No / Current models of the Mesolithic settlement and mobility systems of northern England have largely resulted in a highly constrained view of the spatial use of the changing postglacial landscape. The ethnography of northern hemisphere hunter-gatherers in North America is at odds with such interpretations. It can be shown that in mid and high latitude forested environments mobile hunter-gatherers (a) use large areas on a seasonal basis and (b) engage in long distance logistic mobility. The application of these observations to the Mesolithic of northern England leads to reappraisal of both the spatial scope of regional settlement systems, and the degree to which upland and coastal environments are employed in the subsistence¿settlement strategy. The results are improved appreciation for the process of colonization and the ¿filling in¿ of the region as well as a more dynamic view of regional Mesolithic mobility systems, both of which have important implications for the role of sites such as Star Carr in regional context.

This thesis constructs an ethnography for the nineteenth century ǀXam Bushmen of the Northern Cape Province of South Africa, known primarily through a nineteenth century manuscript collection of oral narrative (the Bleek-Lloyd archive), which has, over the past twenty-five years, increasingly become the focus of scholarly attention, mined for insights about the cultural world of southern Bushman societies. It draws on the Bleek-Lloyd archive to produce a detailed ethnographic case study, focusing on the ideological and ontological concepts that underpinned the differentiation of ǀXam society. Firstly, the thesis situates the archive and ǀXam society within their particular environmental and historical contexts, providing valuable supplementary information that informs readings of the narratives. By producing a fully searchable transcription of the entirety of the archive, paying close attention to emic terminology, and examining the recurrence of thematic associations of this phraseology throughout the narratives, the analysis explores the constitution of ǀXam ‘personhood’ and examines the extent to which the ‘hunter-gatherer’ category forms a useful heuristic for understanding ǀXam society, with a particular focus on models of the ‘animic ontology’. The ǀXam deployed a series of positively and negatively evaluated traits in the creation of dimensions of authority, obligation, and social responsibility, embedded in particular social identities; central to these constructions and to the differentiation of these identities were the techniques and resources of ǀXam subsistence practices, salient in the production of admirable (socially-responsible hunters), reprehensible (antagonistic ‘beasts of prey’), and more ambiguous (ǃgi:tǝn ritual specialists) identities. Recognising this internal differentiation, the thesis outlines ǀXam ‘subsistence strategies’ and suggests they should be defined broadly to include their contacts and interactions with non-ǀXam groups, with domesticated animals, and with the novel material culture of the colonial period; these interactions were a consequence of their ‘hunter-gatherer’ strategies rather than a negation of them. Such strategies generated experiences that reinforced and reconstituted ǀXam ideological frameworks, incorporating the dynamics of the nineteenth century ‘frontier’ scenario and provided avenues for social change that ultimately led to the collapse of independent hunter-gatherer lifeways, and to the adoption of strategies that incorporated ǀXam individuals within rural and urban ‘Coloured’ populations of the Northern Cape; placing the ǀXam in a comparative colonial context, the thesis stresses the wider relevance of this particular ethnography for understanding hunter-gatherer engagements with food-producing, state-level societies.

In many cases in the past fish bones recovered during archaeological excavations at Upper Palaeolithic sites were often assumed to result from human activity without any consideration for alternate accumulation processes. Many of these assemblages had not been analysed in a scientifically rigorous manner, with some receiving no consideration at all. A review of current evidence and results of new analyses indicate that salmonids (salmon and trout) are the most frequently recorded fish at the European Palaeolithic cave sites. Two potential accumulation agents for fish remains were explored: brown bears (Ursus arctos) and eagle owls (Bubo bubo). Controlled feeding experiments integrated with ecological studies indicate that salmonid remains survive the digestive systems of both species and result in distinctive patterning in assemblage characteristics. Post-depositional taphonomic processes, such as trampling, also produce distinct taphonomic signatures and are an agent of differential inter-species preservation. A thorough consideration of depositional and post-depositional processes of archaeological assemblages in central Italy (Grotta di Pozzo, Maritza, La Punta and Ortucchio) and Spain (El Juyo, Altamira, Salitre, Castillo and Rascaño) shows that the fish remains from these sites result from human activity. The overrepresentation of cranial elements at the Italian sites suggest that fish were processed by removing the head to perhaps smoke or dry before transportation to other locations for consumption. This research lead to improved methods of analysis, and thus enhanced understanding of the role of fishing and fish consumption in Upper Palaeolithic hunter-gatherer societies.

Lithic artifacts are used in the understanding of human history. In order to do so, analyses and categorizations are made of the artifacts with the use of several methods and terminology. In this thesis, the minimum analytical nodule analysis (MANA) is used as method to analyze assemblages of lithic artifacts from 16 archaeological sites in Sweden. The sites date to Middle Mesolithic (c. 6800–5500 BC) and Late Mesolithic (c. 5500–3900 BC). The aim is to try to understand activities at the sites, and the theory of social organization is used. The results of the study indicate that it is possible to divide the sites into three types based on activity scenarios. In addition to this, the words ‘mobility’ and ‘sedentism’ are problematized in an attempt to understand how mobility and sedentism can be interpreted, both in the light of previous research and based on the results of this study. / Litiska artefakter används i förståelsen av människans historia. För att göra det, görs analyser och kategoriseringar av materialet med användning av flertalet metoder och terminologi. I den här uppsatsen, används minimum analytical nodule analysis (MANA) som metod för att analysera samlingar av litiska artefakter från 16 arkeologiska platser (eng. sites) i Sverige. Platserna är daterade till mellanmesolitikum (ca 6800–5500 f.Kr.) och senmesolitikum (ca 5500–3900 f.Kr.). Syftet är att försöka förstå aktiviteter på platserna, och teorin om social organisation används. Studiens resultat indikerar att det är möjligt att dela in platserna i tre typer baserat på aktivitetsscenarion. Därtill, problematiseras orden ’mobilitet’ och ’sedentism’ i ett försök att förstå hur mobilitet och sedentism kan tolkas, både i ljuset av tidigare forskning och baserat på resultaten av den här studien.

A arqueologia do Estado de São Paulo é um tema ainda pouco explorado nas pesquisas acadêmicas. Tal negligência pode ser justificada tanto pela constante transformação da paisagem quanto pelo próprio desconhecimento de seu alto potencial informativo. Essa dissertação tráz resultados inéditos para dois sítios localizados na região de Rio Claro, porção centro-leste do estado. Foram trabalhados os sítios: Abrigo do Alvo - que como o próprio nome sugere encontra-se em contexto abrigado - com duas cronologias bem estabelecidas, sendo a ocupação mais recente em torno de 1.170 cal AP e a mais antiga em 7.500 cal AP; e o Bastos - sítio a céu aberto - com a idade mais recente em 7.650 cal AP e a mais antiga em 12.640 cal AP. O objetivo da pesquisa foi o de caracterizar o conjunto artefatual dos dois sítios considerando os materiais líticos associados apenas à datação do Holoceno Médio, tendo como referencial teórico o conceito de Cadeia Operatória. Os resultados, quando comparados, mostram que esses grupos caçadores-coletores que habitaram o interior paulista no mesmo período, não compartilhavam características tecnológicas em comum, indicando grupos culturalmente distintos. / The archaeology of São Paulo State is a subject not fully explored in academic research. Such state of the art can be justified both by the constant transformation of the landscape and by the lack of knowledge of its high information potential. This dissertation brings new data from the Rio Claro region, central-eastern portion of the state. Two sites have been worked: Alvo Rockshelter with two well established occupations, the most recent around 1,170 cal AP and the oldest around 7,500 cal AP; and Bastos - am open air site - with the most recent chronology at 7,650 cal AP and the oldest at 12,640 cal AP. The aim of this research was to characterize the assemblages of the two sites considering the lithic materials dated from the middle Holocene, having as theoretical reference the concept of Châine Opératoire. The results, when compared, show that these hunter-gatherer groups that inhabited the interior of São Paulo in the same period did not share common technological characteristics, indicating culturally distinct groups.

Well-preserved plant remains recovered from archaeological deposits at the Paisley Five-Mile Point Caves and Little Steamboat Point-1 Rockshelter in southcentral Oregon provided a rare opportunity to study ancient plant resources used by northern Great Basin indigenous groups and their ancestors with Western Stemmed technologies. Macrobotanical analysis of cultural features and vertical columns spanning the Terminal Pleistocene and Holocene epochs in the rockshelter repositories yielded thousands of seeds and charcoal fragments that can be attributed to human activities. Data generated in this analysis have provided evidence of paleoenvironments along with the diets and social behaviors of people visiting northern Great Basin rockshelters as a stopover on their seasonal subsistence rounds. The preponderance of upland shrubs and herbs in the assemblages at both archaeological sites indicates vegetation in the immediate vicinity of the rockshelters was fairly stable over the past 14,000 years. The macrobotanical data complemented local and regional pollen analyses to refine the paleoecological proxy data and address uncertainties regarding the proximity of wetland plants and pine (Pinus sp.) to the rockshelters in the past. Samples originating from Younger Dryas deposits at the Paisley Caves and Late Holocene deposits at the Paisley Caves and LSP-1 Rockshelter suggest increased visitation frequency in these periods. The diverse assemblage of cultural plant remains during these times also indicate a broad diet breadth for Great Basin foragers, which included small seeds, nuts and berries, and root vegetables. The presence of an earth oven feature dating to the Terminal Pleistocene/Early Holocene (TP/EH) in Paisley Cave 5 further demonstrates sophisticated traditional knowledge of plant foods and cooking techniques as early as 12,000 cal BP. This study also generated data chronicling the deep historical roots of traditionally valued economic plant foods. Cheno-ams, grasses (Poaceae), and tansymustards (Descurainia sp.) are well-represented in fire hearths at the Paisley Caves and LSP-1 Rockshelter through time. Analysis of a bushytailed woodrat (Neotoma cinerea) nest in deposits dating to the TP/EH demonstrates rodents living in the Paisley Caves routinely scavenged resources from cultural activity areas, and raised questions about whether people recognized the woodrats’ nests as a reliable resource of cached edible seeds.

Ontogenetic patterns in postcranial robusticity are analysed in the skeletons of eighty-two juvenile Later Stone Age hunter-gatherers with estimated ages at death ranging from infancy to late adolescence. Robusticity is quantified from cross-sectional geometric properties of diaphyses at sixteen sites throughout the skeleton, using radiography and casting methods. Skeletal growth profiles for strength measures are analysed with locally-weighted regression and additional curve fitting to evaluate developmental trajectories. Ethnographic accounts of infancy and childhood in modern Ju/'hoansi (Khoesan) communities provide a culturally-relevant interpretive framework for evaluating skeletal correlates of behaviour. This research demonstrates that bone strength properties can be functionally linked to behaviour among juveniles toward the reconstruction of patterns of physical activity among prehistoric children. Postcranial strength measures vary predictably with age such that developmental patterns and timing in appositional growth can be assessed reliably. The onset of walking among Later Stone Age juveniles is evident by two years of age from proportional lower to upper limb strength measures. The lower limb continues to adapt to increasing loading demands especially in response to torsional forces, and bending in the medio-lateral plane; biomechanical shape measures illustrate the gradual development of the femoral pilaster. Individual humeral strength is symmetrical with respect to the orientation maximal bending forces experienced throughout development, but the magnitude of the functional adaptive response is greater, on average, in the right limb with more than 70% of the sample over the age of six displaying right-side dominance. Humeral asymmetry and side dominance does not emerge until late childhood, and the majority of arm strength is accrued during adolescence, relative to the sex-combined mean values for Later Stone Age adults. Evidence for sexual dimorphism in upper limb properties is evident by late adolescence whereas sex-based patterns of mobility reflected in lower limb strength have yet to emerge. These results illustrate the developmental patterns that underlie postcranial markers of subsistence activities in Later Stone Age hunter-gatherers.

Ontogenetic patterns in postcranial robusticity are analysed in the skeletons of eighty-two juvenile Later Stone Age hunter-gatherers with estimated ages at death ranging from infancy to late adolescence. Robusticity is quantified from cross-sectional geometric properties of diaphyses at sixteen sites throughout the skeleton, using radiography and casting methods. Skeletal growth profiles for strength measures are analysed with locally-weighted regression and additional curve fitting to evaluate developmental trajectories. Ethnographic accounts of infancy and childhood in modern Ju/'hoansi (Khoesan) communities provide a culturally-relevant interpretive framework for evaluating skeletal correlates of behaviour. This research demonstrates that bone strength properties can be functionally linked to behaviour among juveniles toward the reconstruction of patterns of physical activity among prehistoric children. Postcranial strength measures vary predictably with age such that developmental patterns and timing in appositional growth can be assessed reliably. The onset of walking among Later Stone Age juveniles is evident by two years of age from proportional lower to upper limb strength measures. The lower limb continues to adapt to increasing loading demands especially in response to torsional forces, and bending in the medio-lateral plane; biomechanical shape measures illustrate the gradual development of the femoral pilaster. Individual humeral strength is symmetrical with respect to the orientation maximal bending forces experienced throughout development, but the magnitude of the functional adaptive response is greater, on average, in the right limb with more than 70% of the sample over the age of six displaying right-side dominance. Humeral asymmetry and side dominance does not emerge until late childhood, and the majority of arm strength is accrued during adolescence, relative to the sex-combined mean values for Later Stone Age adults. Evidence for sexual dimorphism in upper limb properties is evident by late adolescence whereas sex-based patterns of mobility reflected in lower limb strength have yet to emerge. These results illustrate the developmental patterns that underlie postcranial markers of subsistence activities in Later Stone Age hunter-gatherers.

This dissertation describes the results of archaeological survey and excavationsundertaken on the Mesa el Chaparral in the county of Mina in Nuevo Leon, Mexicoduring 2001. Sixty-six previously undocumented archaeological sites were discovered onthe arid surface. Excavations found no intact subsurface deposits, but a wealth of surfacedata was collected. Subsequent analyses demonstrated a forager lifeway for the majorityof the Holocene human occupation of the region in a remarkably stable pattern.To understand sites found on the deflated modern surface necessitatedcontemplation of the basic theories and models used in hunter-gatherer research. Thisallowed for the construction of new diagrams designed to hypothesize fundamentalrelationships between general aspects of the lifeway including environmental factors, sitesize and visibility issues, and human mobility patterns. From some basic continuums,more detailed diagrams were created that allow understanding and prediction of humanbehavior based upon data found from artifacts and features. After testing their salience,the models were dynamically combined with the site data and ethnographic analogies toarrive at an understanding of the human lifeways represented by the recoveredarchaeological data. This provided a fascinating look into the day-to-day lives of thegeneralized mobile foragers of prehistoric northeastern Mexico.Included in the recovered data are hearth features, lithic debitage and artifacts,and basic site descriptions. Archaeological locations ranged from small with a singlefeature to over a square kilometer with over 100 features, all located on the surface wherethey are subject to wind deflation and water erosion. Most of the sites containeddiagnostic artifacts from the entire Holocene, further compounding the analyticcomplexity of the project. Understanding the context of the data and making use of themodels and ethnographic analogies, it was estimated that every site represented anoccupation by a small band of mobile forgers making generalized use of the resourcesavailable in the region. Making residential moves often allowed people to survive in theharsh environment. Few lifeway changes were noted prior to Spanish influence in theregion from the time the environment became arid at the end of the Pleistocene.

In the boreal forests of northeastern Alberta and northwestern Saskatchewan, one of the most abundant and reliable sources of lithic material was the Quarry of the Ancestors. This Quarry is located 50 km northwest of Ft. McMurray, AB and is the primary source of Beaver River Sandstone; a lithic raw material that dominates the archaeological stone tool and debitage assemblages in this region. Other lithic materials, such as quartzite, chert, and quartz, were accessible in gravel and glacial tills and in lakeshore and river beds scattered across northern Alberta and Saskatchewan. The analysis of stone tools from 31 archaeological sites spanning 260 km from the Quarry into the Descharme River system, in northwestern Saskatchewan, suggests that as pre-contact people moved across the landscape and away from the Quarry, they maintained and recycled their tools and used whatever other lithic resources were available. In contexts where there were issues with the availability, quality and abundance of lithic raw materials, the mobility of pre-contact hunter-gatherers may have been strongly influenced by the distribution of these lithic sources. However, the availability of food resources may have also been a strong influence over mobility patterns in circumstances where these lithic raw material issues were less marked. Northern Dene groups of this region are known to have travelled hundreds of kilometers seasonally following barren-ground caribou whose wintering grounds extended well into northwestern Saskatchewan. Through the distribution of lithic raw material and the analysis of lithic tool technology, I explore the role these two important resources had in shaping the overall organization of pre-contact hunter-gatherer mobility strategies employed in these two regions.