Anthropology Commons^™

The Character Of Surface Archaeological Deposits And Its Influence On Survey Accuracy, Luann Wandsnider, Eileen Camilli

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Survey is one of the primary methods of data collection in archaeology today. Survey data often constitute the sole conserved record of the prehistoric use of an area and are used as the foundation for culture historical, demographic, and economic reconstructions. Given the fundamental nature of survey data in relation to other archaeological pursuits, identification of biases inherent in this type of data are important and have been the subject of a number of stimulating studies. Analyses reported here focus on the accuracy of results produced through intensive survey. Using data from several siteless surveys in the American West, the …

The Spatial Dimension Of Time, Luann Wandsnider

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Archaeological research depends on the temporal structural of archaeological deposits. Temporal structure includes deposit age and the sequencing or the relative temporal order of one deposit to another. Another aspect is the temporal scale and resolution, or the degree of contemporaneity shared by deposits, Archaeology is also concerned with ethnographic time, that domain in which formation events occur, i.e., the temporal characteristics of activities with respect to the piece of land on which those activities occur. This chapter explores the issue of temporal resolution or deposit grain is it relates to the tempo of use witnessed by a locale.

Remembering The Past: !Kung Life History Narratives, Patricia Draper

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

This chapter will examine the social and economic changes that !Kung women have experienced in the last seventy or so years by means of life history narratives collected from five older !Kung or "Zhun/wa" women, as the !Kung call themselves. The women whose stories form the basis of this report were all living in the western Kalahari Desert of Ngamiland, Botswana in 1987-88 when the author was carrying out anthropological field work. Many changes have affected the !Kung in the last several decades. A brief discussion of these changes is given below to provide a background for the interpretation of …

Coprolite Analysis: A Biological Perspective On Archaeology, Karl J. Reinhard, Baughn M. Bryant Jr

Karl Reinhard Publications

The most remarkable dietary remains recoverable from archaeological contexts are coprolites. Coprolites are desiccated or mineralized feces that are preserved in sheltered and open sites in arid regions, primarily in the New World. These dietary remains are remarkable from several perspectives. They typically contain a variety of macroscopic and microscopic remains that form interrelated data sets for the reconstruction of diets. Because contexts containing coprolites are typified by excellent preservation, the remains coprolites contain tend to be in better states of preservation than dietary remains recovered from nonfecal deposits. Coprolites also contain the well-preserved remains of intestinal parasites and pathogens …

Parasitology As An Interpretive Tool In Archaeology, Karl J. Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

Parasitological studies of archaeological sites can be used to interpret past beh avior and living conditions. During the 1980s problem-oriented research into prehistoric- and h istorical-period parasitism developed and resulted in thefield of archaeoparasitology. A rchaeoparasitology attempts to integrate parasite data into archaeological theory and interpretation. Within the last decade,four major archaeoparasitologicallaboratories emerged. They developed interpretive frameworks that apply parasitological data to a remarkable variety of prehistoric beh aviors. Parasite remains can be used to reconstruct aspects of diet. health . and other behaviors such as transhumance and trade. Finally. analysis of the distribution of parasite remains can be used …

Vertebral Pathology In Prehistoric And Historic Skeletons From Northeastern Nebraska, Karin L. Sandness, Karl J. Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

Vertebral pathology has long been a useful criterion for anthropologists in the assessment of activity patterns, stress, and general health of extinct peoples. This method of analysis, however, has never been applied to the peoples of the Nebraska Great Plains. This study is the first to concentrate on the indigenous Native Americans of this region, examining the spinal pathology present in the prehistoric and historic skeletal remains. Pathology present in the form of spondylolysis, Schmorl's nodes, osteophytosis (degenerative disc disease), and osteoarthritis (degenerative joint disease), provides evidence to suggest differing activity patterns and levels of stress in Plains groups before …

Dan Canyon Burial: A Piii Burial In Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Steve Dominguez, Karl Reinhard, Kari L. Sandness, Cherie A. Edwards, Dennis Danielson, F. A. Calabrese, Chris Kincaid

Karl Reinhard Publications

The Dan Canyon burial was discovered at a time when the philosophy, ethics, and legislation concerning the study of human remains are in a state of flux. A number of important sensitive issues germane to managers, archeologists, and American Indians are discussed in the introduction. The subsequent analysis provides a detailed scientific account of these remains and a glimpse of a segment of a people's past lifeway while remaining sensitive to the wishes of the American Indians.

The burial and associated grave goods of site 42SA21339 were exposed by wave action in a location frequented by boaters at the Glen …