Analysis of Borden's papers, including unpublished (to 1975), to discover logic used to formulate and test hypotheses. Available data and explanatory patterns shown. Work characterized as search for Northwest Coast chronology with three periods: Early. Evidence from stratigraphy, geology, historical linguistics, ethnographies, study of spatial distribution of similar artifacts. Middle. Application of 0-14 dating to test and correct earlier hypotheses. Recent. Sequences of hypotheses to explain complex, puzzling phenomena involving many basic sciences. Papers shown to be series of retroductions, moving from puzzling phenomina to hypotheses from which the phenomena would follow as a matter of course.

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No description available.

The recovery and analysis of data from secondary refuse contexts is a crucial aspect of many archaeological investigations. Treatment of secondary refuse as a distinct analytical context is especially useful for the examination of socioeconomic and demographic variability in prehistoric and modem societies. This dissertation reviews ethnoarchaeological research on refuse disposal in non-industrialized societies, modern industrialized societies, and historic contexts. Based on this review, a framework is suggested for the analysis of secondary refuse at archaeological sites. Results of an ethnoarchaeological study of modern household refuse are presented. The study uses data collected by the University of Arizona's Garbage Project from Tucson, Arizona; Phoenix, Arizona; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Marin County, California. The depositional structure of modern household refuse is examined. Special focus is given to identifying and analyzing the relationships between refuse variability and socioeconomic and demographic variability. Furthermore, the effects of short-term, external economic changes on the patterning associated with ethnicity in Tucson are identified and examined. The implications of the study for historical and prehistoric archaeology are discussed.

The Mpumalanga escarpment hosts a series of stonewalled settlements that occur along a narrow belt between Carolina and Ohrigstad. These sites are unique as they have networks of linking roads, vast areas of terracing as well as large cattle kraals which do not occur in combination or to such an extent anywhere else in southern Africa. Furthermore these settlements occur at an altitude unfavourable for living or agricultural purposes. With the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) layers of data relating to the Mpumalanga escarpment and the settlements within the area over the past five hundred years are viewed and compared in order to further understand the placement and structure of these settlements.

My study sought to acquire quantitative data from the surface of lithic tools and use that data to discriminate tools used on different contact materials. An experimental archaeological wear production method was conceived, whereby I and several volunteers produced wear on chert, heat-treated chert, and obsidian flakes by using those flakes on several contact materials. The flakes were then analyzed using a laser scanning confocal microscope, which recorded three-dimensional surface data from each tool. The data was analyzed using cluster analysis to find the ideal combination of parameters which correctly discriminated the flakes based on use-wear data. After finding acceptable parameters which grouped flakes appropriately through cluster analysis, those groups were subjected to a discriminant analysis. Each analysis returned a p-value under .05, meaning that the clustering based on the parameters Sq and Sfd produced by the cluster analysis was not random, but indicative of these variables' ability to discriminate lithic use-wear. The major advantage of the approach developed in this study is that it can quantitatively discriminate use-wear produced by different contact materials on flakes with no a priori information at all. / by Elliott Farber. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

This work aimed at aiding academic and CRM professionals in archaeology by developing a predictive model of prehistoric sites on the southeastern coast of Cuba. The variables in this model were identified by previous archaeological research at Guantâanamo Bay Naval Station. Both GIS analysis and weights of evidence testing were conducted on the model. The results of the GIS and statistical analysis allowed for refinement of the model. Cuba is central to understanding the prehistoric settlement of the Caribbean. The model explored not only site occurrence and environmental correlations, but also looked at intersite correlations. It was determined that site occurrences are strongly linked to low elevation, proximity to other sites, south-facing areas, mangroves, and geologic formations. This model may add to the understanding of the prehistoric settling of Cuba, as well as the interactions between native groups. / by April A. Watson. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

An assemblage of prehistoric Huron chipped stone tools has been analyzed in terms of its inherently dynamic properties. It is hypothesized that the series of measurements and ratios that has been developed is more efficient than existing systems for gauging the changing nature of these implements over time. The statistical evaluation of the data revealed strong linear relationships between various pairs of variables, such as projectile point length and tip angle and end scraper bit edge angles and bit height. It was found that comparing these data to other attributes of these tools, such as use-wear traces and reduction techniques, can be very informative about how each category of tools changed through manufacture, use, and maintenance. The results of this analysis were then compared to those of a more traditional study of a contemporaneous collection of Huron stone tools (Poulton, 1985), demonstrating the utility of the techniques developed.

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The analysis of protein residues recovered from archaeological artifacts provides a unique opportunity to reveal new information about past societies. However, many scientists are currently unwilling to accept protein-based results due to problems in method development and a basic lack of agreement regarding the ability of proteins to bind to, and preserve within, artifacts such as pottery. In this paper, I address these challenges by conducting a two-phase experiment. First, I quantitatively evaluate the tendency of proteins to sorb to ceramic matrices by using total organic carbon analysis and spectrophotometric assays to analyze samples of experimentally cooked ceramic. I then test a series of solvent and physical parameters in order to develop an optimized method for extracting and preparing protein residues for identification via mass spectrometry. Results demonstrate that protein strongly sorbs to ceramic and is not easily removed, despite repeated washing, unless an appropriate extraction strategy is used. This has implications for the future of paleodietary, conservation ecology and forensic research in that it suggests the potential for recovery of aged or even ancient proteins from ceramic matrices.