Showing papers on "Assemblage (archaeology) published in 1982"

Ancient beringians: human occupation in the late pleistocene of alaska and the yukon territory

Abstract: Evidence for human occupation in eastern Beringia now extends back in time to the early Wisconsin (about 60,000 years ago), but for the earliest periods this record must be interpreted on the basis of altered bone, antler, and ivory specimens that have been recovered from redeposited contexts. Such interpretations depend on a broad analytical approach in which taphonomic concepts are employed to identify a more representative suite of bone-altering agencies. Pending the discovery and excavation of undisturbed archaeological sites of such ancient provenance, we have declined to define a technological complex on the basis of these materials. Their existence nonetheless raises a number of interesting questions concerning the time and means of human adaptation to northern latitudes. Not the least of these is the evolutionary status of the first Beringians whose identity may be shrouded in the little-known record of human evolution in East Asia. A recently excavated deposit at the Bluefish Caves affords a new late Wisconsin record of human occupation during the most severe period of glaciation in North America. Although the artifact inventory from the Bluefish Caves is presently too meager to permit the cultural classification of the occupants, the assemblage, as well as other indicators of human activity, is adequate to show the direct association of man with a diverse ungulate fauna during full-glacial times. In fact the association of the ungulates in a primary burial assemblage is an important contribution to ongoing controversy concerning the nature of the vegetation and landscape during the full-glacial interval. In view of the numerous recently published summaries of later Beringian archaeological manifestations, we provide only a brief discussion of final Wisconsin and early Holocene sites and complexes. There are still too few well-stratified, well-dated, and well-published sites in eastern Beringia to provide a sound basis for reconstructing the role and response of human societies to the rapid, perhaps even chaotic, changes that took place in the final millennia of the Wisconsin. Dry Creek component I and the Chindadn complex at the Village site may contain part of the early history of the fluted point complexes that became widespread in North America during those millennia, but additional recent finds of fluted points themselves have not appreciably aided the resolution of the many questions that pertain to their origins. Finally, we comment on a number of themes concerning the peopling of the New World including the concepts of migration and colonization, the importance of the Bering land bridge and the ice-free corridor, and the likely role of mankind in late Wisconsin extinctions.

Estimating original assemblage content to adjust for post‐depositional vertical artifact movement

Abstract: Frequency curves of a particular class of artifacts, such as pottery, from each stratum assemblage have been used to derive relative chronologies and simultaneously models of cultural change Such empirical counts do not usually take into account post‐depositional processes affecting archaeological remains A distinctive type of ceramic, coin molds, from the Iron Age hillfort at the Titelberg in Luxembourg provides the model for presenting a method for estimating original assemblage content per stratum on the basis of the artifact frequency as actually recovered upon excavation

POSITION and POSSESSION: ASSEMBLAGE VARIATION IN the BRITISH NEOLITHI

Abstract: Summary: This paper considers the variations among artefact assemblages which developed between about 3000 and 2000 be and argues that they result from the existence of different spheres of exchange separated along hierarchical lines. the main discussion concerns the role of the Grooved Ware assemblage and its relationship with other late Neolithic traditions.

Exploring Intrasite Patterning and Assemblage Variation on Historic Sheepherder Camps

Abstract: Nine historic sheepherder camps in northern Wyoming are the basis for this study of intrasite artifact patterning and intersite assemblage variation. The sites all represent a single functional type. Variation between sites results from natural disturbance processes and cultural factors such as idiosyncrasies in occupants' behaviors, differential curation of artifacts, chance occurrences of artifact loss and discard, and length, season and number of occupations. Intrasite patterning is evident and a drop, toss and throw zone can be defined for most sites. This aids in determining the prior location and orientation of the herders' wagons on the sites. The density of the material aids in determining the number of occupations. Assemblage differences between sites are significant and should caution us of potential problems in studies comparing small assemblages from sites such as temporary collecting stations of hunters and gatherers.

Dugong processing as an archaeological phenomenon : evidence from a small complex of sites at Princess Charlotte Bay, north Queensland

Abstract: This thesis examines the way pattering of activities involved in the processing of dugong is reflected in the archaeological record. The model developed has certain implications of relevance to the insterpretation of faunal assemblages containing dugong bone. These are discussed. Ethnohistorical and ethnographic descriptions of dugong proscessing in Aboriginal and Islander communities at several locations along the Queens land coastline are first surveyed. It is suggested that a certain basic form can be discerned in the organization of activities involved, which reflects the dugongrs marine habitat, size, and the quantity of meat each represents. Three types of activity loci are distinguished: initial butchering sites, main cooking and consumption sites, and base camps. The distribution of dugong remains in a small complex of archaeological sites at Princess Charlotte Bay, far north Queens land, is then described. Analysis reveals that the pattern of distribution varies considerably both with the skeletal elements examined and with the age of individual s. Three types of sites are distinguished, on the basis of number and type of skeletal elements present. Corressponding variations are found in several other dimensions, including relative proportions of dugong and non-dugong faunal remains, number and type of non-dugong species represented, number and types of arti-facts and location relative to landscape and archaeological features It is argued that the observed variation in faunal assemblages can best be accounted for in terms of activity patterning. An attempt is made to co-ordinate the ethnographic and archaeological pictures presented. This interpretation leads to two inter-related conclusions. Firstly, the demographic structure of any faunal assemblage containsing dugong bone will not be equivalent to that of diet. Secondly, the relationship between assemblage and diet will vary with site activity regime. Thus site function must be identified before meansingful inferences can be drawn from faunal assemblages. A classification of dugong processing sites is proposed. Finally, the nature of relationships between assemblages and diet are discussed. No attempt is made to operationalize the relationships involved but it is conc1uded that they may be of two forms.

Assemblage: a test of community theory

Abstract: Ecologists have long been concerned with the identification of factors that have influenced the evolution of interspecific relationships within ecological assemblages and communities. Or, put more succinctly: Which factors are responsible for the patterns observed in communities and how have these patterns been maintained over ecological and evolutionary time? At present, debate over the