This study focuses on identifying the function of obsidian tools from the Late Neolithic archaeological site of Contraguda on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia. The information obtained from use-wear analysis can provide information about changes in subsistence patterns, craft specialization, social differentiation and technology. This research began by collecting geological samples of obsidian from two of the most exploited sources in the Monte Arci volcanic complex of Sardinia. Subsequently, an experimental set of tools was made from these samples, and they were used to work various raw materials that were presumably available in Sardinia during the Neolithic. Wear patterns were studied on the experimental set utilizing macroscopic and low-power microscopy techniques and were compared to the wear on artifacts excavated from the site of Contraguda. The data obtained from this study were used to identify the function of this site, and complement and refine prior interpretations of human activity in this region. Conducting this study in Sardinian obsidian use wear by utilizing the same geological sources that people during the Neolithic were exploiting provides exceptional data and a perspective that may not be otherwise obtained. Finally, general information may be gleaned from the experimental and analytical techniques used in this research by others. Macroscopic and low-power microscopy techniques are expedient, inexpensive, and easily used in the field; however, minimal research has been done using low-power techniques relative to high-power or higher-tech methods. This research also addresses the benefits, limits, and feasibility of low-power approaches on their own, as well as in conjunction with other lithic analysis methods.

No description available.

The aim of this thesis is to examine the scale of human migration in three prehistoric settlements in the Upper Mun River Valley (UMRV) Northeast Thailand, from c. 1700BC - AD500. Archaeological data implies migration may have had a central role in the development of agriculture and later metal technology in the region, which is suggested to show increased social complexity over this important stage in the development of states in mainland Southeast Asia. The scale of these migrations, however, are not known and based on archaeological evidence it is unclear whether there were large numbers of individuals migrating into the region in order to bring about the changes seen in the archaeological record. Two potentially complementary-methods are used to identify the extent of migration in the UMRV in this thesis. The first method, the study of dental morphological traits, is used as an indication of genotype of 78 prehistoric individuals. The second method is isotope analysis of the dental enamel of 74 individuals, used as indicators of childhood residence and diet. Strontium (Sr), Carbon (C) and Oxygen (O) isotopes are analysed. The first method reflects an individual�s genetic heritage through inherited traits, while the second method is an indication of an individual�s migration during their lifetime. Together, these methods may provide a powerful means to assess the scale of migration over an extended period of time in this region. As it has been posited that the introduction of agriculture is related to migration of people into the region, the current study hypothesises that while immigrants would be identified from outside the UMRV during all phases of occupation at the sites, this would be particularly so during the earlier phases. It is also hypothesised through analysis of the morphological traits that genetic relationships at each site could be suggested. Finally, it is also hypothesised that individuals with evidence for infectious diseases, which are otherwise rare in the region, would be immigrants. The frequencies of the dental morphological traits at each site are calculated, and a local pattern for each site developed. The results from the morphological traits suggest low levels of migration into the UMRV, and overall group homogeneity. Despite this homogeneity, it is suggested that several individuals may have been from a different genetic pool to others at the sites, reflected in a different combination of dental traits. There is also some evidence for genetic relationships between individuals, and over time, possibly indicating familial relationships at the sites. Stability in the Sr isotopes over time suggest a local signature for the UMRV. Sr isotopes did not support a hypothesis of large-scale immigration into the UMRV, as there were few isotopic outliers identified. Those individuals with clear outlier Sr results, and therefore probable immigrants, were predominately female. All phases of occupation of the UMRV attracted some long-range inward movement of people, although the data suggests long-range migration diminished over time. [delta]��C values show no significant change over time, possibly supporting the Sr data of limited migration into the region. While the interpretation of this isotope is primarily from a perspective of migration it is recognised that this may be limited to understanding variation in diet in the individuals. [delta]�⁸O values show significant change over time (p = 0.00, ANOVA), perhaps consistent with previous research which suggested increased aridity in the UMRV. An alternative explanation of the [delta]�⁸O data is that migration increased with time, with people who were differentiated by their O isotopes but not their Sr, however the increased aridity hypothesis is favoured here. The hypothesis that individuals with evidence for infectious disease would be long-range immigrants into the region is rejected. None of the individuals who had physical evidence for infectious disease had chemical data to support their being immigrants. The putative migrants to the UMRV are presented as case studies, assessing the complementarity of the methods used. It is argued that given the changes in the environment over time in the UMRV the area may have become less attractive to immigrants and as a result the communities may have become more insular. The data yielded from the two methods have demonstrated the value of using inherited dental traits together with isotopic data of individual migration for investigating human mobility in the past. Using these methods, this study shows that there were low levels of migration into the UMRV and that long-range migration was more frequent in the earliest phases of occupation in the region.

There are two principal models that purport to interpret the evidence for the origins of the Neolithic period in Thailand. Both stress the importance of rice cultivation and the domestication of a range of animals. One incorporates archaeological and linguistic evidence in identifying the origins as the result of the diffusion of farming communities into Southeast Asia and India from a source in the Yangtze River valley. The alternative stresses a local evolutionary pathway whereby indigenous hunter-gatherers began to cultivate rice within Thailand. This dissertation is centred on the results of the excavation of Ban Non Wat, in the Upper Mun Valley of Northeast Thailand. This has provided one of the largest, best dated and provenanced samples of occupation and mortuary remains of a Neolithic community so far available in Southeast Asia. Its principal objective is to define the motifs incised, impressed and painted onto the surface of ceramic mortuary vessels, in order to permit a comparison with other assemblages first in Thailand, then in Southeast Asia north into China. It is held that if there are close parallels over a wide geographic area, in these motifs, then it would support a model of diffusion. If there are not, then the alternative of local origins would need to be examined closely. It is argued that the similarity in motifs, particularly a stylised human figure, between Thai and Vietnamese sites lends support to a common origin for these groups. The motifs are not so obvious when examining the southern Chinese data, although the mode of decoration by painting, incising and impressing recur there. This, in conjunction with mortuary rituals, weaving technology, the domestic dog, and the linguistic evidence, sustains a model for demic diffusion. However, the presence of ceramic vessels also decorated with impressed/incised techniques in maritime hunter-gatherer contexts stresses that the actual Neolithic settlement may have been more complex.

"21st December 2001" / Includes bibliographical references / Various paging : ill. (some col.), maps, plates ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Physics and Mathematical Physics and Centre for European Studies and General Linguistics, 2003

The Quartz Mountain Obsidian Quarry is located in the Southeast corner of the Bend Fort Rock Ranger District in central Oregon, approximately forty-five miles southeast of Bend, Oregon. The research of the Quartz Mountain Obsidian Quarry began with a literature search of other quarry sites in the area and the use of aerial photos to determine the survey area. After the survey area was established a ground survey was conducted. Following the survey several key areas were chosen for surface collections that could answer key questions: What types of core reductions were being used on Quartz Mountain?; and What types of materials were being utilized? (red/black obsidian found in rhyolite veins, red/black obsidian found in fist sized and larger nodule form, or large block black obsidian). In order to answer these questions three collection units were established. The lithic material from the units was collected and analyzed and the information placed into a database, which was then grouped for statistical analysis, and generated into charts and tables. The resulting data was then compared to the information found from an extensive literature search to see how the material that I collected compared to those found at other quarry sites. From this information I was able to determine that two different core reduction methods were being used on Quartz Mountain: blade core and bifacial core. Along with the different core reduction methods a mobility strategy also came into play. In this thesis I will use the data gathered to determine the different core reduction methods and the mobility strategies that are associated with them. / Graduation date: 1998

Lake sediments are valuable paleoenvironmental archives that provide information on past climate and land-use change. Most lake sediment studies rely on a single core, usually recovered from the center of a lake, and do not consider spatial variability in the lake basin. My dissertation presents a spatially-explicit record of prehistoric agriculture from Laguna Zoncho, Costa Rica and evaluates spatial variability in lake sediment proxies based on a network of five sediment cores. Results extend earlier proxy analyses of a single core collected near the center of the lake, which documented prehistoric agriculture and forest clearance from 3000 to about 500 years ago, followed by strong forest recovery at the time of the Spanish Conquest. Analyses of the new suite of cores show that agricultural activities increased erosion in the watershed, which lowered organic content from 16% to 5%, and resulted in a shift in bulk sediment stable carbon isotope values from –27 ‰ to –23 ‰ VPDB due to forest clearance. Agriculture made the lake slightly more productive, shown by a decrease in carbon/nitrogen ratios from 16 to 13 and an increase in stable nitrogen ratios from 1 to 3 ‰. Basinwide trends in organic matter and stable carbon isotopes ratios show two distinct periods of agricultural decline (1150–960 and 840–650 cal yr BP) that coincide with intervals of drought detected in regional paleoclimate records. This finding suggests that climate change, not the Spanish Conquest, was the driving force of site abandonment at Laguna Zoncho, and by extension throughout the region. Inter-core variability in proxies for agricultural activity reveals that crop cultivation may have continued longer in some portions of the watershed, and highlights the influence of sediment-focusing processes on proxy signatures of agriculture in lake basins. Maize pollen concentrations in the sediment cores did not correspond to geochemical and isotopic agricultural indicators, suggesting a need for caution in using the abundance of maize pollen to infer the scale of agriculture in neotropical watersheds.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Arizona State University, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references.

There are four known Late Prehistoric burials in Saskatchewan which demonstrate at least two distinct patterns of mortuary behavior prevalent on the Northern Plains. The Bethune burial located near Bethune, Saskatchewan, is an Avonlea burial dating 1389 +/- 40 years BP. This site is the only Avonlea burial known to date in Canada, and only one of three burials now known in North America.<p> The Sisterbutte, Glen Ewen, and Moose Bay burials are all examples of mound burials. The Glen Ewen mound has been dated at 1220 +/- 70 years BP and 1110 +/- 90 years BP, while the Moose Bay mound has been associated with the Kathio and Devils Lake Sourisford burial complexes. The Sisterbutte mound has not been radiocarbon dated, nor are there any diagnostic cultural remains associated with it. This thesis assembles, and re-evaluates, all the accumulated data on Late Prehistoric burials in Saskatchewan.

Estudi de diferents aprofitament antròpics de la fauna del Plistocè del Nord-Est de Catalunya des d’una perspectiva tafonòmica, de determinació faunística, de processos de formació dels dipòsits òssis (ja sigui per acció d’un carnívor, processos de desarticulació natural o per acció de l’home). L’acumulació antròpica s’estudia des de l’òptica de l’anàlisi de les modificacions òssies i es determinen els següents processos: esquarterament, desarticulació, descarnació, obtenció de medul•la i grasses i fabricació d’eines (indústria òssia). La metodologia de treball s’ha elaborat a partir de l’experimentació, la comparació bibliogràfica, tant de jaciments arqueològics com etnològics. La fitxa resultant de la metodologia aplicada és analítica i estructural. L’estudi es limita als jaciments de L’Arbreda, Mollet i Cova 120 que donen una completa visió evolutiva de les tècniques de carnisseria i fabricació d’eines òssies que van des del Paleolític mitjà a finals del superior. Com a contrapunt s’han estudiat també les modificacions òssies del jaciment vil•lafranquià. D’un antiguitat de 900.000 anys d’Incarcal V. D’aquesta manera es poden contrastar els resultats dels jaciments arqueològics. Evidentment aquest jaciment paleontològic no conserva cap vestigi d’acció humana. Tot això ha portat a poder determinar els diferents processos que han contribuït a la formació dels dipòsits òssis esmentats, els diferents mètodes de carnisseria aplicats i els processos de fabricació d’eines òssies. A partir d’aquesta informació s’han pogut establir diferents tècniques i de mètode que han pogut comparar-se amb diferents períodes culturals, establint-se una clar correlació entre canvi tècnic i canvi cultural. / Estudio de los distintos aprovechamientos antrópicos de la fauna pleistocénica de la Ccatalunya N.O., desde una perspectiva tafonómica, de determinación faunística, de procesos de formación de los depósitos óseos (ya sea por acción de carnívoro, procesos de desarticulación natural o por acción del hombre). La acumulación antrópica se estudia desde la óptica del análisis de las modificaciones óseas, determinándose los siguientes procesos: despellejamiento, descuatización primaria y secundaria, desarticulación, descarnación, obtención de médula y grasas y fabricación de útiles (industria ósea). La metodología de trabajo se ha elaborado a partir de la experimentación, la comparación bibliográfica, tanto de yacimientos arqueológicos, como etnológicos. El tipo de ficha resultante de la metodología aplicada es una exhaustiva ficha analítica y estructural. El estudio se limita a los yacimientos de L’Arbreda, Mollet i i Cova 120, que nos dan una completa visión evolutiva de las técnicas de carniceria y fabricación de utillaje óseo que abarcan desde el Paleolítico Medio a finales del Superior. Como contrapunto se han estudiado tambien las modificaciones óseas del yacimiento vilafranquiense, de una antiguedad de 900.000 años de Incarcal V. De esta manera se pueden contrastar los resultados de los yacimientos arqueológicos. Evidentemente este yacimiento paleontológico no conserva, ni por asomo, ningun vestigio de acción humana. Todo ello nos ha llevado a poder determinar los distintos procesos que han contribuido a la formación de los depósitos óseos mencionados, los distintos métodos de carnicería aplicados y los procesos de fabricación de utillaje óseo. A partir de esta información hemos podido establecer diferencias técnicas y de método que han podido ser comparadas con los distintos períodos culturales, estableciéndose una clara correlación entre cambio técnico y cambio cultural.