Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Quantifying Surplus And Sustainability In The Archaeological Record At The Carthaginian-Roman Urban Mound Of Zita, Tripolitania, Brett Kaufman, Hans Barnard, Ali Drine, Rayed Khedher, Alan Farahani, Sami Ben Tahar, Elyssa Jerray, Brian N. Damiata, Megan Daniels, Jessica Cerezo-Román, Thomas Fenn, Victoria Moses

Anthropology Faculty Research

Cultural ecological theory is applied to a spatially and temporally bounded archaeological data set to document long-term paleoeco-logical processes and associated sociopolitical behaviors. Volumetric excavations, treating the material culture of an archaeological matrix similar to an ecological core, can yield quantifiable frequencies of surplus goods that provide a multiproxy empirical lens into incremental changes in land use practices, natural resource consumption, and, in this case, likely overexploitation. Archaeological methods are employed to quantify cultural ecological processes of natural resource exploitation, industrial intensification, sustainability and scarcity, and settlement collapse during the colonial transition between Carthaginian and Roman North Africa. The data …

Archaeological Analysis In The Information Age: Guidelines For Maximizing The Reach, Comprehensiveness, And Longevity Of Data, Sarah W. Kansa, Levent Atici, Eric C. Kansa, Richard H. Meadow

Anthropology Faculty Research

With the advent of the Web, increased emphasis on “research data management,” and innovations in reproducible research practices, scholars have more incentives and opportunities to document and disseminate their primary data. This article seeks to guide archaeologists in data sharing by highlighting recurring challenges in reusing archived data gleaned from observations on workflows and reanalysis efforts involving datasets published over the past 15 years by Open Context. Based on our findings, we propose specific guidelines to improve data management, documentation, and publishing practices so that primary data can be more efficiently discovered, understood, aggregated, and synthesized by wider research communities.

Sexual Dimorphism In Homo Erectus Inferred From 1.5 Ma Footprints Near Ileret, Kenya, Brian Villmoare, Kevin G. Hatala, William Jungers

Anthropology Faculty Research

Sexual dimorphism can be one of the most important indicators of social behavior in fossil species, but the effects of time averaging, geographic variation, and differential preservation can complicate attempts to determine this measure from preserved skeletal anatomy. Here we present an alternative, using footprints from near Ileret, Kenya, to assess the sexual dimorphism of presumptive African Homo erectus at 1.5 Ma. Footprint sites have several unique advantages not typically available to fossils: a single surface can sample a population over a very brief time (in this case likely not more than a single day), and the data are geographically …

Humans Thrived In South Africa Through The Toba Eruption About 74,000 Years Ago, Eugene I. Smith, Zenobia Jacobs, Racheal Johnsen, Minghua Ren, Erich C. Fisher, Simen Oestmo, Jayne Wilkins, Jacob A. Harris, Panagiotis Karkanas, Shelby Fitch, Amber Ciravolo, Deborah Keenan, Naomi Cleghorn, Christine S. Lane, Thalassa Matthews, Curtis W. Marean

Geoscience Faculty Publications

Approximately 74 thousand years ago (ka), the Toba caldera erupted in Sumatra. Since the magnitude of this eruption was first established, its effects on climate, environment and humans have been debated1. Here we describe the discovery of microscopic glass shards characteristic of the Youngest Toba Tuff—ashfall from the Toba eruption—in two archaeological sites on the south coast of South Africa, a region in which there is evidence for early human behavioural complexity. An independently derived dating model supports a date of approximately 74 ka for the sediments containing the Youngest Toba Tuff glass shards. By defining the input of shards …

The Teshik-Tash Child: Evolutionary Montage During The Middle Paleolithic, Nirosh Moodley, Alesha Pettit

AANAPISI Poster Presentations

Discovered in 1938 in the Bajsun district of southern Uzbekistan, Teshik-Tash 1 represents a juvenile male hominin, aged between nine and eleven years old. He was classified as Homo neanderthalensis. Two pertinent characteristics of the find’s in situ context provided the backdrop for this classification. Firstly, the Teshik-Tash child was buried with associated grave goods surrounded by a Middle Paleolithic assemblage which has been described as “Mousterian-like” (Glantz et al, 2009: 45). Secondly, the very location of this find was the furthest eastern extent of hominin discoveries outside of the Levant. Recent research, however, challenges this boundary by questioning …

Southern Nevada Agency Partnership, Cultural Site Stewardship Program – Steward Retention And Program Transfer: Final Project Report, George Phillips, Margaret N. Rees

Cultural Site Stewardship Program

Southern Nevada Agency Partnership, Cultural Site Stewardship Program – Steward Retention and Program Transfer is a Round 11 Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (SNPLMA)-funded project implemented by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Public Lands Institute on behalf of and in cooperation with four Federal agencies. This project resulted in the retention of community members to serve as a voluntary workforce to regularly monitor assigned cultural sites on federal public lands in Clark County, Nevada, and the transfer of the Cultural Site Stewardship Program (CSSP) to the Nevada State Historical Preservation Office.

Southern Nevada Agency Partnership Cultural Site Stewardship Program – Program Expansion And Steward Retention: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending September 30, 2012, Margaret N. Rees

Cultural Site Stewardship Program

• Stewardship transfers site information and personal data to State database
• Regional areas and sites are introduced to state volunteer coordinators
• Core stewardship class will be held October 6 at UNLV

Southern Nevada Agency Partnership Cultural Site Stewardship Program – Program Expansion And Steward Retention: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending June 30, 2012, Margaret N. Rees

Cultural Site Stewardship Program

• Personal information permission forms received from stewards
• Five required Steward Refresher Courses given
• Refresher course presentation modified to new SHPO guidelines
• CSSP Round 6 Compendium completed

Southern Nevada Agency Partnership Cultural Site Stewardship Program – Program Expansion And Steward Retention: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending March 31, 2012, Margaret N. Rees

Cultural Site Stewardship Program

• Team completed three steward refresher courses
• One basic stewardship class produced 22 new volunteers
• Letter prepared for volunteers’ signature to transfer personal information to State

Southern Nevada Agency Partnership Cultural Site Stewardship Program – Program Expansion And Steward Retention: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending December 31, 2011, Margaret N. Rees

Cultural Site Stewardship Program

• Team completes plans for stewardship “refresher courses”
• Annual stewardship recognition event held at Lake Mead
• On December 1, 2012, ICSST was absorbed as a sub-committee into the Southern Nevada Agency Partnership Cultural Committee.

Southern Nevada Agency Partnership Cultural Site Stewardship Program – Program Expansion And Steward Retention: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending September 30, 2011, Margaret N. Rees

Cultural Site Stewardship Program

UNLV’s Public Lands Institute is assisting the state stewardship program. UNLV and the state will remain open to the possibilities for partnering during the next fifteen months as CSSP transitions to the state system.

Annual reports of stewardship activities and site data are being prepared for each federal land managing agency. Stewardship hours and mileage, site impacts, and trends will be provided in detail for fiscal year ending September 30, 2011.

Southern Nevada Agency Partnership Cultural Site Stewardship Program – Program Expansion And Steward Retention: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending June 30, 2011, Margaret N. Rees

Cultural Site Stewardship Program

• One cultural site steward class was held this quarter adding 17 volunteers.
• Team focus is upon plan to transition project to state stewardship program

Southern Nevada Agency Partnership Cultural Site Stewardship Program – Program Expansion And Steward Retention: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending March 31, 2011, Margaret N. Rees

Cultural Site Stewardship Program

• One basic site steward class was held this quarter adding 17 steward volunteers.
• Site Monitor Reports indicate accelerating site impacts consistent with increased visitation. As reported in previous quarters, a by-product of off-road vehicle popularity is site degradation.

Southern Nevada Agency Partnership Cultural Site Stewardship Program – Program Expansion And Steward Retention: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending December 31, 2010, Margaret N. Rees

Cultural Site Stewardship Program

• Updated Site Steward documentation
• Held recognition event at Lake Mead
• Program funding extended through 12/1/2013
• Cultural Site Stewardship Program (CSSP) began assigning stewards to the Desert Wildlife Refuge (DWR) and to other remote sites along the Nevada’s border southwest of Searchlight.
• A select team of ten stewards will continue documenting abandoned mines and neighboring cultural sites in mountains along the Colorado River.

Southern Nevada Agency Partnership Cultural Site Stewardship Program – Program Expansion And Steward Retention: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending September 30, 2010, Margaret N. Rees

Cultural Site Stewardship Program

The Cultural Site Stewardship Program is working with the Desert Wildlife Refuge (DWR) in accordance with a request by the Archaeologist for USFWS.

Several classes were offered to stewards, including map and compass orientation, site photography and lithics instructions.

Twenty-three newly trained stewards along with 12 existing stewards were assigned to the Desert Wildlife Research area, and will be introduced to sites during early fall. The Abandoned Mines Lands project operated by the National Park Service will continue with new objectives this fall.

Southern Nevada Agency Partnership Cultural Site Stewardship Program – Program Expansion And Steward Retention: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending June 30, 2010, Margaret N. Rees

Cultural Site Stewardship Program

• Preserve America Steward awarded to Public Lands Institute and ICSST
• CSSP awarded Las Vegas annual “Historical Preservation Award”

Twenty new volunteers participated in site survey training and rock art recording classes. Additional classes are being prepared for early July 2010 in gps navigation and map and compass training for site steward coordinators who will assist with training to general stewards.

All newly accrued stewards have been introduced to sites in Clark County. Locations in the Gold Butte area have been successfully reinforced after a decrease of eight volunteers due to difficult economic conditions in Mesquite. Regional Coordinators have been instrumental …

Southern Nevada Agency Partnership Cultural Site Stewardship Program – Program Expansion And Steward Retention: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending March 31, 2010, Margaret N. Rees

Cultural Site Stewardship Program

• Two basic site steward classes were held this quarter adding 36 new cultural site steward volunteers

• CSSP awarded “Preserve America Steward Award”

• CSSP stewards were requested to document BLM sites

• Stewards completed two of four documentation projects for NPS

Southern Nevada Agency Partnership Cultural Site Stewardship Program – Program Expansion And Steward Retention: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending December 31, 2009, Margaret N. Rees

Cultural Site Stewardship Program

• A total of 25 stewards initiate Abandoned Mines survey for NP
• CSSP stewards record Grapevine Canyon near Laughlin
• CSSP recognition event draws 103 participants

Southern Nevada Agency Partnership Cultural Site Stewardship Program – Program Expansion And Steward Retention: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending September 30, 2009, Margaret N. Rees

Cultural Site Stewardship Program

• A total of 452 site stewards are trained and registered on the CSSP database.
• One training class was held this quarter adding 24 new volunteers.
• The stewardship program had an annual growth of 13.8% during the fiscal year 2009.
• Site Stewards reported 76 significant site impacts in 2008 compared with 83 during the same period last year.

Southern Nevada Agency Partnership Cultural Site Stewardship Program – Program Expansion And Steward Retention: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending June 30, 2009, Margaret N. Rees

Cultural Site Stewardship Program

• A total of 428 stewards were trained and registered on database.
• Cultural Site Stewardship Program funding modified to extend program.

In a new program initiated to identify and plot mine locations along the Colorado River, the Lake Mead National Park Service (NPS) requested volunteers from CSSP. Of more than 75 respondents, 45 volunteers met the preliminary qualifications to participate.

The CSSP-originated database is highly effective and continues to produce information requested by federal agencies. Due to its success and in the absence of a state-wide system for stewards outside Clark County, the Nevada State Historical Preservation Office (SHPO) requested CSSP …

Southern Nevada Agency Partnership Cultural Site Stewardship Program – Program Expansion And Steward Retention: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending March 31, 2009, Margaret N. Rees

Cultural Site Stewardship Program

• Two steward training classes were given this quarter training 41 new volunteers.

• Total trained stewards reach 428.

• The Cultural Site Stewardship brochure was approved and completed.

• Program sustainability issues were discussed at February SNAP meeting.

Archaeological Inventory, Site Assessment, And Data Management, Lake Mead National Recreation Area And Parashant National Monument: Final Report, Margaret N. Rees

Archaeology

University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) on October 1, 2006, with the term ending on February 17, 2009, as modified. The following information constitutes the final report for all of the major activities performed during this agreement. A brief summary of all work performed for each project in the agreement between October 1, 2006 and February 17, 2009 is presented. Other important tasks or activities associated with this agreement, but not identified under any specific project, are also summarized. Executive Summary

• More than 11,700 acres were inventories or monitored and 248 newly discovered archaeological sites were documented on LAME …

Southern Nevada Agency Partnership Cultural Site Stewardship Program – Program Expansion And Steward Retention: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending December 31, 2008, Margaret N. Rees

Cultural Site Stewardship Program

• The Cultural Site Stewardship Program reports the first decrease in reported cultural site impacts since program inception.

• Total cultural site stewards trained is 382 for 2008 calendar-year-end.

• Two new Regional Coordinators assigned to Sloan and Eldorado Valley.

Archaeological Inventory, Site Assessment, And Data Management, Lake Mead National Recreation Area (Lame) And Parashant National Monument (Para), Annual Report For 2008, Margaret N. Rees

Archaeology

This cooperative task agreement was awarded to the Public Lands Institute (PLI) at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) on October 1, 2006, with the term ending on February 17, 2009, as modified. The following information constitutes an annual report for all of the major activities performed during the second year of this agreement. In addition, a brief summary of all work performed for each project in the agreement between October 1, 2007 and September 30, 2008 is presented. Other important tasks or activities associated with this agreement, but not identified under any specific project, are also summarized.

Executive …

Southern Nevada Agency Partnership Cultural Site Stewardship Program – Program Expansion And Steward Retention: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending September 30, 2008, Margaret N. Rees

Cultural Site Stewardship Program

• The Cultural Site Stewardship Program has now enrolled 376 site stewards

• One training class was held this quarter that adding 12 new volunteers.

• The stewardship had an annual growth of 17.5% during the fiscal year 2008.

• Site Stewards reported 83 significant site impacts in 2008 compared with 63 during the same period last year.

Archaeological Inventory, Site Assessment, And Data Management, Lake Mead National Recreation Area (Lmnra) And Parashant National Monument (Para): Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending June 30, 2008, Margaret N. Rees

Archaeology

• Completed modifications to original task agreement, extending the agreement through February 17, 2009

• Completed all field and laboratory work associated with the Saint Thomas Project (Project 1A)

• Completed over 2,000 acres of inventory and found over 90 archaeological sites for fuels-related projects on PARA (Project 3B)

• Conducted subsurface test excavations at two Virgin Anasazi Pueblos and collected pollen/soil samples from three prehistoric agricultural fields on PARA (Project 4A)

• Completed draft technical reports for all three inventories associated with Phase 2 of the Capital Improvement Project (Project 5)

• Conducted geophysical surveys on three sites at …

Southern Nevada Agency Partnership Cultural Site Stewardship Program – Program Expansion And Steward Retention: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending June 30, 2008, Margaret N. Rees

Cultural Site Stewardship Program

• The Cultural Site Stewardship Program has now enrolled 369 site stewards

• Three training classes were held adding 49 new volunteer stewards, an increase of 15% during the fiscal year 2008.

• Site Stewards reported 72 site impacts 2008 YTD compared with 50 during the same period last year.

Relational Database Construction Cultural Site Stewardship Program: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Of January 2, 2008, Through April 2, 2008, Margaret N. Rees

Cultural Site Stewardship Program

The Clark County stewardship database is the only one of its kind among all Nevada counties. Funding for this database from Clark County is vital to maintaining the integrity and confidentiality of Clark County cultural resources.

Two programmers were hired to design and implement a relational database for the CSSP. During this quarter, a system was designed in ACCESS and has accomplished the following:

• Store personnel information and required documentation on volunteer site stewards. Names of all 3 52 stewards were inputted and fully populate the database. Ethics Statements and Volunteer Agreements unique to each steward are recorded.

• …

Archaeological Inventory, Site Assessment, And Data Management, Lake Mead National Recreation Area (Lmnra) And Parashant National Monument (Para): Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending March 31, 2008, Margaret N. Rees

Archaeology

• Completed field work at the historic town site of Saint Thomas; monitored 151 features, recorded 5 new features, scale drawings made for 27 features.
• Completed archaeological inventory on 730 acres associated with the Capital Improvement Project and completed documentation on 2 archaeological sites.
• Completed archaeological inventory on 465 acres associated with the Lost City Project and completed documentation for 13 archaeological sites.
• Completed a total of 29 condition assessments, with more to be completed on PARA by the end of the reporting period.

Southern Nevada Agency Partnership Cultural Site Stewardship Program – Program Expansion And Steward Retention: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending March 31, 2008, Margaret N. Rees

Cultural Site Stewardship Program

• The Cultural Site Stewardship Program has enrolled 352 site stewards, an increase of 30% over March 31, 2007.

• Two classes were held in 2008 adding 29 new volunteer stewards.

• Site stewards reported 38 significant site impacts 2008 YTD compared to 31 during the same period in 2007.