Archaeological Anthropology Commons^™

Tribal Consultation: A Critical Reminder Of Cultural Resource Management Laws And Obligations, Natasha F. Larose

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

By categorizing the National Historic Preservation Act and National Environmental Policy Act as red tape hindering infrastructure, the current Presidential administration is attempting to streamline processes to approve federal undertakings. In doing so, it threatens the government-to-government relationship between federal agencies and tribal governments. This relationship is a work-in-progress that needs to be nurtured rather than reverting to assertion of plenary powers over tribal affairs. The purpose of this research is to remind federal agencies that there are legal obligations to include tribal entities in the decision-making processes for federal undertakings. Furthermore, this research can serve as a reference for …

The Sylvan Blindspot: The Archaeological Value Of Surface Vegetation And A Critique Of Its Documentation, John S. Harris

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Surface vegetation at archaeological sites is a resource overlooked in cultural resource management. Drawing upon comparative documentary surveys of site forms and human surveys of 161 archaeologists in 12 U.S. states, this thesis explores why surface vegetation offers archaeological data potential; how archaeological documentation is an artifact of archaeologists, shaped by various subjectivities; and how improvements can be made for vegetal description in cultural inventory site forms. The surveys offer a critique on how the site form records are a product of disciplinary training oversights, differing work background experience, cultural bias, limitations in botanical knowledge, regional differences in U.S. archaeological …

Chipping Through Time: The Evolution Of Lithic Spatial Organization At The Bridge River Pithouse Village, British Columbia, Ethan P. Ryan

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Archaeological investigations at Housepit 54 within the Bridge River site have, to date, exposed 15 discreet floors primarily dating to ca. 1500-1000 cal. B.P. In this thesis, the spatial distributions of lithic artifacts from every floor are examined. Questions will be addressed specifically towards formation processes and the potential relationships between the patterning of lithic distributions as they relate to hearth-centered activity areas or domestic areas and fluctuations in estimated population. In addition, this thesis explores spatial organization as a cultural trait or concept that can be transmitted through time. Using the same methodological and theoretical approach for each floor, …

Before Abandonment: Social Change In Pre-Colonial Housepit 54, Bridge River Site (Eerl4), British Columbia, Kathryn L. Bobolinski

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Housepit 54 at the Bridge River pithouse village in south-central British Columbia provides a glimpse into the complex cultural practices that occurred in this area in the past. This village, which includes approximately 80 semi-subterranean structures, was occupied during four periods, approximately 1800- 1600 cal. B.P., 1600-1300 cal. B.P., 1300-1000 cal. B.P. and 500-100 cal. B.P, firmly placing the site within both a historic and a pre-Colonial context. The two pre-Colonial floors, IIb (1288-1058 cal B.P.) and IIa (1184-1050 cal B.P.), that represent the occupation of Housepit 54 directly prior to the pre-Colonial villages abandonment are the focus of this …

Interpreting A Private Ancestral Pueblo Artifact Collection From Montezuma County, Colorado: A Case Study In Identifying Collector Bias And Cultural Heritage Value, Ryan C. Dudgeon

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Through a case study, this research examines the ethical issues and potential value of private artifact collections that are made available to professional archaeologists. The context of this study is the Mesa Verde Region in the Four Corners of the United States. Specifically, it considers the Ancestral Pueblo archaeology of Montezuma (MT) County, the core area of the Mesa Verde Region, generally considered the most archaeologically dense region in the U.S. These archaeological resources benefit the local and global community by promoting research, education, tourism and cultural heritage. For example, Mesa Verde National Park draws hundreds of thousands of tourists …

An Exploratory Study Of Burial Identification Using Historic Human Remains Detection Dog Alerts And Inorganic Soil Analyses, Britt Schlosshardt

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

One point at which forensic science and historical archaeology intersect, and the focus of this thesis, is using the decidedly forensic avenues of trained dogs, probing, and chemical analyses of soils, informed by archaeological survey, to locate burials. Human remains detection dogs have proven to be a nonintrusive and effective method for identifying or confirming historic unmarked burial locations. Inorganic soil analyses have been demonstrated in prior research to show variations in grave soil. For this research, the hypothesis that is explored is that a corpse will chemically alter the soil in or on which it is placed to a …

Dogs Are Expensive: Cost-Benefit Perspectives On Canid Ownership At Housepit 54, Bridge River, British Columbia, Ben B. Chiewphasa

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The presence of dogs in the Housepit 54 (HP 54) faunal assemblage of the Bridge River site (EeRl4) raises questions regarding their roles within Canadian Plateau prehistory, specifically their contributions to networked household economies. Ethnohistoric sources often cite dogs as “jacks of all trades,” household entities that can act as beasts of burden, hunters, prized companions, or as a husbanded food resource. The 2012-2014 field seasons yielded variation in dog frequencies throughout 10 superimposed floors (IIj-IIa); these fluctuations occurred alongside changing densities of ungulates and salmon remains. The thesis incorporates multivariate analyses to determine how dogs could have allowed HP …

Class Iii Archaeological Survey Report: Madison Buffalo Jump State Park, Gallatin County, Montana, Brandon J. Bachman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Through a cooperative agreement between the University of Montana (UM) Department of Anthropology and Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, the University of Montana, between 17 May and 1 June 2014, conducted an archaeological inventory of the 640-acre Madison Buffalo Jump State Park. Douglas Macdonald, Ph.D. and Sara Scott, Ph.D. managed the project for each institution, respectively. Copious amounts of artifacts and features alike were recorded at Madison Buffalo Jump during the survey, including: 1) 3-4 drive lines used in the funneling of bison to jump locations; 2) bison bone concentrations below the kill/nick point on the face of the jump; …

The Bridge River Dogs: Interpreting Adna And Stable Isotope Analysis Collected From Dog Remains, Emilia Tifental

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Excavations at the Bridge River site have been on-going since 2003, increasing our understanding of the communities that inhabited the Middle Fraser Canyon, British Columbia over 1,000 years ago. The most recent excavation at Housepit 54 in the summer of 2014 supplied further data regarding relationships between people and their dogs. Dogs are well documented in the Middle Fraser Canyon through both archaeological excavations and traditional knowledge. A household's possession of a dog has been linked to other prestigious materials, and therefore been interpreted as an indicator of wealth and status. The present study was aimed at further investigation of …

Oregon Tribal Historic Preservation Offices: The Problems And Challenges Of Starting And Maintaining A Thpo, Karly R. Law

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

As of December 31, 2015, of the 567 federally recognized tribes, 167 have established a THPO (at the time of this writing) that is recognized by the National Park Service (NPS). To manage a federally recognized THPO, a tribe must officially enter into agreements with the National Park Service on behalf of the Secretary of the Interior. There are a total of nine federally recognized tribes in Oregon, of which six have a federally recognized THPO. Two of the Oregon THPO’s were interviewed: The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Indian Community and the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of …

The Western Stemmed Point Tradition: Evolutionary Perspectives On Cultural Change In Projectile Points During The Pleistocene-Holocene Transition, Lindsay D. Scott

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In this thesis I analyze the cultural techniques of Paleoindians in North America by examining the diversification and fusion of stemmed projectile point traditions using an evolutionary analysis. The Western Stemmed Point tradition has an extensive regional and temporal distribution throughout the Intermountain West and High Plains during the Paleoindian period. In an effort to determine how stemmed projectile point technologies relate to each other, I applied a phylogenetic approach to construct heritable patterns of projectile point histories. By measuring the physical traits of those points and using a macro-evolutionary theoretical approach, changes in artifact form can be acquired and …

Knife River Flint Distribution And Identification In Montana, Laura Evilsizer

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

An examination of the spatial, temporal, and functional distribution of Knife River flint in Montana, and a study in misidentification of Knife River flint in archaeological assemblages. Lithic sourcing has the potential to provide a plethora of information to archaeologists: resource procurement strategies, mobility patterns, trade networks, and the preferencing of particular lithic material types. However, without proper identification it is impossible to study the distribution of lithic materials from their source. Knife River flint, a brown chalcedony, is a particularly fascinating material, geologically occurring in a small area, but culturally distributed over a large area. I analyze the distribution …

Paleoindian Predictive Model For Yellowstone National Park, Matthew R. Nelson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The Greater Yellowstone Region was a destination for nomadic hunter-gatherers for at least 12,000 years. Archaeological sites representing the whole spectrum of time, cultures, and activities, have been found throughout the region. Within Yellowstone National Park a number of Paleoindian projectile points and other related cultural materials have been recorded, however, only a handful of buried Paleoindian sites have been identified and excavated. Considering the nature of the archaeological record in the area, some interesting questions surface about the value of the information recorded on the Paleoindian sites. In terms of Yellowstone National Park (YNP) Paleoindian archaeology, is it possible …

Radiant Heat Effects On Ceramic Artifacts From The American Southwest: From Experimental Results To Site Treatment Guidelines, Rebekah R. Kneifel

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Archaeological assemblages in the American Southwest are currently subjected to periodic wildfires and prescribed burns, and have been exposed to fires in the past. Ceramics are a key constituent of these assemblages, leading to questions regarding the effects of post-depositional heat exposure on pottery. Alterations of ceramic surface appearance and other attributes have been observed following wildfires, and such changes are significant because intact ceramics provide important temporal context and social information. Over the past 150 years, southwestern wildfires have shifted away from the historical high-frequency, low-severity regime; thus, cultural resources can be exposed to fires that are potentially more …

Bilisshiissaannuua / To Go Without Water: The Importance Of Fasting Among The Apsaalooke, Aaron B. Brien

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The Apsaalooke nation of Montana is one of many tribes in the Great Plains that

practice the ritual of fasting (Vision Quest). In this document I will explain Apsaalooke

fasting also called Bilisshíissaannuua To Go Without Water. This will be done by explain

some core elements of Apsaalooke belief to give the reader a string knowledge base,

so that one can contextualize fasting with in Apsaalooke culture.

This documents also highlights the Dryhead Preservation and recordation project

during the summer of 2013, funding and conducted by the Bureau of Land

Management, Custer National Forest and The Crow tribal Historic Preservation …

Into The Wild: A Case Study Of The Intersection Of Archaeology And Federal Wilderness Policy, Erika S. Blecha

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Cultural resource specialists working with and for Federal land management agencies have voiced their concern about the perception of cultural sites within federally recognized wilderness areas. However, as a whole, professionals working within the discipline of archaeology have remained relatively absent in the debates on wilderness with regards to human occupation in these designated areas. This thesis introduces the concept of wilderness, its history, perceptions, management, laws, and issues relevant to archaeology. It also draws attention to the paucity of archaeological research and the relaxed nature of cultural resource compliance mandates [National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) Sections 106 and 110] …

Engendering The Past: An Archaeological Examination Of The Precontact Lifeways Of Women At Yellowstone Lake, Yellowstone National Park, Cathy J. Beecher

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis examines three lines of evidence within the precontact archaeological record around Yellowstone Lake, focusing on elucidating female-specific lifeways. This work is undertaken as a means to explore concepts of gender within precontact archaeological contexts. This aim is accomplished using statistical analysis of lithic tool distribution patterns, ethnohistoric information on plants found through archaeobotanical assays and the microspatial examination of cultural fire features.

Variation in the use of obsidian and chert for unifacial tool manufacture indicates potential restrictions on the manufacture of gender specific tools as these stone resources become less available. In addition, a frame-of-reference is built by …

The Drunken Path: Discerning Women's Voices And Participation In The Informal Economy Of Illegal Manufacturing Of Prohibition Alcohol In The Historical And Archaeological Record, Kelli M. Casias

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis puts the Prohibition years in Anaconda and Butte, Montana, into historical, and sociocultural context to discover an engendered narrative of liquor law violators between the years 1923 and 1926 and to investigate the scope of the local informal, illegal, illicit economic systems dictating the distribution of illegal liquor during that era. The transference of the means and modes of production, as envisioned by Karl Marx, and collective social resistance serve as the theoretical frameworks for analysis and examination of three case studies. The first, Poacher Gulch is a remote mining site in western Montana, was the subject of …

The Comet Mine: An Engendered Study Of Victorian Consumption Practices And Material Culture On A Small Mining Landscape, Ryan E. Wendel

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The Comet mine is an early 20th-century, largely undocumented mining

community that existed along the periphery of the Coloma Mining District in the Garnet Range of western Montana. During the summer of 2010, archaeological excavations occurred at multiple features at the site. Through an analysis of cultural material found in deposits at the Comet, this study interprets the way in which patterns of refuse can reveal information about consumption behavior and evolving gender roles in mining communities in Montana, during late Victorian era.

Steatite On The Juniata: Early Pottery At The Sunny Side Site (36bd267), Central Pennsylvania, Douglas H. Macdonald, Eric P. Scuoteguazza, David L. Cremeens

Anthropology Faculty Publications

Archaeological excavations recovered early steatite-tempered pottery at the Sunny Side site (36BD267), Bedford County, Pennsylvania. The Sunny Side site is on a floodplain/terrace of Yellow Creek near its confluence with the Raystown Branch of the Juniata River. A 70-cm-wide hearth was excavated along with associated Selden Island steatite-tempered pottery and lithic debris at a depth of 94 cm below ground surface in a buried Ab horizon. A hickory wood charcoal sample from the hearth was dated to 3500±100 B.P. (CAL BC 2120 - 2090 and BC 2050 - 1540). The early pottery at the Sunny Side site confirms prior work …

Late-Paleoindian Versus Early-Archaic Occupation Of Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming, Douglas H. Macdonald, Richard E. Hughes, Jannifer W. Gish

Anthropology Faculty Publications

No Abstract available for this article.

The Age, Function, And Distribution Of Keyhole Structures In The Upper Susquehanna River Valley, Douglas H. Macdonald

Anthropology Faculty Publications

This paper provides a summary of current data regarding the age, geographical distribution, and function of keyhole structures in the upper Susquehanna River Valley of north-central Pennsylvania and south-central New York. Keyhole structures have been identified at 11 sites in the West and North Branches of the Susquehanna River Valley. The feature type likely originated in the West Branch Valley from which it spread to the north, south, and east. Their main period of use was during the latter portion of the Late Woodland period, between approximately 1230 and 1670 A.D. Given the locations of the sites along major waterways, …