bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Little Sycamore Site and the Early Milling Stone Cultures of Southern California
Authors: Wallace William James 
Published: April 2006

The Presence in the southern California coastal region of prehistoric cultures showing considerable use of milling stones has been recognized for some years. Attention was called to this fact by the publication in 1929 of David Banks Rogers’ Prehistoric Man of the Santa Barbara Coast. Rogers distinguished a sequence of three aboriginal cultures in the Santa Barbara area, the earliest of which (Oak Grove) was characterized by the employment of this form of grinding implement almost to the exclusion of other artifacts. In the same year Malcolm J. Rogers noted a somewhat analogous complex (now La Jolla) in western San Diego County (M. J. Rogers 1929: 456-7). Occurrences of similar assemblages have been reported upon since (Treganza and Malamud 1950; Walker 1952).An investigation conducted at the Little Sycamore site (Ven 1) in Ventura County by a class in archaeological field methods from the University of Southern California uncovered evidence of yet another milling stone complex.
Ancient Koryak Culture
Authors: Vasil'evskii R. S. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractThe chronological position of the ancient Koryak culture and its ethnic affinities are discussed here with reference to three important archaeological investigations on the Okhotsk seacoast. In 1958 the Magadan Regional Museum excavated four previously unknown settlements on P'iagina Peninsula in Kip-Kich and Itkilan bays, on Cape Keitevan, and on Varganchik Spit. Several common traits, such as topography, dwelling types, and material elements, make it possible to speak of these settlements in terms of their relative chronological and ethnic positions. The economic base and permanent settlement patterns are generally similar to those of the ancient Eskimos. This similarity is due to influences from other cultures and to convergence. Material objects bear close resemblances to some found in the Punuk stage of the Bering Sea, the Neolithic and early Bronze Age cultures of eastern Siberia, and in the Neolithic of southeastern Asia. This evidence provides a basis for establishing the chronological position of the P'iagina material, which may be placed between the early Bronze Age sites of the Lena Basin and the Punuk stage of Eskimo culture. The settlements have been assigned a place in the Koryak culture complex as a new stage or a local variant. This placement is based upon dwelling types and material complex, for example, blubber lamps.On the marine terraces of the IAma River on Cape Travianoi a settlement of two dwellings was discovered. The house remains are in the form of elongated knolls. There was good preservaiton of artifacts, which included many household utensils of wood and a few of bone and stone. The material complex shows that the inhabitants utilized metal instruments, and this indicates that the dwellings were constructed at a late date. It is concluded that they are protohistoric but preceding the arrival of the Russians.The Atargan settlement excavated in 1959 has the largest number of dwellings of those now known on the Okhotsk coast. The report includes a detailed description of a Koryak dwelling structure. Examination of the Atargan excavations indicates that the local Koryak population knew the use of metal before the Russians arrived. Pottery types, bone artifacts, and decorated artifacts are very similar to materials from complexes of the first millennium A.D. in the Bering Sea area.The material cited in this report introduces evidence which indicates that the diffusion of iron among people dwelling along the Okhotsk seacoast originated from the Yakutia districts, where the remains of the early Iron Age are known, and that during this time the local population of Koryaks was also receiving elements from the Bering Sea tribes of the Punuk stage.
Thorne Cave, Northeastern Utah: Geology
Authors: Malde Harold E. , Schick Asher P. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractGeologic interest in Thorne Cave stems from its link with valley alluvium along Cliff Creek, which accumulated to a height of 48 ft., continued to build up another 13 ft. while men lived here, and then reached 30 ft. higher — sealing in the signs of man. Mineralogic study shows that ground water then circulated through the cave deposits for a considerable time. The alluvium is correlated with the lower part of the Tsegi Formation of the Navajo country. Cutting of a terrace at mid-depth in the valley alluvium reopened Thorne Cave, probably before the Christian era, and desert varnish then began to form on the cave brow. Radiocarbon dates from presumably correlative deposits suggest that the cave debris is about 4000 years old — a conclusion consistent with dates of 4230 and 4170 years from Thorne Cave.
Bifurcate-stemmed Projectile Points in the Eastern United States
Authors: Fitting James E. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractIn 1953 it was suggested that bifurcate-stemmed projectile points might serve as a horizon marker in the southwestern United States. Since then material has been reported which indicates that this is also true for the eastern United States. There are two types of bifurcate-stemmed points: a larger form which may be older than 5000B.C.and a smaller form which appears to be more recent.
A Summary of Excavation and Research at Tikal, Guatemala: 1956-61
Authors: Coe William R. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractA long-term program of intensive excavation and study at the major lowland Maya center of Tikal is described in terms of procedure and results achieved to date. Work has centered on the principal ceremonial area of the site as well as on potential domestic areas. Considerable evidence of Postclassic activity has been encountered throughout a substantial portion of the site in the forms of disturbance of monuments positioned during the Classic, of “abnormal” re-use of monuments, both whole and fragmentary, of excavation for cached offerings and tombs, and of minor constructions for ceremonial purposes that were made probably of “robbed” masonry. The evidence is cited for Tikal having been a sort of pilgrimage center in probably still later times. A theme of “monument obsolescence” throughout much of Classic times is developed to account for the plentiful evidence of shattered, abandoned monuments of those times. Significant new monuments are discussed as to the contributions of their hieroglyphic texts while monuments are dealt with in general as to their changes in time, associations, and positional standards. Important patterns in burial and cache contents are handled as outstanding elements of Classic ceremonialism. The evidence of strong contact with Teotihuacán in late Early Classic times is discussed and in part illustrated. The scope and objectives of the excavations among ceremonial remains are contrasted with those carried out in contexts believed to be domestic. The difficulty of demonstrating residence is emphasized along with the problem of how to deal realistically with “settlement pattern” at a massive, culturally complex site like Tikal. Various other practical questions are cited which relate to the ambiguity of extant terms and concepts as they apply to the Maya area and to Tikal specifically.
A Conflict of Values in American Archaeology
Authors: King Thomas F. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractAs contract salvage programs have come to support more and more archaeological fieldwork and analysis, and as archaeologists have become increasingly concerned with the relevance of their sub-discipline to the larger explanatory goals of anthropology, a strategic conflict has arisen that threatens to severely limit the potential of American archaeology for long-range explanatory research. It is contended that this conflict has arisen because salvage-support agencies have been led to organize their contract procedures along lines amenable to inductive, laissez-faire research. These procedures have become canonized while archaeology has begun to drift toward deductive, interdisciplinary team methods. Proposed salvage programs in the North Coast Ranges of California are used to illustrate the self-defeating nature of present procedures, and reorganization is suggested to permit increased theoretical input and the integration of salvage operations into large-scale regional research programs.
Functional Interpretations from Microscopic Analysis
Authors: Nance J. D. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractFor many years, small, serrated, obsidian artifacts characteristic of late central California cultural manifestations (Late Horizon), have been regarded as projectile points (arrow and dart points). A functional analysis of a number of these tools based on examination with a binocular microscope revealed evidence of wear patterns including striations which makes it quite clear that these artifacts were used for other purposes. This brings the projectile point interpretation up for serious questioning, at least for the area under consideration. It is suggested that further investigation of artifact assemblages, using similar methods, will in all likelihood alter many existing ideas regarding the functional significance of many artifact types. It is further pointed out that many times discrepancies exist between ethnographic accounts and other sources of data relative to the functional significance of artifacts.
Canavalia Beans in American Prehistory
Authors: Sauer Jonathan , Kaplan Lawrence 
Published: April 2006

AbstractThe naturally pantropical genus Canavalia is the source of four domesticated species, of which C. plagiosperma and C. ensiformis evidently evolved under aboriginal New World cultivation. Their exact origins are uncertain because the archaeological record is concentrated in dry regions where they arrived as irrigated crops. Prehistoric cultivation of C. plagiosperma is known only from coastal Peru where it has been grown continuously for at least 4,000 years. The earliest secure record of C. ensiformis is from about A.D. 900 in Oaxaca, but charred seeds from about 300 B.C. in Yucatan probably belong to this species. Later archaeological records of C. ensiformis are available from a few Arizona sites and from Peruvian sites occupied in the early Colonial period. Canavalia and Phaseolus beans are generally associated in prehistoric cultures. Since the latter are rated as superior food, the role of Canavalia is puzzling. Meager historical and ethnographic evidence offers few clues.
Changing Site Designations: A Reply
Authors: McKusick Marshall 
Published: April 2006

AbstractHeizer suggests that the trinominal system of site designation be modified, making all published citation obsolete and necessitating a major conversion in permanent catalogs, site files, and other records throughout the country. No new information would be gained by such a conversion. A simpler alternative is proposed to take care of the minor discrepancy of alphabetical additions; this system would also keep the existing system intact.
The Archaeological Significance of Mahamaes Cultivation on the Coast of Peru
Authors: Parsons Jeffrey R. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractRecent observations on the Central and North Coasts of Peru indicate the previously unrealized importance of a prehispanic agricultural technique (mahamaes) which permits effective cultivation of sizable areas without canal irrigation. Mahamaes cultivation may well have been significant in the origins of agriculture on the coast, and as a supplement to canal irrigation in later prehispanic times. Its apparent ability to support relatively large, sophisticated political structures suggests some reorganization of our thinking about the utility of the hydraulic agriculture model for coastal Peru.
New Light on the End of Classic Maya Culture at Benque Viejo, British Honduras
Authors: MacKie Euan W. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractThe excavation of two structures in 1959 showed that the end of the Classic came suddenly at the end of Benque Viejo IIIb. One building, probably a palace, had completely collapsed and buried Benque Viejo IIIb pottery; the other, probably residential, was badly damaged at the end of Benque Viejo IIIb and its ruins were reoccupied in Benque Viejo IV, probably by local peasants. No attempt to reconstruct either building was made and this, with the nature of the post-destruction occupation of one of them, suggests that the whole of Period IV was Postclassic. The severe damage to both structures seems to imply that an earthquake hit this center at the end of Period IIIb and the geology of the area supports this idea. The fact that the Classic had disappeared after this event suggests that an earth tremor could actually have caused the collapse of the authority of the hierarchy at this site. At Uaxactún and San José the Classic continued well into the final phase at each site, equivalent to Benque Viejo IV, so it seems that the old order at Benque Viejo declined some time before that at the other two sites. It is therefore possible that the abrupt and unusual fashion of the decline at Benque Viejo, whatever its cause, played a significant part in the end of the Classic culture at some neighboring centers.
Pueblo Indian Migrations: An Evaluation of the Possible Physical and Cultural Determinants
Authors: Jett Stephen C. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractThe numerous theories that have been proposed to explain the abandonment of the San Juan and other areas by the Anasazi at the end of Pueblo III times are discussed.The theory of the Great Drought of A.D. 1276-1299 is rejected as a total cause because the Chaco Canyon center was abandoned long before this “drought.” Drought in general is questioned because climatic data indicate that in some cases inhabitants of more favored areas migrated to less favored areas.The theory of disastrous arroyo-cutting suffers from insufficient evidence. In addition, it does not seem to have taken place at Canyon de Chelly, and it would not have been able to affect the mesa-top farms at Mesa Verde.The theory of Athapaskan raiders is favored by the defensive trend of Pueblo architecture. Although probably weaker militarily, the nomads could have caused abandonments by use of guerrilla tactics. Despite a lack of positive archaeological evidence, the possibility of a sufficiently early arrival of the Athapaskans is suggested by legend, glottochronology, and indirect archaeological evidence in the Largo-Gallina area.Inter- and intra-village feuds would not cause large areas to be deserted, especially if land shortages were the cause of conflict, and the hypothesis of devastating disease fails to account for the population increases of Pueblo IV times and is not supported by historical data.It is concluded that multiple causes will have to be cited to explain all the Pueblo abandonments but that nomadic raiders appear to be the best general explanation, given the available data.
Contemporary Tzotzil Cosmological Concepts as a Basis for Interpreting Prehistoric Maya Civilization
Authors: Holland William R. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractA heretofore little-known aspect of Tzotzil religion centers around belief in sacred mountains, the mythological origin places of patrilineal groups. The companion animals of the corresponding kin groups are distributed throughout the 13 levels of the sacred mountain according to age and status. Ceremonial relations are maintained with the “spirit world” by means of periodic pilgrimages to the tops of these mountains. There are many suggestive analogies between these contemporary Tzotzil practices and those of the ancient Maya as recorded in the Popul Vuh and The Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel and as inferred from archaeological studies. The sacred mountains of the Tzotzil are suggested as functional counterparts of some of the smaller pyramids in Classic Maya archaeological sites. These ancient pyramids may have been the centers of rule of patrilineal groups which, as progressive layers were added with lineage successions, may have become centers for ancestor worship where priest-rulers were buried.
The Construction and Uses of a Laboratory Archaeological Site
Authors: Chilcott John H. , Deetz James J. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractIn view of the demonstrated value of small-scale site replicas to archaeological field training, a full-scale experimental site was constructed and shown to be of value in training personnel in archaeological techniques and in investigating various problems of archaeological field procedure. This site, built on the Santa Barbara campus of the University of California, was excavated by student groups ranging from junior high school through college who had differing amounts of previous field experience. The effect of age and experience on recovery efficiency and depth of interpretation was studied, as well as the reactions of students to excavation of an artificial construct, and in the case of those with no previous experience, to archaeological field work in general.In addition to that section of the site devoted to problems connected with instruction, a section was designed to investigate a series of relatively simple methodological problems. Problems of stratigraphy, seriation, and relationship between size of artifact, soil color and texture, and excavation technique were investigated, with successful results. Such a site has great utility in field instruction, where its superiority over certain natural sites can be demonstrated, and in controlled investigation of various excavation and interpretive techniques. Such a site is relatively easy to construct, and the Santa Barbara laboratory site is now a continuing project.
The Teotihuacan Mapping Project
Authors: Millon René 
Published: April 2006

AbstractA detailed map of Teotihuacán is being prepared through the use of photogrammetry and ground survey. The city's maximum limits have been circumscribed, and it appears that they surround an area of more than 10 square miles. Part of this area was occupied only during the first phase of the occupation of Teotihuacán (Tzacualli) in the Pre-Classic period; Tzacualli phase Teotihuacán appears to have covered an area of approximately 3 square miles. The maximum area reached by the city during its later phases appears to be close to 9 square miles, but how much of this area was actually occupied during any one period of time remains to be determined. The central 4.5 square miles of the city seem to have been subject to extensive planning (grid pattern, streets, and blocks of uniform size). Teotihuacán appeared as a settlement of great size in the Pre-Classic period and grew to mammoth proportions during the Classic period. No population estimates are yet possible. The Ciudadela now appears to have occupied a central rather than a southerly position in the city. Several Early Classic period Maya pottery fragments were found near the city's eastern border in the immediate vicinity of Tlamimilolpa where similar fragments had previously been found by Linné.
A Consideration of Archaeological Research Design
Authors: Binford Lewis R. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractIt is argued that the methodology most appropriate for the task of isolating and studying processes of cultural change and evolution is one which is regional in scope and executed with the aid of research designs based on the principles of probability sampling. The various types of observational populations which archaeologists must study are discussed, together with an evaluation of the methodological differences attendant upon adequate and reliable investigation of each. Two basic sampling universes are discussed, the region and the site, together with their methodological and research-design peculiarities. These are used as a basis for discussion and past and current research programs are evaluated in terms of what are believed to be major limitations in obtaining the "facts" pertinent to studies of cultural processes.
A Carved Wooden Ax Handle from Nicaragua
Authors: Stirling M. W. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractA well-preserved carved wooden ax handle was recently found on the Chiltepe Peninsula, Lake Managua, Nicaragua. The upper portion is in the form of a king vulture. The specimen is unique, since wooden objects in this area are rarely preserved. It was probably the work of the pre-Columbian Mangue Indians.
The Nature of Charcoal Excavated at Archaeological Sites
Authors: Cook S. F. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractSamples of charcoal recovered from excavated sites were treated with strong acid, followed by strong base. This process removes most of the inorganic carbonates and organic compounds, leaving highly condensed or elementary carbon. The fixed carbon content of the specimens from four sites varied widely and indicated different sources of organic matter. Each charcoal, therefore, has a characteristic chemical composition.
Archaic and Poverty Point Zoomorphic Locust Beads
Authors: Webb Clarence H. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractZoomorphic beads of carved and polished hard stone, most often red jasper, have been found in Late Archaic, Poverty Point or unknown context across the southern states from western Louisiana and Arkansas to western Alabama. These beads have features that resemble locusts, specifically the grasshopper and the cyclical cicada. The most regularly accentuated feature is a midbody disc or projecting plate that is thought to represent the auditory organs or vibrating membranes of these insects and which participate in production of a relatively tremendous volume of sound. It is proposed that the locust bead concept, involving an element of magic, spread across the southern states in multicultural context at a time level near 1000 B.C.
Sabloff and Smith's “The Importance of Both Analytic and Taxonomic Classification in the Type-Variety System”
Authors: Dunnell Robert C. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractThe article recently published by Sabloff and Smith (AMER. ANT. 34:278-286, 1969) adds little beyond elaboration to archaeological classification and further tends to perpetuate some common and basic errors. Some of these flaws are noted along with their manifestation in the type-variety system as propounded by Sabloff and Smith, and a direction to solution is indicated.
Ceramic Sequence and Settlement Location in Pre-Hispanic Tlaxcala
Authors: Snow Dean R. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractA site survey was conducted in the upper drainage basin of the Rio Zahuapan in north-central Tlaxcala, Mexico, during the 1964-65 season. Sixty-three ceramic collections from 59 sites were examined and eventually seriated. The resulting sequence of pottery types indicates that, in spite of its location near major pre-Hispanic centers, this area was apparently not in the mainstream of Mexican prehistory until Late Postclassic times. Moreover, the locations and sizes of the sites sampled indicate that the area never completely lost its rural character. However, Tlaxcalan influence increased significantly with the resistance to the expansion of the empire centered at Tenochititlán and the eventual alliance with Cortes.
Change in Preceramic Twined Textiles from the Central Peruvian Coast
Authors: Moseley M. Edward , Barrett Linda K. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractFor the period of ca. 2500 to 1700 B.C. a three-phase sequence in the development of twined cotton textiles is outlined. The phases represent divisions of a gradual change from the use of single-warp twining to the use of plural-warp twining as revealed in recent excavation at five sites in the Ancón-Chillón area of coastal Peru.
Archaeological Use of the Universal Transverse Mercator Grid
Authors: Edwards Robert L. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractThe Universal Transverse Mercator Grid is a rectangular grid system now used on all standard military maps. Archaeologists could use this system for site location, which would prove especially beneficial in areas where townships and range grids have not been drawn. The use of the series of numbers in the system would help eliminate duplication in state or regional site files.