Esta pesquisa pretende contribuir para o entendimento da formação e da manutenção de uma fronteira cultural no contexto do médio Amazonas, durante o período pré-colonial tardio. O objeto de estudo insere-se no âmbito do ápice demográfico na Amazônia central, decorrente da convergência de movimentos populacionais em larga escala, associados à expansão das duas últimas grandes tradições culturais pré-coloniais: a Polícroma da Amazônia e a Inciso-Ponteada. Tal período foi descrito ressaltando a ocorrência de fortes conflitos em um processo de reconfiguração cultural. Através de uma abordagem que considera as fronteiras como processos históricos, propomos que na região do baixo rio Urubu (AM), a partir do ano 1000 d. C., a penetração de elementos exógenos faça de contrapeso à formação de um estilo local, a tradição Saracá, capaz de incorporar tais elementos e naturaliza-los sobre a base de uma ideologia de persistência cultural. Portanto, a hipótese com a qual trabalhamos vira ao avesso a visão tradicional, ao sustentar que à base da formação dessa fronteira persistente tenhamos que admitir o desenvolvimento e a afirmação de uma política interacionista. Com o objetivo de testar tal hipótese, investigamos o contexto de uma casa, localizada no sítio arqueológico Bom Socorro (Itacoatiara-AM); partindo do pressuposto que o âmbito doméstico possa ser altamente informativo das relações que se instauram entre o nível local e o nível regional. A escavação de tal estrutura possibilitou inserir a variabilidade artefatual dentro da dimensão social de uma comunidade circunscrita. Os resultados apontam para um período de ocupação do sítio entre 1430 e 1650 AD, quando, a interação entre diferentes grupos na região tem levado a formação de grandes assentamentos, compostos por casas comunais dispostas segundo fileiras paralelas. No setor central da maloca foi encontrada uma área de consumo de alimentos, possivelmente associada ao âmbito político-convivial. As cerâmicas desse contexto condensam toda a variabilidade estilística regional, revelando a ocorrência de relações sociais que perpassam as fronteiras culturais. O estudo das relações estilísticas entre a cerâmica Saracá e os outros conjuntos demostra que essa tradição local compartilha muitos traços diagnósticos também com os estilos mais antigos; inclusive, é evidente uma forte semelhança iconográfica com a arte rupestre regional. Tais elementos apontam para a produção de um estilo local fortemente embasado na tradição, que possivelmente reflete a intenção de reificar uma fronteira social. / This research aims to understand the formation and maintenance of a cultural frontier in the context of Middle Amazonas, during the late pre-contact period. The scope of this research is focused on the demographic peak period of central Amazonia, due to large population movements, along with the spread of the two last important traditions of pre-contact period: Polychrome and Incised and Punctate. This period has been characterized by heavy conflicts in a context of culture change. If we consider the frontier as an historical process, we argue that in this region, from 1000 AD onward, exogenous cultural elements are coexistent with a local style, Saracá tradition, which was able to include these items on a pre-existing ideological conservativism. Because of this, we argue the opposite of customary approach, stressing that at the very basis of this cultural frontier a cultural interchange has been developed and strengthened. In order to test this hypothesis, from the standpoint that domestic context is highly informative, we studied a communal house of Bom Socorro archaeological site (Amazonas state, Brazil). The excavation of this domestic structure made possible the contextualization of this artefactual variability in the social dimension of a small community, showing the connections of different cultural traditions with extra-frontier social bonds. Results point to an occupation period which extends between 1430 and 1650 AD, when the interaction between different groups lead to formation of large settlements made by large communal houses placed in parallel lines. In the central area of the house a feeding area has been recovered, possibly associated to a political or religious function. Ceramic production from this context is a synthesis of the entire regional stylistic variability, pointing to social relationships crossing cultural frontiers. The study of stylistic relationship between Saraca ceramics and other groups demonstrates that this local tradition shares many specific traits with the oldest stylistic assemblages. A strong iconographic relationship with regional rock art is also evident. All these elements point to the production of a local style deeply rooted into the tradition, maybe reflecting the aim of stressing a real social frontier.

xvi, 148 p. : ill. (some col.) A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / The preservation of architecture associated with underrepresented communities has been hindered by traditional biases in preservation. The post-contact history of Native Americans of the Klamath Basin has not been exempt from this trend. Archaeologists have begun to uncover evidence of post-contact lifeways of Native Americans on the former Klamath Indian Reservation in southern Oregon. This thesis examines the influence of 19th and 20th century federal policies on reservation households, using data from archaeological investigations at a 19th century Native American homestead (the Beatty Curve Site, 35KL95). This information, coupled with historical research, is used to reconstruct the homestead and cultural setting on paper and will be useful in identifying similar properties. More importantly, this thesis adds to a regional and national narrative on Native survival, adaptation, and cultural persistence in the face of new social realities in the post-contact period. This thesis includes previously published and unpublished co-authored material. / Committee in charge: Dr. Kingston Wm. Heath, Chairperson; Dr. Rick Minor, Member

xv, 296 p. : ill. (some col.) A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries under the call number: KNIGHT E78.O6 H44 2001 / This study analyzes the botanical and archaeological material from a Middle Holocene occupation at the Bergen site, located in the Fort Rock Basin, Oregon. It serves to complement and enhance over a decade of research focused on regional settlement patterns in the Northern Great Basin. While previous studies in the region have focused on broadly based settlement patterns, this study shifted the interpretive lens toward an in-depth analysis of a single family dwelling, which was occupied some 6000 years ago. It thus introduces the domain of "household archaeology" into the practice of archaeological research in the Northern Great Basin for the first time. Macrobotanical analysis was conducted on 215 soil samples collected on a 50cm grid from this house. An additional 20 samples were analyzed from a second house structure at the site. These analyses have provided evidence of diet, environment, and social behavior associated with the prehistoric occupants of the house. The abundance of charred bulrush (Scirpus ), goosefoot (Chenopodium ), and waada (Suaeda ) seeds in the deposits indicate that small seeds of wetland-adapted plants were an important dietary resource during the Middle Holocene in the Fort Rock Basin. The patterned distribution of botanical material in 215 soil samples across the floor of the house provide strong evidence of prehistoric human activity areas. The highest concentration of seeds and charcoal in the house was located near the central fire hearth, where cooking and food preparation took place. An east-facing entryway is suggested by the presence of a secondary concentration of seeds and charcoal on the eastern edge of the structure. Analysis also revealed a differential distribution of seed types across the house floor. Higher concentrations of bulrush in the northern area of the floor, away from the hearth, suggest the presence of sleeping mats. Results of this study indicate that plant remains are not evenly distributed through archaeological deposits, therefore care must be taken when sampling for macrobotanical remains. Research at the Bergen site provides the basis for recommendations to assist future archaeologists in determining the best and most cost-effective locations within excavations to take macrobotanical samples. / Committee in charge: Dr. C. Melvin Aikens, Chair; Dr. Theresa O'Neil; Dr. Dennis Jenkins; Dr. Daniel Close

Plankhouses were functionally and symbolically integral to Northwest Coast societies, as much of economic and social life was predicated on these dwellings. This thesis investigates both plankhouse architecture and the production of these dwellings. Studying plankhouse construction and maintenance provides information regarding everyday labor, landscape use outside of villages, organization of complex tasks, and resource management. This thesis investigates three plankhouse structures at two sites, Meier and Cathlapotle, in the Lower Columbia River Region of the southern Northwest Coast of North America. Methods consisted of digitizing over 1,100 architectural features, creating detailed maps of architectural features, and conducting statistical and spatial analysis of these features. I use ethnographies, historical documents, experimental archaeology, and ecological studies to characterize the processes of plankhouse production. This information is combined with excavation data from Cathlapotle and Meier to calculate estimates of material and labor required for plankhouse-related activities. Results of this study support previous inferences regarding house architecture, construction and maintenance at the two sites. Structural elements were frequently replaced, yet overall house appearance changed little over time. Some differences in structural element use and size are noted between the two sites, suggesting that slightly different building techniques may have been employed at the two villages. Although approximate, calculations of raw materials and person days required for various building tasks provide a glimpse of the massive undertaking entailed in constructing and maintaining plankhouses. These data suggest that an enormous amount of trees were required for construction and maintenance over house occupation, approximately 700-1,200 trees at Meier, 900-2,000 trees at Cathlapotle House 1, and 150-400 trees at Cathlapotle House 4. Estimates of minimum person days entailed for tasks related to initial construction range from 1,400-2,800 at Meier, to 2,100-4,500 at Cathlapotle House 1, to 350-700 at Cathlapotle House 4. In highlighting the articulation of plankhouse labor with household reproduction, this thesis demonstrates the important interplay between material outputs, everyday action, and sociopolitical aspects of Northwest Coast society.

This thesis is a demographic analysis of Late Bronze Age Canaan (ca. 1550/1500-1200/1150 BCE), undertaken through the use of archaeological and anthropological data. The purpose is to establish estimates for the settlement population, nomadic population, nuclear family size, house size, sex ratio, and life expectancy of the people of Canaan during the Late Bronze Age. Previous studies have not addressed these issues in detail, nor had data from the entire scope of Canaan been considered, nor had a precise methodology been developed or used for estimating specific settlement populations and nomadic populations for Canaan during the Late Bronze Age. Thus, additional aspects of the thesis include the development and use of a new methodology for estimating ancient populations and a database of all of the Late Bronze Age sites in Canaan—both archaeological and textual. To accomplish these goals, the thesis uses archaeological data from excavations and surveys, texts from the Late Bronze Age, human skeletal remains from Late Bronze Age burials, demographic and ethnographic studies of various types of nomads, and methods, techniques, and observations from previous relevant studies. The primary objectives are to 1) obtain individual settlement, nomadic, and total population estimates for Canaan in the Late Bronze Age that are as accurate as possible based on the currently available data, along with additional demographic estimates of life expectancy and sex ratio, 2) propose a new methodology for estimating settlement populations in the ancient world, 3) present a catalogue and map of all of the sites in Canaan that were inhabited during the Late Bronze Age, 4) illuminate demographic trends during the Late Bronze Age in Canaan. The implications of the results may lead to a modified demographic view of Canaan and its sub-regions during the Late Bronze Age. / Old Testament & Ancient Near Eastern Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Biblical Archaeology)

The archaeological research was conducted at Botshabelo, a nineteenth century Berlin Mission Society station located outside Middelburg, Mpumalanga. It focuses primarily on the collection of residential houses and homesteads in the area known as the Motse, meaning “village” in Sotho. This is where the mission station’s African residents lived. This research seeks to use archaeology, specifically the study of the associated material culture, in order to refine the chronology of changes to settlement in this area, and to explore the ways in which the inhabitants interacted with other sectors of the mission station community and the then wider Transvaal society. Although the mission station and its settlement dates from 1865, the material culture excavated and analysed in this project is primarily from the twentieth century. It is through the careful analysis of these houses and their architecture, together with the associated material culture that the social and cultural values of the people who built and used them can be explored. To date there has been a copious amount of research done on these mission stations in southern Africa, flowing mainly from the disciplines of history and anthropology (Comaroff and Comaroff 1991; Delius 1981; Japha et al 1993; Kirkaldy 2005; Vernal 2009). In contrast, however, there has been relatively little archaeological research carried out on the various mission stations within southern Africa (but see Ashley 2010; Boshoff 2004; Clift 2001; Jeppson 2005; Reid et al 1997). This research project is based in archaeology, and in particular in the discipline of historical archaeology, which can provide the methodologies and approaches that can be used to make sense of the history of the Botshabelo Mission Station and the Motse. This research therefore intends to contribute to the currently under researched field of mission archaeology within South Africa. / Anthropology and Archaeology / M.A. (Archaeology)

This thesis is a demographic analysis of Late Bronze Age Canaan (ca. 1550/1500-1200/1150 BCE), undertaken through the use of archaeological and anthropological data. The purpose is to establish estimates for the settlement population, nomadic population, nuclear family size, house size, sex ratio, and life expectancy of the people of Canaan during the Late Bronze Age. Previous studies have not addressed these issues in detail, nor had data from the entire scope of Canaan been considered, nor had a precise methodology been developed or used for estimating specific settlement populations and nomadic populations for Canaan during the Late Bronze Age. Thus, additional aspects of the thesis include the development and use of a new methodology for estimating ancient populations and a database of all of the Late Bronze Age sites in Canaan—both archaeological and textual. To accomplish these goals, the thesis uses archaeological data from excavations and surveys, texts from the Late Bronze Age, human skeletal remains from Late Bronze Age burials, demographic and ethnographic studies of various types of nomads, and methods, techniques, and observations from previous relevant studies. The primary objectives are to 1) obtain individual settlement, nomadic, and total population estimates for Canaan in the Late Bronze Age that are as accurate as possible based on the currently available data, along with additional demographic estimates of life expectancy and sex ratio, 2) propose a new methodology for estimating settlement populations in the ancient world, 3) present a catalogue and map of all of the sites in Canaan that were inhabited during the Late Bronze Age, 4) illuminate demographic trends during the Late Bronze Age in Canaan. The implications of the results may lead to a modified demographic view of Canaan and its sub-regions during the Late Bronze Age. / Biblical and Ancient Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Biblical Archaeology)