Showing papers in "American Antiquity in 1988"
TL;DR: In the case of early (ca. 12,000-10,000 B.P.) Paleoindian groups in the Americas, the availability of neighboring groups with a detailed knowledge of local resource geography could not be relied upon as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Hunter-gatherer adaptations to long-term fluctuations in regional resource structure require mechanisms to cope with periodic subsistence stresses. Among documented groups, a common response to such stress is temporary movement into adjacent occupied areas-moving in with "relatives" when things go wrong. However, in the case of early (ca. 12,000-10,000 B.P.) Paleoindian groups in the Americas, the availability of neighboring groups with a detailed knowledge of local resource geography could not be relied upon. Post-Pleistocene environmental changes and the low initial population of the New World are important factors conditioning a lifeway characterized by a dependence on hunting (though not exclusively of megafauna), and by high residential, logistical, and range (territorial) mobility. Early Paleoindian groups had to adopt a subsistence technology that could be employed regardless of the specific resource microstructure. In some regards, Paleoindians seem to have behaved like tropical foragers while in others like arctic collectors. Use of high quality lithic raw materials from large quarry sources, reliance on a bifacial technology, limited use of caves and rockshelters, and a low level of processing of food products for storage all may be indicative of such a subsistence technology, which would have been unlike that of any modern hunter-gatherers.
545 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, three types of bifacial tools byproducts of the shaping process, cores, and long use-life tools are used to consider the role mobility plays in producing variability in hunter-gatherer lithic technologies.
Abstract: Three different sorts of bifacial tools-by-products of the shaping process, cores, and long use-life tools-are used to consider the role mobility plays in producing variability in hunter-gatherer lithic technologies. The relations among tool roles, raw-material distribution, and mobility as well as the archaeological consequences of the different roles are key factors. An examination of temporal trends in the use of bifacial implements in the Carson Sink of western Nevada shows how the proposed perspective on lithic technology can help to elucidate change in mobility strategies. A shift from the use of bifaces as cores to an infrequent use of bifaces as tools suggests a shift from logistical to short-term residential use of the raw-material-poor Carson Sink; a later shift to the use of small, frequently unifacial, nonresharpenable points may indicate a shift to target-specific hunting strategies.
405 citations
TL;DR: The modified general utility index (MGUI) as mentioned in this paper has been used to interpret faunal assemblages ranging from Plio-Pleistocene sites in East Africa to a late prehistoric bison kill in the High Plains of North America.
Abstract: The animal body-part utility indices developed by Lewis Binford have been used to interpret faunal assemblages ranging from Plio-Pleistocene sites in East Africa to a late prehistoric bison kill in the High Plains of North America. Little attention, however, has been placed on refining or further developing these scales of economic utility. We examine Binford's derivation of the modified general utility index (MGUI) and demonstrate that it is needlessly complex. A nearly identical index, the food utility index (FUI), is presented. It simply scales variation in the amount of meat, marrow, and bone grease associated with different caribou body parts. We then use the insights provided by this simple scale to explore relations among economic utility, differential body-part representation, and human decision making.
377 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the distribution of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes in Bahamian food chains and found that the unique isotopic signature in bone collagen of prehistoric Bahamians reflects the enrichment of 13C and the depletion of 15N in seagrass and coral-reef communities relative to other oceanic environments.
Abstract: Previous studies have demonstrated that stable carbon- and nitrogen-isotope ratios of bone collagen can be used to distinguish marine and terrestrial components of prehistoric human diet. However, when this method was first applied to prehistoric Bahamians, their bone-collagen nitrogen-isotope ratios were found to be outside the ranges observed for other coastal populations that ate substantial quantities of marine foods. This study examines in detail the distributions of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes in Bahamian food chains. Our results indicate that the unique isotopic signature in bone collagen of prehistoric Bahamians reflects the enrichment of 13C and the depletion of 15N in seagrass and coral-reef communities relative to other oceanic environments. The results also demonstrate that bone-collagen 13C/12C ratios can be used to distinguish marine from terrestrial contributions in the prehistoric Lucayan Taino diet, and that 15N/14N ratios serve to identify the use of certain marine food groups. This approach should prove useful for the study of consumption practices in other tropical coral-reef environments and as a method for evaluating theoretically predicted optimal diets.
197 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an initial semiquantitative X-ray fluorescence (XRF) examination of archaeological silicic-glass sources in this region focuses on current technical problems in southwestern obsidian studies.
Abstract: Comprehensive geochemical studies of archaeological obsidian sources in the Southwest typically have lagged behind other regions of North American and Mesoamerica. Current archaeological and petrological research indicates four previously unreported sources in Arizona, Sonora, and western New Mexico. This initial semiquantitative X-ray fluorescence (XRF) examination of archaeological silicic-glass sources in this region focuses on current technical problems in southwestern obsidian studies. The chemical variability within some regional obsidian sources appears to be relatively extensive and new data from the San Francisco volcanic field in northern Arizona modifies the results of earlier researchers.
169 citations
TL;DR: In many prehistoric economies where plant foods supplied a majority of caloric requirements, shellfish may have served as a protein staple, at least on a seasonal basis as discussed by the authors, and this hypothesis was supported with an archaeological example from coastal California, experimental data on shellfish protein yields in southeast Alaska, and review of two previous studies of the economics of shellfish exploitation.
Abstract: In many prehistoric economies where plant foods supplied a majority of caloric requirements, shellfish may have served as a protein staple, at least on a seasonal basis. This hypothesis is supported with an archaeological example from coastal California, experimental data on shellfish protein yields in southeast Alaska, and review of two previous studies of the economics of shellfish exploitation (Osborn 1977; Parmalee and Klippel 1974). Evaluating the dietary role of shellfish from a protein perspective may have a profound effect on the reconstruction of settlement and subsistence strategies for coastal, riverine, or lacustrine economies, including both hunter-gatherers and agriculturalists.
168 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a framework can be constructed that ties together diverse kinds of theory that archaeologists use-and often create, and three overarching realms of theory can be recognized, each consisting of one or more functionally defined domains: social theory, reconstruction theory, and methodological theory (the domains are recovery, analysis, and inference).
Abstract: Contradictory programmatic statements have increased uncertainty about the nature and roles of theory in archaeology. However, a framework can be constructed that ties together diverse kinds of theory that archaeologists use-and often create. Three overarching realms of theory can be recognized, each consisting of one or more functionally defined domains: social theory, reconstruction theory (the domains are material-culture dynamics and cultural and noncultural formation processes of the archaeological record), and methodological theory (the domains are recovery, analysis, and inference). Within each domain are high-level, mid-level, and low-level theories. Previous investigators often have overlooked the richness and complexity of archaeological theory, sometimes generalizing from a very narrow perspective.
153 citations
TL;DR: A model of Early Archaic settlement is proposed, based on band/macroband mobility and interaction, that is thought to partially account for the variation from this period found on the South Atlantic Slope.
Abstract: Surveys and excavations conducted within the Savannah River watershed in recent years have yielded a wealth of information about organization and adaptive strategies of Early Archaic populations, both within the drainage and across the region. Specifically, excavations at Rucker's Bottom (9EB91) and the G. S. Lewis site (38AK228) have yielded large, complementary assemblages indicating watershed-extensive adaptation employing a mixed collector-forager strategy. Comparative analyses with assemblages from the surrounding region document an extensive use of expedient technologies, instead of the more formalized technologies thought to characterize the period. Analyses of local and regional resource structure, theoretical arguments about biocultural needs of hunter-gatherer populations, and evidence from the archaeological record, suggest that large drainage systems served subsistence/resource needs, while biocultural interaction (i.e., information and mating networks) operated both along and across watershed boundaries. A model of Early Archaic settlement is proposed, based on band/macroband mobility and interaction, that is thought to partially account for the variation from this period found on the South Atlantic Slope.
115 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, it is proposed that the economics of resource exploitation must be considered in the formulation of any adequate explanation of resource variability, and that the differences in the archaeological records appear to be determined, in large part, by differences in relative resource abundances in the two regions.
Abstract: Point Conception, California, has long been recognized as an environmental transition zone for both terrestrial and marine life forms occupying central and southern California. Recent archaeological investigations above and below Point Conception have revealed a number of differences in the archaeological records of the respective regions. Late Period coastal middens north of Point Conception contain higher densities of shellfish remains and smaller quantities of fish and sea mammal remains than coastal midden deposits along the Santa Barbara Channel to the east, where Late Period sites contain substantial quantities offish and sea mammal remains. These differences in the archaeological records appear to be determined, in large part, by differences in the relative resource abundances in the two regions. However, to understand more completely the variability in subsistence strategies, one mnust go beyond simply documenting differences in food resource abundance in the environment. It is proposed that the economics of resource exploitation must be considered in the formulation of any adequate explanation of resource variability.
97 citations
TL;DR: Kohler, Timothy, and Meredith Matthews as discussed by the authors (1988). Long-term Anasazi Land Use Patterns and Forest Reduction: A Case Study from Southwest Colorado. American Antiquity 53:537-564.
Abstract: Kohler, Timothy, Meredith Matthews. (1988). Long-term Anasazi Land-Use Patterns and Forest Reduction: A Case Study from Southwest Colorado. American Antiquity 53:537-564.
89 citations
TL;DR: The sampling approach is better suited to analysis of assemblage diversity among samples when the underlying population structure is well known, while the regression approach is more useful for examination of the sample-size effect when the under-population structure is known poorly.
Abstract: Assemblage diversity is an important part of the structure of the archaeological record, but measuring this parameter often is difficult ifsamples of assemblages differ in size. Two methods, here called the sampling approach and regression approach, currently are used to assess the sample-size effect. The approaches differ in method and in results. The sampling approach is better suited to analysis of assemblage diversity among samples when the underlying population structure is well known, while the regression approach is more useful for examination of the sample-size effect when the underlying population structure is known poorly.
TL;DR: The authors argue that status and caste are too vague for plantation studies and must be replaced with a more relevant formulation that includes economics and power, and a reconsideration of the data presented by Moore indicates that these last concepts have greater strength in the archaeological analysis of plantation society.
Abstract: In recent investigations of plantation society, Otto and Moore use a model that incorporates status and caste. I argue that these concepts are too vague for plantation studies and must be replaced with a more relevant formulation that includes economics and power. A reconsideration of the data presented by Moore indicates that these last concepts have greater strength in the archaeological analysis of plantation society.
TL;DR: This article briefly reviews methodological issues relevant to subsurface testing and advances a general method for objectively assessing the reliability of an archaeological survey program based on subsurfaced survey methods such as the excavation of shovel tests or the use of auger holes.
Abstract: This article briefly reviews methodological issues relevant to subsurface testing and advances a general method for objectively assessing the reliability of an archaeological survey program based on subsurface survey methods such as the excavation of shovel tests or the use of auger holes. The proposed technique employs simulation to model subsurface testing strategies using simple principles of probability and assumptions that are explicit and realistic. An arbitrary layout of test units can be evaluated to yield an estimate of the proportions of sites of different sizes and artifact densities that will be found (or missed) by the testing program.
TL;DR: The earliest cultural component known from the site is a small artifact assemblage including a fluted point, a stone bead, core tool, and retouched flake as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Charlie Lake Cave (HbRf 39) is a stratified site in northeastern British Columbia, Canada, containing a flutedpoint component at the base of the excavated deposits. The small artifact assemblage includes a fluted point, stone bead, core tool, and retouched flake. A diverse associated fauna includes fish, birds, and mammals, indicating a more open environment than exists today. Radiocarbon dates suggest that the artifact assemblage was deposited about 10,500 years ago. Fluted points are found in most areas of southern Canada, but with the exception of Debert (MacDonald 1968), none has been found in direct association with datable material. In Alaska fluted points may date as early as 11,000 B.P. (Clark and Clark 1983) but, as in Canada, these fluted-point sites tend to have shallow or compressed stratigraphy with the possibility of mixing. There are no fluted-point sites north of the 49th parallel which contain points and faunal remains in a securely sealed and dated context. Consequently, the excavation of a dated fluted-point component in an undisturbed deep stratigraphic position with associated fauna is of significance for the prehistory of northwestern North America. This paper describes the stratigraphic sequence at Charlie Lake Cave, associated radiocarbon dates, and the artifacts and associated fauna of the earliest cultural component known from the site.
TL;DR: Results of the present study, which makes use of a six-site Ohio Hopewell sample and stylistic and biological analyses, do not support the "revered-ancestor" interpretation, and are seen as reflecting a competitive component inHopewell society.
Abstract: Differentes interpretations des crânes humains remanies par perforation, que l'on trouve dans le Sylvicole moyen de l'Est de l'Amerique du Nord. Une nouvelle etude fondee sur l'analyse biologique et stylistique d'echantillons Hopewell de l'Ohio permettent de nouvelles hypotheses
TL;DR: In this paper, the prehistoric population record from the Dolores area, in the southwestern corner of Colorado, demonstrates how localized population adjustments to climatically sensitive environments can result in long-term population increases.
Abstract: In spite of considerable fluctuations in the likelihood of agricultural success from place to place and from time to time, the southern Colorado Plateaus show a smooth increase in farming populations between A.D. 1 and 1150. At the local level, however, population curves in this region often register a pattern of short-lived occupations and abandonments that are tied to specific patterns of short-term and long-term climatic conditions. The prehistoric population record from the Dolores area, in the southwestern corner of Colorado, demonstrates how localized population adjustments to climatically sensitive environments can result in long-term population increases. Here, a 600-year history of population increase was maintained primarily through population movements between environmentally complementary places. When that strategy failed, due to a combination of adverse short-term and long-term climatic conditions, agricultural methods shifted from rainfall farming to intensified agriculture supported by water-control facilities.
TL;DR: This paper examined the semantic domain of both fields and clarified the relation between history and anthropology by examining the semantic domains of history and ethnology, and found that the primary data base of history, ethnography, and archaeology consists of documents, ethnographies, and material remains, respectively.
Abstract: After nearly four decades, Taylor's discussion of the relation between history and anthropology remain remarkably fresh and are used throughout this presentation. History and anthropology have similar concerns for understanding the human experience and process; the primary concern of anthropology, however, is culture. By examining the semantic domain of both fields, their relation is clarified. The primary data base of historiography, ethnography, and archaeology consists of documents, ethnography, and material remains, respectively. Historiography, ethnography, and archaeology are methods, and no more. Theoretical considerations reside at the higher level of ethnology-the comparative study of culture.
TL;DR: A review of pertinent ethnoarchaeological and experimental literature provides some correlates for identifying artifacts and features that may have been involved in pottery production as mentioned in this paper, but 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.
Abstract: 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.
TL;DR: The question of spatial and temporal origins for Plumbate ware is addressed with archaeological evidence from the eastern Soconusco region of the Pacific slope, and evidence from a recent stylistic and compositional study as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The question of spatial and temporal origins for Plumbate ware is addressed with archaeological evidence from the eastern Soconusco region of the Pacific slope, and evidence from a recent stylistic and compositional study (the latter by neutron-activation analysis). This evidence confirms the Pacific coastal-origins hypothesis proposed by Shepard (1948), suggesting specifically that the first Plumbate, designated "Guayabal Plumbate," was produced in or near the littoral zone of southwest Guatemala. The development of Early Postclassic Tohil Plumbate out of Late Classic San Juan Plumbate is found not to involve a hypothesized intermediate stage (designated "Robles" in previous literature). The fancy abstract-incised and effigy style associated with Tohil Plumbate is argued to represent a stylistic departure of a small group of ceramic artisans who previously had worked in a long-lived "background" tradition.
TL;DR: Pollen analysis of woodrat middens indicates that the local vegetation at Chaco Canyon and the regional vegetation of the San Juan Basin, northwestern New Mexico, have been shrub grassland since at least 10,600 years ago.
Abstract: Pollen analysis of woodrat (Neotoma) middens indicates that the local vegetation at Chaco Canyon and the regional vegetation of the San Juan Basin, northwestern New Mexico, have been shrub grassland since at least 10,600 years ago. Plant macrofossils in the same woodrat middens indicate that pinyon pine trees were present in the canyon during much of the Holocene, but low percentages of their pollen grains in both the middens and in adjacent alluvium suggest the trees were few, occurring as small stands or isolated individuals along canyon escarpments. The vegetation at Chaco Canyon during Anasazi times was an arid shrub grassland with a sparse escarpment population of pinyon and juniper. A climate-caused regional increase in pinyon at higher elevation sites occurred approximately at the time of Puebloan abandonment.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the role of astronomy, calendar, and the landscape in the design and orientation of the Templo Mayor and of the city in general, and find that eastward-looking observations (implied in dismantling and reconstructing the foundation myth) that took place around the time of the equinox may have been related to an attempt to transform a true east orientation from the natural environment into the architecture via a line that passed through the center of the Temple of Huitzilopochtli (the more southerly temple of the pair constit
Abstract: In the light of the recent excavations of the Templo Mayor in downtown Mexico City, we explore the problem of the role of astronomy, calendar, and the landscape in the design and orientation of the building and of the city in general. We employ ethnohistoric data relating to the foundation myth of Tenochtitlan as a means of generating hypotheses concerning astronomical orientation that can be tested by reference to the archaeological record. We find that eastward-looking observations (implied in dismantling and reconstructing the myth) that took place around the time of the equinox may have been related to an attempt to transform a true east orientation from the natural environment into the architecture via a line that passed through the center of the Temple of Huitzilopochtli (the more southerly temple of the pair constituting the top of the Templo Mayor). It also is possible that the notch between the twin temples served a calendrical/orientational function. Evidence is presented to support the view that the mountain cult of Tlaloc, represented in the environment on the periphery of the Valley of Mexico by Mount Tlaloc, also may have directly influenced the orientation of the building and that it was part of a scheme for marking out days of the calendar by reference to the position of the rising sun at intervals of 20 days from the spring equinox. In this regard, we discuss the connection between the Templo Mayor and an enclosure containing offertory chambers atop Mount Tlaloc, which is located on a line extended to the visible horizon 44 km east of the ceremonial center. The ethnohistoric record implies that this place had been used for sacrifices to the rain god after whom the other of the twin temples of the Templo Mayor was named.
TL;DR: In this article, the optical parameters associated with specific microscope systems and the optical characteristics of the sample never had been examined explicitly, and it was shown that measurement errors indeed are cumulative in rated determination procedures and are much higher than those traditionally reported in the literature.
Abstract: One aspect of the obsidian hydration dating method that has received too little attention in the 25 years since its inception is the condition of resolution associated with the optical microscope, and its potential effect on age-date determinations. Archaeologists have long been aware of some of the potential errors associated with hydration rim measurement. Specifically, these concerns have addressed single-operator measurement variation (Friedman and Smith 1960; Michels 1965), interlaboratory measurement variation, differences in magnification, and standardized techniques of thin section preparation (Jackson 1984). Despite the number of potential errors associated with the dating process, precision estimates routinely have been reported as being the magnitude of .2 micrometers (uim) (Findlow and De Atley 1976), .1 Am (Friedman and Smith 1960), and .07 ,m (Michels 1967) for archaeological samples. Standard deviations typically associated with the measurement of artificially induced hydration rims used in the development of experimental hydration rates are reported to range between .05 jum and .39 Ajm (Michels, Tsong, and Smith 1983). It also has been assumed that measurement errors will tend to cancel one another out and approach an average value when multiple readings are taken (Clark 1984). In our consideration of potential sources of error associated with obsidian dating, it became apparent that the optical parameters associated with specific microscope systems and the optical characteristics of the sample never had been examined explicitly. In this paper we document the resolution limitations associated with the optical microscope and the error introduced by incorrect sample preparation. In addition, we show that measurement errors indeed are cumulative in ratedetermination procedures and are much higher than those traditionally reported in the literature.
TL;DR: Les recherches menees au Canada depuis 1976 indiquent que la variabilite dans la Tradition microlithique de l'Arctique est plus importante que ce qui etait decrit anterieurement as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Les recherches menees au Canada depuis 1976 indiquent que la variabilite dans la Tradition microlithique de l'Arctique est plus importante que ce qui etait decrit anterieurement. Le probleme de l'affiliation avec l'Independance I ou le Pre Dorset n'est pas encore clair, ces 2 cultures n'etant pas nettement separees. La reconnaissance des effets de la mobilite saisonniere dans les vestiges archeologiques reste un probleme complexe
TL;DR: In this paper, the Shell Assemblage of the Salt-Gila Aqueduct Project Sites is described and the authors discuss the social factors in the exchange system of the Prehistoric Maya.
Abstract: Underhill, R. 1939 Social Organization of the Papago Indians. Columbia University Press, New York. Vokes, A. 1983a The Shell Assemblage of the Salt-Gila Aqueduct Project Sites. In Material Culture, edited by L. S. Teague and P. L. Crown, pp. 463-550. Hohokam Archaeology Along the Salt-Gila Aqueduct, Central Arizona Project, vol. 8. Archaeological Series 150(8). Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson. 1983b Trash is Trash or Is It? Ms. on file, Arizona State Museum Library, University of Arizona, Tuscon. Voorhies, B. 1973 Possible Social Factors in the Exchange System of the Prehistoric Maya. American Antiquity 38:486489. Wilcox, D. R., T. R. McGuire, and C. Sternberg 1981 Snaketown Revisited: A Partial Cultural Resource Survey. Archaeological Series 155. Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson. Wilcox, D. R., and C. Sternberg 1983 Hohokam Ballcourts and Their Interpretation. Archaeological Series 160. Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson. Wilmsen, E. N. 1972 Introduction: The Study of Exchange as Social Interaction. In Social Exchange and Interaction, edited by E. N. Wilmsen, pp. 1-4. Anthropological Papers No. 46. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
TL;DR: This paper argued that there is no meaningful philosophical and practical distinction between history and prehistory until sometime in the Lower Paleolithic and that history as we practice it is a human invention (usually attributed to Herodotus), perhaps prehistory should be reserved as a term to describe how humans dealt with the past prior to the fifth century BC.
Abstract: This paper argues: (I) that there is no meaningful philosophical and practical distinction between history and prehistory until sometime in the Lower Paleolithic; and (2) because history as we practice it is a human invention (usually attributed to Herodotus), perhaps prehistory should be reserved as a term to describe how humans dealt with the past prior to the fifth century B.C. Philosophical underpinnings for the argument are taken from Collingwood; practical examples are drawn from personal experiences in the archaeology and history of Greater Mesopotamia.
TL;DR: The Holly Oak pendant is a piece of marine whelk shell with two holes drilled in one end that bears an incised depiction of an extinct proboscidean (woolly mammoth or mastodon) as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The Holly Oak pendant is a shaped piece of marine whelk (Busycon sinistrum) shell with two holes drilled in one end that bears an incised depiction of an extinct proboscidean (woolly mammoth or mastodon). It allegedly was recovered in 1864 from an archaeological site in Delaware. There was speculation in the 1970s as to its age and significance, and it was illustrated and cited as a Paleoindian artifact of Pleistocene age. Subsequent analyses indicated the artifact was fraudulent: The engraving probably was done in the 1880s on a shell recovered from an archaeological site. This has been confirmed by a recently obtained AMS radiocarbon date. The Holly Oak pendant is a modern forgery.
TL;DR: In this paper, an analysis of unpublished house floor and fill data has revealed new information concerning the production and distribution of shell artifacts at the Hohokam site of Snaketown.
Abstract: Analysis of unpublished house floor and fill data has revealed new information concerning the production and distribution of shell artifacts at the Hohokam site of Snaketown. In addition to presenting data on the frequency and distribution of shell in structures, the analysis identifies manufacturing loci and evaluates previous statements concerning craft production at the site. Implications for the organization of production and exchange during the Sacaton phase also are considered. It is concluded that local kin groups could have procured, produced, and distributed shell products. This reconstruction is provided as an alternative to views which hold that a higher-level administrative agency was in control of the production and distribution of marine shell.
TL;DR: In this paper, low-visibility archaeological remains support a discontinuous model of cultural development on the Colorado Plateaus, and two examples are presented to show how lowvisibility artifacts support cultural development in the American Southwest.
Abstract: Archaeologists interpreting the patterns of prehistory in the American Southwest have been influenced dramatically by the obtrusiveness of certain kinds of archaeological remains and by the remarkable record of continuity they suggest. Lowvisibility archaeological remains and discontinuous developmental sequences have been accorded only minor significance in southwestern prehistory, in spite of the fact that occupational "discontinuities" are evident in the archaeological record of many regions. In this paper, two examples are presented to show how lowvisibility archaeological remains support a discontinuous model of cultural development on the Colorado Plateaus.
TL;DR: The Pinson Mounds site was constructed and used between approximately A.D. 1-500 as mentioned in this paper and contains at least 12 mounds, a geometric embankment, and associated temporary habitation areas within an area of approximately 160 ha.
Abstract: Located on the West Tennessee Coastal Plain, Pinson Mounds is one of the largest Middle Woodland ceremonial centers in eastern North America. The site includes at least 12 mounds, a geometric embankment, and associated temporary habitation areas within an area of approximately 160 ha. Of particular significance is the presence of five large platform mounds ranging in height from 3 to 22 m. A series of two dozen radiocarbon determinations indicate that the Pinson Mounds site was constructed and used between approximately A.D. 1-500.
TL;DR: In this paper, two manuscrits from the village of Tepetlaoztoc actuel and ses environs, au nord-est de Texcoco, present des renseignements uniques and fournissent une base ferme for l'interpretation des vestiges archeologiques de l'Horizon Recent de la zone
Abstract: Ces deux manuscrits sont les plus importants textes de recensement cadastral qui aient survecu : ces documents recensent la composition des familles et des proprietes terriennes de 17 localites d'une aire correspond au village de Tepetlaoztoc actuel et ses environs, au nord-est de Texcoco. Rediges vers 1539-1543, ils presentent des renseignements uniques et fournissent une base ferme pour l'interpretation des vestiges archeologiques de l'Horizon Recent de la zone