North American Archaeology Research Articles

Anangula before and after: to the 50th anniversary of Soviet-American archaeological expedi-tion on the Aleutian Islands

The purpose of this work is to analyze the events in scientific life that preceded and followed the first Soviet-American archaeological expedition to the Aleutian Islands 50 years ago (1974) and the excavations of the Anangula Site, the materials of which date back to ca. 9,000 years ago. The used sources include various publications by Rus-sian and foreign authors, highlighting the key episodes of international dialogue and the stages of the formation of American studies in the Kunstkamera (St. Petersburg), the Institute of Ethnography (Moscow), and the Institute of History, Philology and Philosophy (Novosibirsk), as well as the information on the participation of Russian scientists, with reports, at major international forums, periodicals, and scientific chronicles, freely available archival data, and also records from family collections. The dynamics and forms of academic cooperation between Russian and North American archaeologists and ethnographers (exchanges of visits, conferences, exhibitions, joint projects, publications) are traced during different stages — in the 1900s–1930s, 1950s–1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s. The initial period featured the interest of the American side in the study of materials from Siberia and Northeast Asia in the person of such specialists as A. Hrdlicka, F. Rainey, and W. Laughlin, and the late 1960s period — the institutional, structural, and thematic development of American studies in several scientific centers in Russia. The specifics of changes in the structure of financing, and the role of the grant system (Russian and foreign scientific foundations) since the 1990s are noted. As a result, a number of conclusions have been drawn about the regularity of the ap-pearance and implementation of the project on the Aleutian Islands, the role of Siberian researchers (A.P. Okladnikov, A.P. Derevianko, R.S. Vasilievsky) in the development of such areas as American studies and Pacific archaeology in science and education, the long-term effect of the “Anangula legacy” for the next generations of Russian and North American archaeologists, as well as about the current state of the research in the area.

Archaeological research at Kazan University in the context of Western European and North American archaeology

This article summarizes the history of archaeological research at Kazan University, from its establishment in 1804 to the present day. The first important milestone was in the 19th century when amateur collecting of artifacts and coins by the university professors in the early 1800s was replaced by professional archaeology, with the Society of Archaeology, History, and Ethnography founded in 1878 at Kazan University. The society published its own journal to raise awareness and foster curiosity, both locally and internationally, about archaeological discoveries in the Kazan Governorate and the surrounding territories. From the late 19th to the early 20th century, a fruitful cooperation developed between Russian archaeologists and Finnish scholars, which lasted until the 1930s and centered in their mutual interests revolving around the Ananyino culture and the origins of the Finno-Ugric peoples. In the aftermath of World War II, the university archaeological team took part in many projects: exploratory surveys for the construction of the Kuybyshev Hydroelectric Station (late 1940s–early 1950s), excavations of the early Bulgarian burials and proto-Bulgarian sites (1950s–early 1960s), unearthing of the Bilär settlement (late 1960s–1980s), fieldwork at the ancient Hungarian Bolshie Tigany burial and in Kazan (1974–1978). In the 1960s–1980s, foreign collaborations were limited to socialist countries (Bulgaria, Hungary), which kept the focus of their scholarly attention on the eastern regions. However, the intensive contacts with Finnish archaeologists continued. Starting from the 1990s–2000s, the results of archaeological research in Tatarstan finally became accessible to Western European and US scholars, who then relied on them to navigate their studies on the history of Islam and Islamization in Europe, sedentarization of nomads, and medieval trade. Now, the archaeology at Kazan University has advanced to a new stage by covering a much broader geographical scope and incorporating the latest technology into archaeological practices.

Resituating the deep history of the Chesapeake

This themed issue of North American Archaeologist reexamines the deep history of the Chesapeake region's Native societies through five papers. The articles describe collaborative approaches that challenge traditional narratives, focusing on climate change, community dynamics, reassessment of a key archaeological site, and decolonization efforts.

Chapter 4 Good Medicine: Prescriptions for Indigenous Archaeological Practice

ABSTRACTWhile the history of North American archaeology points to a long engagement with tribal elders and scholars, these encounters largely consist of unequal, extractive relationships wherein Indigenous collaborators and Indigenous archaeologists have been treated more as objects of study and pity—what Bea Medicine refers to as “creatures”—rather than as equal research partners. As an Indigenous woman and a settler Chicanx woman, we reflect on the life journey and scholarship of Bea Medicine, a Lakota scholar‐activist and mentor to Indigenous anthropologists. Dr. Medicine's work has provided generations of Indigenous anthropologists with the means to participate in the discipline with their whole selves and, importantly, on their own terms. We argue that Medicine's contributions provide good medicine for the field in the form of concrete strategies for continuing to decolonize the discipline and for doing work that centers the direct needs and perspectives of Indigenous peoples. When read alongside Indigenous archaeologies’ often overlooked grandmothers, mothers, and aunties, Medicine's work also highlights continuing disparities in archaeological practice, from our relationships with and to Indigenous nations to the relations we cultivate in the Academy as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.

Will It Ever Be FAIR?

AbstractA fundamental task of archaeology is to address challenging scientific questions related to the complexity of human societies. If we are to systematically understand the processes that affect human societies on multiple spatial and temporal scales, research leveraging existing archaeological data is essential. However, only a fraction of the data from archaeological projects are publicly findable or accessible, let alone interoperable or reusable. This is the case despite statements of disciplinary ethics, availability of capable technologies for data stewardship, publications providing guidance, and legal mandates. This article introduces the FAIR principles for data stewardship in North American archaeology, which state that data should be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. We call for efforts to promote widespread adoption of the FAIR and CARE (Collective benefit, Authority to control, Responsibility, and Ethics) principles among professional organizations, publishers, data repositories, and researchers. We also call for adoption and implementation of requirements to adhere to these principles by governmental agencies, funding bodies, and other regulators of archaeological research. Ultimately, adoption of the FAIR principles in an ethical framework contributes to our understanding of our human experience and can lead to greater integration and reuse of research results, fostering increased partnerships between academia and industry.

What North American Archaeology Needs to Take Advantage of the Digital Data Revolution

ABSTRACTToday, there is a growing movement to use accumulated archaeological information to contribute to discussions of general issues facing human societies, including our own. In this regard, the archaeological record is most unique and helpful when viewed at broad comparative scales. Most relevant data for these sorts of analyses are collected through the cultural resource management (CRM) process. Still, by and large, interpretation remains limited to individual projects, and data integration across projects is nearly nonexistent. What would it take for CRM to achieve real data integration? In this article, we discuss these issues and suggest one potential solution. The most pressing need we identify is for data products that integrate the primary data emanating from CRM at broad spatial and temporal scales, which are suitable for research by archaeologists and other social scientists. We argue that the time is right for the discipline to invest in organizations that produce such products.

Dating Marine Shell: A Guide for the Wary North American Archaeologist

AbstractRadiocarbon dates on marine shell and other materials of marine origin appear significantly older than contemporaneous samples of terrestrial/atmospheric origin. Misunderstandings regarding the mechanisms that give rise to this “marine reservoir effect” (MRE), the terminology used to define it, and the mathematics used to describe it cause many coastal archaeologists to distrust or misinterpret marine shell dates. The recent release of a reformulated 14C calibration curve for marine samples (Marine20), which necessitates recalculation of all local reservoir age corrections, may add to the confusion. Here, we review the benefits of dating shell; provide a plain-language explanation of the mechanical, chemical, biological, and cultural processes that give rise to age disparities associated with the MRE; and offer advice to archaeologists intending to date marine shell. Our hope is that these comments will not only aid archaeologists in the planning and interpretive stages of research but also assist in assessing the reliability of legacy chronologies based on marine materials. More broadly, we encourage careful evaluation of all sources of uncertainty in all 14C chronologies, whether based on terrestrial or marine materials.

Behind the Bears Ears: Exploring the Cultural and Natural Histories of a Sacred Landscape

Behind the Bears Ears: Exploring the Cultural and Natural Histories of a Sacred Landscape

The Monongahela tradition in "real time": Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates.

Despite advances in techniques, methods, and theory, northeastern North American archaeologists continue to use early to mid-twentieth century culture historical taxa as units of analysis and narrative. There is a distinct need to move away from this archaeological practice to enable fuller understandings of past human lives. One tool that enables such a move is Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates, which provides a means of constructing continuous chronologies. A large dataset of radiocarbon dates for late prehistoric (ca AD 900/1000–1650) sites in the lower upper Ohio River basin in southwestern Pennsylvania and adjacent portions of Maryland, Ohio, and West Virginia is used here as an example. The results allow a preliminary assessment of how the settlement plans of contemporaneous villages varied considerably, reflecting decisions of the village occupants how to structure built environments to meet their needs.

African American Archaeology, for Now

A focus on institutions frames this examination of the archaeology of African America. While initially emphasizing the institution of slavery and theories of Black difference, the field today has a much wider scope. Researchers engaged in this work critically examine past and present-day institutions. As such, this review also considers the place of African American archaeology in engaged scholarship, critical theory, and self-reflexive practice. As in past reviews, the emphasis is on the United States, with occasional references to important work in the rest of the African diaspora. African American archaeology is shown to be inextricably interwoven with scholarly work in North American archaeology, African American studies, heritage studies, and social theory.

Bayesian Modeling of the Clovis and Folsom Radiocarbon Records Indicates a 200-Year Multigenerational Transition

An enduring problem in North American archaeology concerns the nature of the transition between the Clovis and Folsom Paleoindian complexes in the West. Traditional models indicate a temporal hiatus between the two complexes implying that Folsom was a population replacement for Clovis. Alternatively, if Folsom was an innovation that occurred within Clovis populations and subsequently spread, we would expect to see a temporal overlap. Here, we test these hypotheses using high-quality radiocarbon dates and Bayesian statistics to infer the temporal boundaries of the complexes. We show that the Folsom complex initially appears between 12,900 and 12,740 cal BP, whereas Clovis disappears between 12,720 and12,490 cal BP. Therefore, Folsom may have appeared about 200 years before Clovis disappeared, and so the two complexes likely co-occurred in the West for nearly eight generations. This finding suggests that Folsom was a successful adaptive innovation that diffused through the western Clovis population, eventually going to fixation over multiple generations.

Coalescence and the Spread of Glaze-Painted Pottery in the Central Rio Grande: The View from Tijeras Pueblo (LA581), New Mexico

The concept of coalescent communities has been widely used by North American archaeologists as a framework for understanding cultural responses to social upheaval. In this article we explore how the concept of coalescence helps us understand the processes that led to the emergence of aggregated settlements in the Albuquerque district of the central Rio Grande Valley around the turn of the fourteenth century. We argue that such communities emerged as strategic local responses to disruptive social and demographic trends on a macroregional scale. Specifically, we use NAA and petrographic sourcing of Western Pueblo- and Rio Grande-style glaze-painted pottery in conjunction with settlement data from the site of Tijeras Pueblo (LA581) to explore how the amalgamation of immigrant and autochthonous people, technology, knowledge, and ritual creatively and radically transformed local and regional practices of community and identity formation.

Overview: Lithic quarries in Pennsylvania: the archaeology of tool stone procurement

This collection of papers, published in numbers 3 and 4 of this volume of North American Archaeologist, reflects recent research into the development of pre-contact period quarries in Pennsylvania and the surrounding Middle Atlantic region.

Memories of the Maya: National Histories, Cultural Identities, and Academic Orthodoxy

John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood’s travel accounts celebrating ancient Maya sculpture and architecture set the stage for the emphasis of the Maya as the pinnacle of cultural development in Mexico and Central America and for the appropriation of Maya prehistory as the foundation of modern national histories and identities. In the twentieth century, these discourses intensified into two interconnected hegemonic narratives – one in syntheses of precolumbian history by North American archaeologists and the other in national histories produced in Central America – that privileged the Maya as a source of history, legitimacy, and identity. This paper explores these narratives as they occur in Honduras through three distinct but interrelated lenses: academic discourse on Honduran archaeology; the conceptualization and development of a Honduran national identity; and the engagement of descendant groups with this constructed heritage. Considered together, these perspectives illuminate the complex cultural and political foundation(s) of memory. DOI: 10.14712/23363231.2021.8

Late Pleistocene South American megafaunal extinctions associated with rise of Fishtail points and human population

In the 1970s, Paul Martin proposed that big game hunters armed with fluted projectile points colonized the Americas and drove the extinction of megafauna. Around fifty years later, the central role of humans in the extinctions is still strongly debated in North American archaeology, but little considered in South America. Here we analyze the temporal dynamic and spatial distribution of South American megafauna and fluted (Fishtail) projectile points to evaluate the role of humans in Pleistocene extinctions. We observe a strong relationship between the temporal density and spatial distribution of megafaunal species stratigraphically associated with humans and Fishtail projectile points, as well as with the fluctuations in human demography. On this basis we propose that the direct effect of human predation was the main factor driving the megafaunal decline, with other secondary, but necessary, co-occurring factors for the collapse of the megafaunal community.

Canadians and the Founding of the Society for American Archaeology (1934–1940s)

In December of 1934 the Society for American Archaeology was officially constituted. In 1935, in an effort to grow the membership, professional archaeologists were asked to propose members who they endorsed to become affiliated with the SAA. The two professional archaeologists in Canada at that time, Diamond Jenness and William J. Wintemberg of the Dominion Museum, Ottawa, proposed names of individuals across Canada who were collectors, museum curators, and historians. A small number suggested for membership joined, but most did not. This was an interesting period in North American archaeology as professionals worked in committees to establish cultural and temporal frameworks of the archaeological past, establish excavation guidelines, and lobby against the sale of antiquities. Some Canadian avocationals who joined were positively impacted by their association with American archaeologists and their legacies continue through to today. The bottom line is that there were very few professional archaeologists in Canada following Wintemberg’s death in 1941, and that lack coupled with WWII, meant that Canadians looking for professional support and guidance looked to the south of the border. The Society for American Archaeology was important for the growth and development of Canadian archaeology during this time.

Археологический юбилей: к столетию со дня рождения Бетти Меггерс (1921–2012 гг.)

This article is related to the 100th anniversary of the birth of the world famous North American archaeologist Betty Jane Meggers (1921–2012), who made an invaluable contribution to the study of archaeological antiquities in Ecuador, Brazil, Venezuela, Chile, Peru, etc. Her long list of achievements includes the creation of a chronological chart for the archaeological cultures of the coastal part of Ecuador (in collaboration with Clifford Evans), remaining relevant today. Also, the name of B. J. Meggers is often mentioned in the context of the debatable hypothesis “Jōmon-Valdivia” which was made at the very beginning of the 1960s. It is focused on the possibility of transoceanic contacts between the population of the Japanese archipelago and the inhabitants of the Pacific coast of South America 5500–6000 years ago. This was preceded by a significant period of B. Meggers’ work in the Amazon (1947–1954). A brief outline of the first half of life and career of the North American researcher allows us to trace the main stages of transformations of her scientific interests. Keywords: South America, Brazil, Ecuador, Amazonia, biography, research history

Excising culture history from contemporary archaeology

North American archaeologists must reconsider their implicit adherence to the culture history paradigm. The long-standing role of this approach to situate archaeological remains in space and time is far outweighed by the negative impacts of its underlying assumptions about the correspondence of biological and cultural groups, intragroup uniformity, discrete spatial boundaries, primordialism, and sequential change. These discredited assumptions divert attention from variability, privilege certain research questions and interpretations, hinder dialogue with other disciplines, and facilitate the misuse of archaeology for political purposes. We recommend alternative perspectives that recognize the importance of space-time context, accommodate the complexity of new suites of archaeological data, and are more consistent with what we now know about past and present social relations.

Refined Radiocarbon Chronologies for Northern Iroquoian Site Sequences: Implications for Coalescence, Conflict, and the Reception of European Goods

This article presents results to date of the Dating Iroquoia project. Our objective is to develop high-precision radiocarbon chronologies for northeastern North American archaeology. Here, we employ Bayesian chronological modeling of 184 AMS radiocarbon dates derived from 42 Northern Iroquoian village sites in five regional sequences in order to construct new date estimates. The resulting revised chronology demands a rethinking of key assumptions about cultural process in the region regarding the directionality and timing of processes of coalescence and conflict and the introduction of European trade goods. The results suggest that internal conflict may have preceded confederacy formation among the Haudenosaunee but not the Wendat, as has been previously assumed. External conflict, previously thought to have begun in the early seventeenth century, began more than a century earlier. New data also indicate that the timing and distribution of European materials were more variable between communities than acknowledged by the logic underlying traditional trade-good chronologies. This enhanced chronological resolution permits the development and application of archaeological theories that center the lived experiences and relational histories of Iroquoian communities, as opposed to the generalized thinking that has dominated past explanatory frameworks.

EXPLORING THE GUALE VILLAGE AND SPANISH MISSION OCCUPATIONS AT THE SAPELO SHELL RING COMPLEX THROUGH BAYESIAN ANALYSIS

ABSTRACTBayesian analysis of radiocarbon (14C) dates in North American archaeology is increasing, especially among archaeologists working in deeper time. However, historical archaeologists have been slow to embrace these new techniques, and there have been only a few examples of the incorporation of calendar dates as informative priors in Bayesian models in such work in the United States. To illustrate the value of Bayesian approaches to sites with both substantial earlier Native American occupations as well as a historic era European presence, we present the results of our Bayesian analysis of 14C dates from the earlier Guale village and the Mission period contexts from the Sapelo Shell Ring Complex (9MC23) in southern Georgia. Jefferies and Moore have explored the Spanish Mission period deposits at this site to better understand the Native American interactions with the Spanish during the 16th and 17th centuries along the Georgia Coast. Given the results of our Bayesian modeling, we can say with some degree of confidence that the deposits thus far excavated and sampled contain important information dating to the 17th-century mission on Sapelo Island. In addition, our modeling of new dates suggests the range of the pre-Mission era Guale village. Based on these new dates, we can now say with some degree of certainty which of the deposits sampled likely contain information that dates to one of the critical periods of Mission period research, the AD 1660–1684 period that ushered in the close of mission efforts on the Georgia Coast.