The minimum spanning tree problem is a well-known problem of combinatorial optimization. It was independently discovered in archaeology by Renfrew and Sterud in their method of close proximity analysis. Unlike traditional methods of seriation, this method permits branching structures that reveal clustering in archaeological data. Identifying close proximity analysis as the minimum spanning tree problem permits a more efficient means of computation, an explicit rule of clustering, and a recognition of problems of indeterminacy in the analysis of network data. These points are illustrated with reference to Irwin's recent study of voyaging and cultural similarity in Polynesia.

Population density increases whenever a population grows more rapidly, or shrinks more slowly, than the area it inhabits; areal contraction therefore accelerates density increase. This consideration not only reinforces Dickson's (1987) suggestion that circumscription by anthropogenic environmental destruction contributed to the rise of some early states; it also implies that rate of density increase should be distinguished, as a motor of sociocultural evolution, from density itself. In light of this distinction the rise of the state in southwestern Iran, and occasional instances of high density among nonstate societies, are not necessarily inconsistent with population-pressure theories.

The transition to maize agriculture frames important cultural shifts in the Eastern Woodlands. However, the tempo and mode of this transition are unclear, particularly when analytical techniques are not standard across the region. In this article, we present evidence of directly dated maize macrobotanical fragments from the Turpin site in southwest Ohio that date between cal AD 552–649 and 684–994. These dates add to current dialogues on the spread of maize in the American Midcontinent and help further situate the Middle Ohio Valley as a cultural crossroads through which people and ideas flowed. We echo suggestions that, to refine our understanding of the introduction of maize into the region, we must develop pan-regional analytical standards and create multiple working hypotheses at a variety of scales.

The Amerind Foundation, Inc. spent the first three weeks of December, 1948, excavating a ball court at the archaeological site of Arizona:BB:15:3, which is located in Cochise County, Sec. 20, T15S, R20E. The actual village area is located on the west bank of the San Pedro River twenty-two miles north of the city of Benson at an approximate elevation of 3300 feet.

The ball court was located in the north half of the village on a terrace some forty feet above the river channel. It appeared as a shallow but conspicuous oval depression which was overgrown with mesquite trees and other desert flora of the Sonoran plateau type. Fortunately the court had not been disturbed by any previous excavations nor by erosion (Fig. 86, a).

The proveniences (locations) of artifacts have long been critically important to archaeological interpretation. Although of major importance to site formation studies, positional attributes of artifacts (e.g., orientation, dip, which side is up) are seldom mentioned. When discovered in 1927, the in situ association of a Folsom projectile point with two ribs of a Pleistocene form of bison was interpreted as indicative of the contemporaneity of the three items, and thus was taken as evidence for the Pleistocene age of humans in North America. The locational and positional attributes of the two ribs and the point relative to one another suggest it is improbable that the point was deposited simultaneously with the two ribs as a result of it being embedded in the animal's flank, which is not to say the three items are not depositionally and temporally associated. Previously unmentioned positional attributes of the items making up the original Folsom association exemplify the importance of such attributes. New understanding of the original association underscores that actualistic research is required to identify the kinds of positional attributes important to questions regarding site formation and site structure.

Because of the interest in the mural paintings from Kuaua pueblo, it is felt advisable to present a complete report on the field and laboratory processing of these. Although two articles were published in El Palacio in 1935 and 1936 on the removing and processing of the murals, the detailed procedure has not been published as a unit in a scientific report. The processing of the Kuaua murals had no precedent to follow. As it is possible that similar finds will occur in future excavations, the processes developed for coping with the problem at Kuaua may be of aid. These processes may be varied to meet conditions involving other types of paintings.

The Kuaua ruins, now known as the Coronado State Monument, are situated on the western side of the Rio Grande two air miles northwest of the business section of Bernalillo, New Mexico. They lie in the Tiguex province of the central Rio Grande.

The erroneous identification of a fluted projectile point associated with the earliest radiocarbon date at Fort Rock Cave is noted. Contrary to what has been stated in the literature, no fluted or Folsom-like projectile points have been found associated with early radiocarbon dates at Fort Rock Cave.

This paper presents a method called column-wise seriation, which is founded on inherent properties of the sequencing problem. Although nearly all previous approaches have focused on the permutation of units, hypothetical examples illustrate that certain relationships between types must likewise exist to achieve an ideal arrangement. Further examination and exploitation of these relationships furnish a new perspective on the seriation process, and lead to a strategy which is simple in concept and practice. A computer implementation of column-wise seriation is applied to archaeological data.

The comments by Hutson and Arnold and Wilkens challenge our 1999 argument that postprocessual research can be scientific. Both critique our characteristics of science. Arnold and Wilkens contend that postprocessual research is never scientific, because postprocessualists do not evaluate knowledge claims using information derived independently from the claims being evaluated. We argue that Arnold and Wilkens' criticisms are based on an inaccurate characterization of our arguments. We also argue that their claim that postprocessual perspectives do not use independently derived knowledge claims when evaluating propositions about the past is simply incorrect. Hutson argues that science cannot be demarcated from other academic research, so determining whether some postprocessual research is or isn't scientific is a moot issue. We argue that while science does share similarities with other academic pursuits, it remains a useful problem-solving strategy that can be differentiated from non-scientific scholarly pursuits. In addition, we agree with Hutson that a 'synergy through disunity' is desirable within archaeology, but again argue that such a synergy will not be produced through an intellectual conflict phrased in terms of “processual science” vs. “postprocessual non-science”.

Shortly after an article describing a Peruvian shirt with a horizontal neck slot was published (Gayton 1955), a specimen with a similar aperture was unearthed at La Capilla cemetery on the Hacienda Marques. This specimen is sufficiently different from the other to warrant a brief report. The archaeological data are provided by Stumer, the textile data by Gayton.

La Capilla cemetery is on the Hacienda Marques at the mouth of the Chillón River, some 12 km. north of Lima. La Capilla lies at the extreme northwest corner of the irrigable lands of the Chillón and is the most extensive of the cemetery sites which dot the Hacienda Marques.

Arecurring question posed to the physical anthropologist by his archaeological associates concerns the problem of properly classifying new skeletal finds within the framework of a known local prehistory. An analysis may result which is initially purely quantitative. However, problems demanding interpretation often develop. For example, when the physical characteristics of prehistoric populations have been metrically described, their industrial accomplishments outlined, and their place in time fairly well established, the problem of spatial distribution becomes a primary interest. The discovery of skeletal material, peripheral to the known area of occupation, must be explained either as an addition to the known biological pattern or as representing a foreign element.

The Dolores Archaeological Project (DAP) encompassed a contract period from June 1978 through December 1985. Although investigations both preceded and postdated the contract period, the accomplishments, failures, positive and negative aspects of DAP, and certain comparisons with another major cultural-resource-mitigation project offer historical, methodological, and academic lessons that are instructive, particularly for future, long-term, federally (or nonfederally) financed cultural-resource-mitigation endeavors.