bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Feasible Ocean Routes to and from the Americas in Pre-Columbian Times
Authors: Heyerdahl Thor 
Published: April 2006

AbstractBotany, which once bred the belief that the two oceans surrounding the New World formed a complete barrier for pre-Columbian voyagers, now demonstrates that some form of trans-oceanic contact has taken place. A reappraisal of contact areas seems warranted. Current geographic misconceptions concerning feasible aboriginal sea routes are examined. It is erroneous to believe that hypothetical voyagers from, for example, southern China to Peru can make a short-cut by way of the Pacific equator. The route between these two antipodes is a complete semicircle of equal length in dead miles whether we go by way of the middle Pacific, by way of Hawaii, or even by way of the Aleutian Islands. In traveling distance and time the route north of Hawaii is far shorter due to the flow of the main currents. A true traveling distance is not measurable unless we know the ratio between the surface speed respectively of the vessel and the current. Thus, an aboriginal craft plowing the ocean surface with a speed of 40 miles per day will have to cross about 1000 miles of surface water to get from Peru to the Marquesas Islands, but 7000 miles to get from the Marquesas to Peru.Three feasible routes of aboriginal oversea arrivals to the New World, and two of departure, are suggested and named after European voyagers who initiated the route in historic times.
Some Recent Radiocarbon Dates for Western Venezuela
Authors: Rouse Irving , Cruxent José M. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractTwo recent series of radiocarbon analyses, from Muaco and Rancho Peludo in western Venezuela, would seem at first glance to provide the oldest dates in the New World for stone projectile points and for pottery respectively. However, both series raise problems of interpretation. The Muaco dates may refer to one of several pre-projectile-point complexes, rather than to the El Jobo complex, which has projectile points; and the earliest Rancho Peludo dates may pertain to an occupation of that site by Paleo-Indians of the Manzanillo complex, prior to the ceramic occupation.
Dating Early Plain Buttons by Their Form
Authors: Olsen Stanley J. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractVery little has been published to date relating to the manufacture of early buttons. This is particularly true of plain, nonmilitary buttons which lack makers' names on their backs. Enough evidence has been assembled from dated garments or excavations to warrant a description of basic button styles, particularly when these styles can be assigned dates of manufacture to aid the archaeologist in the interpretation of his sites.
The Archaeology of the Cave of the Owls in the Upper Montana of Peru
Authors: Lathrap Donald W. , Roys Lawrence 
Published: April 2006

AbstractCollections from an unusual cave site in the Peruvian Montaña near Tingo María are placed on record along with the circumstances under which they were obtained. The ceramic materials seem to represent two components. The more common of these, designated Cave of the Owls Fine Ware, would appear to have been contemporary with Kotosh II in the Huánuco Basin and with Late Tutishcainyo of the long ceramic sequence established for Yarinacocha near Pucallpa. A date of around 200 or 300 B.C. is suggested. The other ceramics, designated Monzón Coarse Ware, show strong similarities to the later part of the Yarinacocha sequence and probably date after A.D. 1000.
Carrying Capacity and Dynamic Equilibrium in the Prehistoric Southwest
Authors: Zubrow Ezra B. W. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractA model of carrying capacity as a dynamic equilibrium system is generated and made operational in order to test a series of hypotheses relating population and settlement patterns. The development of populations in marginal resource zones is shown to be a function of optimal zone exploitation in the Hay Hollow Valley. MacArthur's deviation amplifying model is presented as an alternative to the model's diminishing resource curves as a possible explanation of the extinction of Hay Hollow population by A.D. 1400. Finally, the effects of population excess disequilibriums as defined by the model are examined in relationship to the settlement pattern variables of population aggregation, spatial aggregation and residential area.
History and Distribution of the Cultivated Cucurbits in the Americas
Authors: Cutler Hugh C. , Whitaker Thomas W. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractAll species of Cucurbita (which includes squashes, pumpkins, and the common, small, yellow-flowered gourds) are native to the Americas. Their center of origin lies in Mexico where most of the 26 wild and cultivated species still grow. Chilicayote (C. ficifolia), a perennial and probably the oldest cultivated species, is grown from Mexico to Bolivia and known archaeologically only from coastal Peru (3000 B.C.). Oldest archaeological cucurbits are C. pepo and Lagenaria siceraria, the bottle gourd. Specimens of these species were recovered from Tamaulipas in cave material dated 7000-5500 B.C. Pepo and Lagenaria spread over most of the United States probably with the advent of agriculture. Cucurbita moschata appeared in coastal Peru at the same time as C. ficifolia (3000 B.C.), but it does not occur in the Ocampo Cave cultures until 1400-400 B.C. when pottery and village life entered, and corn, cotton, pepo, and beans (common, lima and jack) were being grown. While the earliest dates for moschata in southwestern United States are about A.D. 1100, it probably entered the same time as cotton, perhaps as early as A.D. 700. Cucurbita mixta, the cushaw, is the most recent of the cultivated species. It is found mainly in Mexico and in post-A.D. 1000 sites in the southwestern U.S. Prehistoric C. maxima is known only from Peru and to the south and east in Chile and Bolivia. Its ancestors probably were carried there by man from the Mexican center, and the weedy C. andreana may have been taken along at the same time.The bottle gourd is most variable in the Old World. It probably originated there, and was carried to the New World in pre-agricultural times by ocean currents. A number of other cucurbits and the tree gourd, Crescentia cujete, not a true gourd but a member of the family Big-noniaceae, are briefly mentioned. Parts useful in identifying the cultivated cucurbits are the fruit stem or peduncle, seeds, rind, and leaves. A list of the collections of Cucurbita and Lagenaria which have been studied is given, with estimates for the date of each site.
The Zoned Bichrome Period in Northwestern Costa Rica
Authors: Coe Michael D. , Baudez Claude F. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractIn an attempt to establish an archaeological chronology for northwestern Costa Rica, excavations were carried out in 1959-60 in the coastal region and Tempisque River drainage of Guanacaste Province. Four periods have been defined: Zoned Bichrome, Early Polychrome, Middle Polychrome, and Late Polychrome. These are roughly equated in the Maya sequence with Late Formative, Early Classic through the beginning of Late Classic, the latter part of the Late Classic through the early Postclassic, and late Postclassic, respectively. The Zoned Bichrome period has been established on the basis of three geographically separate but coeval phases: Chombo on the Santa Elena Peninsula, Monte Fresco in the Tamarindo Bay zone, and Catalina on the middle Tempisque. All three phases are linked to each other through trade pottery; a radiocarbon date on Monte Fresco is within the first century of the Christian era. Outstanding characteristics of the period are bichrome zoning, dentate rocker-stamping, wavy black lines produced by a multiple brush, engraving, and incising. Considerable fishing and hunting was carried out, and intensive maize agriculture is inferred. These village materials indicate that lower Central America was participating in at least some of the trait diffusion which linked remote areas of Nuclear America in Formative times.
The Relative Value of Fragmentary Mammalian Remains
Authors: Olsen S. J. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractThe diagnostic value of animal remains from archaeological sites is discussed in the following order of importance of the various osteological elements which can be used for interpreting the fauna they represent: teeth, skull fragments, articular ends of limb bones, foot bones, portions of the pectoral and pelvic girdles, and vertebrae.
A Radiocarbon Date for the Macon Earthlodge
Authors: Wilson Rex L. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractA radiocarbon date of A.D. 1015 for the Macon Earthlodge, Ocmulgee National Monument, has recently been determined. The material dated was part of a charred roof beam. This date, and another from the Brown's Mount component, agrees with generally accepted dates for the Macon Plateau period in central Georgia.
Mechanical Basis of Percussion Flaking
Authors: Speth John D. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractThe total variability in archaeological material derives from at least 4 different sources: technological, functional, stylistic, and random variation. Different attributes may be needed to quantify each aspect of the total variability, and the particular attributes that the archaeologist singles out for analysis will determine, to a large extent, the utility and validity of any subsequent typology. At present, there is relatively little theory to aid in the selection of the attributes most appropriate for a particular archaeological problem. In the analysis of prehistoric flake stone tools, the technology of flake production falls largely within the realm of the natural sciences; thus, technological variability is perhaps that aspect of the total variability for which suitable theory may be most readily developed.Flake production can be divided into 2 distinct processes, percussion flaking and pressure flaking, on the basis of the duration of the applied force. The fracture processes involved in these 2 types of flake production are sufficiently different to warrant a separate treatment of each. Attention is focused specifically on percussion flaking because this process appears to have been the predominant mode of flake production throughout most of human prehistory and, at present, it remains poorly understood.It is found that a percussion flake is detached from a core largely by a process known as spalling, the fracture produced by the reflection of a stress wave at the free surface of the core adjacent to the striking platform. The thickness of a flake is a function largely of 4 impact parameters and 2 constants of the material: the shape, intensity, and wavelength of the stress wave emanating from the point of impact, the angle of incidence of the stress wave on the free face of the core, the critical impact strength of the material in tension, and an elastic property of the material. Other attributes of flake size such as the length, width, area, weight, and volume are also influenced by these parameters. Several other factors affecting the size of a flake are discussed, and areas where further research is needed are outlined. It is concluded that the various attributes of flake size are highly and predictably interrelated.
Settlement Patterns in Two Regions of the Southern Maya Lowlands
Authors: Voorhies Barbara 
Published: April 2006

AbstractThe Izabal zone is a physiographic region located near the southeastern frontier of the southern Maya lowlands. Its environment is compared with that of northeast Peten, a second region of the same culture area. Prehistoric settlement patterns of the 2 regions are compared and differences in distribution of settlements, estimated population densities and types of settlements are noted. These differences are related to various environmental and cultural factors.
An Archaeological Survey on the Xoxocotlan Piedmont, Oaxaca, Mexico
Authors: Mason Roger D. , Lewarch Dennis E. , O'Brien Michael J. , Neely James A. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractSurface survey on the piedmont near the present village of Xoxocotlan, Oaxaca, Mexico, has revealed the pattern of prehistoric settlement around an irrigation canal that distributed water from a dammed reservoir located on the flanks of Monte Alban. Intensive systematic collection techniques have permitted quantitative statements to be made about the density of occupation and the contribution of the irrigation system to the food supply of Monte Alban.
Identification of a Sinagua Agricultural Field by Aerial Thermography, Soil Chemistry, Pollen/Plant Analysis, and Archaeology
Authors: Berlin G. Lennis , Ambler J. Richard , Hevly Richard H. , Schaber Gerald G. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractAerial thermograms of an area in north-central Arizona immediately to the north of Merriam Crater have revealed the existence of parallel arrays of alternating ridge and swale linear features in the ashfall zone of Sunset Crater. The patterns are not easily identified on simultaneously acquired panchromatic photographs. Pollen and soil analyses confirm the highly geometric pattern to be a previously unrecognized prehistoric agricultural field. Recovery of Sinagua sherds of known age found at nearby living sites and in the field indicates that the farming activity occurred between A.D. 1065 and 1250. After 700 years of abandonment, local plant succession for the field has not yet fully re-established the probable former shrub community, apparently due to differences in physical and chemical properties existing between field and nonfield soil areas, related perhaps to prehistoric agricultural practices.
An Experimental Study of the Morphological Characteristics of Tool Marks
Authors: Walker Phillip L. , Long Jeffrey C. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractExperiments were performed to establish correlations between the edge characteristics of a series of tools and the marks they produce when applied to bone. Pressure and angle of application, length of blade, and motion used during the cutting stroke, were found to be important variables that affect the shape of tool marks. Using cross sections of butchering marks from archaeological sites, it was possible to establish associations between various classes of tools and specific tasks.
The Effect of Temperature on Protein Decay in Bone: Its Significance in Nitrogen Dating of Archaeological Specimens
Authors: Ortner Donald J. , vonEndt David W. , Robinson Mary S. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractThe inability to control for variables which affect protein decay is the major problem limiting the use of nitrogen as a chemical method of dating archaeological bone specimens. Of these variables, soil pH, ground water, and temperature are the major factors. In laboratory simulation experiments, we determined the effect of temperature on the time dependent decay rate of bone protein. In this research, 100 mg samples of ground cow bone were sealed in test tubes containing 5 ml of water and heated at temperatures varying from 100 degrees C to 140 degrees C for time periods up to 5 hr. Nitrogen concentration for each sample was determined using a modified micro-Kjeldahl method developed in our laboratory. Using standard regression analysis, we determined the decay rates of nitrogen for each temperature. By extrapolation from these data, we were able to show that differences in mean annual temperature between archaeological sites can have a substantial effect on the decay rate of bone protein.
Design Analysis of Painted Pottery
Authors: Watson Patty Jo 
Published: April 2006

AbstractThis paper comprises a survey of selected publications describing various kinds of design analyses applied to pottery from two regions of the world that are relatively well known archaeologically: the U.S. Southwest and the Near East. My purpose is simply to demonstrate some progress, some problems, and some potentialities of this form of archaeological analysis as it has been used in these two geographic areas where painted pottery makes up a large and significant proportion of the prehistoric record.
Aspero, Peru: A Reexamination of the Site and Its Implications
Authors: Moseley M. Edward , Willey Gordon R. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractThe large preceramic site of Aspero, on the central Peruvian coast, was explored in the past by Uhle and by Willey and Corbett; however, these investigators did not recognize the presence of sizable artificial platform mounds or “corporate labor structures” at the site. In spite of its preceramic status, Aspero was a sedentary community, and the corporate labor structures suggest the beginnings of a complex, non-egalitarian society. The hypothesis is advanced that such a society was “pre-adapted” toward corporate labor activity and that this “pre-adaptation” expedited the rapid transference from a marine economy to an agricultural one at the close of the Cotton Preceramic period (about 2000-1800 B.C.).
Some Comments on the Use of Mathematical Models in Anthropology
Authors: Read Dwight W. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractIt has become increasingly apparent that mathematical models may play a significant role in anthropological methodology. Less apparent is the fact that such models have an important place in formulation of theory as well. At the same time, many errors appear in attempts to use mathematical models. This paper attempts to indicate the nature of such errors and a methodology by which they can be avoided. A case study is presented showing the relationship of mathematical models to anthropological theory.
The Social Context of Trash Disposal in an Early Dynastic Egyptian Town
Authors: Hoffman Michael A. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractThe study of trash, although long in the forefront of actual archaeological research, has seldom been conducted in such a way as to emphasize the social and cultural context of the rules governing trash disposal. Evidence from the Early Dynastic town site of Hierakonpolis in Upper Egypt is used to support the contention that a knowledge of human patterns of trash disposal can be a valuable tool in the study of the composition and functioning of "urban" centers, as well as of general use in interpreting archaeological remains.
The Methodology of Microwear Analysis: A Comment on Nance
Authors: Keeley Lawrence H. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractIn a recent report, J. D. Nance, on the basis of a microwear analysis, proposed that serrated Stockton points were not projectile points but were used as sawing and whittling implements. The present note suggests that the microwear traces upon which Nance based his conclusions were the result of manufacturing techniques rather than utilization, and that his conclusions must, in any case, be regarded as doubtful since his approach was not firmly based on hypothesis testing and did not use adequate experimental controls. The writer stresses that these omissions by Nance are only too common in many recent microwear studies, and until a proper experimental approach has been developed the potential of microwear studies will not be realized.
X-Ray Diffraction Analysis of Pictograph Pigments From Toquima Cave, Central Nevada
Authors: McKee Edwin H. , Thomas David H. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractX-ray diffraction analysis of red, yellow, white, and black pigments from pictographs in Toquima Cave in central Nevada reveals that gypsum was used as a binder in all colors; ocher (hematite and goethite) and carbon (charcoal) formed the coloring agents. Gypsum and ocher are not found in or near the cave, so the paint mixtures were made from ingredients found elsewhere and then transported to the site of the paintings.
An Archaeological Indicator of Matrilocal versus Patrilocal Residence
Authors: Ember Melvin 
Published: April 2006

AbstractThe growing willingness among archaeologists to draw inferences about cultural behavior is offset by the almost total lack of research that shows how ethnographic and archaeological phenomena are correlated. If ethnologists and archaeologists are to do complementary research on the same problems of cultural process and variation, we must try to explore, systematically and comparatively, how the behavioral and material realms may be correlated. The present paper offers an example of such research. I describe the design and results of a cross-cultural study that suggests an archaeological indicator of matrilocal versus patrilocal residence. Briefly, it appears from 2 separate random samples of ethnographically described societies that matrilocal versus patrilocal residence can be simply and accurately predicted from the living floor area of the average house in the society.
Trilobal Eccentrics at Teotihuacan and Tula
Authors: Stocker Terrance L. , Spence Michael W. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractM-shaped eccentrics at Teotihuacan and Tula are interpreted as being the trilobal element, a symbol for water and blood. This element, represented in chipped stone, mural art, and low relief carving at both sites, argues for considerable cultural continuity between Teotihuacan and Tula. Not only the symbol, but to some degree its socio-ideological context, must have persisted from Teotihuacan times into the late Toltec period.
Archaeological Use and Abuse of Ecological Concepts and Studies: The Ecotone Example
Authors: Rhoades Robert E. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractDespite a continuing heavy reliance on general ecology and allied subfields for analytical models and empirical findings, ecological anthropologists remain reluctant to critically evaluate potential pitfalls of borrowing from other disciplines. Through an examination of how archaeologists have superficially and selectively applied the concepts of ecotone and edge effect, it becomes evident why anthropologists must take a closer, critical view of cross-disciplinary terms and studies.
The Formative Site of Las Haldas, Peru: Architecture, Chronology, and Economy
Authors: Matsuzawa Tsugio , Shimada Izumi 
Published: April 2006

AbstractIn 1958 and 1969 the Tokyo University expeditions excavated the Formative site of Las Haldas on the Peruvian coast as part of their multiyear investigation into the developmental processes of Andean civilization. The site, known for a temple complex consisting of 6 terraces and a circular sunken court, provides comparative data for the key highland Formative site of Kotosh. The results of the 1969 excavation refuted the earlier view that the temple complex was preceramic. The large quantity of organic refuse, the architectural build-up, and the radiocarbon dates suggest long, continuous occupation based on maritime economy. Las Haldas was a key component of a pan-Andean exchange system, which cross-cut major ecological zones, and must be considered in conjunction with agricultural populations in the nearby Casma Valley and farther inland.
Painting, Writing, and Polity in Teotihuacan, Mexico
Authors: Millon Clara 
Published: April 2006

AbstractTwo hitherto unrelated Teotihuacan mural paintings, no longer in situ, probably are companion pieces from upper and lower walls in the same portico or room or in related porticos or rooms of the same compound. The tassel headdresses worn by the figures in the paintings appear to be insignia of "Rain God"-related social units or institutions, signifying leadership and authority, with military associations. The contexts in which the tassel headdresses occur, both within the ancient city and outside its borders, suggest that persons with rights to the headdress may have been members of or attached to the ruling establishment or the bureaucracy of the Teotihuacan state. The unique two-part notation on the upper wall painting appears to be hierarchically ordered, corresponding to a ranking either of the social units to which the figures belong, or of institutions which they represent, or of places associated with them.