A juniper fiber net discovered in a cave near Cody, Wyoming, had been radiocarbon dated at 8860 BP (6910 ± 170 BC; RL-396) in 1986. Reanalysis and four additional AMS radiocarbon dates indicate an age younger than 1300 cal BP. Net metrics are consistent with archaeological and ethnographic examples identified as rabbit nets.

Some time between 1837 and 1844 Dr. Montroville Wilson Dickeson found a fossil human pelvis and bones of extinct animals in the vicinity of Natchez, Mississippi (Culen 1900: 113–5).

In 1846 Dickeson reported this find to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, stating in substance that the human bone was found at least 2 feet below 3 associated skeletons of Megalonyx in a “plateau of blue clay … that underlies the diluvial drift of Natchez“ (Dickeson 1846: 106–7).

The University of Arizona Archaeological Field School under the joint auspices of the Arizona State Museum and the Department of Anthropology has been in operation for over 10 years. During the course of this longterm archaeological program several reports concerning Point of Pines archaeology have appeared. As a result of work since the publication of these reports, certain changes are justified in the phase sequence and in the terminology as it applies to textured pottery types. Making these changes known in abbreviated form reflects the current status of these 2 subjects. The changes and the resulting implications will be considered in detail in dissertations being prepared individually by the authors.

When in the past I have listened to writers of scientific reports bewailing the fact that their writings have been misunderstood or misinterpeted, I have been inclined to pass severe judgment: An author should be able to express what he thinks in a clear manner—no reader can be expected to read with the report in one hand and a crystal ball zeroed in on the author's mind in the other. Consequently when, on re-reading Wauchope's recent (1950) stimulating attempt at coordinating the welter of data on Mesoamerican ceramics, I find myself in the unhappy situation of having been misunderstood, I cannot but feel embarrassed. Wauchope obviously cannot be blamed for not being able to guess what I had been thinking while writing on the stratigraphy of Tres Zapotes pottery. It seems important to clarify the matter in order to avoid perpetuation of my error.

The paper “Grand Canyon Dam, Split-Twing Figurines, and ‘Hit-and-Run Archaeology,’ ” by Stephen C. Jett, which appeared in the July 1968 number of American Antiquity is replied to relative to the importance of “salvage” as opposed to “hit-and-run” archaeology, the fallacy of assuming archaeological knowledge on the basis of numbers of sites recorded in a region, and the value of proper popularization of archaeological data.

The Tlingit Indians occupy all of Southeastern Alaska from Dixon's Entrance to Cape St. Elias except the southern half of Prince of Wales Island, which is Haida, and Annette Island, which is a Tsimshian reservation. Formerly all of this region was Tlingit.

Throughout this entire district and extending into the southern half of the Northwest Coast culture area, petroglyphs abound. These inscriptions in their simpler forms have much in common with those of widely separated regions of the earth. There are simple cups, rings, spirals, concentric circles, etc. But the typical petroglyphs of this area are as original as the well-known decorative art of the Northwest Coast and apparently closely affiliated with it in both form and meaning.

It is the goal of this article to present tangible evidence that these petroglyphs originated from (a) natural effects and (b) depressions worn in rock in the process of tool-making.

A small sample of Fremont skeletal material was examined for antemortem tooth loss. Females were found to have a statistically significant higher antemortem tooth loss than males. Although the exact reasons for this finding are unknown at this time, it is hypothesized that an unidentified cultural factor put additional strain on the female masticatory system resulting in an increased tooth loss during life.

With the death on January 23, 1975, of Matthew W. Stirling, pioneer archaeologist, ethnolo-gist, and the discoverer of the Olmec civilization, American archaeology has lost one of its grand men. He is survived by his wife, Marion, a son, Matthew, his daughter Ariana, and one grandchild.

Matt was born in Salinas, California, on August 28, 1896. His father was manager for the Southern Pacific Milling Co. and was in charge of establishing warehouses in the Salinas Valley, so he lived in various small towns while growing up. While a boy and young man, he also spent considerable time on the ranches of his grandfather Williams (for whom he was named) near Gonzalez and Salinas, in a milieu that has provided the setting for some of the novels of John Steinbeck, an old family friend who often discussed the pioneer days with Matt’s maiden aunts, Did and Bee.

A method is presented for preparing animal skeleton collections while in the field.

In a recent note, Salwen challenges Emery and Edwards, who earlier reiterated a suggestion by Byers and others that absence of marine shells in low levels of some Atlantic Coast middens might record “failure of the local inhabitants to learn to eat marine mollusks.” Salwen's “environmental” explanation for this phenomenon is challenged in turn. Further, in a list of drowned and near-drowned sites in the Northeast that he curiously says “can be considerably expanded,” his most recent citation is 14 years old, and he ignores more recent work. Finally, his belief that peat layers may protect artifact assemblages and preserve drowned coastal sites in “relatively undisturbed” condition is questioned.

Although the relationship between settled area and population size has been well studied in archaeology, anthropology, and geography, with numerous empirical data sets, an established methodological approach, and a body of theory, Schreiber and Kintigh's (1996) analysis of archaeological and historical data from the Peruvian Andes found “only a weak correlation” between these variables. By employing double logarithmic data, the relationship is shown to be much better than the “surprisingly poor” one the raw data suggests. Regression analysis of these Peruvian data in logarithmic form yields power functions that conform closely with expectations derived from a body of settlement size theory based on the allometric principle.

Recently, an article appeared in American Antiquity that attempted to correct and supplement Don E. Crabtree's ethnohistoric discussion of obsidian blade making. Unfortunately, this article did not probe as deeply as was possible into the available source material. As a supplement to a supplement, this note traces the antecedents of the sources given and provides relevant portions of those earlier texts.

People living in Mesoamerica and what is now the eastern and southwestern United States used turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) as sources of meat, eggs, bones, and feathers. Turkey husbandry and domestication are confirmed in two of these regions (Mesoamerica and the American Southwest), but human-turkey interactions in Eastern North American (eastern United States and Canada) are not fully explored. We apply stable isotope (δ13C, δ15N) and ancient mitochondrial DNA analyses to archaeofaunal samples from seven sites in the southeastern United States to test whether turkeys were managed or captively reared. These combined data do not support prolonged or intensive captive rearing of turkeys, and evidence for less intensive management is ambiguous. More research is warranted to determine whether people managed turkeys in these areas, and whether this is generalizable. Determining whether turkeys were managed or reared in the southeastern United States helps define cultural and environmental factors related to turkey management or husbandry throughout North America. This inquiry contributes to discussion of the roles of intensified human-animal interactions in animal domestication.

In a recently published book, “The North American Buffalo. A Critical Study of the Species in its Wild State,” the author, Frank G. Roe, has undertaken an extensive study of the buffalo of North America–including its habitat and historical chronology. Mr. Roe must be complimented on the infinite amount of labor he has put into this very useful treatment of the American buffalo, and for the service he has rendered the numerous archaeologists who will find his study of prime importance when undertaking work in areas within the recent range of these large animals.

A number of unusual ornaments of gold and copper were found several years ago in a site on Apalachee Bay, Wakulla County, Florida (Fig. 74). This site lies in the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge a few hundred feet east of its lookout tower, several hundred yards south of the headquarters, and a mile northwest of the St. Marks lighthouse. The site is a burial ground, showing no signs of habitation other than some sherds and flakes of chert scattered on the surface. The burials are found close under the sandy surface on a small natural ridge which lies along the shore where high land merges into extensive marshes. Nearby are two other sites, both shallow refuse areas. One lies about 150 yards to the west, near the gate of the present lookout tower. The other is under the buildings of the present refuge headquarters.

Prior to 1950 Fort Massapeag was a well preserved earthwork covered by a dense growth of trees, bushes and trailing vines. In August 1953 I learned that the site had been virtually obliterated by the action of bulldozers making way for the extension of Harbor Green, a real estate development adjacent to the village of Massapequa, Long Island. George Peters of the De Department of Public Works, Nassau County, showed me a map on which traces of the earthwork had been plotted before the bulldozers had scraped and furrowed the area, but after the north wall and ditch had been dug away. A visit to the site was unrewarding. A heavy growth of weeds along with a pile of uprooted trees completely masked the area where the fort had stood. At this writing negotiations are in progress for the acquisition of the site by Nassau County in order to preserve what remains. Figure 28 is based on maps made in 1937 and 1938.

There is a gap between discussions of theory and of practice in North American archaeology. More political engagement by archaeologists would be desirable. Regarding these and other issues, Moss and I agree. However, I also believe that the open-mindedness and dearth of theoretical schisms characteristic of Processual-plus archaeology is desirable. Critical perspectives such as Marxist and feminist approaches can be included in this broad perspective, and can thus contribute to both the advancement of knowledge and political agendas. More consideration and analysis of the linkages between theory and practice would be fruitful.

Sandia Cave in New Mexico was excavated in the late 1930s by Frank Hibben, who described a unique type of chipped stone artifact-the “Sandia point”-in association with a faunal assemblage that included extinct Pleistocene species. The site was interpreted as a late Pleistocene Paleoindian hunting station, making it the earliest human occupation known in America at the time. Despite the pivotal role the faunal assemblage has played in interpretations of the site, there was never a confirmed behavioral association between the artifacts and the fossils. A subsequent series of controversies about the age of the site and the integrity of the stratigraphy has since pushed Sandia Cave into obscurity. Results from a recent taphonomic study of the large and small mammal assemblages from the original excavations are reported here. These show that the majority of the fauna were accumulated by nonhuman agents (carnivores, raptors, and rodents), but that a small proportion of large mammal fragments retain human modification. The three major points of controversy are discussed in light of these and other findings, and it is shown that Sandia Cave remains an important datapoint in archaeological, paleontological, and paleoecological studies of the region.

In recent years a considerable amount of archaeological research has contributed to our knowledge of the Antilles. Especially valuable in this field are the numerous works of Osgood, Rouse, and Rainey, all of the Peabody Museum of Yale University, whose valuable investigations and excellent monographs have brought new life to the archaeology of the Antilles.

Nevertheless, much remains to be done, and important discoveries relating to Antillean problems will probably yet be made. Cultural relationships between the Antilles and the two adjacent continents constitute one of the primary historical problems of great importance. The affiliations of the Antillean cultures cannot be established until the archaeology of such points of possible contact as Venezuela, Yucatan, and Florida is more fully known.