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Thesis (Ph. D. in Anthropology)--Vanderbilt University, May 2007. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Abstract This study seeks to expand the knowledge of Woodland subsistence practices in the Alabama River valley by presenting an analysis of the faunal assemblage from the Indian Hill site, 1WX15. Additionally, this study presents a comparison of 1WX15 to other sites from the Tombigbee, Alabama, and Coosa river valleys in order to present a broad picture of Woodland subsistence in and near the Eastern Gulf Coastal Plain. An intra-site comparison revealed the primary vertebrate resources exploited were mammals and turtles. The substantial amount of turtle fragments suggested the site was occupied during warm months, with a fall and winter occupation possible as well. Feature 38, a domestic dog skeleton, was of special interest. Characteristics of this feature indicated both intentional burial and post-mortem modifications consistent with food refuse. An inter-site comparison demonstrated that three variables were influencing the composition of the faunal assemblages from the Tombigbee, Alabama, and Coosa river valleys. These three variables were seasonality, geography, and time. Seasonality and geography appeared to have greater influence than time. This study has revealed three areas in which Eastern Gulf Coastal Plain faunal analyses are inadequate. There are few Middle Woodland faunal assemblages; those available have very small sample sizes. There are no faunal analyses available outside of alluvial valleys. Finally, there are very few winter assemblages; assemblages in which winter occupation is indicated are mixed with warm season material. Rectifying these shortcomings with future research will provide a more comprehensive picture of Woodland subsistence and variability thereof.

The Pine Hill collection was discovered in the archaeology lab at State University of New York College at Potsdam after remaining unstudied for over 30 years since its initial excavation in the 1960s and 1970s. Pine Hill has been identified as a fifteenth century St. Lawrence Iroquois village site, located in St. Lawrence County, New York. The faunal remains and bone tools from the site indicate food procurement strategies, seasonal activities, the presence of discrete activity areas at the site, and the production and use of a wide range of bone tools. Replication experiments conducted on several bone tool types provide insight about how these tools were made, used, and how quickly they might be discarded. As one of the first reports on a St. Lawrence Iroquois site in the region, this study presents important information about this group.

Evidence suggests that purple dye was produced on the islet of Mitrou, a Bronze Age and Early Iron Age site in central Greece. The goal of this study is to determine the chronological and spatial patterning of Murex shells in order to better understand the emergence of dye manufacture. The research hypothesis is that Murex dye production was related to the rise of a visible political elite and that the scale of production was large enough at Mitrou to have exceeded the needs of the household, thus providing a cash crop for this elite to obtain imports from the Eastern Mediterranean. Multi-layered statistical analyses were employed to test this two-pronged hypothesis. The first hypothesis that Murex dye production was related to the rise of the elite at Mitrou was confirmed by a series of chi-squared analyses. Based on site-wide estimates of original Murex population, the second hypothesis that dye production exceeded domestic scale cannot be rejected. Since we know the prehistoric Mycenaeans produced very ornate, multi-colored and often banded garments, it is possible that Murex dye was produced at Mitrou to color raw wool for the production of thread, which could then be embroidered on fabric or traded as such. If it was in fact colored thread that was being produced, the site-wide estimates suggest that dye production could have exceeded domestic levels at Mitrou and dyed thread could have been a lucrative trading commodity.

Thesis (M.A.)--Oregon State University, 2007. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 113-120). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Archaeological research has provided evidence of change in the settlement and subsistence practices of human groups inhabiting the Great Plains throughout the Holocene. A substantial part of this reorganization appears to be tied to concurrent changes affecting local bison populations, a species upon which these groups were uniquely dependant. Although bison are thought to have been strongly affected by the severe climates of the Mid-Holocene, there is an absence of appropriate models from which to interpret data in the archaeological and paleontological records. Nevertheless, new techniques are allowing for the determination of ecological information directly from prehistoric remains. This study uses stable isotope ratios (813C, 8'SN, 8D) in bone collagen to examine the dietary ecology of bison in Southern Saskatchewan during eight distinct time periods spanning the last 9,000 years. Stable isotopes of hydrogen and nitrogen in the tissues of animals relate to aspects of local climate, while stable-carbon isotope values reflect dietary choices. When employed in a comparative fashion, these sources may be used to construct simple models of foraging behaviour.<p> The environmental data developed from this investigation appear to correlate generally with patterns predicted by conventional models of Holocene climate. Nevertheless, at least one period of unexpectedly moderate temperature was identified from a context dating to the and Mid-Holocene. The ecological impact of such an episode may have been significant. In addition, the results of this study suggest that bison diet has a complex relationship with local climate. Changes in plant distribution resulting from variations of temperature and precipitation appear to have less of an impact upon bison consumption patterns than do climatically induced changes in the nutritional quality of vegetation. Nevertheless, during specific time periods characterized by similar climatic regimes, their relative consumption of certain forage species (C3 and C4 plants) does not appear to have been consistent. Such a discrepancy may reflect adaptive differences between bison from distinct time periods, or alternatively, the effects of a climatic difference undetectable by isotopic means. In either case, it would appear that bison of the past may have been subject to significant nutritional stresses that could have caused them to behave in fundamentally different ways from modern populations.

This essay examines how four archaeology scholars reason about gender. I have used a qualitative method in making this study of their dissertations.  The aim is to obtain a deeper understanding of gender identity in prehistory, gaining a broader appreciation of how this might be expressed through archaeological material. This essay takes its theoretical departure from postprocessual thinking, where gender perspectives, including feminist and queer theories are in focus. The result of this study shows that the scholars have a postprocessual, structuralistic theoretical perspective in common, and that they use stereotypical identity-descriptions. The conclusion is that gender identities can be interpreted and categorized from archaeological material.

Archaeological research has provided evidence of change in the settlement and subsistence practices of human groups inhabiting the Great Plains throughout the Holocene. A substantial part of this reorganization appears to be tied to concurrent changes affecting local bison populations, a species upon which these groups were uniquely dependant. Although bison are thought to have been strongly affected by the severe climates of the Mid-Holocene, there is an absence of appropriate models from which to interpret data in the archaeological and paleontological records. Nevertheless, new techniques are allowing for the determination of ecological information directly from prehistoric remains. This study uses stable isotope ratios (813C, 8'SN, 8D) in bone collagen to examine the dietary ecology of bison in Southern Saskatchewan during eight distinct time periods spanning the last 9,000 years. Stable isotopes of hydrogen and nitrogen in the tissues of animals relate to aspects of local climate, while stable-carbon isotope values reflect dietary choices. When employed in a comparative fashion, these sources may be used to construct simple models of foraging behaviour.<p> The environmental data developed from this investigation appear to correlate generally with patterns predicted by conventional models of Holocene climate. Nevertheless, at least one period of unexpectedly moderate temperature was identified from a context dating to the and Mid-Holocene. The ecological impact of such an episode may have been significant. In addition, the results of this study suggest that bison diet has a complex relationship with local climate. Changes in plant distribution resulting from variations of temperature and precipitation appear to have less of an impact upon bison consumption patterns than do climatically induced changes in the nutritional quality of vegetation. Nevertheless, during specific time periods characterized by similar climatic regimes, their relative consumption of certain forage species (C3 and C4 plants) does not appear to have been consistent. Such a discrepancy may reflect adaptive differences between bison from distinct time periods, or alternatively, the effects of a climatic difference undetectable by isotopic means. In either case, it would appear that bison of the past may have been subject to significant nutritional stresses that could have caused them to behave in fundamentally different ways from modern populations.

<strong>Abstract</strong> This study seeks to expand the knowledge of Woodland subsistence practices in the Alabama River valley by presenting an analysis of the faunal assemblage from the Indian Hill site, 1WX15. Additionally, this study presents a comparison of 1WX15 to other sites from the Tombigbee, Alabama, and Coosa river valleys in order to present a broad picture of Woodland subsistence in and near the Eastern Gulf Coastal Plain. An intra-site comparison revealed the primary vertebrate resources exploited were mammals and turtles. The substantial amount of turtle fragments suggested the site was occupied during warm months, with a fall and winter occupation possible as well. Feature 38, a domestic dog skeleton, was of special interest. Characteristics of this feature indicated both intentional burial and post-mortem modifications consistent with food refuse. An inter-site comparison demonstrated that three variables were influencing the composition of the faunal assemblages from the Tombigbee, Alabama, and Coosa river valleys. These three variables were seasonality, geography, and time. Seasonality and geography appeared to have greater influence than time. This study has revealed three areas in which Eastern Gulf Coastal Plain faunal analyses are inadequate. There are few Middle Woodland faunal assemblages; those available have very small sample sizes. There are no faunal analyses available outside of alluvial valleys. Finally, there are very few winter assemblages; assemblages in which winter occupation is indicated are mixed with warm season material. Rectifying these shortcomings with future research will provide a more comprehensive picture of Woodland subsistence and variability thereof.