Prehistoric Archaeological Sites Research Articles

The Use of Marah Macrocarpus by the Prehistoric Indians of Coastal Southern California

A review of the available data from macrobotanical analyses conducted on prehistoric archaeological sites found in coastal southern California indicates the ubiquitous nature of carbonized Marah macrocarpus (Greene) Greene (wild cucumber) seed coat fragments. Their recovery from cultural deposits in carbonized form indicates prehistoric use; however, all parts of the plant are toxic, and plants that typically function in medicinal or ritualistic roles are rarely recovered as part of the macrobotanical assemblage. In an attempt to shed some light on the possible prehistoric uses of wild cucumber by the native peoples of coastal southern California, this paper examines the current distribution of Marah, the archaeological occurrence of M. macrocarpus, as well as pertinent biochemical and morphological characteristics of the plant, particularly the seed. Finally, ethnobotanical accounts of the use of Marah by the native peoples of the Pacific west are discussed in light of current research on the physical properties and biological activities of various compounds found in Marah. This information is offered as a guide for future archaeological investigations of the possible uses of the taxon by the prehistoric Indians of coastal southern California and elsewhere.

Different Approaches for Estimating Ground Strains from Pile Driving Vibrations at a Buried Archeological Site

Ground strains were estimated from vibrations measured during pile driving operations at a buried, prehistoric archeological site to monitor potential construction impacts. Subsurface characteristics of the site were investigated using multiple cone penetration test (CPT) soundings and the shear wave velocity profile was measured using the seismic CPT method. Embedded geophones and surface accelerometers were then used to measure ground vibrations during pile driving. Displacement gradients were estimated from the vibrations using the following three methods: (1) the difference between adjacent displacements divided by sensor spacing; (2) peak particle velocity divided by depth-dependent wave velocity (i.e., at the depth where the sensor was placed); and (3) peak particle velocity divided by frequency-dependent wave velocity from a measured dispersion curve. Methods (1) and (3) agreed well, while method (2) caused errors that depended on depth of embedment of the sensors and distance from pile driving. Errors in (2) were attributed to a mismatch between the depth-dependent wave velocity and the wave velocity on the frequency band that carried the largest velocity pulse through the dispersive soil profile. Ground strains were related to displacement gradients based on theoretical solutions of harmonic body waves and Rayleigh waves in dispersive elastic media. The peak estimated ground strains were smaller than the threshold volumetric shear strain, but a few centimeters of settlement were nevertheless observed at the site. The spatial extent of the settlement is characterized using attenuation rules fit to the vibration data, and by calibration with a settlement gauge. Ground cracking and vertical offsets that could potentially mask the archaeological history of the site were neither observed nor predicted from the observed vibration amplitudes. Estimated impact on archeological interpretation of artifacts in their stratigraphic context was likely insignificant except in the immediate region where the piles were driven. This insight will assist in future planning at sites with similar subsurface stratigraphy.

Prehistoric Artifact Assemblages from Sites along Hickory Creek in the Davy Crockett National Forest, Houston County, Texas

The National Forests and Grasslands (U.S.D.A. Forest Service) in Texas (NFGT) conducted Passports in Time (PIT) projects in 2006 and 2007 on Hickory Creek in the Davy Crockett National Forest, Houston County, Texas. The work—varying in extent—took place at four prehistoric archeological sites: 41HO13, HC-1, Hickory Creek #2 (HC-2), and HC-3, with the majority of the work occurring at HC-2.

From Boulder to Mountain and Back Again: Self-similarity between Landscape and Mindscape in Cherokee Thought, Speech, and Action as Expressed by the Judaculla Rock Petroglyphs

Located in the Balsam Mountains of west-central North Carolina in the southeastern United States, a prominent petroglyph boulder known as Judaculla Rock has featured prominently in the religious experiences, beliefs, and rituals of the Cherokee people since history was recorded for this part of the world in the nineteenth century. Archaeologically, stratigraphically, and ethno-historically, the pecked designs and cupules postdate and probably have very little to do with the Late Archaic soapstone quarrying of the boulder. By looking at Judaculla Rock in the context of the surrounding late prehistoric and protohistoric archaeological sites, landscape, and ethnographic setting, it is possible to develop new understandings concerning the late prehistory and early history of this portion of the Balsam Mountains.

The Hide Trade and Wichita Social Organization: An Assessment of Ethnological Hypotheses Concerning Polygyny

Compared with late prehistoric archaeological sites attributed to the Wichita, protohistoric sites in Oklahoma contain artifact assemblages indicating that hide processing for trade with French voyageurs became a primary economic activity. Yet aside from assemblage changes, little is understood about how market demand for hides and other animal byproducts altered Wichita social organization, if at all. In this article we investigate polygyny. We examine the hypothesis that in household economies where production depends on women's contributions, market integration intensifies demand on female labor: Where polygyny is practiced, market integration increases the number of wives sought by males, leading to larger families. We compare ethnological data and Blackfoot accounts of polygyny with ethnohistorical and ethnographic information concerning the Wichita. We then review protohistoric Wichita documentary and archaeological data to discuss their strengths and weaknesses for. identifying these social and economic changes.

ARCHAEOLOGY AND ARCHAEOBOTANY OF SOUTHERN PAIUTE HORTICULTURE IN THE ST. GEORGE BASIN, SOUTHWESTERN UTAH

Although ethnographic descriptions of the Southern Paiute usually portray them as hunter-gatherers who only dabbled with farming, historic records demonstrate that Paiutes were growing maize prior to the arrival of the first Spanish explorers. These records further suggest that in the St. George Basin of southwestern Utah, Southern Paiute farming was relatively intensive in the decades before the arrival of Mormon settlers. Numerous Late Prehistoric and Protohistoric archaeological sites have been excavated in the St. George Basin, but subsistence activities at most excavated sites appear to be centered around wild plant gathering and processing. This essay describes excavations of two Protohistoric features near the Santa Clara River that provide evidence for Southern Paiute horticulture, including wheat grains and abundant maize cob and kernel fragments. The evidence for Southern Paiute horticulture in the St. George Basin remains ambiguous, however, with apparent contradictions between the historic record and the bulk of the archaeological evidence. This may be because intensive farming only occurred in limited areas, and almost none of the archaeological research has been along the river margins.

Relation between human existence and environment viewing from the distribution of prehistoric archaeological sites in the Three Gorges reservoir region of the Yangtze River, China

Based on archaeological research findings in the Three Gorges region as well as the distribution of prehistoric sites in this area, the following conclusion can be derived: the unique physical and geographical conditions and variations in the Three Gorges region make local people of different ages seek their survival and development in the favorable environment along the riverbanks. Environment evolution has direct impact on the selection of location for survival. The increase of sites quantity reflects the favorable natural environment, but the decrease just reflects the consequence of such natural disasters as flood.

Landscape evolution recorded in the embayment of Palamari (Skyros Island, Greece) from the beginning of the Bronze Age until recent times

The Palamari bay is located on the northeastern coast of Skyros island (Sporades islands, Aegean Sea). At the northern part of the bay a prehistoric archaeological site is dated between 2800 and 1700 Before Common Era (Early Bronze Age II–Middle Bronze Age I). Our paleoenvironmental reconstruction has combined coastal and submarine geomorphological observations with the stratigraphy of late Holocene sediments, as well as micropaleontological and palynological data of the coastal deposits and radiocarbon dating. Two beachrock formations and aeolian dunes are the main coastal landforms. Three main sedimentary units were recognized and termed A, B and C, respectively. The ostracod fauna of the lowermost sedimentary A unit indicates a shallow freshwater environment. The pollen spectrum reflects an open dry vegetation of Mediterranean type. The overlying unit B is characterized by the dominance of brackish water ostracod species. A strong human presence indicating cultivated land and grazing activities is inferred from the pollen spectra. This sequence implies a lagoon connected to, but protected from the sea, which was periodically supplied with fresh water from the surrounding springs. The uppermost sedimentary C unit represents a coastal marine environment dominated by aeolian activity and modified by fluvial processes. The presence of high percentages of the coprophilous fungi of Sordaria and Sporomiella types suggests the presence of domesticated animals, possibly herds, in the area.

Rails (Rallidae: Gallirallus) from prehistoric archaeological sites in Western Oceania

Rails (Rallidae: Gallirallus) from prehistoric archaeological sites in Western Oceania

Rails (Rallidae: Gallirallus) from prehistoric archaeological sites in Western Oceania

We evaluate the species-level systematics of 1336 bones of Gallirallus (Aves: Rallidae) from Pleistocene and Holocene archaeological sites in the Mariana Islands (Micronesia) and the Bismarck Archipelago and Solomon Islands (Melanesia) and describe four new species. In the Marianas, sites on Rota, Aguiguan, Tinian, and Saipan have yielded 15, 219, 1047, and 16 bones, respectively, that we refer to Gallirallus. We describe the bones from three islands as the new species G. temptatus (Rota), G. pisonii (Aguiguan), and G. pendiculentus (Tinian). Each species is presumed endemic to each island and probably evolved from colonizations by extant, volant G. philippensis. They vary in the reduction of pectoral and wing elements relative to leg elements, and thus in their degree of flightlessness. The limited material from Saipan we cannot distinguish reliably from that of G. philippensis, which is widespread in Melanesia and Polynesia but occurs today in Micronesia only on Palau. Twenty-one fragmentary bones of Gallirallus from four Pleistocene cave sites on New Ireland (Bismarcks) are described as a new, possibly flightless species, G. ernstmayri. One Pleistocene cave site on Buka (Solomons) revealed 18 specimens that we refer to Gallirallus woodfordi and G. rovianae, which occur today in the Solomons. These descriptions of rail bones from Western Oceania bring the total number of fossil (prehistorically extinct) Gallirallus species to eleven.

Holocene Landscape Change in the Cypress Hills of Southeastern Alberta: Implications for Late Prehistoric Archaeological Site Formation and Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction

Throughout the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene, the Cypress Hills of southeastern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan have experienced ongoing erosion in upslope areas, with deposition of eroded material in the meltwater channels flanking their slopes. While this pattern has resulted in the destruction or disturbance of archaeological sites in upslope locations, the deposition of sediment in these downslope areas has made them well suited to the burial of archaeological occupations, resulting in the formation and preservation of sites in the meltwater channels. Furthermore, this sediment influx has produced sites containing extended sequences of clearly separated archaeological occupations associated with contemporaneous buried soils. Such separation greatly enhances the quality of the archaeological data at these sites while providing the opportunity to supplement them with paleoenvironmental information derived from the associated soils. Given the rich ethnohistoric accounts of aboriginal activity in the Cypress Hills, it appears to be an area in which research on the Late Prehistoric period would be valuable. This situation is only enhanced by the manner in which the geomorphic history of the Cypress Hills has favoured the formation of sites with excellent potential for the preservation of highquality archaeological and paleoenvironmental data.

Thermally activated mineralogical transformations in archaeological hearths: inversion from maghemite γFe2O4 phase to haematite αFe2O4 form

AbstractA series of laboratory experiments were conducted in an effort to understand why magnetic field gradient survey techniques failed to detect hearths at a prehistoric archaeological site in southern California. The study used various methods of environmental magnetism to examine the effects of exposing soil samples to a temperature of 650°C over a period 26 h. Results of the study indicate that the failure was associated with a reduction in soil magnetic susceptibility to below background levels within hearth soils. This reduction was due to high‐temperature transformation of iron oxides from a highly magnetic form to a relatively non‐magnetic form. The reduction in susceptibility is thought to have proceeded via the oxidation of primary (lithogenic) magnetite, Fe3O4 to maghemite, γ Fe2O4 followed by the inversion of maghemite to haematite, αFe2O4. The study suggests that in some instances high temperature inversion can reduce the proportion of ferrimagnetic minerals within a hearth to below initial concentrations (resulting in a negative magnetic field gradient anomaly, the opposite of what is normally expected). A field experiment was also conducted to determine what soil temperatures might be achieved 2 cm beneath a hearth. The experiment recorded temperatures ranging from approximately 400°C to 650°C, with an average temperature of about 470°C. Soil colour changes and magnetic susceptibility enhancement observed at the conclusion of the field experiment indicate that these temperatures were sufficient to activate some mineralogical changes, possibly including inversion to haematite. The implications of high temperature inversion to archaeological prospection are discussed, as is a potential archaeological application. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Prehistory of Texas

Paleoindians first arrived in Texas more than eleven thousand years ago, although relatively few sites of such early peoples have been discovered. Texas has a substantial post-Paleoindian record, however, and there are more than fifty thousand prehistoric archaeological sites identified across the state. This comprehensive volume explores in detail the varied experience of native peoples who lived on this land in prehistoric times. Chapters on each of the regions offer cutting-edge research, the culmination of years of work by dozens of the most knowledgeable experts. Based on the archaeological record, the discussion of the earliest inhabitants includes a reclassification of all known Paleoindian projectile point types and establishes a chronology for the various occupations. The archaeological data from across the state of Texas also allow authors to trace technological changes over time, the development of intensive fishing and shellfish collecting, funerary customs and the belief systems they represented, long-term changes in settlement mobility and character, landscape use, and the eventual development of agricultural societies. The studies bring the prehistory of Texas Indians all the way up through the Late Prehistoric period (ca. A.D. 700-1600). The extensively illustrated chapters are broadly cultural-historical in nature but stay strongly focused on important current research problems. Taken together, they present careful and exhaustive considerations of the full archaeological (and paleoenvironmental) record of Texas.

The M. W. Burks Site (41WD52): A Late Caddo Hamlet in Wood County, Texas

While attempting to locate and evaluate prehistoric Caddo archaeological sites in the Dry Creek watershed, Wood County, Texas, that had been originally recorded by A. T. Jackson and M. M. Reese in 1930, the M. W. Burks site (41WD52) was discovered by James E. Bruseth and Bob D. Skiles in June 1977. The site is in the Forest Hill community, about 5 km north of Quitman, Texas, in the East Texas Pineywoods and Gulf Coastal Plain. It is on a small rise in the uplands overlooking a small intermittent drainage that is an unnamed tributary of Little Dry Creek. The landowner, Mr. M. W. Burks, had resided in this part of Wood County since the 1920s, and recalled where A. T. Jackson and crew had spent time excavating the J. H. Reese (41WD2) site. He mentioned that while putting in a fence on his property in the early 1960s, adjacent to the property where the Reese site is located, he had found some pottery sherds in one of the post holes. Bruseth and Skiles placed a small shovel test next to this fence post hole, and a large articulated red-slipped Ripley Engraved carinated bowl was encountered at 65 em below the surface (bs) in tan sand E-horizon deposits. This find demonstrated that the Burks site contained both intact archaeological deposits as well as an apparently undisturbed Late Caddo Titus phase burial or cemetery. Bruseth, Skiles, and Perttula followed up this work with more intensive investigations in the spring and fall of 1978. This research was carried on as an adjunct to the ongoing (and final season of) archaeological work being conducted by Bruseth and Perttula at Lake Fork Reservoir on Lake Fork Creek, a few miles to the west of the Burks site. Our purpose in carrying out archaeological research at the Burks site was to examine in more detail the spatial character of a Late Caddo Titus phase settlement, and also obtain information on the material culture remains (especially the ceramics) made and used by the Caddo peoples that lived at the Burks site some 400-500 years ago.

Archeological Testing of Sites 41GD113 and 41GD114 in Goliad County, Texas

Archeological testing of two previously identified prehistoric archeological sites in Goliad County, Texas, was performed by the Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) at The University of Texas at San Antonio. Testing examined 41GD113 and 41GD114 to determine their potential eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and whether they warranted designation as State Archeological Landmarks (SAL) . The work was performed for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) on July 24–August 2, 2002. Archeological testing was performed in relation to a proposed highway realignment to avoid the Noble Cemetery currently adjacent U.S. Highway 59. These investigations were conducted under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 2899, with Dr. Raymond P. Mauldin serving as Principal Investigator.

Archaeological Survey for the Proposed St. Peter-St. Joseph Children's Home Expansion, City of San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

During September 2003, the Center for Archaeological Research of The University of Texas at San Antonio conducted an archaeological survey for the proposed development of 3.17 acres at the St. Peter-St. Joseph Children’s Home in the city of San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. The Phase I survey consisted of the excavation of 18 shovel tests. A single previously unrecorded prehistoric archaeological site (41BX1570) was encountered atop a terrace along a probable remnant channel of the San Antonio River. Moderate to abundant amounts of burned limestone, burned chert, and lithic debitage, along with two lithic tools comprised the prehistoric artifact assemblage. Four mechanically chipped lithic flakes were encountered with the prehistoric deposits throughout the vertical column to the terminal excavation depth of 70 centimeters below surface. The presence of these modern artifacts in concert with evidence of significant historic subsurface disturbance has provided adequate data to determine this site is not eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places nor for listing as a State Archeological Landmark. It is therefore recommended that the proposed improvements proceed without further cultural resources investigations. All collected artifacts and records are curated at the Center for Archaeological Research permanent storage facility.

The South Lilly #4 Site (41UR279), Upshur County, Texas

The South Lilly #4 site was discovered in early 2003 by Bo Nelson during a survey of portions of the South Lilly Creek valley in Upshur County, Texas. During the course of his survey he recorded 13 prehistoric archeological sites on the north side of the valley,just upstream from the FM 556 crossing of South Lilly Creek. No archaeological sites had been previously known or recorded along this stretch of the valley, but his survey made it apparent that there was a high density of prehistoric sites along this creek, a tributary to Big Cypress Creek. Nelson noted that several of these prehistoric sites had Caddo ceramic sherds, and/or were in locations where prehistoric Caddo habitation sites are often found in the northeastern Texas region. The South Lilly #4 site is in one such setting, namely a prominent upland ridge and knoll (360 feet amsl) that projects southward into the South Lilly Creek valley, but is elevated well above any seasonal flooding along the creek and its broad floodplain. The landform was in pasture at the time, and surface exposure was virtually nil.

Archaeological Survey of a Portion of the Proposed Castroville Regional Park Improvement and Expansion, City of Castroville, Medina County, Texas

During January 2004, the Center for Archaeological Research of The University of Texas at San Antonio conducted an archaeological survey of a selected portion (300 feet by 7 feet) of the proposed expansion and improvement of Castroville Regional Park in the City of Castroville, Medina County, Texas. The Phase I survey consisted of the excavation of six shovel tests. A single previously unrecorded prehistoric archaeological site (41ME134) was encountered atop a ridge landform. Abundant amounts of burned rock and lithic debitage, along with several tested cobbles, a few cores, and one non-diagnostic uniface were encountered at ground surface and within the upper 10 cm of shallow soils mantling the landform. Due to the primarily surficial nature of this site and the lack of cultural features, the Center for Archaeological Research recommends that site 41ME134 is ineligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places or for designation as a State Archeological Landmark. It is therefore recommended that the proposed improvements proceed without further cultural resources investigations. This work was conducted under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 3328 with Steve A. Tomka serving as Principal Investigator. Burned rock collected from the site was discarded pursuant to Chapter 26.27(g)(2) of the Texas Administrative Code. All other artifacts collected during the survey are permanently housed at the Center for Archaeological Research curatorial facility.

Titus Phase Archeology at the S. Stockade Site (41TT865) on Tankersley Creek, Titus County, Texas

The S. Stockade site was discovered on a small rise (330 feet amsl) in the Tankersley Creek floodplain during a recent archeological survey for the Texas Department of Transportation. Tankersley Creek is a southward-flowing tributary to Big Cypress Creek, and enters that creek’s floodplain a few miles below the Lake Bob Sandlin dam. There is a dense concentration of prehistoric archeological sites throughout the Tankersley Creek valley, particularly post-A.D. 800 Caddo Indian sites. This paper discusses the archeology of the S. Stockade site, a Late Caddoan Titus phase settlement. The rise at the S. Stockade site is grass-covered (with a surface visibility of less than 10%), except along the eroded slopes, where the clay B-horizon subsoil is exposed. The old creek channel immediately to the west of the rise has recently been channelized, and between the rise and the channelized creek are several low-lying marshy areas with standing water.

Prehistoric Butchery and Consumption of Birds in the Kingdom of Tonga, South Pacific

We evaluate the preservational attributes (element frequency, breakage, burning, cut-marks, rodent gnawing, and age) of ca.500 bird bones from three prehistoric archaeological sites on the Polynesian islands of Foa and Lifuka in the Ha‘apai Group, Kingdom of Tonga. Two of the sites lie in calcareous beach sands whereas the third is the refuse infilling of a well. Although differing in age, all three sites are unequivocally cultural in origin, as evidenced by rich artifact assemblages and various sedimentological features (pits, hearths, etc.) that reflect human activities. The sites also contain bones from a diverse assemblage of marine fish, marine and terrestrial reptiles (sea turtles, iguanas), and terrestrial mammals (fruit bats, rats, pigs, dogs). We find no evidence for deposition of bones (bird or otherwise) in these Tongan sites by non-human agents. This is expected given that we are unaware of any non-human species or geological process that would concentrate the bones of fishes, reptiles, birds, and mammals on a beach ridge or in a well in Tonga. This is especially the case since the species range from very small to very large, and represent marine, fresh water, coastal, and forested habitats. Nevertheless, clear evidence of cultural involvement cannot be discerned on most individual bones, whether bird or non-bird. Furthermore, most taphonomic attributes (element frequency, breakage, burning, and cut-marks) of bones of a domesticated species (the chicken, Gallus gallus) resemble those found on bones of indigenous landbirds. We believe that all bones in any zooarchaeological assemblage should be evaluated carefully to determine who or what was responsible for their deposition. We see no reason, however, why bird bones should be held to some standard higher than those applied to the bones of other taxa, as some have suggested.