Anthropology Commons^™

Radiocarbon Test For Demographic Events In Written And Oral History, Kevan Edinborough, Marko Porčić, Andrew Martindale, Thomas J. Brown, Kisha Supernant, Kenneth M. Ames

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

We extend an established simulation-based method to test for significant short-duration (1–2 centuries) demographic events known from one documented historical and one oral historical context. Case study 1 extrapolates population data from the Western historical tradition using historically derived demographic data from the catastrophic European Black Death/bubonic plague (Yersinia pestis). We find a corresponding statistically significant drop in absolute population using an extended version of a previously published simulation method. Case study 2 uses this refined simulation method to test for a settlement gap identified in oral historical records of descendant Tsimshian First Nations communities from the Prince …

Intensified Foraging And The Roots Of Farming In China, Shengqian Chen, Pei-Lin Yu

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

In an accompanying paper (Journal of Anthropological Research 73(2):149–80, 2017), the authors assess current archaeological and paleobiological evidence for the early Neolithic of China. Emerging trends in archaeological data indicate that early agriculture developed variably: hunting remained important on the Loess Plateau, and aquatic-based foraging and protodomestication augmented cereal agriculture in South China. In North China and the Yangtze Basin, semisedentism and seasonal foraging persisted alongside early Neolithic culture traits such as organized villages, large storage structures, ceramic vessels, and polished stone tool assemblages. In this paper, we seek to explain incipient agriculture as a predictable, system-level cultural response …

A Multi-Proxy Approach To Archaeobotanical Research: Archaic And Fremont Diets, Utah, Nicole M. Herzog, Meg Baker, Bruce M. Pavlik, Kelly Beck, Sarah Creer, Lisbeth A. Louderback

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

New analytical techniques in archaeobotany allow researchers to examine human plant use by developing interrelated, yet independent lines of evidence. Here we outline the results of a two-method archaeobotanical approach to investigate Archaic and Fremont Great Basin diets. We conducted both macro- and microbotanical (starch granule) analyses at nine archaeological sites located in central and southwestern Utah. Our results show that in contexts where macrobotanical remains are poorly preserved, the application of microbotanical methods can produce additional sets of information, thus improving interpretations about past human diets. In this study, macrobotanical remains represented seed-based dietary contributions, while microbotanical remains came …

Opening Up The Echo Chamber: Teaching Cultural Competence In Contentious Times, Charles H. Klein

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

In recent years, political discussion and social life are increasingly concentrating in face-to-face and online echo chambers composed of individuals with similar world views. This segmentation of civil society has stymied in-depth and respectful communication across ideological difference and in the process contributed to the divisiveness that characterizes political discourse across the globe. In this article, I examine how anthropological learning and teaching can help open up these echo chambers and promote cultural empathy and cross-ideological communication. My discussion focuses on three methodologies I use in my undergraduate-level Culture, Health and Healing course – weekly critical analyses on contemporary health …

Wild, Tame, And In-Between: Traditional Agricultural Knowledge Of Taiwan Indigenous People, Pei-Lin Yu

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Many of us would agree that Senator J. William Fulbright’s vision of “a world with a little more knowledge and a little less conflict” will feature healthy ecosystems, appreciation of cultural diversity, and of course, delicious food. However, the world has been moving in the wrong direction over the past century. Today, 75% of the world’s plant food is made up of only 12 species. As of 2010, three (rice, maize, and wheat) provided nearly 60 percent of the calories and proteins that humans derive from plants (F.A.O 2010, 1999) and this trend continues (Khoury et al. 2014). This dramatic …

Ethnographic And Archaeological Perspectives On The Use Life Of Northwest Alaskan Pottery (Chapter 7), Shelby Anderson

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Chapter 7. The role of pottery in Arctic hunter-gatherer lifeways is analyzed through this investigation of how pottery procurement, production, use, and discard was incorporated into past hunter-gatherer seasonal activities. This case study highlights the complexity of making pottery at northern latitudes and the time investment, technological skill, and resources required of northern potters to resolve these challenges; mobility and environmental constraints unique to northern Alaska shape the character, production, and use of ceramic vessels.

Early “Neolithics” Of China: Variation And Evolutionary Implications, Shengqian Chen, Pei-Lin Yu

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The growth and significance of scientific research into the origins of agriculture in China calls for fresh examination at scales large enough to facilitate explanation of cultural evolutionary processes. The Paleolithic to Neolithic transition (PNT) is not yet well-understood because most archaeological research on early agriculture cites data from the more conspicuous and common early Neolithic sites. In this, the first of two papers, we synthesize a broad range of early Neolithic archaeological data, including diagnostic artifacts, settlement patterns, site structure, and biological remains, to consider agriculture as a system-level adaptive phenomenon. Although farming by this period was already well-established …

Pleistocene Deposits In The Southern Egyptian Sahara: Lithostratigraphic Relationships Of Sediments And Landscape Dynamics At Bir Tarfawi, Christopher L. Hill, Romuald Schild

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The sedimentological and lithostratigraphic record from north-central Bir Tarfawi documents the presence of Pleistocene basin-fill deposits. Three topographic basins were created as a result of deflation during climate episodes associated with lowering of the local groundwater table. In each case, the three deflational basins or topographic depressions were subsequently filled with sediments; these basin aggradations coincided with changes from arid climate conditions to wetter conditions and a rise in the groundwater table. The oldest and highest sedimentary remnant is associated with Acheulian artifacts and may reflect spring-fed pond and marsh conditions during a Middle Pleistocene wet climate episode. Lithofacies for …

Aquatic Adaptations And The Adoption Of Arctic Pottery Technology: Results Of Residue Analysis, Shelby L. Anderson, Shannon Tushingham, Tammy Y. Buonasera

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The late adoption of pottery technology in the North American Arctic between 2,500 and 2,800 years ago coincides with the development of a specialized maritime economy. Arctic pottery technologies present an excellent case study for examining possible correlations between hunter-gatherer pottery and aquatic resource use. Review of the timing and distribution of early pottery in Alaska shows that early pottery is rare and dates at the earliest to 2,500 years ago; the earliest pottery is found in small numbers and primarily in coastal areas. Despite expectations that pottery use would be strongly linked to marine lipids, biomarkers and compound-specific δ …

Drawing Lessons From A Catastrophe At “The Roof Of The World”, Shaun Krause Mcgillis, Jeremy Spoon

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

In the wake of the 2015 earthquakes, Dr. Jeremy Spoon traveled to Nepal to study the ways natural disasters reshape social-ecological systems. What he and his team learned could improve the future of disaster preparedness, relief, and recovery efforts.

Determining The Population Affinity Of An Unprovenienced Human Skull For Repatriation, Jennifer K. Watkins, Samantha H. Blatt, Cynthia A. Bradbury, Gordon A. Alanko, Matthew J. Kohn, Marion L. Lytle, Darryl P. Butt

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

An archaeological assessment was carried out on an unprovenienced human skull recovered in eastern Idaho, exhibiting cranial deformation and peri-mortem application of a red pigment. A combination of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) identified the major and trace elements present in the red pigment as natural cinnabar. Carbon and oxygen stable isotopes from teeth and bone suggest a mostly C3 plant-based diet with subsidiary consumption of salmon or marine resources, and a regional geographic transition between early life and late adulthood. Radiocarbon dating determined the approximate age of the skull to be between …

Variations In The Upper Paleolithic Adaptations Of North China: A Review Of The Evidence And Implications For The Onset Of Food Production, Sheng-Qian Chen, Pei-Lin Yu

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Upper Paleolithic (UP) of North China has the richest archaeological data and longest history of research in the Paleolithic archaeology of China, but there is a relative lack of systematic studies addressing human adaptations. This paper explores the spatial and temporal variability of human adaptations in terms of mobility, the key variable in the adaptive systems of hunter-gatherers. We find that before the UP, little adaptive differentiation is shown in the archaeological record of North China. The early Upper Paleolithic (EUP) is distinguished by four distinctive modes of mobility and subsistence organized roughly along lines of habitat variation. These …

Late Precontact Settlement On The Northern Seward Peninsula Coast: Results Of Recent Fieldwork, Shelby L. Anderson, Justin Andrew Junge

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Changing Arctic settlement patterns are associated with shifts in socioeconomic organization and interaction at both the inter- and intraregional levels; analysis of Arctic settlement patterns can inform research on the emergence and spread of Arctic maritime adaptations. Changes in late precontact settlement patterns in Northwest Alaska suggest significant shifts in subsistence and/or social organization, but the patterns themselves are not well understood. Prior research around Kotzebue Sound suggests three possible scenarios: (1) population decrease and dispersion from settlement centers after 550 cal bp, (2) population stability and dispersion after 550 cal bp, and (3) different settlement patterns in the northern …

Architecture, Fire, And Storage: Cathlapotle And Meier Features, Kenneth M. Ames, Katie Henry, Stephanie Butler, William Gardner-O’Kearney, Emily E. Shepard, United States. Department Of The Interior, U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service, Region 1, Portland State University. Department Of Anthropology

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report is one in a series on the archaeology of the Wapato Valley region of the Lower Columbia River. Most of the reports discuss aspects of the excavations and archaeology of two sites, the Meier site (35CO5) and Cathlapotle site (45CL1). Other related topics are also treated.

Attached supplemental files: feature catalogs for Meier and Cathlapotle sites

See Also: Preliminary Report and Catalogs: Archaeological Investigations at 45CL1 Cathlapotle (1991-1996) , Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge Clark County, Washington (1999)

Much as lithic tools or faunal remains, features have the potential to be independent lines of evidence in archaeological hypothesis testing. …

The Fur-Trade Archaeology Of The Cathlapotle And Meier Sites, Lower Columbia River, Kenneth M. Ames, Katie Henry, Patricia K. Banach, Robert J. Cromwell, Stephanie Catherine Simmons, United States. Department Of The Interior, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Region 1, Portland State University. Department Of Anthropology

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report is one in a series on the archaeology of the Wapato Valley region of the Lower Columbia River. Most of the reports discuss aspects of the excavations and archaeology of two sites, the Meier site (35CO5) and Cathlapotle site (45CL1). Other related topics are also treated.

Attached supplemental files for this report: catalogs for glass, glass trade beads, non-cupreous metal, and ceramics found at both sites.

See Also: Preliminary Report and Catalogs: Archaeological Investigations at 45CL1 Cathlapotle (1991-1996) , Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge Clark County, Washington (1999)

The issue of social status as it manifests in the archaeological …

Geoarchaeology And Miscellaneous Reports: Cathlapotle And Meier Archaeological Sites, Lower Columbia River, Kenneth M. Ames, Katie Henry, Melissa Darby, Stephen Coursalt Hamilton, Charles P. Hodges, Kendal Mcdonald, Leslie M. O'Rourke, Jonathan M. White, United States. Department Of The Interior, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Region 1, Portland State University. Department Of Anthropology

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report is one in a series on the archaeology of the Wapato Valley region of the Lower Columbia River. Most of the reports discuss aspects of the excavations and archaeology of two sites, the Meier site (35CO5) and Cathlapotle site (45CL1). Other related topics are also treated.

See Also: Preliminary Report and Catalogs: Archaeological Investigations at 45CL1 Cathlapotle (1991-1996) , Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge Clark County, Washington (1999)

In November, 1998, five offsite backhoe trenches were excavated and described on Site Ridge south of Cathlapotle Town (45CL1). The results of this investigation indicate that Cathlapotle is located on the …

Social Complexity And Corporate Households Of The Southern Northwest Coast Of North America A.D. 1450-1855, Kenneth M. Ames, Elizabeth A. Sobel, Katie Henry, United States. Department Of The Interior, U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service, Region 1, Portland State University. Department Of Anthropology

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report is one in a series on the archaeology of the Wapato Valley region of the Lower Columbia River. Most of the reports discuss aspects of the excavations and archaeology of two sites, the Meier site (35CO5) and Cathlapotle site (45CL1). Other related topics are also treated.

See Also:
Preliminary Report and Catalogs: Archaeological Investigations at 45CL1 Cathlapotle (1991-1996) , Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge Clark County, Washington (1999)

The Zooarchaeology Of The Cathlapotle And Meier Archaeological Sites, Lower Columbia River, Kenneth M. Ames, Katie Henry, Virginia L. Butler, Gay Frederick, R. Lee Lyman, Tim Riley, Antonia Rodrigues, J. Shoshana Rosenberg, Camilla F. Speller, Dongya Yang, United States. Department Of The Interior, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Region 1, Portland State University. Department Of Anthropology

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report is one in a series on the archaeology of the Wapato Valley region of the Lower Columbia River. Most of the reports discuss aspects of the excavations and archaeology of two sites, the Meier site (35CO5) and Cathlapotle site (45CL1). Other related topics are also treated.

Attached supplemental files for this report: analytical catalogs for faunal remains. The Bird catalogs are self evident. The mammal catalogs have three tabs, the note tab explaining the other two. Basically, the first tab is the data as reported by Lyman, the second is a temporal control data set; we removed data …

Lithic Technology, Projectile Points, Osseous Artifacts, And Artifact Classification Of The Cathlapotle And Meier Archaeological Sites, Lower Columbia River, Kenneth M. Ames, Katie Henry, Kristen Ann Fuld, Sara J. Davis, Stephen C. Hamilton, Cameron M. Smith, United States. Department Of The Interior, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Region 1, Portland State University. Department Of Anthropology

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report is one in a series on the archaeology of the Wapato Valley region of the Lower Columbia River. Most of the reports discuss aspects of the excavations and archaeology of two sites, the Meier site (35CO5) and Cathlapotle site (45CL1). Other related topics are also treated.

Attached supplemental files for this report: analytical catalogs for light and heavy chipped stone, ground and pecked and osseous artifacts at both sites. There is also a file (Meier Cathlapotle LIT_COMB_ALL data) that includes summary listing and measurements for all analyzed lithic tools at both sites.

See Also: Preliminary Report and Catalogs: …

A Marine Reservoir Effect ∆R Value For Kitandach, In Prince Rupert Harbour, British Columbia, Canada, Kevan Edinborough, Andrew Martindale, Gordon T. Cook, Kisha Supernant, Kenneth M. Ames

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Prince Rupert Harbour (PRH), on the north Pacific Coast of British Columbia, contains at least 157 shell middens, of which 66 are known villages, in an area of approximately 180 km2. These sites span the last 9500 yr and in some cases are immense, exceeding 20,000 m2 surface area and several meters in depth. Recent archaeological research in PRH has become increasingly reliant on radiocarbon dates from marine shell for developing chronologies. However, this is problematic as the local marine reservoir effect (MRE) remains poorly understood in the region. To account for the MRE and to better date the Harbour’s …

What Do Men Want? Re-Examining Whether Men Benefit From Higher Fertility Than Is Optimal For Women, Cristina Moya, Kristin Snopkowski, Rebecca Sear

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Several empirical observations suggest that when women have more autonomy over their reproductive decisions, fertility is lower. Some evolutionary theorists have interpreted this as evidence for sexual conflicts of interest, arguing that higher fertility is more adaptive for men than women. We suggest the assumptions underlying these arguments are problematic: assuming that women suffer higher costs of reproduction than men neglects the (different) costs of reproduction for men; the assumption that men can repartner is often false. We use simple models to illustrate that 1) men or women can prefer longer interbirth intervals (IBIs), 2) if men can only partner …

Pathways From Education To Fertility Decline: A Multi-Site Comparative Study, Kristin Snopkowski, Mary C. Towner, Mary K. Shenk, Heidi Colleran

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Women’s education has emerged as a central predictor of fertility decline, but the multiple possible mechanisms by which education can affect fertility have not been subject to detailed comparative investigation across multiple sites. In this paper, we use structural equation modelling to examine potential pathways between education and fertility in three different geographic locations: Matlab, Bangladesh; San Borja, Bolivia; and rural Poland. Using a comparable set of variables we show that the pathways by which education affects fertility differ in important ways, yet also show key similarities. In particular, we find that across all three contexts, education affects age at …

The Effects Of Wealth On Male Reproduction Among Monogamous Hunter-Fisher-Trappers In Northern Siberia, John P. Ziker, David A. Nolin, Joellie Rasmussen

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Variability in men’s reproductive success (RS) is partly attributable to the ability of successful men to influence resource flows relevant to the mate choice and reproduction of women. This study explores the effects of variability in resource flows on men’s RS in an indigenous foraging/mixed-economy community in northern Siberia where monogamous marriage norms predominate. A series of material, embodied, and relational wealth indicators are tested as predictors of men’s age-adjusted RS and age at first birth. Material wealth related to hunting, embodied wealth as represented by hunting skill, and relational wealth as represented by numbers of kin are the most …

Chinookan Villages Of The Lower Columbia, Henry B. Zenk, Yvonne P. Hajda, Robert T. Boyd

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Villages were the center of Chinookan life, filling the role that tribes did for Native people in other parts of North America. Every village of any size or significance had a recognized leader or chief, and constituted a named local group with which its members identified themselves. Although the villages themselves are long vanished, early travelers, missionaries, and settlers have left us eyewitness accounts of what some were like. The names and approximate locations of many more can be reconstructed from historical sources and information shared by later generations of lower Columbia River Native people.

As contributors to the recently …

Incorporating Archaeology Into Local Government Historic Preservation And Planning: A Review Of Current Practice, Douglas Deur, Virginia L. Butler

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Problem, research strategy, and findings: The fate of archaeological sites in cities, towns, and county jurisdictions are greatly affected by the decisions of local governments and planning departments, which usually operate with little formal guidance regarding archaeological site stewardship. What strategies do local governments use to effectively manage archaeological sites in their jurisdictions? Which ones work best? To address these questions, we carried out an exploratory study of mechanisms used by local government planners for archaeological resource protection in 24 states between 2008 and 2015, obtaining information from 69 local governments. We use questionnaires and interviews with local government staff, …

Does Grandparental Help Mediate The Relationship Between Kin Presence And Fertility?, Kristin Snopkowski, Rebecca Sear

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

BACKGROUND

Previous research suggests that kin availability may be correlated with reproductive outcomes, but it is not clear that a causal relationship underlies these findings. Further, there is substantial variation in how kin availability is measured.

OBJECTIVE

We attempt to identify whether different measures of kin availability influence how kin affect reproductive outcomes and whether the effect of kin on reproductive outcomes is driven by the help that they provide.

METHODS

Using data from the Indonesia Family Life Survey (1993, 1997, 2000, 2007), we compare the survival of parents and parents-in-law, their co-residence, geographic proximity, contact frequency, and helping behavior …

Geochemical Investigation Of Late Pre-Contact Ceramic Production Patterns In Northwest Alaska, Shelby L. Anderson, Matthew T. Boulanger, Michael D. Glascock, R. Benjamin Perkins

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Study of northwest Alaskan ceramic production and distribution patterns has the potential to provide new evidence of coastal hunter-gatherer mobility and social interaction in the late pre-contact period. This research is directed at characterizing potential clay sources and linking ceramic groups to raw-material source areas through instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and modeling of possible clay and temper combinations. Results of INAA of 458 ceramic, 31 clay, and 28 possible temper specimens reinforces prior identification (Anderson et al., 2011) of three broad compositional groups. Though raw materials were collected over a large area, the clay specimens demonstrate remarkable geochemical homogeneity …

Empires Of The Turning Tide: A History Of Lewis And Clark National Historical Park And The Columbia-Pacific Region, Douglas Deur

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This book illuminates the history of the many people who together have called this region home, and their relationships with the park landscapes, waters, and natural resources that continue to set the Columbia-Pacific region apart.

The Making Of Seaside’S “Indian Place”: Contested And Enduring Native Spaces On The Nineteenth Century Oregon Coast, Douglas Deur

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

During the mid nineteenth century, non-Native settlement and activities disrupted and changed historic Chinook and Clatsop communities at the mouth of the Columbia River. Indian Place in what would be Seaside, Oregon, became home to a number of displaced peoples and an enclave where “the living gathered with the remains of the dead,” for “modest protection from the apocalyptic changes that so radically disrupted tribal lands, lives, and worldviews.” Douglas Deur documents tribal migration to the Indian Place during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and calls attention to many of its significant early residents. Transitional communities such as …

Skills, Division Of Labor, And Economies Of Scale Among Amazonian Hunters And South Indian Honey Collectors, Paul L. Hooper, Kathryn Demps, Michael Gurven, Drew Gerkey, Hillard S. Kaplan

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

In foraging and other productive activities, individuals make choices regarding whether and with whom to cooperate, and in what capacities. The size and composition of cooperative groups can be understood as a self-organized outcome of these choices, which are made under local ecological and social constraints. This article describes a theoretical framework for explaining the size and composition of foraging groups based on three principles: (1) the sexual division of labor; (2) the intergenerational division of labor; and (3) economies of scale in production. We test predictions from the theory with data from two field contexts: Tsimane' game hunters of …