Showing papers in "American Antiquity in 1994"

Raw-Material Availability and the Organization of Technology

Abstract: Andrefsky, Jr., William. 1994 Raw Material Availability and the Organization of Technology. American Antiquity 59:21‑35.

A Formal Approach to the Design and Assembly of Mobile Toolkits

Abstract: It is widely believed that the design of transported artifacts and toolkits employed by mobile populations is influenced by two main factors, portability and potential utility. Choices about the kinds of artifacts to carry around can be modeled as an optimization problem, in which it is beneficial to obtain the greatest potential utility for the minimum total weight. This study approaches the problem analytically, making a few simple assumptions about artifact geometry and the relations between utility and artifact size. If artifact utility is calculated as a function of potential for renewal, transported toolkits should consist entirely of relatively small finished tools. Moreover, most gains in durability or multifunctionality that require increases in overall size are outweighed by increased transport cost. Inconsistencies between these expectations and ethnographic and archaeological observations point to situations in which artifact functionality is more closely constrained by overall size or mass.

A Quantitative Diagnosis of Notches Made by Hammerstone Percussion and Carnivore Gnawing on Bovid Long Bones

Abstract: The frequency and morphology of notches produced on bovid long bones by carnivore gnawing (tooth notches) and hammerstone-on-anvil breakage (percussion notches) are quantified. Notches are semicircular- to arcuate-shaped indentations on fracture edges with corresponding negative flake scars on medullary surfaces. We restrict our analysis to notches produced under controlled conditions by either carnivores or hammerstones when diaphyses are breached to extract marrow. Percussion notches are characteristically more frequent, and, in cortical view, broader and shallower than tooth notches. The flakes removed from percussion notches are typically broader, and have a more obtuse release angle, than those removed from tooth notches. These morphological differences are statistically significant for notches on Bovid Size 1 and 2 long bones but not on Bovid Size 3 long bones. Notches should be more durable than marks produced by carcass consumers on bone surfaces because they penetrate the entire thickness of the bone. As a result, notches are not easily obscured by weathering, chemical corrosion, or adhering matrix. Given this durability, and the initial success we have had in distinguishing the actor responsible for notch production on modern bones, notches can be used, with some limitations, to identify bone consumers archaeologically.

Quantitative Units and Terminology in Zooarchaeology

Abstract: Fifteen years ago Casteel and Grayson (1977) identified potential ambiguity in the definitions of quantitative terms and units used by zooarchaeologists. As solutions they suggested that analysts use the original definitions of terms and explicitly specify how units are counted. The history of zooarchaeology since then has involved a shift from producing estimates of taxonomic abundances to measuring various taphonomic processes and effects within taxa. As a result, many new quantitative units and terms for those units have been proposed. Some of these new units and terms have been used to measure properties of bone assemblages that are not clearly related to a taphonomic process or effect. Other units and terms have been used inappropriately due to apparent misunderstanding of the property measured by a unit or due to some assumed, implicit meaning of a term. The 112 terms compiled for this study have 122 distinct definitions. Some of the designated quantitative units are synonymous with one another while other units are used in ambiguous manners that seriously compromise their reliability. Explicit definitions of quantitative units and terms along with detailed descriptions of how individual units are measured are mandatory to the efficient communication of research results and the continued prosperity of zooarchaeological research.

Ground-stone tools and hunter-gatherer subsistence in southwest asia - implications for the transition to farming

Abstract: Ground-stone tools and hunter-gatherer subsistence in late Pleistocene southwest Asia are examined in light of ethnographic and experimental data on processing methods essential for consumption of various plant foods. In general, grinding and pounding appear to be labor-intensive processing methods. In particular, the labor required to make wild cereals edible has been widely underestimated, and wild cereals were unlikely to have been ''attractive'' to foragers except under stress conditions. Levantine ground-stone tools were probably used for processing diverse plants. The earliest occurrence of deep mortars coincides with the glacial maximum, camp reoccupations, the onset of increasingly territorial foraging, and the earliest presently known significant samples of wild cereals. Two major episodes of intensification in plant-food processing can be identified in the Levant, coinciding respectively with the earliest evidence for sedentism (12,800-11,500 B.P.) and the transition to farming (11,500-9600 B.P.). The latter episode was characterized by rising frequencies of grinding tools relative to pounding tools, and suggests attempts to maximize nutritional returns of plants harvested from the limited territories characteristic of sedentary foraging and early farming. This episode was probably encouraged by the Younger Dryas, when density and storability of foods may have outweighed considerations of processing costs.

Public and Private, Domestic and Corporate: The Emergence of the Southwest Asian Village

Abstract: Despite extensive research on the transition from semimobile hunters and gatherers to sedentary, food-producing villagers in Southwest Asia, associated changes in community organization remain unexplored. Undoubtedly new social and economic mechanisms were necessary to facilitate the success of these larger permanent settlements. The emergence of novel intrasite organizational patterns can be elucidated in the archaeological record through analysis of the built environment. This paper presents an interpretation of temporal transformations in community organization utilizing the results from the detailed analysis of Beidha, one of the most extensively excavated early Neolithic villages in Southwest Asia. It is proposed that the emergence of Neolithic farming villages in Southwest Asia was characterized by two parallel and interrelated organizational trends: a more restricted social network for sharing production and consumption activities, and the development of more formal and institutionalized mechanisms for integrating the community as a whole.

New Perspectives On Experimental Archaeology: Surface Treatments and Thermal Response of the Clay Cooking Pot

Abstract: This paper examines pottery technology and change through the eyes of the experimental archaeologist. A new vision is presented of experimental archaeology and the role its findings can play in archaeological explanation. It is argued that the most useful results of experimental archaeology are best obtained with long-term research programs. This perspective is illustrated by a case study of the relations between surface treatments (interior and exterior) and thermal performance in cooking pots. The experiments indicate that surface treatments like texturing, organic coatings, and smudging have marked impacts on thermal shock cracking and on thermal spalling in simulated cooking. It is emphasized that the findings of experimental archaeology, expressed as correlates, can be employed in explanations of prehistoric technological change, but only when embedded in more inclusive correlate theories and coupled with the requisite contextual information.

Comparison of 1/8″- and 1/4″-mesh recovery of controlled samples of small-to-medium-sized mammals

Abstract: Most previous screen experiments have assessed various mesh-size biases in the recovery offaunal remains from specific archaeological samples. These tests provided detailed information about recovery biases at those sites. To augment these previous tests, Shaffer (1992) conducted ?4"-screen tests on modern comparative mammal skeletons to assess specific biases for the taxa tested. However, because 18' screens are now widely used in archaeological sampling, potential biases should be assessed. Results presented here document hypothetical best recovery of the taxa tested and substantial increased recovery of mammals weighing between 18 and 340 gfor l/"-screen tests relative to "4'-screen tests.

Wealth Finance in the Inka Empire: Evidence from the Calchaqui Valley, Argentina

Abstract: To finance their empire, the Inka empire mobilized and expropriated both staple and sumptuary goods. This paper examines the manufacture and use of wealth-associated objects in the Calchaqui Valley, located on the empire's southern periphery. Recent excavations at the imperial settlement of Potrero de Payogasta and at the local Santamariana settlement of Valdez recovered extensive manufacturing debris. Craft industries included copper, silver, and gold metallurgy; marine and land-snail shell-, stone-, and bone-bead manufacture; and mica disk cutting. At Potrero de Payogasta, the concentration of production debris in the households of the Inka elite and associated personnel represents attached specialization. Because evidence for several craft industries occurs together in individual households, related technologies were probably performed jointly. The inhabitants of the indigenous settlement, Valdez, manufactured decorative items using primarily locally available land-snail shell. At Valdez, the high frequency of ceramic molds, used in the casting of pure (unalloyed) copper, documents only initial stages of manufacture. The scarcity of finished wealth from both sites is noteworthy; although Calchaqui settlements were heavily involved in manufacture, wealth was expropriated for circulation in the Inka wealth-finance system.

Intercluster lithic patterning at nobles pond: a case for disembedded procurement among early paleoindian societies

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

Use Wear on Bone and Antler Tools from the Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories

Abstract: A series of experiments making and using bone and antler tools show that functional identifications of these tools can be made with confidence in some circumstances. Using principles from the field of tribology, the experiments demonstrate that different uses leave different microscopic traces on bone and antler. They also show that when the materials used are similar, the wear produced will be similar. In particular, wet materials, including snow, ice, wet hide, and wet antler all produce nearly identical microscopic patterns. Other groups of similar materials, such as bone, antler, and wood, orfish scales and hair, present the same problem. Although differences can be detected, these may not be preserved on archaeological tool specimens. Application of the experimental results to bone and antler tools from the Mackenzie Delta illustrates that functional identifications of tools can be made with confidence, despite the problem of similar microscopic patterns, when other lines of evidence (ethnographic and historical accounts, distribution of wear) are taken into account. When such information is lacking, functional identifications are more difficult and must be made with more caution. Una serie de experimentos sobre manufactura y uso de herramientas de hueso y cuerno indican que identificacionesfuncionales de estas herramientas son confiables en ciertas circunstancias. Usando principios del campo de la "tribologia, " los experimentos demuestran que diferentes usos dejan diferentes trazas microsc6picas en hueso y cuerno. Estos tambien indican que, cuando los materiales usados son similares, el desgaste producido serd similar. En particular, materiales humedos incluyendo nieve, hielo, cuero mojado y cuerno mojado producen patrones microsc6picos casi identicos. Otros grupos de materiales similares, como hueso, cuerno y madera, o escamas de pescado y cabello, presentan el mismo problema. Aunque diferencias pueden ser detectadas, estas no siempre estdn preservadas en herramientas arqueol6gicas. La aplicaci6n de estos resultados experimentales a las herramientas de hueso y cuerno del Delta de Mackenzie demuestran que, a pesar del problema de patrones microsc6picos similares, las identificaciones funcionales de herramientas pueden ser hechas con confianza cuando otras lineas de evidencia (fuentes etnogrdficas e hist6ricas, distribuci6n del uso) son consideradas. Cuando este tipo de informaci6n no existe, las identificacionesfuncionales son mds dijTciles y deben hacerse con cautela. Objects made from osseous materials-bone, antler, teeth, and ivory-have played an important role in many prehistoric cultures, but they have consistently received less attention from archaeologists than other artifact classes. Less common in most cases than stone tools or pottery, and more fragile than either, they are often described and classified in a cursory fashion before being relegated to permanent storage. Their fragility, and in some cases rarity, may be seen as sufficient reason for the lack of interest in these artifacts. Dart's (1957) osteodontokeratic culture and purported bone tools from the northern Yukon (Bonnichsen 1979; Harrington et al. 1975; Morlan 1980, 1983) notwithstanding, there are numerous cases where bone tools represent an important but insufficiently studied part of the material record of prehistoric cultures. The prehistoric peoples of the far north are a case in point. The Thule people of the Canadian Arctic, Greenland, and Alaska created a wide variety of tools from osseous materials. These range in size from tiny needles to large architectural elements, and in complexity from minimally modified bone fragments to elaborately carved ivory chains. Such tools, harpoon heads in particular, have long been used as stylistic and temporal markers in Arctic prehistory, as flaked-stone projectile points are used elsewhere. Out of overwhelming necessity, bone, antler, and ivory tools have received more attention in the Arctic than elsewhere. However, this attention has focused almost completely

Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) Dates Confirm Early Zea Mays in the Mississippi River Valley

Abstract: Two accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates obtained from samples of Zea mays from the Holding site, 11MS118, in the American Bottom near East St. Louis, Illinois, establish the presence of maize in the Mississippi Valley between 170 B.C. and A.D. 60. The dates finally establish the occurrence of Middle Woodland maize in Illinois and are the earliest dates thus far for maize east of the Mississippi River. Other reports of early Middle Woodland maize in the Midcontinent region should not be discounted unless AMS dating and other supporting information show the maize to be a contaminant at the site at which it occurs. Recent stable carbon-isotope experiments suggest that the relative contribution of maize to Middle Woodland diets is still an open question.

Intrasite Spatial Analysis of Bone: Subtracting the Effect of Secondary Carnivore Consumers

Abstract: Animal bones discarded by people are commonly subject to disturbance by carnivores. These carnivores are present throughout the world and include wolves, coyotes, hyenas, and many others. This disturbance not only modifies and destroys bone, but also moves many of the bone fragments away from their original position of discard. Intrasite spatial analyses of bone that seek patterns meaningful to human behavior thus need to subtract the effect of carnivore disturbance. Experimental studies with spotted hyenas show that the position of a bone fragment on a limb bone, combined with bone surface modification, can be used to identify a class of bone fragments that are minimally affected by carnivores and are thus the best indicators of spatial patterning resulting from human behavior. Limb-bone ends are moved significant distances, as are shaft fragments as a general class. However, middle-shaft portions of limb bones that preserve percussion marks from hammerstone breakage retain nearly the precise spatial position as originally discarded by hominids. Thus, any spatial analysis of bone, when carnivores are implicated as contributors or consumers at an archaeological site, should focus on middle-shaft portions of limb bones with percussion marks.

Prehistoric Macaws and Parrots in the Mimbres Area, New Mexico

Abstract: Macaws and parrots were important birds in prehistoric Mimbres-area communities by A.D. 1000. Scarlet macaws (Ara macao) apparently were imported into the area from the tropical lowlands in Mexico, but one other species each of macaw (Ara militaris) and parrot (Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha) probably could have been obtained from much closer natural ranges. Macaws in particular evidently were of special, perhaps ceremonial, importance as indicated by consistent age at death, probably reflecting sacrifice in the spring, and by deliberate intramural burial, often in special rooms in the community. The sacrificing of macaws and the season in which it occurred were consistent in Mimbres and contemporaneous sites and began a pattern that continued in the Southwest perhaps until historic times.

The Significance of New Faunal Identifications Attributed to an Early Paleoindian (Gainey Complex) Occupation at the Udora Site, Ontario, Canada

Abstract: Analysis of calcined bone from the Udora site in south-central Ontario, Canada, indicates that the subsistence of Early Paleoindian (Gainey complex) peoples in the lower Great Lakes region included a mix of both large and small mammals: caribou, hare, and arctic fox. The presence of arctic fox and other paleoecological data indicate that the Paleoindian occupation at Udora occurred in a spruce parkland environment between 10,000 and 10,500 years ago, the minimum age of that habitat, or earlier. Evidence that Paleoindian peoples in northeastern North America also hunted caribou suggests that the concept of a “northern” adaptive zone in the greater Northeast (including the Great Lakes region) has some validity; however, the presence of both parkland and forested environments in this zone and presumed caribou behavioral responses to those environments indicate that Paleoindian adaptations to caribou may have been quite variable.

Subsistence in the Florida Archaic: The Stable-Isotope and Archaeobotanical Evidence from the Windover Site

Abstract: A paleodietary analysis of the mid-Holocene mortuary site, Windover (8BR246), based on carbon and nitrogen bone-collagen values and archaeobotanical information is consistent with a subsistence strategy that utilized river-dwelling fauna and a range of terrestrial flora, such as grapes and prickly pear. The isotopic analysis does not support the extensive human dietary use of either marine mammals or classic terrestrial fauna such as deer or rabbit. Seasonal (late summer/early fall) use of the site is indicated by the range of flora found in association with the burials.

Zinc as a paleodietary indicator: an issue of theoretical validity in bone-chemistry analysis

Abstract: The use of the concentrations of zinc in archaeological bone as an indicator of past diets and/or health conditions has become widely accepted in bone-chemistry analysis, despite the fact that the theoretical validity for such an application has not been established. In this paper I present a series of critical variables—such as elemental metabolism, bone physiology, the relationship between dietary intakes of an element and its concentration in bone, trophic-level separation in the foodweb, and diagenetic variability—that must be addressed in the process of theoretical validation. I also discuss how studies that support the use of zinc as paleodietary indicator have generally focused on only one or perhaps two of these criteria. Until a sound model based on physiological principles is developed, the use of zinc as a paleodietary indicator remains unproven.

What is Archaeology's “Mitigated Objectivism” Mitigated by? Comments on Wylie

Abstract: In her recent work, Alison Wylie has sometimes claimed an important role for present politics in the constitution of archaeological facts, yet she has not fully documented such claims. Using the same materials as Wylie, namely the research on gender presented at the conference “Women and Production in Prehistory,” held in South Carolina in 1988, I attempt to provide such documentation, arguing that its absence may undermine Wylie's (indeed, archaeology's) “mitigated objectivism” as well as the facts emerging about prehistoric gender. I dispute neither the scientific integrity of those facts nor the rigor of Wylie's analysis. Like many before me, I puzzle about the relationship between truth and politics, and I regard the disjunction of the two notions, so obdurate in archaeology, as counterproductive, the source of contradictions and disabling ambivalences. I make at the end two suggestions about overcoming the notional disjunction of truth and politics, one adopted from Brumfiel and from Conkey (archaeological facts as allegories), the other from Foucault (archaeological evidence as a network of sites of power).

The role of stone bladelets in Middle Woodland Society

Abstract: Although true blade technologies were virtually unknown throughout the entire Archaic period of the American Midwest, they blossomed briefly during the Middle Woodland, but died out and were absent again during the rest of prehistory. Despite their temporal specificity, we have no idea why this technology developed. In the most intensive attempt so far to derive an answer to this question, Yerkes, at the Murphy site in Ohio, was able to conclude only that blades were used for a variety of tasks, just like bifaces or retouched flakes. My own research sheds light on this problem, at least in the lower Illinois Valley of Illinois. I have applied intensive use-wear analyses to three Middle Woodland components: the Smiling Dan settlement and two different kinds of ceremonial manifestations from the Napoleon Hollow site. Bladelets were used very differently in these three situations. At the habitation they were relatively unimportant and were used for a variety of tasks, just as at the Murphy site. But in mortuary contexts they were numerically very significant and were employed for a restricted range of tasks—primarily for cutting and scraping soft materials. This conclusion suggests that the blade was an integral part of Hopewell ceremonialism.

The production and distribution of classic Mimbres Black-on-white pottery

Abstract: Because the most abundant and finest quality Classic Mimbres Black-on-white ceramics are associated with large pueblos located in the Mimbres Valley, archaeologists have subscribed to a center-periphery model of exchange to explain the occurrence of these ceramics outside of the “heartland.” Recent instrumental neutron-activation analysis based on 117 samples from six sites and supported by petrographic analyses demonstrates that separable production groups can be distinguished outside of, as well as within, the valley proper. Widely distributed production locales do not support a model of centralized control over production and distribution. The analyses thus raise questions about the purposes of such visually distinct pottery and the nature of its exchange.

Social Archaeology in Latin America: An Appreciation

Abstract: No school of thought, except perhaps positivism, has been more pervasive among intellectuals in Latin America than Marxism. The area's social, political, and economic problems have not been solved under capitalism and the techniques of its positivist thinkers. Thus Marxism's utopian promise, coupled with its scientific means of comprehending, in order to improve, societal conditions, holds considerable appeal for many of Latin America's intellectuals.

Quandaries and Quests: Visions of Archaeology's Future

Abstract: The Center for Archaeological Investigations at Southern Illinois University invites a different scholar each year to organize and host a conference on a topic relevant to contemporary archaeology. The papers from the 1990 conference, at which participants were challenged to assess the current and future state of Americanist archaeology, are published in this volume. The book includes an introduction by LuAnn Wandsnider, the conference organizer, and 19 papers divided into four sections. A commentary essay concludes each section. At first glance one might mistake Quandaries and Quests for a collection of marginally related papers. After all, examining such widely different topics as research funding and archaeological theory might seem inappropriate in the same volume. But, in fact, they reflect a conscious effort to integrate contemporary variables affecting the nature and conduct of archaeology. Quandaries and Quests makes explicit that the archaeological enterprise is a highly integrated system where concerns about government funding, collections management, public responsibility, postprocessual methods, and evolutionary theory are all related to the discipline's practice and its success. The first section of the book, \"Critical Archaeological Resources,\" examines sources of funding and access to archaeological materials. Michael Shott's proposal for a radical reorganization of archaeological practice from a consumer-based orientation to a service-based perspective is sharply contrasted by Francis McManamon's views that archaeological practice is not likely to change much in the near future. Lynne Goldstein reviews the now familiar concerns over relationships between Native Americans and archaeology, and this and the broader theme of archaeology's social role are discussed in other essays. Miriam Stark includes a brief consideration of the role of private archaeological consulting firms in the economics of archaeology, but in general this topic is largely avoided by the book's authors. In fact none of the contributing authors explicitly represent the private sector. This is a serious omission considering the objectives of the book. Other relevant topics could have included discussions of the discipline's current and future employment needs in the broader context of the business and academic job markets. In the second section of the book, \"Archaeological Paradigms and Concepts,\" each essay makes the important point that maintaining a business-as-usual approach is untenable in today's archaeological community. Here, Alan H. Simmons reminds us that Americanist archaeology has a scientific and ethical responsibility to participate in archaeological-resource studies in the world community and especially in developing countries. In one of the most interesting and provocative essays in this volume, Suzanne M. Spencer-Wood proposes \"a feminist paradigm for developing constructions of the past\" (p. 105) and indicates that in the vein of critical theory her approach offers \"a more holistic perspective than androcentrism\" (p. 106). Mark Leone and Robert Preucel also offer an extraordinarily thoughtful essay using Jurgen Habermas's critical theory of communicative action to discuss the issue of reburial and archaeology's larger societal role and responsibilities. The issues in these two essays are especially well balanced by Linda Cordell's insightful commentary concluding this section. Archaeological technology is the subject of the book's third section. Anne I. Woosley, Ronald A. Bishop, and LuAnn Wandsnider and Timothy A. Kohler respectively examine data-base management, instrumentation, and computer-assisted analyses. While each of these essays, as well as Nan Rothschild's commentary, is informative, they barely address the potential that rapidly evolving technology has for fundamentally changing the practice of archaeology. As long as costeffectiveness is the driving force in the conduct of archaeology, new technologies can shape both data and interpretive frameworks. Steven Simms's paper, using the context of ethnoarchaeology to discuss the integration of middle-range and general theory, seems more appropriate to the book's fourth section. The final section of the book discusses methodological and theoretical issues and includes papers by Robert Dunnell on evolutionary theory, Michael Schiffer on behavioral archaeology, Alan P. Sullivan on archaeological problem solving, and Robert Kelly on bridging the differences between processual and postprocessual perspectives. These papers, but most forcefully Dunnell's, make the point that archaeology's success, if not survival, depends on its ability to establish the requisite method and theory for producing scientific explanations of change in human cultures. And this does not simply mean repackaging processual cli-

Strength testing archaeological ceramics: a new perspective

Abstract: 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.

Structural changes in archaic landscape use in the dissected uplands of southwestern Indiana

Abstract: Structural changes in Archaic landscape use are examined using a large-scale survey data set from the dissected forested uplands of southwest Indiana. Spatial patterning of hafted bifaces, as indicated by proximity to streams of different order and distance from major rivers, was found to vary between the Early and Middle Archaic periods. Early Archaic settlement emphasized the upper reaches and divides of basins, but also included near-river locations, while Middle and later Archaic groups focused on locations near basin outlets and major rivers. These changes are argued to be a function of reduced residential mobility and a shift from a largely foraging to a collecting strategy. Increased travel and processing costs associated with a logistical strategy resulted in a deemphasis of more distant extravalley resource patches. Several explanations for this shift in strategies are explored, including possible increased spatiotemporal heterogeneity of the environment associated with postglacial climate and vegetation change.

The Mississippian presence and Cahokia interaction at Trempealeau, Wisconsin

Abstract: Etude du contact culturel entre les populations Cahokia et les peuples du Mississippi superieur 1000 AD. a partir du site de Trempealeau dans le Wisconsin

Moving out of the archaic on the edge of the southwest

Abstract: Les deserts de la region de Jornada Mogollon illustrent la persistance de quelques aspects d'une mobilite saisonniere due aux conditions climatiques, a travers le 1er mill. apr. J;-C., aussi bien chez les peuples archaiques de Jornada que chez leurs successeurs. Cette etude combine anciennes et nouvelles donnees afin de demontrer quelles sont les differences (etendue des camps d'hiver, type et intensite des provisions d'hiver, et organisation communautaire) que l'on peut cependant discerner dans ces 2 modeles d'adaptation. Ceux-ci sont considere comme les precurseurs de la courte adaptation agricole qui apparait apres 1100 apr. J.-C.

The Human Remains from Carter Ranch Pueblo, Arizona: Health in Isolation

Abstract: Health patterns in the Pueblo III (A.D. 1100-1225) population from Carter Ranch Pueblo were investigated in skeletal remains from 34 individuals. Childhood health disruptions were assessed using stature, linear enamel hypoplasias, and Harris lines. Periostitis, arthritis, anemia, trauma, and dental pathology were also observed. Although the low juvenile representation is probably an effect of age-biased mortuary practices, results suggest a healthy population compared to larger southwestern sites. Trauma levels at the site are quite high, possibly indicating burial practices differentiated on the ability to work or other health criteria. Additionally, a number of genetic anomalies are present, suggesting an isolated population.

The effects of stone and technology on fluted-point morphometry

Abstract: Previous morphometric studies have identified variation in fluted-point thickness data but have seldom considered its cultural or technological sources. New data from western and eastern North America suggest that variation in fluted-point thickness results from variability in lithic raw-material selectivity and bifacial-flaking techniques.

Consider the Hermaphroditic Mind: Comment on “The Interplay of Evidential Constraints and Political Interests: Recent Archaeological Research on Gender”

Abstract: Alison Wylie (1992) provides an important discussion about the contribution offeminist research in archaeology by arguing that a feminist perspective can lead to a better, more rigorous science of archaeology. Her article inspires comment in three areas. First, the diversity within feminist theory and practice is emphasized by describing liberal, separatist, and socialist perspectives and how they might manifest themselves in archaeology. Second, the historical and political context of gender ideology and metaphor in the development of Western science is noted. The apparent need for feminist theory to defend its appropriateness is tied to this context. Third, feminist theory must, and will, rehabilitate the structure of that historically and politically constituted science.