Archaeological Patterns Research Articles

The Reliability and Validity of a Lithic Debitage Typology: Implications for Archaeological Interpretation

Sullivan and Rozen's (1985) debitage typology has been proposed as a method for measuring the effects of variation in lithic reduction by describing “distinctive assemblages.” This is in contrast to many traditional analytical methods oriented toward identifying the effects of lithic reduction techniques on individual flakes. Debate over the use of the typology has focused primarily on the ability of the typology to accurately measure variation in lithic reduction behavior, and secondarily on the role of experimental studies in archaeology. In this paper I present an analysis designed to estimate the reliability and validity of the typology. An experimental design is developed to permit data collection with minimal analyst induced random or systematic error. Principal components analysis and the coefficient theta demonstrate that the typology provides reliable or replicable results when applied to debitage assemblages of similar technological origin. Further principal components analysis suggests that the instrument is of limited utility in recognizing effects of variation in reduction activities associated with highly vitreous lithic raw materials. A means of expanding the typology and increasing its accuracy in archaeological pattern recognition is presented.

The Nile Corridor and the Out‐of‐Africa Model An Examination of the Archaeological Record

This paper addresses the question of whether archaeological data—especially data from the Middle Palaeolithic—are relevant to current discussion on the origin and dispersal of modern humans. The structure of the Middle Paleolithic record of the Lower Nile Valley and adjacent deserts, a key region in the Out‐of‐Africa model, is examined. On the basis of the present database two archaeological complexes can be established: the Nubian complex and the Lower Nile Valley complex. In the Nubian complex, which appears in the Lower Nile Valley during the late Middle Pleistocene and coexists with a Lower Nile Valley complex issuing from the local Acheulean, hunting was a major subsistence strategy. From the last interglacial on the Nubian complex is found beyond the valley, whereas the Lower Nile Valley complex remains restricted to its riverine environment. Here, a technological transition to an Upper Palaeolithic type of production is attested as a punctuated event around 40,000 years ago at the latest. The appearance of the Nubian complex in the northern reaches of the Nile Valley would seem to correspond to the Out‐of‐Africa model of dispersal. However, the general reconstruction of behavioural repertoires from archaeological evidence does not satisfactorily correspond to the patterning expected according to either that model or its alternative. It is concluded that the Middle Palaeolithic record of Northeast Africa is the product of different populations with modern behavioural capacities. Their particular organisations of the subsistence domain and even their migrations are revealed in archaeological patterns of variability and change, but the record holds no evidence of anatomical constraints on this capacity for modern behaviour or of the social mechanisms by which it might have been transmitted.

Cultural development in La Florida

In contrast to the rather exciting and somewhat colorful exploits that took place during the ini tial period of colonization, the middle period of Spanish settlement was not a time of world changing events. The experimental and conquest phase of colonization had drawn to an end, ef fective adaptations had been worked out, and basic cultural patterns had already been estab lished. Consequently, Spanish America during the late 16th and 17th centuries has often been characterized as an "inwardly pulsating" time of relative stability and embellishment of preexist ing patterns (Leonard 1959:viii). A general con sensus exists among historians that this period of Spanish-American cultural development was one in which the basic framework or pattern estab lished during the initial years of settlement was expanded and became more elaborate. What remains unclear, however, are the pro cesses and their associated archaeological pat terns which characterized that stage of Spanish colonial cultural development between initial settlement and established society. The archaeo logical characterization and synthesis of 17th century St. Augustine provides the material ba sis for considering the forces that influenced the development of a colonial tradition in Spanish Florida during this post-contact phase (Hoffman 1994). In the case of St. Augustine, the multidisciplinary perspective of historical archae ology assumes a particularly significant role in this study because of the unexplored and, at times, "lost" nature of the 17th-century docu mentary record in St. Augustine, and because of its access to a comparatively sizeable archaeo logical database (Figure 1). Perhaps more impor tantly though, historical archaeology also pro vides a glimpse into "everyday life" and the behavior and lives of the common people who represented an essential component of colonial society.

Political Competition among the Chaco Anasazi of the American Southwest

An actor-based model of political competition is proposed to explain the development of Chaco Anasazi groups in the northern American Southwest. This model is derived from neo-Darwinian theory and the associated concept of methodological individualism, and focuses on the transition from societies dominated by egalitarian relationships to those exhibiting increasingly coercive leadership. The model especially emphasizes the role of the physical and social context for structuring individual decision-making and competitive behavior. A brief survey of the ethnographic record from around the world is employed to identify how political competition might appear in the archaeological record, with a specific focus on settlement patterns and architecture. The model is evaluated through an analysis of Chacoan communities found in the southern San Juan Basin of New Mexico, an area that is peripheral to the alleged center of the Chaco Anasazi in Chaco Canyon. Although further research is needed to improve the database and rule out alternative models, the analysis suggests that political competition between aspiring leaders could have contributed significantly to the evolution of at least the peripheral areas of the Chaco Anasazi, resulting in the archaeological patterns seen there today.

Hunting and Scavenging by Plio-Pleistocene Hominids: Nutritional Constraints, Archaeological Patterns, and Behavioural Implications

The subsistence activities and diet of ancient hominids are debated topics, and some researchers have recently questioned the view that meat was a significant dietary component of Plio-Pleistocene hominids. We examine the potential advantages and disadvantages of ungulate utilization by ancient hominids (e.g. Homo habilis and early Homo erectus) with regard to (a) human nutritional constraints, (b) seasonal variations in the physical condition of modern African ungulates, (c) the wild plant food potential of East African environments, and (d) the faunal record from Plio-Pleistocene sites such as FLK Zinjanthropus at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. The different lines of evidence suggest that the subsistence activities of early Homo probably included active, confrontational scavenging to obtain mostly intact carcasses of large animals and some opportunistic hunting of small animals, both of which yielded significant quantities of meat and fat that were an important source of calories, vitamins, and minerals. The possibility of consuming toxic amounts of protein could have been averted by emphasizing the consumption of organ meats and viscera at certain times of the year.

The Interpretation of Archaeological Spatial Patterning. By Ellen M. Kroll and T. Douglas Price.

<i>The Interpretation of Archaeological Spatial Patterning</i>. By Ellen M. Kroll and T. Douglas Price.

Midden Variability In The Coastal Portion Of The Kakadu Region

Shell middens in the Kakadu wetlands have not hitherto been described outside rockshelters. Along the eastern margins of the floodplains rockshelter sites such as Ngarradj Warde Djobkeng (Allen and Barton nd), Nawamoyn, Paribari and Malangangerr (Schrire 1982) have been well studied by archaeologists. Throughout the vast wetlands to the north and west of these sites there are no comprehensive reports on middens. Woodroffe et al. (1988) have investigated the  age and geomorphic context of middens along the South Alligator River, but there has been no detailed, quantified description of the archaeological component of those sites. Researchers from the Northern Territory University are currently undertaking an extensive survey of sites in the Kakadu wetlands and a picture of a rich and diverse archaeological record is emerging. This paper provides an initial record of the complex archaeological patterns on the wetlands by focusing on examples of dramatic inter-site variation in midden composition. The purpose of the paper is to document the diversity of middens which exist in the Kakadu region.

Prehistoric Political Change on the Southeast Mesoamerican Periphery

AbstractRecent archaeological settlement pattern research in the 550 sq km Comayagua Valley in central Honduras has documented considerable variation in the political structure of one ranked society over a 2,500-year period of prehistory. Data presented suggest that this Lenca and proto-Lenca culture group underwent at least five major political restructurings during this time as a response to the local, regional, and interregional political climate on the southeast Mesoamerican periphery. Such variability calls into question traditional models postulating a lack of complexity or adaptive flexibility for indigenous cultures of lower Central America.

The Mangas Phase in Mimbres Archaeology

ABSTRACTThe validity of the Mangas phase, a stage of small masonry units transitional between Three Circle phase pit houses and large Mimbres phase pueblos, has been questioned by several archaeologists associated with the Mimbres Foundation. This paper presents evidence for the existence of such a stage in the Gila Valley of southwestern New Mexico and perhaps in the Mimbres Valley as well. The recognition of the archaeological pattern referred to as the Mangas phase allows several alternative interpretations of Mimbres archaeology.

Location‐allocation modeling in archaeological settlement pattern research: Some preliminary applications

(1985). Location‐allocation modeling in archaeological settlement pattern research: Some preliminary applications. World Archaeology: Vol. 16, Water craft and water transport, pp. 354-371.

Archaeological Settlement Pattern Data from the Chalco, Xochimilco, Ixtapalapa, Texcoco and Zumpango Regions, Mexico. Jeffrey R. Parsons, Keith W. Kintigh, and Susan A. Gregg. Museum of Anthropology, The University of Michigan, Technical Reports, No. 14, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1983. vii + 222 pp., tables, maps, appendices, biblio. $14.00 (paper).

Archaeological Settlement Pattern Data from the Chalco, Xochimilco, Ixtapalapa, Texcoco and Zumpango Regions, Mexico. Jeffrey R. Parsons, Keith W. Kintigh, and Susan A. Gregg. Museum of Anthropology, The University of Michigan, Technical Reports, No. 14, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1983. vii + 222 pp., tables, maps, appendices, biblio. $14.00 (paper).

BOOK REVIEWS

Book Reviewed in this article: Development and Environment in Peninsular Malaysia. S. Robert Aiken, Colin H. Leigh, Thomas R. Leinbach, Michael R. Moss. The Rural-Urban Fringe: Canadian Perspectives. Ken B. Beesley and Lorne H. Russwurm, eds. Women and Development. Lourdes Benería, ed. The Border that Joins: Mexican Migrants and U.S. Responsibility. Peter G. Brown and Henry Shue, eds. Cities of the World: World Regional Urban Development. Stanley D. Brunn and Jack L. Williams, eds. Time Resources, Society, and Ecology: On the Capacity for Human Interaction in Space and Time (Vol. I, Preindustrial Societies). Tommy Carlstein. Urban Geography. David Clark. Spanish City Planning in North America. Dora P. Crouch, Daniel J. Garr, and Axel I. Mundigo. Not On Our Street: Community Attitudes to Mental Health Care. M. J. Dear and S. M. Taylor Unequal growth: Urban and Regional Employment Change in the U.K. Stephen Fothergill and Graham Gudgin. Agricultural Land in an Urban Society. Owen J. Furuseth and John T. Pierce. The Petroleum Industry in Oil-Importing Developing Countries. Fariborz Ghadar. Historical Understanding in Geography, An Idealist Approach. Leonard Guelke. Regional Planning in Europe. R. Hudson and J. R. Lewis, eds. Remote Sensing for Resource Management. Chris J. Johannsen and James L. Sanders, eds. Geography and The State. R. J. Johnston. Texas Graveyards: a Cultural Legacy. Tlrry G. Jordan. The Politics of Location: An Introduction. Andrew Kirby. A Social Geography of the City. David Ley. Energy and the Future. Douglas MacLean and Peter Brown, eds. The Natural Environment of Newfoundland Past and Present. A. G. Macpherson and J. B. Macpherson, eds. Tourism: Economic, Physical and Social Impacts. Alister Mathieson and Geoffrey Wall. Railroads and Land Grant Policy: A Study in Government Intervention. Lloyd J. Mercer. Progress in Rural Geography. Michael Pacione, ed. Progress in Urban Geography. Michael Pacione, ed. Models of Spatial Inequality: Settlement Patterns in Historical Archaeology. Robert Paynter. Natural Hazard Risk Assessment and Public Policy, Anticipating the Unexpected. William J. Petak and Arthur A. Atkisson. The Nature of Geomorphology. Alistair F. Pitty. Regional Conflict and National Policy. Kent A. Price Women and Spatial Change: Learning Resources for Social Science Courses. Arlene C. Rengert and Janice J. Monk, eds. Urban and Regional Analysis for Development Planning. Richard Rhoda. Rivers: Form and Process in Alluvial Channels. Keith Richards. This Remarkable Continent: An Atlas of United States and Canadian Society and Culture. John F. Rooney, Jr., Wilbur Zelinsky, and Dean R. Louder, gen. eds. The Origins of Open-Field Agriculture. Trevor Rowley, ed. Residential Location Determinants of the Older Population. Gundars Rudzitis. Borderland Sourcebook: A Guide to the Literature on Northern Mexico and the American Southwest. Ellwyn R. Stoddard, Richard L. Nostrand, and Jonathan P. West, eds. Arctic and Antarctic. David Sugden. Tall Timbers Ecology and Management Conference, February 22–24, 1979, Proceedings No. 16. Graphic Communication and Design in Contemporary Cartography (Progress in Contemporary Cartography, Vol. II). D. R. Fraser Taylor, ed. Living with Energy Shortfall: A Future for American Towns and Cities. Jon Van Til. The United States: Habitation of Hope. J. Wreford Watson. Air Photo Interpretation for Archaeologists. D. R. Wilson. Urban and Rural Change in West Germany. Trevor Wild, ed. Population and Resources. Harry Robinson.

Models of spatial inequality: Settlement patterns in historical archaeology

Models of spatial inequality: Settlement patterns in historical archaeology

Patterns of Resource Distribution and Archaeological Settlement Patterns in the Piedmont Uplands of the Middle Atlantic Region

Varied patterns of subsistence resource distributions are found in the Piedmont Uplands throughout the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Settlement patterns correlate with these resource distribution patterns through time. Paleo-Indian through Middle Archaic patterns are small scattered procurement sites that are part of a supra-local logistical system. Late Archaic through Middle Woodland patterns include large base camps in low relief settings forming the focal points for foraging systems, or a tethered nomadism. Late Woodland patterns are dependent upon intensive collecting and agriculture rather than specific subsistence resource distribution patterns.

Introduction to the analysis of mosaic patterns in archaeology

Abstract Although much work has been done on the analysis of point patterns in archaeology in recent years, less attention has been paid to those situations where the spatial patterns take the form of a patchwork of subareas or a mosaic. This article indicates how such mosaic patterns can be studied quantitatively and the kinds of things that can be learned from their analysis. Examples to illustrate this are taken from the distributions of wattle and daub structures at the site of Piana di Curinga, southern Italy.

Hunter‐gatherer ecosystems and archaeological patterns of subsistence behaviour on the south‐east coast of India: An ethnographic model

Abstract The littoral, hinterland and forested ecosystems on the south‐east coast of India are characterized by surficial Stone Age occurrences of the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods. Coinciding with the Stone Age sites are the habitats of tribes like the Yanadi, Chenchu, Yerukula and Boya, which indicates that hunter‐gatherer ecosystems that were originally inhabited by Stone Age groups continue to support primitive groups, notwithstanding the fact that they are now depleted. As no archaeolozoological and palaeoethnobotanical evidence is available at these sites, it is suggested here that ethnographic analogy can with care be used to build predictive models for Stone Age subsistence behaviour.

A Measure of Settlement Pattern Change and Stability

A counting index of the average degree of extreme settlement pattern change and stability is presented. Data from regional archaeological settlement pattern surveys in the Basin of Mexico are used to illustrate it.

Lowland to Highland Mexicanization Processes in Southern Mesoamerica

An Epiclassic period (ca. A.D. 800-1000) Mexican-influenced archaeological pattern is delineated for the Río Negro and Río Motagua basins, the two principal arteries of highland Guatemala, which flow to the Gulf and Caribbean lowlands. This pattern is argued to have originated along the Mexican-Mayan cultural frontier of the Gulf coast. A subsequent Toltec pattern in these same river basins parallels Chichén Itzá and Mayapán and also can be seen to have originated in the same general Gulf lowlands. Such Mexican/Toltec patterns in archaeology show that ethnohistorical claims by the later Quiche and Cakchiquel peoples for having introduced Toltec cultural forms into the highlands actually predate their stated migratory movement and a threshold of "history" (A.D. 1200s) by centuries.

Research strategies for archaeological pattern recognition on historic sites

Abstract Various strategies now being used to delineate pattern using data from historic sites in the British colonial system are outlined. The formula concept of pattern recognition seen in the Mean Ceramic Date Formula illustrates the highly regular patterning of discarded ceramics through time. The patterns of refuse disposal on British colonial sites are illustrated by means of the Brunswick Pattern of Refuse Disposal. The Carolina Pattern monitors artefact relationship from such sites, primarily those of domestic occupation. The Frontier Pattern is seen on frontier sites as well as the area inside domestic ruins, and is characterized by a high architecture to kitchen artefact relationship. A core sampling strategy using a posthole digger is presented which reveals a surprisingly effective means of discovering artefact density and dispersion as well as data useful for determining artefact patterning predictive of site function. The strategies outlined here are foundational for historic data to contribute to explanation of culture processes. The exciting promise of historical archaeology is its as yet unrealized potential for contributing to method‐refinement and theory building in archaeology generally.

An approach to the investigation of colonial settlement patterns: Whaling in Southern New Zealand

Abstract The records of early post‐contact sites in New Zealand, among them whaling stations, are sparse. To illustrate what can be done to supplement these records archaeologically, the results of excavations at the Taieri Island whaling station are described. They are compared with those obtained at other established types of contact settlements to see how the archaeological evidence, in each case, differs. Such comparisons are seen as vital to the establishment of patterns in the colonial archaeology of the region.