bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Plant Material from a Cave on the Rio Zape, Durango, Mexico
Authors: Brooks Richard H. , Kaplan Lawrence , Cutler Hugh C. , Whitaker Thomas W.
Published: April 2006

Plant remains from La Cueva de los Muertos Chiquitos consist mostly of cultivated plants, beans, corn, and cucurbits. The inhabitants also gathered acorns, pinon nuts, black walnuts, and opuntia fruits for food, and used yucca, agave, and possibly cotton for fibers. The beans are unusually abundant and diverse: three species and 12 types or varieties. A type of lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus) and two common beans (P. vulgaris), one of them similar to the cultivar Wells Red Kidney, are new to the Southwest and to northwestern Mexico. The lima bean is of interest because it belongs to the round-seeded Carib group with a center of diversification in the West Indies, whereas other lima beans from the prehistoric Southwest are mostly small-seeded and flat, probably derived from Central America.
Five races of corn are represented: an ancient race called Chapalote; Cristalina de Chihuahua, the most numerous race in the collections; Onaveño, a race with medium-sized, hard-flint kernels; Pima-Papago, the common soft flour corn of the Arizona-Sonora border; and Toluca Pop, a central Mexican pyramidal, pointed popcorn. Cob fragments and grains show definite evidence of hybridization with Tripsacum or teosinte. Three species of cultivated Cucurbitaceae, a wild species of Cucurbita, and a species of Apodanthera were identified. Fragments of gourds, mostly Lagenaria siceraria, are relatively abundant. Seeds and peduncles of Cucurbita pepo occur in strata throughout the entire profile. Cucurbita mixta was found in the later strata, but remains of this species are meagre. Seeds of Apodanthera sp. may have been used for food. A single wood sample from near the base of the midden produced a radiocarbon date of A.D. 660 (1300 ± 100 B.P.).
An Alternative Seriation of the Mabaruma Phase, Northwestern British Guiana
Authors: Lathrap Donald W.
Published: April 2006

The effect which differing assumptions about ceramic analysis can have on the chronological ordering of ceramic materials is demonstrated with reference to the internal chronology of the Mabaruma phase in northwestern British Guiana. As a by-product of this demonstration, it is suggested that Evans and Meggers may have underestimated the time depth of Tropical Forest culture in this area by a factor of 100%.
Statistical Inference and Northeastern Adena
Authors: Grayson Donald K.
Published: April 2006

Ritchie and Dragoo's hypothesis concerning Adena migration into the northeastern United States is examined and found lacking because of sample characteristics. An alternative, probabilistic explanation for the index pattern which they found is offered, and it is suggested that data on northeastern Adena are too scanty to allow any type of valid statistical analysis.
A Simplified Procedure for Photographing Obsidian
Authors: Lutz Bruce J. , Slaby Daniel L.
Published: April 2006

Obsidian has proved to be a difficult substance to photograph and various methods have been devised to render it opaque so that this may be more easily accomplished. The method described is simple and requires very inexpensive equipment.
Ceramic Clues to Pueblo-Puebloid Relationships
Authors: Anderson Keith M.
Published: April 2006

The problem of relationships between the Sevier and Fremont cultures and the Virgin Branch of the Kayenta Anasazi culture is approached by comparison of the representative plain pottery types. Statistical comparison of modes of technique shows markedly more similarity between Snake Valley Gray (Sevier) and North Creek Gray (Virgin Branch) than between Turner Gray, Emery Variety (Fremont) and North Creek Gray.
Preceramic Archaic Sites in the Highlands of Honduras
Authors: Bullen Ripley P. , Plowden William W.
Published: April 2006

Recent work in the mountains of Honduras has disclosed four ceramic and ten preceramic sites all between altitudes of 5000 and 6500 feet. Fluted stemmed points, medium-sized scrapers, and very small side scrapers link the preceramic sites to late Paleo-Indian or early Archaic times. Stonework from the ceramic sites is typologically different. Migration routes at these altitudes are suggested.
Primitive Bone Fracturing: A Method of Research
Authors: Sadek-Kooros Hind
Published: April 2006

A preliminary study of the form and fracture patterns of sheep metatarsals from Jaguar Cave is used to illustrate a method for the quantitative analysis of primitive bone fracturing techniques. Criteria of form, fracture, and function are defined and weighted, on the basis of experiments with green bone, and the aid of computers is enlisted to process the archaeological specimens via these criteria. The data is searched for: a. the definition of a technique of intentional fracture, b. the formation of classes of intentionally fractured and retouched bone fragments, and c. the identification of statistically perfect tools and not-tools, determined by higher or lower correlations of weighted sums. Conclusions are drawn from the analysis of the Jaguar Cave bone and bone from other early collections. The application of linear decision theory to the analysis of bone fractures was first attempted in a Ph.D. dissertation (Sadek-Kooros 1966), and a shorter version of the present paper was read at the Thirty-Fourth Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, on May 2, 1969.
The Trincheras Culture of Northern Sonora
Authors: Johnson Alfred E.
Published: April 2006

Archaeological investigations at La Playa site, 75 miles south of the international border in northern Sonora, Mexico, have yielded detailed information on the Trincheras culture. This culture, which is associated with the drainages of the Magdalena and Altar rivers, is characterized by terraced-hillside sites, rock corrals or enclosures, and a ceramic complex consisting primarily of Trincheras Purple-on-red and Trincheras Polychrome. Intrusions of Trincheras sherds into dated sites of southern Arizona indicate a date range of A.D. 800 to 1100 for the complex in its most typical form. Comparisons of the La Playa artifact assemblage with surrounding archaeological manifestations indicate close parallels with the Desert Hohokam culture of Papagueria, and on the basis of these comparisons the Trincheras culture is considered a part of this complex.
The Desert Culture of the Western Great Basin: A Lifeway of Seasonal Transhumance
Authors: Davis Emma Lou
Published: April 2006

The practice of seasonal transhumance was a central feature of the Desert culture of the western Great Basin. Ethnographic studies have provided us with considerable knowledge of the land-use and seasonal rounds of protohistoric groups such as the Kuzedika Paiute of Mono Lake, California. Archaeology carries ethnography backward in time, indicating that Paiute sites were formerly utilized by a long succession of predecessors, most of whom were generalized Desert culture gatherers who hunted on the side.

An analysis of projectile points from the Sierra piedmont indicates that Desert culture peoples ranged very high and were upland hunters at certain seasons. On the other hand, the earliest people were valley and grassland hunters. Recent discoveries of both Clovis and Folsom artifacts in the stream valleys of Nevada and California point to a pre-Desert culture way of life, with an emphasis on big meat rather than on seeds, roots, insects, and rodents. The transition from this early hunting of large, grassland herbivores to later general collecting and to seasonal transhumance appears to represent an unbroken evolution. These changes are shown by intergrading point types which constitute part of the data in this study.
Functional Analysis of Flaked Stone Artifacts
Authors: Wilmsen Edwin N.
Published: April 2006

Edge-angle measurements from 1,448 Paleo-Indian stone artifacts are presented. The relationships between edge-angle size and differential functional applications are explored. Differences in angle size distributions are found to characterize distal and lateral edges. General categories of functional effectiveness are suggested for different angle size ranges. The utilized edges of tools with different angle sizes are found to exhibit different types of wear, and these differences are considered to be indicative of different functional operations.
A Comment on Ford's Review of Early Formative Period of Coastal Ecuador
Authors: Muller Jon D.
Published: April 2006

Ford"s conclusions that a substantial reevaluation of New World prehistory is required are not fully justified. In the first place, the Valdivia complex has not clearly been shown to be the source for all New World ceramics. Second, the comparisons of Valdivia and Jomon potsherds are not so tightly controlled as Ford indicates. Given the great variety of ceramic decoration in Japan, it is not surprising that many similarities should exist. In addition, the question of ceramic origins is confused with the origins of Neolithic and the question of long-range culture contact.
A Key Pictograph from the Bloodvein River, Manitoba
Authors: Steinbring Jack , Elias Douglas
Published: April 2006

An investigation of the relationship between water-level fluctuations and Northern Ojibwa community life has led to the discovery of a pictograph which offers useful evidence for dating.
A possible Hindu Influence at Teotihuacan
Authors: Vokes Emily H.
Published: April 2006

The conch shell figured on the Temple of Quetzalcoatl at Teotihuacán, is Turbinella angulata, the West Indian Chank. This species is closely related to the “Sacred Chank” of India, a shell which figures prominently in Hindu mythology, religion, and art. This finding may be interpreted as one more bit of evidence for transpacific influences on prehistoric Mesoamerican culture.
An Archaic Sequence for Southern New England
Authors: Dincauze Dena F.
Published: April 2006

Hitherto unrecognized Middle Archaic cultures of southern New England are defined and dated on the basis of a preliminary analysis of an excavated collection from the Neville site in southern New Hampshire. The Neville and Stark complexes show significant relationships to the Stanly and Morrow Mountain complexes of North Carolina, and are shown to be of equivalent ages. Some implications of these new data and of the Late Archaic sequence from the site are suggested.
Atlatl Weights from Certain Sites on the Northern and Central Great Plains
Authors: Neuman Robert W.
Published: April 2006

This paper begins with a discussion concerning the development of the term "atlatl weight" in archaeological literature. It then proceeds to analyze in detail data relative to 60 atlatl weights from 39 locations on the Plains area of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Iowa. Although most of the specimens are surface finds, a number are from systematically excavated, radiocarbon-dated occupations.

Differentiated primarily on their general shapes, five groups of atlatl weights seem apparent: Class I, loaf-shaped; Class II, end-ridged; Class III, long ellipsoidal; Class IV, zoomorphic; and a miscellaneous category.

Available evidence suggests that atlatl weights were being made, in the area under consideration, from about 2500 B.C. until A.D. 800.
The Milling Stone Complex, Genuine or Spurious
Authors: Eberhart Hal
Published: April 2006

Attention is called to a case of duplication of nomenclature in which the Milling Stone complex of San Clemente Island, California, as defined by M. B. McKusick and C. N. Warren, is apt to be confused with the Milling Stone horizon of the adjacent coast, as delineated by William Wallace. Existence of the Milling Stone complex has been questioned by Sam-Joe Townsend. The complex of the island and the horizon of the coast are claimed by no one to be equivalent in time or content, and an attack on the former should not be mistaken as an attack on the latter. It is suggested that before the confusion is further compounded another term be found for the island manifestation.
A Graphic Method for Recording and Illustrating Burials
Authors: Combes John D.
Published: April 2006

Illustrations of skeletal positions and locations of associated artifacts, especially when the number of burials is large, may be increased in accuracy and efficiency by using sheets prepared photographically. A commercially produced, 14-inch polystyrene plastic model of the human skeleton can be used to simulate the basic burial positions found in archaeological sites. Photographs of these positions may be reproduced by offset process on a series of printed forms, and such forms may be used for quick and accurate recording of burial data in the field. Similar but greatly reduced prints may also be used on mock-up diagrams of the site. This technique will eliminate difficult verbal description, increase accuracy, improve comprehension, save time, and reduce publication costs.
An Archaeological Survey of the Tehuacan Valley, Mexico: A Test of Color Infrared Photography
Authors: Gumerman George J. , Neely James A.
Published: April 2006

Using data collected by NASA in the Tehuacan Valley, Mexico, tests were undertaken to determine the effectiveness of aerial color infrared film for archaeological reconnaissance. The study area was chosen primarily because MacNeish's Tehuacan Archaeological-Botanical Project (1960-1964) provided a convenient check of site visibility on the photographs, and because microenvironmental zones have been delineated in the valley allowing visibility of sites in different microenvironments to be determined. Our tests indicate that the type of cultural feature or its age are not as important as the environmental situation in distinguishing the site. The greatest archaeological value, however, of color infrared photography is in the delineation of microenvironmental zones and the construction of natural maps rather than the identification of cultural features.
Fossil Bison and Artifacts From an Early Altithermal Period Arroyo Trap in Wyoming
Authors: Frison George C. , Wilson Michael , Wilson Diane J.
Published: April 2006

The Hawken site is a steep-sided arroyo into which small groups of bison were driven and slaughtered. The bison, which date about 4500 B.C. during the Altithermal period, are an extinct variant (B. bison occidentalis) and are morphologically intermediate between B. bison antiquus and B. bison bison. The projectile points are in the Altithermal period Side-Notched tradition and the butchering tools are similar to those found in many bison kill sites from the Paleoindian to the end of the Late Prehistoric period. Continuity of bison procurement methods from Paleoindian through Altithermal and into post-Altithermal times is suggested.
Field Systems and Frost Drainage in the Prehistoric Agriculture of the Upper Great Lakes
Authors: Riley Thomas J. , Freimuth Glen
Published: April 2006

Hypotheses regarding functions of prehistoric ridge-and furrow agricultural fields from Wisconsin and Michigan have been tested by resorting to data derived from experimental agricultural fields. The primary function of these fields was frost drainage in an area that was marginal to agriculture because of a minimal frost-free growing season. The time of introduction and disappearance of these features may correlate with climatic changes in North America from A.D. 1250 to 1550.
Comments on “Application of Orthophoto Mapping to Archaeological Problems”
Authors: Ebert James I. , Lyons Thomas R. , Drager Dwight L.
Published: April 2006

In their report in American Antiquity on the “Application of orthophoto mapping to archaeological problems,” Prewitt and Holz (1976) discuss the use of orthophotos and orthophotomaps in archaeological field inspection but also introduce a number of incorrect definitions and misconceptions concerning the technique. The following comments are an attempt to clarify these points and, in addition, to discuss some other advantages and applications of-and caveats concerning-this useful remote-sensing technique. A select bibliography for further reading in remote sensing and orthophotography is also presented.
The Quintessential Role of Olmec in the Central Highlands of Mexico: A Refutation
Authors: Grennes-Ravitz Ronald A. , Coleman G. H.
Published: April 2006

The ceramic assemblage which characterizes the enigmatic Tlatilco burials is duplicated in the stratigraphy of the El Terror phase at Iglesia Vieja, Morelos, where two components have been isolated and defined. The earlier of the two is found to be regional, pre-eminent, and pre-Olmec, rather than Olmec-inspired as previously thought. Radiocarbon dates from charcoal associated with Olmec figurines and vessels are as early as those from the Olmec heartland.
Axes of Stone and Metal Indices for a Time of Transition
Authors: Feldman Lawrence H.
Published: April 2006

The beginning of the end of the dominance of stone tools, in Europe, began with the spread of the use of metallic axes. A suggestion is made that in Mesoamerica, as in Europe, the metallic axe was replacing those of stone, while other stone tools remained in common use.
A Comment on Snow's “Rising Sea Level and Prehistoric Cultural Ecology in Northern New England”
Authors: Newman Walter S.
Published: April 2006

Snow's thesis that shellfish were not eaten by archaic peoples of North America until A.D. 1 is questioned.
Optimal Location in Settlement Space: A Model for Describing Location Strategies
Authors: Wood John J.
Published: April 2006

Optimal choices of locations for settlement are made with reference to a simplified model of the environment. Since archaeological site locations reflect the outcomes of choice, a simplified model of the environment can be described, with the aid of multidimensional scaling, by considering the relationships among site locations and critical resources in terms of the costs in obtaining resources. Optimal location strategies can be assessed using the decision criteria of uncertainty, reformulated as propositions about strategies for different classes of site diversity and function. An example application using data from Folsom sites in the Rio Grande valley, New Mexico (Judge 1973), demonstrates the utility of this model for describing the location component of prehistoric cultural adaptation.
Evidence of Early Man Exposed at Yuha Pinto Wash
Authors: Childers W. Morlin , Minshall Herbert L.
Published: April 2006

Outwash from very heavy rains on the eastern slopes of the Southern California Peninsular Ranges in September of 1976, caused by tropical storm "Kathleen," cut an almost vertical cliff on the north bank of the Yuha Pinto Wash, just north of the international border in Imperial Valley. Some 80 Paleolithic flaked stone tools and utilized flakes were discovered solidly in place just above the base of the cut, overlain by alluvial, aeolian, and riverine deposits over 21 m thick. Three specimens of bone were recovered: one in place and associated with the artifacts but fragmentary and not identifiable as human, and two surface finds at the base of the exposure that were identified as human bone, but which had been washed out by the flood and were not positively relatable to the artifact level. Time of deposition of the artifacts is considered to be more than 50,000 B.P. by some unknown amount, based on pedological and geomorphic observations and radiocarbon dating of related features.
Prehistoric Human Occupations of the Western Venezuelan Llanos
Authors: Zucchi Alberta
Published: April 2006

Recent archaeological research in the western Venezuelan llanos has provided very old dates related to maize cultivation. The evidence obtained at Mound I, at the site Hato de la Calzada, indicates that these seasonally flooded savannas were occupied from 920 B.C. to A.D. 500 by the Caño del Oso people who practiced hunting, fishing, and maize farming. Around A.D. 500 manioc cultivation and artificial earthworks were introduced in this area. Both elements were probably obtained from the Arauquinoid people who inhabited the Orinoco riverbanks. The available data regarding the antiquity of manioc, based on agricultural systems in seasonally flooded savannas of South America, suggests that such systems developed in the Amazon Basin.
A New Technique for the Measurement of Artifact Angles
Authors: Burgess Robert J. , Kvamme Kenneth L.
Published: April 2006

A new technique for the measurement of artifact angles is presented. A clay impression of an edge is made, the angle of the edge is then measured with a 6X comparator equipped with an angle measuring reticle. The technique is compared with other angle measuring techniques currently in use. Additional measurement capabilities of the comparator are also presented.
The Jaguar in North America
Authors: Daggett Pierre M. , Henning Dale R.
Published: April 2006

The occurrence of the jaguar in the arts and myths of North American cultures has been attributed to influence from Mesoamerica. A brief review of available zoogeographic and cultural data suggests greater integration between the physical and mythological presence of the jaguar in North America than previously thought.
Aboriginal Human Ecology in Owens Valley: Prehistoric Change in the Great Basin
Authors: Bettinger Robert L.
Published: April 2006

There are two competing views regarding the nature of human adaptation in the Great Basin. One, proposed by Jennings, is that the adaptation was based on the intensive use of all available resources, and remained essentially static from 8000 B.C. to the present, being unaffected by climatic changes. The other view, proposed by Heizer and others, suggests that the regional adaptation varied through time and space, being affected by local resource availability and climatic changes. The validity of these two views was tested by regional surface sampling in Owens Valley, eastern California. Survey data were analyzed by a variety of quantitative and qualitative techniques, revealing a complex sequence of changes in subsistence-settlement patterns. These data tend to support the view that prehistoric adaptation in the Great Basin was variable, rather than static, through time.
Replicated Collection of Site Surfaces
Authors: Ammerman A. J. , Feldman M. W.
Published: April 2006

The replicated collection of the surface of a site provides one way of learning more about a site during survey work. Examples of the use of this technique at 2 sites in southern Italy are presented. The suggestion is made that the site surface in some cases can be viewed as operating as a biased multinomial sampling process. A statement of this hypothesis in formal terms is given.
An Inquiry into the Development of Complex Society at Chalcatzingo, Morelos, Mexico: Methods and Results
Authors: Harlan Mark E.
Published: April 2006

The development of social complexity at the Formative period site of Chalcatzingo, Morelos, Mexico, is traced through its effect on the distribution of variability in the anthropomorphic figurines found there. A new methodology for the analysis of stylistic data is applied. The implications of the character and timing of elite developments at Chalcatzingo are placed in the more general context of highland developments in central Mexico. It is suggested that complex society arose in the region primarily as a result of internal processes and that external stimulus from the Olmec area was relatively unimportant.
The Adobes of Huaca del Sol and Huaca de La Luna
Authors: Hastings C. Mansfield , Moseley M. Edward
Published: April 2006

Mud bricks in Huaca del Sol and Huaca de la Luna differ in soil composition, dimensions, mold marks, and makers' marks. The differences reflect conditions of brick production and use, and some variables are chronologically significant. This paper discusses the archaeological significance of adobes in these platform mounds, located on the south side of the Moche Valley. Four brick variables-soil, dimensions, mold, and makers' marks-are examined in terms of patterns of associations.
Oriented Raised Fields in Central Veracruz
Authors: Siemens Alfred H.
Published: April 2006

In the lowlands of Central Veracruz, as in various locations across the base of the Yucatan peninsula, Prehispanic agriculturalists sought out wetlands with a limited fluctuation in water level for adaptation to intensive cultivation. Vestiges of canals and raised fields show through the dry season pastures of many ranches. The rectilinear remains of the earlier incursion show considerable accordance, from wetland to wetland, in their astronomical orientation: about 15 degrees clockwise of our own cardinal directions. It may be hypothesized that this orientation was imposed from Teotihuacan and that the majority of the raised field vestiges seen in the wetlands of Central Veracruz date back at least to a time between A.D. 100 and 600.
The Chicama-Moche Canal: Failure or Success? An Alternative Explanation for an Incomplete Canal
Authors: Kus James S.
Published: April 2006

Several articles describing the ancient Chicama-Moche Intervalley Canal in northern coastal Peru are criticized. Tectonic uplift was probably not the primary cause of the abandonment of the canal construction project. The Chimu were skilled engineers. The Intervalley Canal did function in a limited manner. It is proposed that the canal was built as a political response to social pressures in the Moche Valley caused by environmental stress (drought). Abandonment of the canal construction project took place when drought ended.
Osteological Identification of Long-Eared and Short-Eared Owls
Authors: Emslie Steven D.
Published: April 2006

The long-eared owl (Asio otus) and short-eared owl (A. flammeus) are indistinguishable by bone morphology alone. Since they inhabit contrasting ecological situations, identification of their bones from prehistoric sites is important for paleoenvironmental interpretations. Measurements on long bones of modern specimens indicate these species can be identified by bone size. Tables are presented for use by the analyst in identifying complete or fragmentary wing and leg bones.
Prehistoric Agricultural Ecosystems: Avifauna from Pottery Mound, New Mexico
Authors: Emslie Steven D.
Published: April 2006

Excavations at Pottery Mound, a large Pueblo ruin located on the banks of the Rio Puerco in New Mexico, have recovered over 4,000 bird bones representing 50 species. The habitats of these birds include grassland, marshland, canal- and riverbank, Pinyon-juniper forest, and coniferous forest. Instead of attributing this diversity to changing climate or long-distance hunting expeditions away from the pueblo, I employ the "garden hunting" model, which ascribes increased species biomass to areas of human disturbance. At Pottery Mound prehistoric agricultural fields increased insect populations and provided wild and cultivated seeds which attracted a variety of birds. Additionally, irrigation canals extended riparian growth from the river across the floodplain creating more available cover for predators. This ecotone effect allowed avian species to increase beyond their normal numbers and diversity in undisturbed areas. All 50 species at Pottery Mound could have been obtained within a small radius of the site.
Spatial Patterns and Regional Growth among Classic Maya Cities
Authors: Adams R. E. W. , Jones Richard C.
Published: April 2006

An objective methodology, based upon the rank-ordering and spatial patterning of Maya centers of the central Peten and central Yucatan zones, is used to infer developmental sequencing in the Maya Lowlands. If courtyard counts are employed as the basic measure of center importance, the Tikal and Calakmul regions each exhibit a size continuum of centers, consistent with the rank-size rule. The Rio Bec and Chenes regions exhibit a size distribution characterized by the existence of several large centers of nearly the same size, i.e., a situation of pluralism. These findings suggest that at the end of the Classic period, Tikal and Calakmul were dominant centers in economically mature regions, with a balance between external and internal growth forces. On the other hand, the later Rio Bec and Chenes centers appear to be in a state of growth redistribution or decline, their external ties truncated by the collapse to the south. Spatial patterning is less conclusive and suggests a relatively dispersed pattern of centers in all regions. The overall conclusion, especially from the frequency distributions of centers by size, is that the "periphery" (exemplified by Rio Bec-Chenes) developed first, reached a period of stasis, and developed further only on the collapse of the "core" centers (Tikal-Calakmul).
Wealth, Space, and Status in a Historic Indian Cemetery
Authors: Mainfort Robert C.
Published: April 2006

Data from a mid-eighteenth century Native American cemetery (the Fletcher Site) are used in conjunction with ethnohistoric documents to draw sociological conclusions about the society represented at the site. Methodological tools employed toward this end include the calculation of the actual wealth represented in the graves, as well as a spatial analysis of the cemetery. It is demonstrated that the cemetery was the product of an incipiently ranked society.
Glyph X of the Maya Lunar Series: An Eighteen-Month Lunar Synodic Calendar
Authors: Linden John H.
Published: April 2006

The astronomy of the ancient Maya is an impressive achievement. Without the use of optical instruments, the Maya of the Classic period observed and recorded recurrent eclipse periods as well as the synodic orbit of Venus. Early work on the Maya hieroglyphs interpreted the chronological and calendric systems of the Classic period inscriptions and demonstrated the existence of a lunar synodic calendar. Many of the Lunar Series hieroglyphs that record the lunar synodic calendar have been interpreted, but the meaning of Glyph X has remained unknown. This report offers the explanation that Glyph X records positions in an eighteen-month lunar calendar. The Classic period Maya may have used this eighteen-month calendar to establish an average length for the lunar synodic month.
The Amateur Archaeological Society: A Missouri Example
Authors: Chapman Carl H.
Published: April 2006

The amateur archaeologist is a valuable resource that has always been available, but too often one not fully developed. The formation of amateur archaeological societies is one way to coalesce the various interests and skills of non-professional or avocational and professional archaeologists in the pursuit of archaeological knowledge. The founders of the Society for American Archaeology recognized the value of bringing together all those interested in and working in archaeology when the organization was formed in 1934. To this day the Society is not an organization for professionals only: it still encourages and accepts amateurs as members.
Downtown Survey: The Discovery of Sixteenth-Century St. Augustine in an Urban Area
Authors: Deagan Kathleen
Published: April 2006

A subsurface, modified systematic survey using a mechanical soil auger was carried out in downtown St. Augustine, Florida in 1976. The purpose of the survey, done in conjunction with historians and planners, was to locate the boundaries of the sixteenth-century Spanish settlement founded in 1565. The auger survey attained this goal, and the results were confirmed by three years of subsequent test excavations. The survey comprised the first stage in an ongoing cultural inventory and site assessment program for planning in St. Augustine, and has subsequently been extended to cover the entire corporate limits of the city. Having been tested through the excavation, the auger survey has proven to be a reliable method of revealing subsurface occupational and temporal patterning. It is also a fast, inexpensive and nondestructive survey method for the modern urban environment.
Natural Disarticulation and Bison Butchery
Authors: Hill Andrew , Behrensmeyer Anna Kay
Published: April 2006

Information regarding the order of natural disarticulation in a wider variety of ungulate species than previously studied emphasizes the need for caution in claiming that any particular pattern of dismemberment is uniquely distinctive of human activity. However, it also suggests possibly distinctive features of North American Indian butchery practices on prehistoric Bison.
Toward Useful Clarification: Response to Paine
Authors: Cordell Linda S. , Upham Steadman
Published: April 2006

Paine's comments do not clarify problems with the data from Grasshopper. We maintain that the age/sex pyramid for the Grasshopper series remains problematical.
Paleodemographic Correlates of Fertility: A Reply to Corruccini, Brandon, and Handler and to Holland
Authors: Konigsberg Lyle W. , Buikstra Jane E. , Bullington Jill
Published: April 2006

Corruccini et al. apply our method of fertility estimation to a Barbados slave population, find that it yields contradictory and erratic estimates of the crude birth rate (CBR), examine its theoretical basis, and conclude that a pessimistic view of paleodemography in general is warranted. We argue that the sample utilized by Corruccini et al. is not well suited for methodological testing. Misestimates of fertility more likely were caused by the peculiarities of this particular sample than by flaws in our method or weaknesses in its theoretical foundation. Deterministic simulations also demonstrate that our method is theoretically well founded. We cannot, therefore, share Corruccini et al.'s pessimism concerning the feasibility of paleodemographic research.

Holland suggests we have erred by providing a "unicausal" model for increased fertility in prehistoric west-central Illinois. He argues that a fuller multicausal model including coevolutionary effects provides a more accurate depiction of the prehistoric events contributing to increased fertility. We appreciate Holland's call for more elaborate models of prehistoric behaviors and evolutionary interactions between humans and other organisms. Unfortunately, his model is untestable because it includes a feedback loop with no exogenous variables. Because of a lack of outside input, Holland's model is immobile and cannot be used in itself to explain changes in organismal biology or behavior.
Use of a Falling-Weight Tester for Assessing Ceramic Impact Strength
Authors: Mabry Jonathan , Skibo James M. , Schiffer Michael B. , Kvamme Kenneth
Published: April 2006

A falling-weight device was developed for testing ceramic impact strength. Tests carried out on a large sample of commercial tiles showed that the incremental height test, wherein drop height is raised gradually, is the most reliable. In order to assess the accuracy of the test, an additional experiment was performed on laboratory-made briquettes fired at 550, 650, 750, 850, and 950 °C. In contrast to the results of Bronitsky and Hamer's (1986) pendulum test (but in conformity with general principles of ceramic engineering), the present study found a strong correlation between firing temperature and impact strength. It is concluded that the falling-weight device provides a simple, accurate, and reliable test for ceramic impact strength.
Prehistoric Southwestern Ceramic Manufacture: The Limitations of Current Evidence
Authors: Sullivan Alan P.
Published: April 2006

Identification of the artifacts and features used in ceramic manufacture has become a crucial aspect of Southwestern archaeology as the organization of pottery production has assumed a pivotal role in current models of Southwestern prehistory. Regrettably, pottery-making and pottery-firing areas seldom are reported, and reliable criteria for inferring their presence at archaeological sites have not been developed. A review of pertinent ethnoarchaeological and experimental literature provides some correlates for identifying artifacts and features that may have been involved in ceramic production. Presently, it appears that only two Southwestern sites, Snaketown on the Gila River and AZ I:1:17(ASM) south of Grand Canyon National Park, have disclosed convincing evidence of on-site pottery-making and pottery-firing areas. Some recommendations are developed for increasing the likelihood of recovering strong evidence of ceramic production at Southwestern sites.
Ozymandias, King of Kings: Postprocessual Radical Archaeology as Critique
Authors: Watson Richard A.
Published: April 2006

InRe-Constructing Archaeology(1987a) andSocial TheoryandArchaeology(1987b), Michael Shanks and Christopher Tilley argue for an antiscience radical archaeology as critique. They use deconstructionist sceptical arguments to conclude that there is no objective past and that our representations of the past are only texts that we produce on the basis of our sociopolitical standpoints. In effect, they contend that there is no objective world, that the world itself is a text that human beings write. This is a form of subjective idealism. Their critique is a nihilistic attack on all objective knowledge.
Slave Diet at Monticello
Authors: Crader Diana C.
Published: April 2006

The results of a detailed analysis of the faunal remains from the slave dwelling known as Building “o” at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s well-known Virginia plantation, do not conform with the expected slave quarter faunal pattern in that more complete carcasses and higher quality cuts of meat are represented. The bone assemblage contrasts with the lower quality meats found in the Storehouse at Monticello, which also is thought to have been occupied by slaves. This raises the issue of differences in meat diet within the slave community at Monticello, and it is suggested that either higher status or a complex taphonomic history involving the deposition of mixed plantation refuse may explain the patterning that is present.
Site Structure of the Orbit Inn: An Application of Ethnoarchaeology
Authors: Simms Steven R. , Heath Kathleen M.
Published: April 2006

One goal of ethnoarchaeology is to strengthen archaeological inferences about the past. A fifteenth-century hunter-gatherer, open site in Utah is used to examine ethnoarchaeological contributions toward determining the use of space, duration of occupation, assemblage composition, and site function. Comparisons between macrorefuse and microrefuse patterning suggest that (1) the distribution of macrorefuse can help identify locations of ephemeral structures and household activity areas; (2) the distribution of microrefuse in this intermittently occupied open site is useful for assessing assemblage composition; (3) determining the characteristics of macro- and microrefuse improves hypotheses about duration of occupation; and (4) interpretation of plant remains can be improved by considering site-formation processes. The study points to the need for a closer linkage between ethnoarchaeology and the archaeology of the past.
Island Carib Origins: Evidence and Nonevidence
Authors: Davis Dave D. , Goodwin R. Christopher
Published: April 2006

Origin stories collected among the indigenous peoples in the Windward Islands during the early colonial period have been interpreted as indicating a mainland Carib affiliation for the islanders. This interpretation gave rise to efforts in the present century to identify the archaeological correlate of the presumed late prehistoric or protohistoric migration of Cariban speakers into the Lesser Antilles. Recent debate centers around two models. One of these associates the supposed migration of mainland Caribs into the Lesser Antilles with the advent of the Suazey ceramic complex in the twelfth century; the other implies either a protohistoric migration or an episode of rapid acculturation of island populations to South American mainland Carib culture in the fifteenth or sixteenth centuries. A review of relevant archaeological, historical, and linguistic evidence provides little support for either of these models. Instead, the so-called “Island Caribs” were Arawakan speakers, probably longtime residents of the Windward Islands whose cultural and linguistic connections with the mainland Caribs probably were the products of contacts related to trade and alliance.
An Instance of Rapid Ceramic Change in the American Southwest
Authors: Montgomery Barbara K. , Reid J. Jefferson
Published: April 2006

Rapid replacement of Cibola Whiteware bowls by Roosevelt Redware bowls is documented at Chodistaas, an 18-room pueblo ruin in the American Southwest occupied from A.D. 1263 until its burning in the 1290s. This example from prehistory illustrates how controlling for formation-process variability enhances estimates of the rate of ceramic change. The Chodistaas case underscores the importance of the prehistoric record for understanding the intricate relation between ceramic variability and past behavior and for contributing to the development of ceramic theory.
Petrographic Analysis of Basalt Artifacts from Three Aleutian Sites
Authors: Mason Owen K. , Aigner Jean S.
Published: April 2006

By comparing thin sections of basalt artifacts from three early and middle Holocene Aleutian sites with geological samples, we can infer the location of the artifactual rock source or sources. Contrary to the sources, the comparison shows that the basalt artifacts came from a single flow or closely related flows 15-30 km from all three sites. This finding suggests we should reassess the role of cultural continuity, trade, and exchange in the early and middle Holocene of the Aleutians.
The Effect of the Inka State on Sausa Agricultural Production and Crop Consumption
Authors: Hastorf Christine A.
Published: April 2006

Through detailed paleoethnobotanical data analysis, this paper discusses the agricultural production of the prehistoric Sausa people of the Andean central highlands in the context of their autonomous regional political organization. This pattern then is compared with changes in agricultural production when the Sausa were part of the Inka empire. The evidence implies that the Inka not only required local residents to work for state production but also influenced individual household production and access to resources. The data suggest that the Inka intervened in local production at the household level, perhaps even requiring individual groups to produce crops for the state on their own lands. Paleoethnobotanical data are best used for discussions of crop production, yet by selecting specific subsets of data a view of crop consumption also is provided. Paleoethnobotanical data from household floors are compared to more direct stable-isotope data from human bones, again providing evidence for how the Inka affected the Sausa diet.
Late Pleistocene Settlement in the Nenana
Valley, Central Alaska
Authors: Powers William R. , Hoffecker John F.
Published: April 2006

Ongoing research in the Nenana Valley is
uncovering a complex record of Late Glacial
settlement in the foothills of the Alaska Range. A
local eolian sequence provides relatively precise
stratigraphic and chronological control,
permitting integration with regional paleoclimatic
history. Initial occupation seems to have occurred
approximately 12,000 years ago, and is represented
by several assemblages containing bifacial points.
Microblade technology did not appear until ca.
10,500 B.P. The valley probably was exploited on a
seasonal basis for large mammal
procurement.
Stone-Tool Production and Exchange in the
Eastern Maya Lowlands: The Consumer Perspective
from Pulltrouser Swamp, Belize
Authors: McAnany Patricia A.
Published: April 2006

Ongoing controversy over the
identification of mesoamerican centers as the
locus for specialized production of stone tools is
addressed by reference to a consumer locality in
the eastern Maya Lowlands. Lithic data from
Pulltrouser Swamp are used to shed light on the
production intensity and scale of a distribution
system centered at Colha, Belize. Debitage
analyses of technological attributes, use wear,
and metric dimensions contrast two contexts of
lithic procurement at Pulltrouser Swamp: direct
procurement of raw material and indirect
procurement of finished tools. Each procurement
context results in debitage with different
variable states. Characterization of the Colha
chert lithic material at Pulltrouser Swamp as a
consumer assemblage is supported further by the
results of a discriminant analysis in which an
experimental "consumer" assemblage is classified
with the Colha chert. Such characterizations of
lithic assemblages are more robust
methodologically and more informative
substantively than attempts at the quantification
of production or usage rates. The implications of
scalar differences in production systems are
discussed.
Theory, Models, Explanation, and the Record: Response to Kohler and Sebastian
Authors: Leonard Robert D. , Reed Heidi E.
Published: April 2006

We believe that most of Kohler and Sebastian’s concerns regarding our research are attributable to differences in how we perceive the relations between theory, models, explanation, and the archaeological record. Other differences we attribute to misunderstandings of both our work and selectionist theory in general. We finally conclude that differences in our opinions on these issues represent broader problems in our discipline.
The Sample Size-Richness Relation: A Comment on Plog and Hegmon
Authors: Leonard Robert D.
Published: April 2006

Plog and Hegmon (1993) focus on my research (Leonard 1989) on Black Mesa, Arizona, faunal assemblages as part of a broader critique of the work of a number of researchers who consider the effects of sample size on assemblage richness values. I suggest that their critique is problematic for a number of reasons, primarily statistical, but also because they do not provide an alternative hypothesis for the observed pattern.
An Anthropological Perspective on the Sample Size-Richness Relation: A Response to Leonard
Authors: Plog Stephen , Hegmon Michelle
Published: April 2006

We are in full agreement with Leonard, and many others, that the sample size-richness relation is an important concern for archaeologists, and we appreciate his evenhanded discussion of our paper. However, we disagree with Leonard regarding the point in the research process when variable prehistoric behavior can be used to explain differences in richness. Leonard and others argue that we must always begin studies of richness by controlling any observed relation to sample size; we can only consider prehistoric behavior as an explanation of richness after we account for sample size effects. In contrast, we suggest that following his recommendations will obscure aspects of behavioral variation that are important to understanding prehistoric societies. Considerations of prehistoric behavior must therefore be central in studies of richness.
Strength Testing Archaeological Ceramics: A New Perspective
Authors: Neupert Mark A.
Published: April 2006

The measurement of ceramic strength is an important source of evidence for assessing any pottery technology. However, the adoption of strength testing within comprehensive ceramic analyses in archaeology has been hindered by the absence of a reliable format for testing archaeological specimens. This paper presents results of research undertaken to develop the ball-on-three-ball test, which measures the tensile strength of archaeological, ethnographic, and experimental ceramics in biaxial flexure. Laboratory experiments demonstrate that the test produces reliable and accurate results largely unaffected by the irregularities of sherd-shaped specimens. In an example from the prehistoric Southwest, strength tests are used to investigate technological change in the Cibola White Ware sequence and the role of strength in the formation of archaeological assemblages. It is suggested that the development of a versatile, dependable technique can help to move strength testing out of experimental laboratories and into mainstream ceramic analyses.