have occurred on marginal land. Rural overpopulation apparent in Asunción may have been typical of many piedmont communities. The impetus for Late Horizon expansion of agricultural settlement might have come as much from rural overpopulation as from state-directed settlement to provide subsistence for Tenochtitlan.
Stabilization of Shoreline Archaeological Sites at Voyageurs National Park
Authors: Lynott Mark J.
Published: April 2006

Elevated lake levels resulting from dam construction in the early twentieth century is producing widespread shoreline erosion at Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota. In an effort to preserve a sample of the more significant archaeological sites, the National Park Service has initiated a program of site stabilization. Stabilization of the Clyde Creek and Sweetnose Island sites was accomplished during the winter months by transporting materials and supplies across an ice road. The use of filter fabric and turf-stabilization matting in association with large quantities of sediment and riprap have produced a new shoreline that serves to protect the respective archaeological deposits. This approach has successfully preserved these intact archaeological resources and avoided the costs associated with large-scale data recovery and curation of collections.
PocitosandRegistros: Comments on Water-Control Features at Hierve el Agua, Oaxaca
Authors: Doolittle William E.
Published: April 2006

Salt production has been proffered recently as an alternative explanation to irrigation agriculture for the existence of canals and terraces at the Hierve el Agua site in Oaxaca, Mexico. This argument is based in part on new interpretations of the functions of two types of water-control features. Hewitt et al. (1987) consider the so-called "pocitos" to be natural, and the "registros" to be water tanks or collecting basins. Evidence that contradicts these interpretations is presented here.Pocitos, it is argued, were constructed intentionally in order to facilitate manual irrigation, andregistrosare drop structures built to regulate the flow of water after the arrival of the Spaniards. Salt making might have been carried out to some extent at the site, but only in late prehistoric and historic times. Hierve el Agua was principally an agricultural site throughout most of its occupation.
The Antiquity of Tlingit Settlement on Admiralty Island, Southeast Alaska
Authors: Moss Madonna L. , Erlandson Jon M. , Stuckenrath Robert
Published: April 2006

A series of 29 radiocarbon dates from 11 sites on Admiralty Island span the last 3,200 calendar years. Although our research corroborates many of the results of de Laguna's (1960) earlier work in the area, we find the Tlingit settlement pattern to be at least 1,600 years old, significantly older than previously believed. Dating of a wooden fish weir demonstrates that mass harvesting of salmon has an antiquity of at least 3,000 years.
Additional Considerations for Prehispanic Saltmaking in Belize
Authors: Valdez Fred , Mock Shirley B.
Published: April 2006

A recently described set of ceramic artifacts have been functionally assigned to saltmaking by MacKinnon and Kepecs (1989), who concluded that saltmaking activity was focused on producing salt for commoners. While we are in agreement about saltmaking activities along the Belizean coast, we propose that saltmaking there perhaps was oriented toward meat and fish preservation for transport into interior population centers during the Terminal Classic period.
Early Archaic Settlement in the Southeastern United States: A Case Study from the Savannah River Valley
Authors: Anderson David G. , Hanson Glen T.
Published: April 2006

Surveys and excavations conducted within the Savannah River watershed in recent years have yielded a wealth of information about organization and adaptive strategies of Early Archaic populations, both within the drainage and across the region. Specifically, excavations at Rucker's Bottom (9EB91) and the G. S. Lewis site (38AK228) have yielded large, complementary assemblages indicating watershed-extensive adaptation employing a mixed collector-forager strategy. Comparative analyses with assemblages from the surrounding region document an extensive use of expedient technologies, instead of the more formalized technologies thought to characterize the period. Analyses of local and regional resource structure, theoretical arguments about biocultural needs of hunter-gatherer populations, and evidence from the archaeological record, suggest that large drainage systems served subsistence/resource needs, while biocultural interaction (i.e., information and mating networks) operated both along and across watershed boundaries. A model of Early Archaic settlement is proposed, based on band/macroband mobility and interaction, that is thought to partially account for the variation from this period found on the South Atlantic Slope.
The Three Sides of a Biface
Authors: Kelly Robert L.
Published: April 2006

Three different sorts of bifacial tools-by-products of the shaping process, cores, and long use-life tools-are used to consider the role mobility plays in producing variability in hunter-gatherer lithic technologies. The relations among tool roles, raw-material distribution, and mobility as well as the archaeological consequences of the different roles are key factors. An examination of temporal trends in the use of bifacial implements in the Carson Sink of western Nevada shows how the proposed perspective on lithic technology can help to elucidate change in mobility strategies. A shift from the use of bifaces as cores to an infrequent use of bifaces as tools suggests a shift from logistical to short-term residential use of the raw-material-poor Carson Sink; a later shift to the use of small, frequently unifacial, nonresharpenable points may indicate a shift to target-specific hunting strategies.
Sources of Archaeological Obsidian in the Southwest: An Archaeological, Petrological, and Geochemical Study
Authors: Shackley M. Steven
Published: April 2006

Comprehensive geochemical studies of archaeological obsidian sources in the Southwest typically have lagged behind other regions of North American and Mesoamerica. Current archaeological and petrological research indicates four previously unreported sources in Arizona, Sonora, and western New Mexico. This initial semiquantitative X-ray fluorescence (XRF) examination of archaeological silicic-glass sources in this region focuses on current technical problems in southwestern obsidian studies. The chemical variability within some regional obsidian sources appears to be relatively extensive and new data from the San Francisco volcanic field in northern Arizona modifies the results of earlier researchers.
History and Archaeological Theory: Walter Taylor Revisited
Authors: Deetz James
Published: April 2006

After nearly four decades, Taylor's discussion of the relation between history and anthropology remain remarkably fresh and are used throughout this presentation. History and anthropology have similar concerns for understanding the human experience and process; the primary concern of anthropology, however, is culture. By examining the semantic domain of both fields, their relation is clarified. The primary data base of historiography, ethnography, and archaeology consists of documents, ethnography, and material remains, respectively. Historiography, ethnography, and archaeology are methods, and no more. Theoretical considerations reside at the higher level of ethnology-the comparative study of culture.
Coastal Adaptations near Point Conception, California, with Particular Regard to Shellfish Exploitation
Authors: Glassow Michael A. , Wilcoxon Larry R.
Published: April 2006

Point Conception, California, has long been recognized as an environmental transition zone for both terrestrial and marine life forms occupying central and southern California. Recent archaeological investigations above and below Point Conception have revealed a number of differences in the archaeological records of the respective regions. Late Period coastal middens north of Point Conception contain higher densities of shellfish remains and smaller quantities of fish and sea mammal remains than coastal midden deposits along the Santa Barbara Channel to the east, where Late Period sites contain substantial quantities of fish and sea mammal remains. These differences in the archaeological records appear to be determined, in large part, by differences in the relative resource abundances in the two regions. However, to understand more completely the variability in subsistence strategies, one must go beyond simply documenting differences in food resource abundance in the environment. It is proposed that the economics of resource exploitation must be considered in the formulation of any adequate explanation of resource variability.
Myth and History Reconsidered: Archaeological Implications of Tzotzil-Maya Mythology
Authors: Levi J. M.
Published: April 2006

This paper traces changing perspectives in archaeology and ethnology regarding the historical content of myth and demonstrates a method whereby mythological data are used to generate hypotheses amenable to falsification when integrated with other data sets. Based on a myth collected among the Tzotzil of San Pablo Chalchihuitan, Chiapas, Mexico, the presentation offers predictions regarding the location, contents, interpretation, and age of an unreported prehistoric burial site. It also sheds light on some currently unexplained aspects of an associated site in a neighboring community, and amplifies other ethnohistorical discussions relating archaeology to contemporary Indian mythology elsewhere in Mesoamerica. By showing how a modern Maya myth reveals significant information about an ancient Maya site, the study illustrates the complementarity of archaeology and ethnography through a suggested relation between myth and history.
Hierarchical and Nonhierarchical Approaches to Ceramic Design Analysis: A Response to Jernigan
Authors: Douglass Amy A. , Lindauer Owen
Published: April 2006

In his recent article, Jernigan (1986) presents what he feels is a superior alternative to the traditional hierarchical approach to design analysis on ceramics. We disagree that the hierarchical system is flawed seriously. Both Jernigan's nonhierarchical approach and the hierarchical approaches are models of design that should be applied selectively according to specific problem orientations. Our discussion focuses on: (1) the strengths and weaknesses of both approaches regarding different aspects of design analysis, and (2) a critique of Jernigan's schema concept with respect to its supposed emic content, operationalization, and internal consistency. Specifically, we believe that Jernigan's characterization of schemata as emic units of design is inappropriate. An understanding of design units such as schemata can be achieved best by placing design in a cultural context. Jernigan's schemata also suffer from both ambiguity and internal inconsistency that compromise their usefulness. However, despite our reservations concerning the nonhierarchical approach, Jernigan's article rekindles important issues concerning the design analysis of prehistoric artifacts.
Hopewell Obsidian Studies: Behavioral Implications of Recent Sourcing and Dating Research
Authors: Hatch James W. , Michels Joseph W. , Stevenson Christopher M. , Scheetz Barry E. , Geidel Richard A.
Published: April 2006

Specific questions regarding the antiquity of major midwestern Hopewell culture sites and their role in regional exchange systems are addressed in this paper through the dating (obsidian hydration) and compositional characterization (neutron activation analysis [NAA] and atomic absorption spectroscopy [AAS]) of obsidian artifacts. The analysis of 34 specimens from the Seip, Mound City, and Hopewell sites, Ohio, and the Naples site, Illinois, increases fivefold the number of chronometric dates available from these sites and expands the sample of compositionally identified specimens beyond those resulting from Griffin et al."s (1969) pioneering work. The resulting hydration dates support earlier estimates of the age of these contexts based on 14C or artifact seriation alone. The range of dates (78 B.C.-A.D. 347) and the compositional variety within the sample favors an expanded view of the nature of obsidian trade in the Midwest to include additional western sources, a longer episode of importation, and possible changes in the sources used through time.
Why Pearson's r is Not a Good Similarity Coefficient for Comparing Collections
Authors: Cowgill George L.
Published: April 2006

Pearson's coefficient of linear correlation, r, sometimes is used to express the similarity between two archaeological collections when each collection is characterized by the percents of the artifact types it includes. Examples show that r can be extremely misleading when used in this way, and patterns of similarity among a group of collections can be wildly misrepresented. The Brainerd–Robinson statistic is one example of a similarity coefficient that is much better than r for comparing collections.
Simulation Models and the Interpretation of Archaeological Diversity
Authors: McCartney Peter H. , Glass Margaret F.
Published: April 2006

Simulation of the effects of sample size on diversity was proposed by Kintigh (1984) as a method for investigating assemblage variability. We suggest several modifications to Kintigh's method that recognize (1) the distinction between the diversity and typological composition of an assemblage and (2) differences in the nature of sample size effects on various measures of diversity. These revisions enabled us to identify significant chronological trends in animal resource diversity during the Neolithic of central Europe.
Comment on Estimating Tillage Effects on Artifact Distributions
Authors: Yorston Ronald M.
Published: April 2006

The analysis of the results of Odell and Cowan's experiments on tillage-induced artifact movement is flawed. Their use of cumulative averages is defective and does not support the conclusions they have drawn. Their grouping of data for the analysis of the effect of artifact size on displacement is incorrect.
Burials Dedicated to the Old Temple of Quetzalcoatl at Teotihuacan, Mexico
Authors: Sugiyama Saburo
Published: April 2006

Excavations conducted during 1983 and 1984 at the Temple of Quetzalcoatl at Teotihuacan, Mexico, encountered three important burials, including an extensive multiple burial with lithic, shell, and bone offerings. Various lines of evidence suggest that human sacrifices were being practiced on a large scale early in Teotihuacan's history. Moreover, the nature and content of the offerings demonstrate the importance of military aspects in early Teotihuacan society. In addition, other data from excavations at the Old Temple of Quetzalcoatl suggest that religious and political conflicts probably occurred since the time of its construction.
A Quantitative Approach to the Petrographic Analysis of Ceramic Thin Sections
Authors: Stoltman James B.
Published: April 2006

This paper introduces a new technique for the quantitative analysis of ceramic thin sections through petrography. The technique is a version of point counting that estimates with considerable precision the amounts of human additives (temper) and natural inclusions (silt and sand) in ceramic pastes. In concert with traditional qualitative identification of mineral inclusions, this technique expands the capacity of petrography to shed meaningful light on such topics in ceramic analysis as technology, production, trade, and classification. To demonstrate the utility of the technique it is used to reassess the taxonomic status of the type Spring Hollow Incised. The results conclusively show that Spring Hollow Incised is much more closely related to a newly defined Early Woodland ceramic assemblage in the Upper Mississippi Valley region than to the Middle Woodland Linn ware to which it originally was assigned.
More on the Effects of Burrowing Animals on Archaeological Site Formation
Authors: Ohel Milla Y.
Published: April 2006

Pedoturbation by moles at archaeological sites in the Upper Galilee of Israel is offered to supplement data published by Bocek (1986).
Acid Extraction as a Simple and Inexpensive Method for Compositional Characterization of Archaeological Ceramics
Authors: Burton James H. , Simon Arleyn W.
Published: April 2006

An acid-extraction method for analyzing the composition of ceramics produces highly precise results capable of intraregional discrimination of production loci. The method is safe, inexpensive, minimally destructive, and uses widely available instrumentation. It produces results that are highly useful in archaeological interpretation as illustrated by selected case studies.
Warfare in Late Prehistoric West-Central Illinois
Authors: Milner George R. , Anderson Eve , Smith Virginia G.
Published: April 2006

Social-group competition and cooperation are critical elements of models of cultural evolution. Despite the presumed significance of such interactions, archaeologists find it difficult to measure these forms of behavior. An Illinois cemetery consisting of 264 burials dating to ca. A.D. 1300 illustrates the unique information that only mortuary sites can provide on the characteristics and intensity of prehistoric intergroup conflict. In this instance, violent death was indicated by several forms of bone damage. Chronic warfare caused a heavy loss of life (at least one-third of all adult deaths) and contributed to considerable hardship. Available evidence indicates that this conflict was part of a broader pattern of volatile Precontact-era social relationships that featured intergroup cooperation coupled with antagonism.
Assessing Feature Function and Spatial Patterning of Artifacts with Geophysical Remote-Sensing Data
Authors: Martin William A. , Bruseth James E. , Huggins Robert J.
Published: April 2006

Magnetic surveys and electromagnetic conductivity surveys were conducted at several sites during the course of field work at the Richland/Chambers Reservoir in north-central Texas between 1982 and 1985. Much of this work was conducted at the Bird Point Island site (41FT201), which was used as a proving ground to test the effectiveness of various remote-sensing techniques. Two devices, a Geometrics proton precession magnetometer and a Geonics Limited EM-38 electromagnetic conductivity sensor were tested. The data produced by the EM-38, although initially successful for locating large archaeological features, were less useful for site interpretation than those yielded by the magnetometer.

Replicative experiments were conducted to test hypotheses related to feature function and to identify the sources of magnetism present in features. After an experimental hearth and a pit were created on an off-site area, a magnetic survey was conducted and the results were compared with the magnetic responses obtained from archaeological features. Remarkably similar magnetic responses were observed between the experimental features and certain classes of prehistoric archaeological features. Five-cracked rock, consisting of small fragments of iron-enriched sandstone and ironstone, was identified as the primary source of magnetism.

In addition to identifying locations of features, the magnetic data also provided information regarding whether or not features had been subjected to multiple episodes of disturbance and reuse. Episodes of recurrent use were indicated by irregular symmetry and unusual magnetic polarity. Several large pit features, which archaeological evidence indicated had been reused, exhibited anomalies with multiple peaks of strong magnetic highs surrounded in several directions by peaks of weak to moderate magnetic lows. In contrast, hearths and pits lacking archaeological evidence of major disturbance or reuse were associated with anomalies that exhibited the normal dipolar signature associated with cultural features—a strong magnetic high with a strong magnetic low immediately to the north. The results of this study demonstrate that the magnetometer has a great potential for aiding in the interpretation of archaeological features in addition to its traditional use as a tool for identifying feature locations.
Diagnostic Opal Phytoliths from Rinds of Selected Cucurbita Species
Authors: Bozarth Steven R.
Published: April 2006

Based on examination of an extensive phytolith reference collection of domesticated and nondomesticated plants, it was determined that spheroidal and hemispheroidal phytoliths with deeply scalloped surfaces of contiguous concavities can be used as indicators of selected varieties of squash in archaeological sites in the central United States. Based on this classification and the distribution of the wild buffalo gourd (Cucurbita foetidissima), squash was identified in prehistoric sites in Nebraska and Arkansas.
Subsurface Stone Lines, Stone Zones,
Artifact-Manuport Layers, and Biomantles Produced
by Bioturbation via Pocket Gophers (Thomomys
Bottae)
Authors: Johnson Donald L.
Published: April 2006

A prominent subsurface zone (layer) of
large stones with diameters greater than 6-7 cm
occurs in gravelly soil on colluvial aprons in the
Lompoc area of California. The soil is mounded and
churned by botta pocket gophers (Thomomys bottae).
Sedimentological analyses show that the soil
within and above the stone zone—and within the
gopher mounds—is relatively homogeneous in fine
fraction and forms a biomantle. None of the mounds
contained stones with long-axis diameters greater
than the maximum diameter of gopher burrows, about
6-7 cm. Larger stones gradually subside and form a
stone zone. Both field observations and laboratory
tests confirm that gopher bioturbation produces
stone zones in coarse gravelly soil. This finding,
and similar findings in two other recent studies,
have important implications for interpreting
archaeological site formation, and for
interpreting geologic-pedologic processes inasmuch
as artifact layers (and nonartifact layers) in
some sites entirely may be due to nonanthropic,
nongeologic, postdepositional biological
agents.
Application of Landsat Data and Synoptic Remote Sensing to Predictive Models for Prehistoric Archaeological Sites: An Example from the Delaware Coastal Plain
Authors: Custer Jay F. , Eveleigh Timothy , Klemas Vytautas , Wells Ian
Published: April 2006

In recent research using prehistoric archaeological site data from the Delaware Coastal Plain we have developed techniques to apply Landsat remote sensing data to the generation of archaeological predictive models. Rather than focusing on the specific sensing of archaeological sites, we use a synoptic approach that delineates the likely environmental settings for archaeological sites. The logistical regression statistical technique provides a quantitative link between site locations and environmental variables. By analyzing the environmental variables associated with known site locations, and known non-site locations, the logistical regression provides a probability assessment of an unsurveyed area's potential for containing archaeological sites. Supervised classification of Landsat data generates maps of environmental zones that can be related to the environmental variables used in the logistical regression. The model and the Landsat classifications have been subjected to preliminary tests and they provide accurate assessments of site potential in unsurveyed areas, as well as measures of the accuracy of the assessments. Results can be applied to cultural resource management problems and also yield useful data on prehistoric land use patterns.
Comment on Oneota Ridged Field Agriculture in Southwestern Wisconsin
Authors: Overstreet David F.
Published: April 2006

Existing evidence to support the interpretation that Oneota garden beds in southwestern Wisconsin functioned as wetland agricultural drainage systems is reviewed. In addition, previously unreported analyses of sediments from the Sand Lake Site (47 Lc44), La Crosse County, Wisconsin, are presented. Based on these data the interpretation that the Sand Lake Site garden beds represent wetlands drainage systems is rejected.
The Geoarchaeology of Place: The Effect of Geological Processes on the Preservation and Interpretation of the Archaeological Record
Authors: Waters Michael R. , Kuehn David D.
Published: April 2006

Because the landscape on which prehistoric people lived was dynamic and continually changed, the record of prehistoric activities across the landscape has been differentially preserved and destroyed. Insightful reconstructions of human organizational (settlement) systems from the archaeological record require a full understanding of the geological forces and history that have shaped that record. The landscape histories of the North Dakota Badlands and the stream systems of southern Arizona illustrate these points and the importance of geoarchaeological investigations to properly interpret the archaeological record.
Early Agricultural Diet in Eastern North America: Evidence from Two Kentucky Rockshelters
Authors: Gremillion Kristen J.
Published: April 2006

Systematic quantitative analysis of desiccated human paleofeces from two rockshelters in eastern Kentucky has yielded new evidence for early agricultural diet in eastern North America. Results indicate that native cultigens (including sumpweed, sunflower, and chenopod) were sometimes significant dietary constituents as early as ca. 1000 B.C., at least a millennium before agricultural economies became widespread across the region. However, variability in the quantity and frequency of cultigen remains suggests a dietary role that was somewhat limited compared to the practices of later Woodland period farmers. The predictions of foraging theory suggest that the utilization of cultigens would have been most advantageous in spring and summer (when many other foods were scarce) or in years of poor production by nut-bearing trees. The causal link between food storage and the development of food production in eastern Kentucky receives some empirical support and warrants further investigation.
Intercluster Lithic Patterning at Nobles Pond: A Case for “Disembedded” Procurement among Early Paleoindian Societies
Authors: Seeman Mark F.
Published: April 2006

This study examines the relation between raw-material procurement and subsistence behavior among foraging societies. “Embedded procurement” of raw materials may characterize many or most modern foraging societies (Binford 1979). Past societies, however, present economic configurations different than those of any contemporary society. The Early Paleoindian societies of North America present extreme examples in this regard, and were characterized by high mobility, low population density, and high weapon reliability. A lithic-debitage analysis of a portion of the Nobles Pond site (33ST357) supports the argument that the acquisition of lithic raw materials was not embedded in subsistence behavior, but rather, was a specialized activity required by the particular demands of band aggregation in a location far removed from sources of acceptable lithic materials.
Archaeological Palynology in the United States: A Critique
Authors: Bryant Vaughn M. , Hall Stephen A.
Published: April 2006

Common problem areas in archaeological palynology include sampling, processing, counting, preservation, and interpretation. In this report, the authors present guidelines for researchers seeking pollen analyses, recommend the kinds of observations palynologists should make on their samples, and suggest ways of determining when samples should be considered invalid for paleoethnobotanical interpretations or paleoenvironmental reconstructions.
Mid-Holocene Evidence ofCucurbitaSp. from Central Maine
Authors: Petersen James B. , Sidell Nancy Asch
Published: April 2006

A fragmentary specimen of Cucurbita sp. has been recovered from an early context at the Sharrow site in central Maine. Directly dated to the mid-Holocene epoch on the basis of an accelerator mass spectrometer assay of 5695 ± 100 B.P. (AA-7491), this squash or gourd represents one of the earliest such finds in eastern North America. It greatly expands the distribution of mid-Holocene Cucurbita beyond previous finds in the Midwest, Midsouth, and Southeast. Three alternative hypotheses derived from this discovery are that (1) Cucurbita represents a previously unrecognized native plant in the far Northeast; (2) it was present in Maine as a trade item or an unintentional introduction; or (3) it was present as the result of early cultivation, whether introduced from Mesoamerica or elsewhere in eastern North American outside of Maine. Current evidence suggests that the first two hypotheses are unlikely. This leaves open the possibility that the presence of early Cucurbita at the Sharrow site represents the introduction of a cultivated plant into Maine during the mid-Holocene.
Ball Courts and Political Centralization in the Casas Grandes Region
Authors: Whalen Michael E. , Minnis Paul E.
Published: April 2006

Ball courts are well-known features of Mesoamerican societies and of the Hohokam culture of the American Southwest. In both cases, the courts are argued to have served a range of ritual, economic, and political purposes. Ball courts have long been known to exist in the northwestern Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora as well as in the adjacent portion of New Mexico, although they have never been extensively described or interpreted. This paper presents a large, new set of ball court data for the area around the great Prehispanic center of Paquime (or Casas Grandes), Chihuahua. These data suggest that the region around Paquime may have been characterized by a relatively low level of political centralization, regardless of the social and economic alliances that existed among neighboring communities.
Complexity, Hierarchy, and Scale: A Controlled Comparison between Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, and La Quemada, Zacatecas
Authors: Nelson Ben A.
Published: April 2006

Archaeologists have held a lengthy debate around the question of complex sociopolitical organización in the prehistoric American Southwest. Recent theory, though, urges scholars to “unpack” the properties of complexity. In this paper a southwestern regional center is compared with one on the northern Mesoamerican periphery in terms of properties generally associated with sociopolitical complexity: population size, labor investment in monumental construction, extent of road systems, mortuary practices, and symbolism of integrative facilities. Contrary to the conception of Mesoamerican societies as larger and more politically centralized, Chaco Canyon appears to have been organized at a larger scale than La Quemada. Yet it is argued that La Quemada was more hierarchically structured. Correctly evaluating complexity in both nature and degree is not only theoretically significant, but has implications for particular models of long-distance interaction between such large centers.
Resource Variability, Risk, and the Structure of Social Networks: An Example from the Prehistoric Southwest
Authors: Rautman Alison E.
Published: April 2006

Social interactions within a region may reduce the risk of resource stress by facilitating access to resources in other areas. Archaeological implications of this view of social networks are considered for the part-agricultural inhabitants of central New Mexico during the Pithouse period (ca. A.D. 900—1250). Spatial patterning of climatic variables suggests that social networks at least 50 km in extent and oriented in an east-southeastern direction from the focal site toward the Sierra Blanca region could have provided access to extralocal resources during years of poor local productivity. Similarity of ceramic assemblages (measured by Brainerd—Robinson coefficients) between the focal site and sites in the proposed alternative resource area confirms some degree of social contact during the Pithouse period; dissimilar ceramic assemblages from comparably distant sites to the west (in the Socorro area) indicate that geographic distance alone is not a good predictor of social interactions in this region.
Stratigraphy and Radiocarbon Chronology of Modoc Rock Shelter, Illinois
Authors: Ahler Steven R.
Published: April 2006

Excavations at Modoc Rock Shelter, Illinois (11R5), between 1952 and 1956 documented the antiquity and cultural sequence of the Archaic period in the midcontinental United States. Some researchers questioned the site's stratigraphic integrity because of apparent inconsistencies between the radiocarbon assays and associated artifacts. Excavations in 1980, 1984, and 1987 documented stratigraphic sequences and produced assays of over 40 additional radiocarbon samples from controlled stratigraphic contexts. This report describes the stratigraphic sequences at Modoc Rock Shelter and presents critical evaluations of the radiocarbon assays. This information is used to summarize the depositional and occupational history of the site. Two related stratigraphic sequences are present, one in the Main Shelter and a separate, physically uncorrelated sequence in the West Shelter. Each sequence includes occupations dating to the Early, Middle, and Late Archaic periods, with age ranges between 9000 and 4000 B.P. Questions about the site's stratigraphic integrity, artifact sequences, and analytical procedures are resolved.