Archaeological excavations along coastal Alaska from Cape Prince of Wales south to the Alaska Peninsula, a distance of approximately 2000 miles, were not initiated until 1948, when Giddings (1949) began work in the north at Cape Denbigh, and Larsen (1950) began at Bristol Bay in the southern section of this great area (see Fig. 7). During the summer of 1950 the writer carried out excavations at Hooper Bay, in approximately the center of the unworked region. Although the Hooper Bay Village material includes about 2000 artifacts and 1500 pot and lamp sherds, this paper is limited to a preliminary analysis of the cooking pots. The importance of pottery in determining the sequence within Eskimo prehistory has been neglected, in the face of the abundance of organic material which the frozen middens and house remains yield. The full significance of Alaskan pottery was not emphasized until de Laguna (1947) made her detailed study of the ware; also, Larsen (1950, p. 186) pointed out that potsherds are particularly good time indicators in a region like southwestern Alaska, where the preservation is poor. In this paper the Hooper Bay sherds are considered with particular reference to their position within the Bristol Bay-Norton Sound region and their relationship to finds of similar pottery in the north.

It is argued here that the effects of variable site occupation span on frequency seriation have not yet been clearly elucidated. The necessary clarification is provided by graphic models used to generate simulated data which are then seriated. After an analysis of the seriation results, it is concluded that site duration variability poses a more serious problem for frequency seriations than was once thought. Possible solutions are then discussed. It is shown that no solution is in the offing for typological seriations, although it is possible to estimate the magnitude of the errors produced. Something approaching a solution does exist, however, for attribute microseriations.

The Paleoindian Goshen complex occurs in the northern Plains and eastern Rocky Mountains. Since its identification, there has been much discussion about the chronological placement of the Goshen complex. This is especially true because diagnostic Goshen projectile points occur stratigraphically below Folsom artifacts at two sites, and early dates from the Mill Iron site, Montana, and the Hell Gap site, Wyoming, have suggested that this point type might be coeval with Clovis or the very earliest Folsom sites. This report presents new radiocarbon dates from the Mill Iron site, reviews Goshen chronology, and revises the age of the Goshen complex as 10,450 ± 15 to 10,175 ± 40 radiocarbon years B.P.

To understand the effects of European contact on the organization, size, and mobility of Pueblo populations in the Southwest requires detailed knowledge of the occupational histories of the aggregated settlements that typify the late prehistoric and early historic record. Unfortunately, such understanding is generally lacking because the methods used to document occupational histories of settlements tend to either obscure fine-grained temporal distinctions or necessitate costly, and politically objectionable, large-scale excavations. To overcome these difficulties, we use surface expressions to analyze the occupational and population history of San Marcos Pueblo (LA98), an aggregated, late prehistoric site in the Galisteo Basin of New Mexico that persisted to the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. Field methods include detailed mapping of the settlement and systematic surface collections of middens. Frequency seriation, correspondence analysis, and mean ceramic dates of decorated ceramic rims comprise our principal analytic methods and demonstrate that the pueblo was abandoned four times before 1680. Causes of abandonment are discussed. Relative scale measures of population show demographic fluctuations with maximum aggregation during the fifteenth century. Despite demographic pulses, the pueblo remained vital until the terminal abandonment.

Failure to distinguish clearly between human behavior and cultural behavior, as well as inattention to procedures for evaluating inferences about the past, undermine some recent efforts in archaeological interpretation. Examples from the archaeological literature of the American Southwest show how analytical confusion may arise when research strategies obscure cultural variability. We are especially concerned about instances in which archaeologists assume that variability in archaeological assemblages derives primarily or exclusively from variability in human behavior (rather than cultural behavior) or from noncultural processes that are instrumental in forming the archaeological record. Suggestions for modifying research strategies to avoid these problems are offered.

Shott raises pertinent issues on the limitations of shovel-test sampling. I agree that alternative methods with more efficient discovery rates should be developed and tested. I argue, however, that shovel testing is the most efficient discovery technique now available for detecting buried cultural remains on a regional scale. In survey contexts where the probability of buried remains is high, shovel testing should remain a primary option.

This paper attempts to establish the rules governing the recognition of names in the Maya script, particularly with regard to their glyphic context. These rules are applied to the Quiriguá inscriptions; glyph clauses pertaining to three rulers are established with some probability and two others are suggested more doubtfully. The founder of the Quiriguá dynasty was apparently related to an identified ruler at Copán, and it is shown that at least one and probably two later rulers at Copán share some names and titles with the Quiriguá rulers. It is suggested that the family name of the rulers of Copán and Quiriguá was caan, sky.

Powerful hurricanes in 2017—Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria—were stark examples of how these previously rare catastrophes are becoming increasingly normal due to climate change, with dire consequences for cultural resources. These storms, sometimes called megastorms or superstorms, were the first in which high-resolution satellite imagery was available in the immediate aftermath, providing a new tool for rapidly evaluating damage to archaeological sites. Using Hurricane Harvey as a case study, we examined two recent spatial models of archaeological site vulnerability to long-term climate change to determine whether these models are also adequate for predicting the impacts of short-term climate catastrophes. We further examined a number of individual variables that we expected to be useful in predicting which sites would be most vulnerable to flooding, such as proximity to rivers, the coast, or the floodplain. Neither the models nor the individual variables correlated well to increased risk to archaeological sites, with the exception of land use. Sites located within developed areas benefited from measures to protect property and were less often flooded. We suggest that strategies for responding to megastorms would be most effective through a combination of preparedness, analysis of remote sensing data, and existing field research methods.

Using archaeological data of two human intestinal parasites from seventeenth- to early twentieth-century contexts, we explore the intersection of biological and cultural variables that shaped the ecology of cities in northeastern North America during the modern period. These parasites are useful because they require a developmental period in the soil, thus providing a link between human activities and changing environments. Prior to the last decades of the eighteenth century, Trichuris eggs dominate the archaeoparasitological assemblage. Around 1800, there is a shift to increasing proportions of Ascaris eggs, which appears to be largely complete by 1850—a period of increasing urbanization in the northeast United States. Both environmental and behavioral factors play a role in this shift and include the relationship between parasite biology and changing microenvironments, attempts to deal with waste, and use of urban spaces. During this period, poorer households would likely have been at greater risk of parasites because of the ways they used yard spaces, their delayed access to sanitary technology, and the changing nature of urban vegetation in densely occupied neighborhoods.

A typescript of Witthoft's article (see p. 271) was sent to me in March, 1953, with a request for criticisms. These were freely offered, and, although quite strong in some respects, accepted by him with good humor. Witthoft had himself suggested (and I agreed) that his article might be premature and should not be published until other studies of fluted points, comparable to his excellent technological study of the Shoop artifacts (see Witthoft, 1952, in Bibliography above) had been made for related complexes. He eventually decided, however, not to change his article, but to publish it with my main comments following. He believed that our disagreements would prove more stimulating to further research than no article at all.

The wording of some of Witthoft's passages is quite puzzling, and perhaps I have misunderstood his meaning. It appears to the writer that he is advancing three principal exploratory generalizations on the meaning of Shoop site fluted points and associated artifacts: (1) that the Enterline Chert industry (which includes the fluted points) is a “blade industry without microliths,“ and as such is unique for early man in the New World, but may have important connections with the Old World; (2) that Shoop points resemble the Clovis fluted type in some ways but constitute a new type; (3) that the Shoop points may represent the oldest fluted points in America.

Settlement pattern surveys over a large portion of the Valley of Mexico by Sanders, Blanton, and Parsons have produced a sample of over 600 Aztec spindle whorls with good provenience data. This paper examines the distribution of both cotton and maguey whorls, and their variation from sub-region to sub-region within the Valley of Mexico. Particular attention is given to the maguey whorls. These clearly fall into three distinct stylistic groups, each of which appears to be restricted to a limited area within the Valley of Mexico. An attempt is made to explain this distribution in terms of the prehispanic Aztec market system.

The issue of time remains a crucial one in Lower Illinois Valley archaeology, and key problems remain unresolved. In this paper, new radiocarbon assays and published dates are used to test hypotheses concerning intra-site bluff top mound chronologies, timing and structure of valley settlement, and the emergence of regional symbolic communities during the Middle Woodland period (ca. 50 cal B.C.-cal A.D. 400). We show that within sites Middle Woodland mounds were constructed first on prominent, distal bluff ridges and subsequently in less-visible spaces, though additional dates are needed to fully understand intra-site chronology. Our analyses generally support previous studies suggesting a north-to-south settlement trajectory of the valley, though habitation site dates indicate a more complicated pattern of regional occupation that has yet to be fully explicated. In addition, floodplain regional symbolic communities also emerged along a north-to-south pattern, though not as rapidly as bluff crest mounds. Importantly, results indicate future areas of research necessary to elucidate regional chronology, resettlement of the valley, and community interactions.

A long-term program of intensive excavation and study at the major lowland Maya center of Tikal is described in terms of procedure and results achieved to date. Work has centered on the principal ceremonial area of the site as well as on potential domestic areas. Considerable evidence of Postclassic activity has been encountered throughout a substantial portion of the site in the forms of disturbance of monuments positioned during the Classic, of “abnormal” re-use of monuments, both whole and fragmentary, of excavation for cached offerings and tombs, and of minor constructions for ceremonial purposes that were made probably of “robbed” masonry. The evidence is cited for Tikal having been a sort of pilgrimage center in probably still later times. A theme of “monument obsolescence” throughout much of Classic times is developed to account for the plentiful evidence of shattered, abandoned monuments of those times. Significant new monuments are discussed as to the contributions of their hieroglyphic texts while monuments are dealt with in general as to their changes in time, associations, and positional standards. Important patterns in burial and cache contents are handled as outstanding elements of Classic ceremonialism. The evidence of strong contact with Teotihuacán in late Early Classic times is discussed and in part illustrated. The scope and objectives of the excavations among ceremonial remains are contrasted with those carried out in contexts believed to be domestic. The difficulty of demonstrating residence is emphasized along with the problem of how to deal realistically with “settlement pattern” at a massive, culturally complex site like Tikal. Various other practical questions are cited which relate to the ambiguity of extant terms and concepts as they apply to the Maya area and to Tikal specifically.

Engraved designs on French Jesuit finger rings from 14 historic sites of the Great Lakes area and the Mississippi Valley were examined. The wide variety of decorative motifs appearing on these rings is attributed to a stylistic drift occurring over a period of 60 yr. An estimated 95% of Jesuit ring designs from this area are traced to 3 prototypes. This paper demonstrates that rings with cast designs on round or oval bezels date between 1624 and 1700, while those with designs engraved on octagonal or heart-shaped bezels were current between 1700 and 1780. The process of stylistic drift and some of the variables conditioning the rate of style drift are considered.

A reply to Lewis Binford's criticism concerning my views on archaeological inference and the relationships of such inferences to various kinds of ethnoarchaeology, with special reference to the Australian data included in Binford's critique.

Information regarding the order of natural disarticulation in a wider variety of ungulate species than previously studied emphasizes the need for caution in claiming that any particular pattern of dismemberment is uniquely distinctive of human activity. However, it also suggests possibly distinctive features of North American Indian butchery practices on prehistoric Bison.

The New York Iroquois were horticulturists characterized by a relatively low population density, perhaps not unlike other early farming populations. Using ethnohistorical information, I suggest factors that negatively affected both critical resources and Iroquois fertility. The relation of Iroquois warfare to population density is also explored.

Archaeological examinations of symbolic meaning often have been hampered by the Saussurean concept of signs as coded messages of preexisting meanings. The arbitrary and imprecise manner by which meaning is represented in material culture according to Saussure tends to stymie archaeological investigations of symbolism. As an alternative, archaeologists recently have drawn on Peirce’s semiotic to investigate how materiality is bound to the creation of meanings through the process of signification. This study examines how the symbolism expressed in pottery of the Middle Woodland period southeastern United States, Swift Creek Complicated Stamped and Weeden Island effigy vessels, might be better explained as icons and indexes that were enlisted to have particular social effects. Examining the semiotic potentials of these objects helps explain their apparent uses and the significance of alternative representations of the same subjects.

There are some fundamental errors in the arguments of our critics: equating acid extraction with bulk techniques; confusing extractability, the signal of interpretive interest, with analytical error; and, most importantly, presuming that the influences of behavioral choices of prehistoric potters are unwanted “noise” in the data. In confirmation of our original statements, Neff et al., demonstrate that neutron activation analysis (NAA) and acid extraction are independent methods, that the data are not commensurate, and that acid extraction is sensitive to technological choices of prehistoric potters. We agree emphatically. Because ceramic vessels are not idealized geologic materials mined from quarries, but complex technological products, richly embedded with behavioral attributes, we see this behavioral sensitivity of acid extraction as its virtue, not its vice. Acid extraction is a viable compositional tool currently producing significant archaeological results.

El Chayal is an extensive obsidian workshop site in an area of major obsidian deposits northeast of Guatemala City. Surface collections include a great number of elongated, unretouched flakes that were probably used as blanks, stemmed projectile points resembling the Wells type, shouldered knives, very large discoidal scrapers, a heavy chopper, bifacial utility implements, and large unretouched blades similar to that found with the Iztapan mammoth in Mexico. Pre-Columbian pottery does not occur. On the basis of this absence, and from a comparison of the artifacts with stone tools from other regions in Mesoamerica, it is believed that the El Chayal industry can be dated to the middle and late Archaic period, roughly from 5000 to 1500 B.C.