Thesis--Universität Hamburg, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--Universität Hamburg, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Toronto, 2004. / Adviser: Martha A. Latta. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Rijksuniversiteit, Leiden, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Anthropology, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Late Period (<1500 >years), high-altitude (>2600 m asl) archaeological sites in northwestern Wyoming prove difficult to date with traditional methods. The presence of Intermountain Ware ceramics at these sites presents an opportunity to use single-grain optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) to date vessel manufacture. These OSL ages also date site occupation as the vessels’ use-life is encapsulated within the standard error of the technique. This thesis develops a protocol to date quartz temper of Intermountain Ware sherds. Additionally, it investigates potential post-depositional thermal resetting of luminescence signals by wildfires. Ceramic sherd samples were obtained from four sites in northwestern Wyoming: Boulder Ridge, High Rise Village, Caldwell Creek, and Platt. Each site, except Caldwell Creek, has existing radiocarbon ages that provide independent age control. Additionally, all sites except Platt were impacted by past wildfires of varying intensity and consequently provide a test of the thermal resetting capabilities of wildfires.The Platt site is also the only site not located at high altitude and therefore, the sample from this site serves as a control in this study. Luminescence results demonstrate single-grain OSL dating of quartz temper from Intermountain Ware ceramics can provide improved accuracy and precision over radiocarbon dating when sherds are not adversely affected by wildfires. These results underscore the need for cultural resource managers to sample from subsurface contexts when inventorying sites impacted by high-intensity wildfires or to locate and identify sites with strong potential for high-intensity wildfires and date them prior to eventual burning. These results also validate single-grain OSL dating of ceramic temper as a valuable chronometric tool for cultural resource managers and archaeologists seeking to build and refine existing site and regional chronologies.

Is there more we can learn about the movement of prehistoric Puebloan people during the A.D. 900–1400 time period? In those moments of time when small groups of people dispersed across the landscape and formed aggregated communities. Some of the answers lie in the generally understudied landscape of the federally protected Cibola National Forest in west-central New Mexico. This area is on the eastern periphery of a well-documented Zuni region, and preliminary archaeological site data revealed the potential to further that knowledge. During a 10-day pedestrian survey, 42 archaeological sites containing a variety of traditional Zuni and local Lion Mountain pottery types were recorded. The presence of these Puebloan peoples was confirmed through analysis of the ceramics using the accepted Stanley South Mean Ceramic Dating techniques. Patterns of site locations dating from the Pueblo II to Pueblo IV time period were evaluated using ESRI ArcGIS mapping software. Specific data analysis including nearest neighbor, euclidean distance, and least cost analysis were used to relate the archaeological sites to each other and to the Pueblo communities in the southwest. This recently discovered settlement area near Lion Mountain revealed remnants of past Zuni populations and is further evidence of the expansion of these prehistoric peoples. The pottery shreds discovered at those sites, along with the architecture and specific kiva types, links the distinctive aggregated Zuni and Lion Mountain Communities together and allows for further investigations to explore settlement organization, exchange networks, and a facet of other archaeological questions.

Pottery, as an artifact, is often used as evidence of exchange patterns among groups during prehistory. This research incorporates paradigmatic classification and petrography to answer questions related to provenience, production mode, and exchange patterns of handmade prehistoric pottery from Gajtan, Zagorë, Kodër Boks, Tumuli 088 and 099 in Shkodër, in Northern Albania. Pottery samples analyzed in this study were collected from test excavations by the Shkodra Archaeological Project (PASH). The results yielded evidence that the area has sufficient local clay sources and other easily accessible natural resources to produce pottery in a domestic mode. Gajtan and Zagorë appeared as two distinct entities, but the former settlement seems to have played a dominant role as a production and distribution center within the region. Results from this study indicate that pots appear to have played an important socio-economic role in northern Albania, across time and space.

No description available.

Genf, Universit́e, Diss.