Archaeological Anthropology Commons^™

Sedentism, Social Change, Warfare, And The Bow In The Ancient Pueblo Southwest, Paul F. Reed, Phil R. Geib

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

In the ancient American Southwest, use of the bow developed relatively rapidly among Pueblo people by the fifth century AD. This new technology replaced the millennia-old atlatl and dart weaponry system. Roughly 150 years later in the AD 600s, Pueblo socioeconomic organization began to evolve rapidly, as many groups adopted a much more sedentary life. Multiple factors converged to allow this sedentary pattern to emerge, but the role of the bow in this process has not been fully explored. In this paper, we trace the development of the bow and discuss its role as sedentism emerged and social changes occurred …

The Caves Of Barbuda’S Eastern Coast: Long Term Occupation, Ethnohistory And Ritual, Sophia Perdikaris, Sandrine Grouard, George Hambrecht, Megan Hicks, Anjana Mebane-Cruz, Reaksha Persaud

School of Global Integrative Studies: Faculty Publications

Barbuda is the sister island to Antigua, located in the Lesser Antilles, West Indies. This island belongs to the Miocene arch of the Lesser Antilles, along with Grande Terre of Guadeloupe, Marie Galante, and Anguilla. Barbuda, notwithstanding its small size and low elevation, has an exceptionally rich past. Recent investigations by a Brooklyn College, City University of New York led team, has discovered evidence of human activity in and around these caves from the Archaic Period down to the present day. The range of activity at these caves begins with scatters of Archaic lithics, through artifacts and faunal material possibly …

From Mounds To Maps To Models: Visualizing Ancient Architecture Across Landscapes, Heather Richards-Rissetto

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Since the onset of settlement pattern studies in the 1950s, landscape mapping projects have become an archaeological mainstay. Remote sensing technologies such as lidar, photogrammetry, and SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) steadily reveal new archaeological sites. For landscape archaeology, the detection and mapping of small architectural complexes and households offers important data to contextualize larger (often already known) sites and perform regional analyses. However, because the majority of sites remain unexcavated, analysis is limited, and yet Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and 3D Visualization are expanding the possible uses for older and newly-acquired data on unexcavated mounds. This paper describes a GIS …

Paleoparasitology: The Origin Of Human Parasites; Paleoparasitologia: A Origem Dos Parasitas Humanos, Adauto Araújo, Karl Reinhard, Luis Fernando Ferreira, Elisa Pucu, Pedro Paulo Chieffi

Karl Reinhard Publications

Parasitism is composed by three subsystems: the parasite, the host, and the environment. There are no organisms that cannot be parasitized. The relationship between a parasite and its host species most of the time do not result in damage or disease to the host. However, in a parasitic disease the presence of a given parasite is always necessary, at least in a given moment of the infection. Some parasite species that infect humans were inherited from pre-hominids, and were shared with other phylogenetically close host species, but other parasite species were acquired from the environment as humans evolved. Human migration …

Taking Archaeology To The Classroom: A Model For A Fifth Grade In-Class Fieldtrip, Tamara J. Luce

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Public archaeology has grown over the last decade due to interest in the field and Cultural Resource Management requirements. One group that is often overlooked in outreach efforts is children.

For my thesis I designed an in-class archaeology fieldtrip for fifth grade students. The overarching goal of my program is to introduce children to the field of archaeology in an age-appropriate way that teaches basic archaeological concepts and generates interest and awareness of the field. To create the strongest program possible I conducted research on outreach programs, and surveyed public archaeologists and teachers to determine what elements they would like …

Dynamic Reconfiguration Of Pawnee Social Organization In The Proto-Historic And Historic Eras, Amanda F. Callahan-Mims

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

The standardized practices and closed context of burials has created an excellent opportunity to observe social change among the Pawnee over time. The Proto-historic Period and Historic Period on the Plains are marked by external trade with Euro-Americans, requiring adaptation among Plains tribes to trade goods from the east. External and internal economies were altered by this trade. Levels of material wealth changed dramatically during these two periods. The purpose of this research is to gauge economic changes that occurred, and, if possible, make determinations based on ethnohistorical data as to why these changes transpired. Additionally, it may be possible …

Review Of Clovis Lithic Technology: Investigation Of A Stratified Workshop At The Gault Site, Texas. By Michael R. Waters, Charlotte D. Pevny, David L. Carlson, Et Al. Foreword By Michael B. Collins., Heather M. Rockwell

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

This volume is a valuable contribution to the growing knowledge of Early Paleoindian behavior in the Southern Plains. It offers a thorough description of excavations and analyses conducted on collections from the Excavation Area 8 ofthe Gault Site in central Texas. The book is organized into ten chapters detailing the site setting, formation processes, Clovis tool manufacture patterns, microwear analyses, faunal analyses, and interpretations of the site's organization and purpose. ... Clovis Lithic Technology is a valuable contribution to researchers interested in the archaeology of the Great Plains, Paleoindian research, lithic analysis, and New World colonization research.

Kinect And 3d Gis In Archaeology, Heather Richards-Rissetto, Fabio Remondino, Jim Robersson, Jennifer Von Schwerin, Giorgio Agugiaro, Gabrio Girardi

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

This paper explores the potential of using Microsoft's Kinect to create a low-cost and portable system to virtually navigate, through a prototype 3D GIS, the digitally reconstructed ancient Maya city and UNESCO World Heritage Site of Copan in Honduras. The 3D GIS, named QueryArch3D, was developed as part of the MayaArch3D project (http://mayaarch3d.unm.edu), which explores the possibilities of integrating databases and 3D digital tools for research and teaching on ancient architectures and landscapes. The developed system, based on the Flexible Action and Articulated Skeleton Toolkit (FAAST), controls in a remote and touchless mode the movements in the 3D environment in …

Binford, Lewis R., Alan J. Osborn

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Binford challenged anthropologists and archaeologists to expand the scope of their research, to develop more rigorous methodologies for data collection and analysis, and to think more critically. Science is a marathon without a finish line. Our understanding of past and present human behavior and cultural systems does not come easily. Social scientists can produce reliable knowledge by means of an iterative process that involves generating, testing, and refining (or rejecting) explanatory models. These models are, then, combined to construct scientific theories. The robust consequences of these theories are then continually scrutinized and evaluated. Binford continually made use of the complex …

Social Interaction At The Maya Site Of Copan, Honduras: A Least Cost Approach To Configurational Analysis, Heather Richards-Rissetto

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

In this article, I employ least cost paths using GIS to measure the relationship between site configuration and social connectivity at the ancient Maya site of Copan, Honduras. I investigate two questions. First, did people of different social classes experience varying degrees of social connectivity? Second, did people living in different parts of the city experience difference degrees of social connectivity? Ultimately, the goal is modify traditional configurational analysis using least cost analysis (LCA) to identify how social hierarchy was embedded in landscapes and how ancient people may have strategically manipulated landscapes to structure social interaction and community organization.

Zoonotic And Human Parasites Of Inhabitants Of Cueva De Los Muertos Chiquitos, Rio Zape Valley, Durango, Mexico, F. Agustín Jiménez-Ruiz, Scott Lyell Gardner, Adauto Araújo, Martín Horacio Fugassa, Richard H. Brooks, Elizabeth Racz, Karl J. Reinhard

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

We present the first reconstruction of the parasitoses among the people of the Loma San Gabriel culture, as represented by 36 coprolites excavated from the Cueva de los Muertos Chiquitos in Durango, Mexico. The coprolites date to approximately 1,400-yr ago. Species identified based on eggs recovered include the trematode Echinostoma sp., the tapeworms Hymenolepis sp. and Dipylidium caninum, and the nematodes Ancylostoma duodenale, Enterobius vermicularis, and Trichuris trichiura. After rehydration and screening, 2 methods were used to recover eggs from these samples including spontaneous sedimentation and flotation. Samples were analyzed by 3 different laboratories for independent …

Synthesizing Parasitology With Archaeology In Paleopathology, Karl Reinhard, Adauto Araujo

Karl Reinhard Publications

Parasitology is the study of organisms that are symbiotic with other organisms. In this form of symbiosis, the parasite species by definition benefits from the interaction while the host is harmed to some degree. In actuality, some parasites benefit their hosts. The animals traditionally studied by parasitologists range from protozoa to arthropods, and include all types of internal and external worms. Ticks, fleas, lice, and a variety of insects that transmit parasites are also studied by parasitologists. Recently, a more holistic view of parasitism appeared, including bacteria and viruses. In essence, parasitology is the study of a certain kind of …

Development And Application Of Methods Used To Source Prehistoric Southwestern Maize: A Review, Larry Benson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Archaeological cobs free of mineral contaminants should be used to source the soils in which they were grown. Mineral contaminants often contain much higher concentrations of metals than vegetal materials and can alter a cob’s apparent metal and heavy-isotope content. Cleaning a cob via immersion in an acid solution for more than a few minutes will result in the incongruent and sometimes complete leaching of metals, including strontium (Sr), from the cob. When using ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr to determine the location of potential agriculture fields, it is best to either integrate several depth-integrated soil samples or to integrate several …

Review Of Light From Ancient Campfires: Archaeological Evidence For Native Lifeways On The Northern Plains. By Trevor R. Peck., Matthew Boyd

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Despite the relatively long legacy of professional archaeological research in the northern Great Plains, few comprehensive syntheses of the region's 13,000- year human history have been produced in recent years. This is particularly the case for the Canadian side of the region, which has tended to be overlooked in most scholarly summaries of Great Plains prehistory. The shadowy nature of the Canadian prairies to the wider community of Plains archaeologists is not due to a lack of archaeological research in the region-Alberta, alone, has over 35,000 registered sites-but instead reflects the poor dissemination ofCRM (Culture Resource Management) reports and other …

Review Of Arch Lake Woman: Physical Anthropology And Geoarchaeology. By Douglas W. Owsley, Margaret A. Jodry, Thomas W. Stafford, Jr., C. Vance Haynes, Jr., And Dennis J. Stanford., Daniel J. Wescott

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Approximately 10,000 radiocarbon years before present, the body ofa 17- to 19-year-old female, probably associated with the Plainview Culture, was buried on the south side of Arch Lake, located near the present-day border of New Mexico and Texas. The young woman was interred in an extended supine position with a necklace of talc beads low on her neck, a bag containing red pigment and a unifacial stone tool on her left hip, and a bone tool placed on her chest. Her grave remained relatively undisturbed until 1967 when it was exposed, discovered, and carefully excavated by archaeologists. The Arch Lake …

In Memoriam: Lewis R. Binford, 1931-2011, Alan J. Osborn

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Obituary of archaeology and anthropology professor Lewis Roberts Binford, 1931-April 11, 2011.

Factors Controlling Pre-Columbian And Early Historic Maize Productivity In The American Southwest, Part 2: The Chaco Halo, Mesa Verde, Pajarito Plateau/ Bandelier, And Zuni Archaeological Regions, Larry Benson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Chemical and nutrient analyses of 471 soil samples from 161 sites within four archaeological regions (Pajarito Plateau/Bandelier, Zuni, Mesa Verde, and the Chaco Halo) were combined with historical climate data in order to evaluate the agricultural productivity of each region. In addition, maize productivity and field-life calculations were performed using organic-nitrogen (N) values from the upper 50 cm of soil in each region and a range (1–3%/year) of N-mineralization rates. The endmember values of this range were assumed representative of dry and wet climate states. With respect to precipitation and heat, the Pajarito Plateau area has excellent agricultural potential; the …

Cordage, Textiles, And The Late Pleistocene Peopling Of The Andes, Edward A. Jolie, Thomas F. Lynch, Phil R. Geib, J. M. Adovasio

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Harsh high-altitude environments were among the last landscapes to be settled by humans during the Late Pleistocene between ∼15,000 and 11,000 calendar years before present (cal yr BP). Successful colonization required physiological adaptations to hypoxia and cultural adaptations to limited resources and cold temperatures. How and when humans colonized Andean South America has been poorly understood owing to controversial early archaeological sites and questions about the impact of environmental factors, including the presence of glaciers. Here we report the reexamination and direct dating of six finely woven textiles and cords from Guitarrero Cave, Peru, that identify South America’s earliest textiles …

Review Of Bridging The Divide: Indigenous Communities And Archaeology Into The 21st Century. Edited By Caroline Phillips And Harry Allen., Larry J. Zimmerman

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

An outgrowth of demands for ethical treatment and repatriation of their ancestral remains, Indigenous Archaeology (IA) reflects the desire of Indigenous peoples to have a say in how stories of their pasts get told. Too often, Indigenous people claim, archaeologists have discounted oral tradition in favor of scientifically derived histories, histories that may discount or contradict millennia-old beliefs. IA is different, done for them, sometimes by them, and usually in complete collaboration with them. Their questions are central to research agendas and interpretations. IA is controversial because some archaeologists see collaboration as infringement on academic freedom, as movement away from …

Review Of Hell Gap: A Stratified Paleoindian Campsite At The Edge Of The Rockies. Edited By Mary Lou Larson, Marcel Kornfeld, And George C. Frison., Jack W. Brink

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Every Plains archaeologist has heard of the Hell Gap site. But few could tell you much about it. All that changes with the publication of this needed, dense, thorough collection that chronicles the life and content of this singularly important archaeological site. With 20 papers and 13 appendices, this book takes a monumental step forward in furthering our knowledge of nearly the entire Paleoindian sequence of occupation on the western Plains. Hell Gap is the type site for three Paleoindian point styles: Goshen, Hell Gap, and Frederick, and contains at least six other cultural complexes: Folsom, Midland, Agate Basin, Alberta, …

A Web-Based Interactive Tool For Multi-Resolution 3d Models Of A Maya Archaeological Site, G. Agugiaro, Fabio Remondino, Gabrio Girardi, Jennifer Von Schwerin, H. Richards-Rissetto, Raffaele De Amicis

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Continuous technological advances in surveying, computing and digital-content delivery are strongly contributing to a change in the way Cultural Heritage is “perceived”: new tools and methodologies for documentation, reconstruction and research are being created to assist not only scholars, but also to reach more potential users (e.g. students and tourists) willing to access more detailed information about art history and archaeology. 3D computer-simulated models, sometimes set in virtual landscapes, offer for example the chance to explore possible hypothetical reconstructions, while on-line GIS resources can help interactive analyses of relationships and change over space and time. While for some research purposes …

Ship To Shore: Inuit, Early Europeans, And Maritime Landscapes In The Northern Gulf Of St. Lawrence, William W. Fitzhugh, Anja Herzog, Sophia Perdikaris, Brenna Mcleod

School of Global Integrative Studies: Faculty Publications

Recent research at Hare Harbor on the Quebec Lower North Shore in the northeastern Gulf of St. Lawrence reveals great potential for archaeological and historical research on Basque and other early European activities in the northwestern North Atlantic. Although considerable data have been retrieved from Red Bay, Labrador, and a few other sixteenth-century sites in the Strait of Belle Isle and Gulf of St. Lawrence, archaeological knowledge of the early European phase of North American history in this region is limited, and information about post-sixteenth-century Basque occupations is nearly nonexistent. This chapter reports on a multicomponent site with late sixteenth-century …

Where Have All The Plant Foods Gone? The Search For Refined Dietary Reconstruction From Chinchorro Mummies, Karl J. Reinhard, Sara Le-Roy-Toren, Bernardo Arriaza

Karl Reinhard Publications

The Chinchorro cemeteries of northern Chile are the first graveyards of the Andes (Arriaza 1995, Schiappacasse & Niemeyer 1984). The excavation and analysis of Chinchorro mummies reveals the 'true character of the people'. The burials themselves are optimal for preservation of corpses, burial furniture, and aspects of ceremonies associated with the dead. The analysis of corporeal remains gradually clarifies the details of daily activities and status. Therefore, we feel that a holistic approach to mummy studies provides enormously fruitful paths to understanding the character of the ancient Chinchorro society.

Paleoepidemiology Of Intestinal Parasites And Lice In Pre-Columbian South America, Adauto Araujo, Karl Reinhard, Daniela Leles, Luciana Sianto, Alena M. Iñiguez, Martin Fugassa, Bernardo Arriaza, Nancy Orellana, Luis Fernando Ferreira

Karl Reinhard Publications

Some human parasites originated in prehominid ancestors in Africa. Nematode species, such as Enterobius vermicularis (pinworm), hookworms and Trichuris trichiura are shared by humans and other close phylogenetic primates (Pan and Gorilla), showing that they infected a common ancestor to this group. When humans migrated from Africa to other continents they carried these parasites wherever climate conditions allowed parasite transmission from host to host. Other parasites, however, were acquired throughout human biological and social evolutive history when new territories were occupied. Paleoparasitology data is a valuable source to recover emergence and disappearance of parasite infections through analysis of …

Factors Controlling Pre-Columbian And Early Historic Maize Productivity In The American Southwest, Part 1: The Southern Colorado Plateau And Rio Grande Regions, Larry V. Benson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Maize is the New World’s preeminent grain crop and it provided the economic basis for human culture in many regions within the Americas. To flourish, maize needs water, sunlight (heat), and nutrients (e.g., nitrogen). In this paper, climate and soil chemistry data are used to evaluate the potential for dryland (rain-on- field) agriculture in the semiarid southeastern Colorado Plateau and Rio Grande regions. Processes that impact maize agriculture such as nitrogen mineralization, infiltration of precipitation, bare soil evaporation, and transpiration are discussed and evaluated. Most of the study area, excepting high-elevation regions, receives sufficient solar radiation to grow maize. The …

Hierarchy And Social Inequality In The American Southwest, A.D. 800-1200, Stephen Plog, Carrie Heitman

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico has been the focus of much recent archaeological research on Pueblo groups who lived during the 9th through 12th centuries in the American Southwest. Here, we examine variation in mortuary patterns in the canyon, focusing in particular on one mortuary crypt, to address questions of social differentiation and the chronology of important sociopolitical processes. Based on new radiocarbon dates as well as reanalysis of the stratigraphy and spatial distribution of materials in the mortuary crypt, we conclude that significant social differentiation began in Chaco ca. 150–200 y earlier than suggested by previous research. We …

Nail Distributions As Structural Insight At The Beaver Creek Trail Crossing Site (25sw49), Seward County, Nebraska, David M. Amrine

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

During the 2005 and 2006 archaeological field schools headed by the Department of Anthropology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, excavations were carried out at the Beaver Creek Trail Crossing Site (25SW49) in Seward County, Nebraska. These excavations recovered various kinds of artifacts including a large assemblage of nails. Using data from nails recovered from both the 2005 and 2006 field seasons, this thesis shows that the counts and spatial distributions of the machine-cut nails in the assemblage are consistent with photographs of the site taken in 1866. It also argues for the use of nails as major structural indicators when …

A Parasitological Paradox: Why Is Ascarid Infection So Rare In The Prehistoric Americas?, Daniela Leles, Karl Reinhard, Martín Horacio Fugassa, Luis Fernando Ferreira, Alena M. Iñiguez, Adauto Araujo

Karl Reinhard Publications

Ascaris lumbricoides (giant roundworm) and Trichuris trichiura (whipworm) are the most common intestinal parasites found in humans worldwide today and they almost always co-occur. However, we find two distinct patterns in archae­ological material. In historical North American and Old World contexts, the association of A. lumbricoides and T. trich­iura is similar to the modern epidemiological picture. In contrast, the co-occurrence of A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura eggs in prehistoric South America is rare. For prehistoric contexts, T. trichiura is the most common parasite found in ar­chaeological material. Recently molecular biology techniques pointed to a subdiagnosis of roundworm infection in pre- …

Evaluating Microfossil Content Of Dental Calculus From Brazilian Sambaquis, Verônica Wesolowski, Sheila Maria Ferraz Mendonça De Souza, Karl Reinhard, Gregório Ceccantini

Karl Reinhard Publications

To date, limited numbers of dental calculus samples have been analyzed by researchers in diverse parts of the world. The combined analyses of these have provided some general guidelines for the analysis of calculus that is non-destructive to archaeological teeth. There is still a need for a quantitative study of large numbers of calculus samples to establish protocols, assess the level of contamination, evaluate the quantity of microfossils in dental calculus, and to compare analysis results with the literature concerning the biology of calculus formation. We analyzed dental calculus from 53 teeth from four Brazilian sambaquis. Sambaquis are the shellmounds …

Three Decades In The Cold And Wet: A Career In Northern Archaeology, Sophia Perdikaris, George Hambrecht, Ramona Harrison

School of Global Integrative Studies: Faculty Publications

Thomas H. McGovern has been a pioneering researcher in the North Atlantic region for most of the past 40 years. He has taken his specialty in zooarchaeology beyond counting bones to actually addressing questions about human environment interactions and human response to extreme environmental events. A prolific writer and researcher with a multitude of publications and an impressive funding record, McGovern has always been a proponent of multidisciplinarity and international collaboration. His vision resulted in the creation of the North Atlantic Biocultural Organization (NABO) that currently has more than 400 scientific partners and has been leading projects throughout the Circum …