Thesis (doctoral) - Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, 2001. / This book is a slightly revised version of the doctoral dissertation the author completed in June 2001 and defended at the Faculty of Arts of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in October 2001. Includes bibliographical references (p. 255-285) and index.

The present study examines the spatial relationship between archaeological sites on the island of Roatán, Honduras and their topographical and biophysical location, as well as how these relationships are and continue to be impacted by the island's current socioeconomic context. Despite several studies and explorations conducted on the island's history, archaeology, and geography since the early twentieth century, little is known of its place and role within the larger cultural and socioeconomic spheres of interaction in this region: Mesoamerica and the Intermediate Area. Previous archaeological research has shown that hilltops on Roatán were chosen in prehispanic times for the location of the largest and most prominent sites, and several hypotheses have been put forward to explain the unique location of these sites. Despite the island's potential for addressing questions regarding the culture and history of this poorly understood region of Honduras, Roatán's status as Honduras' top tourist destination has resulted in the altering of its landscape in irreversible ways, including the destruction of archaeological sites. Given this unique situation, site preservation and the study of settlement patterns on Roatán are intricately related, and they both need to be carried out simultaneously if research into the past of this island is to continue, since without immediate site preservation what little we can learn on prehispanic settlement patterns might be lost. Using data compiled from previous archaeological research on Roatán, as well as data acquired through pedestrian survey carried out during the 2009 season of the University of South Florida (USF)'s Project Roatán, I have developed a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) geodatabase in order to provide a broader perspective on both prehispanic and modern settlement patterns. An analysis of site locations with regards to their topography shows that the majority of sites recorded on Roatán are in fact located on hilltops, an observation which, when complemented with other archaeological and ethnohistoric data from northeast Honduras, suggests a possible ritual importance of these spaces. An analysis of current settlement and urban growth patterns shows the degree to which development has encroached upon previously untouched areas of the island, which has impacted an increasing number of archaeological sites. I analyze the various factors and agents that have resulted in this situation, and highlight the need to carry out archaeological research that has heritage management and site preservation as one of its core priorities. These efforts must address the various components that define the management of archaeological heritage in Roatán and Honduras, including local socioeconomic context, national and international policy and law, as well as the various stakeholders with vested interests in cultural heritage. Due to the lack of adequate structures for managing and preserving archaeological resources on Roatán, I argue that approaches such as community participation and increased engagement from the part of researchers outside of Honduras' heritage management sphere are adequate and realistic short-term solutions to the pressing issue of protecting archaeological sites constantly in danger of being affected or destroyed.

This dissertation challenges traditional interpretations that indigenous groups who settled the Grand Canyon during the Pueblo Period (AD 700 -1225) relied heavily on maize to meet their subsistence needs. Instead they are viewed as dynamic ecosystem engineers who employed fire and natural plant succession to engage in a wild plant subsistence strategy that was supplemented to varying degrees by maize. By examining the relationship between archaeological sites and the natural environment throughout the Canyon, new settlement pattern models were developed. These models attempt to account for the spatial distribution of Virgin people, as represented by Virgin Gray Ware ceramics, Kayenta as represented by Tusayan Gray Ware ceramics, and the Cohonina as represented by San Francisco Mountain Gray Ware ceramics, through an examination of the relationships of sites to various aspects of the natural environment (biotic communities, soils, physical geography, and hydrology). Inferences constructed from the results of geographic information system analyses of the Park’s legacy site data, indicate that Virgin groups were the first to arrive at the Canyon, around AD 700 and leaving around AD 1200. They practiced a split subsistence strategy, which included seasonal movements between maize agricultural areas in the western Inner Canyon and wild resource production areas in the pinyon-juniper forests on the western North Rim plateaus. The Kayenta occupied the North Rim, South Rim and Inner Canyon, throughout the entire Pueblo Period. Their subsistence system relied heavily on wild resource production on both rims supplemented by low-level maize agriculture practiced seasonally on the wide deltas in the eastern Inner Canyon. The Cohonina were the last to arrive and the first to leave, as they occupied the Canyon for about 300 years from AD 800–1100. They were the most prolific maize farmers, practicing it in the Inner Canyon near the mouth of Havasu Creek, but still seasonally exploiting wild resource on the western South Rim. Based on my interpretations, use of the Canyon from AD 700-1225, is viewed as a dynamic interplay between indigenous groups and their environment. As they settled into the Canyon and managed the diverse ecology to meet their subsistence needs.

The variability of prehistoric settlements and settlement systems (settlement variability) is a result of the kinds of activities conducted (functional variability) and how long and intensively settlements were occupied (occupational variability). Previous studies of settlement variability, especially in the American Southwest, have emphasized primarily functional variability. This study explores the implications of both functional and occupational variability in contributing to settlement variability and how these factors in turn influence our ability to reconstruct past settlement systems. In investigating the effects of functional and occupational variability on settlement variability, an attempt was made to control the effects of other variables that might possibly contribute to settlement variability. Accordingly, the experimental design for this study required that a sufficient number of archaeological sites of the same developmental stage and cultural affiliation occurring in the same homogeneous environment be located. These design requirements were fulfilled by the discovery of the Pitiful Flats locality located midway between Grasshopper and Cibecue in east-central Arizona. The surface material of 34 archaeological sites (12 lithic sites, 22 ceramic sites) on Pitiful Flats was systematically collected to ensure data comparability. To control further for the effects of functional variability, interpretation-free units of analysis were developed for the lithic and ceramic assemblages by means of taxonomically based typologies. Typological and metric variation in these units of analysis, as well as variation in non-assemblage measurements (site size, density, and distribution of occupational debris), is used as evidence to support conclusions about site-type differences in lithic technology and settlement function, and to develop an occupational history of each Pitiful Flats site. These site-specific inferences provide a basis for reconstructing the structure of an extinct settlement system in the Grasshopper area. This reconstruction suggests that prior to the appearance of masonry architecture in the Grasshopper area, the basic regional settlement system consisted of a small number of "home bases" (permanently occupied habitations) and numerous sporadically occupied "work camps." The home base and work camps were spatially exclusive; the work camps were tethered to a particular home base. The tether settlement system explains many of the facts of the regional archaeological record. It also provides a basis for advancing the hypothesis that a modified form of swidden agriculture (non-slash and burn as opposed to slash and burn) was practiced. This form of cultivation was a non-labor-intensive technique for transforming a marginally productive environment for agricultural purposes. The demographic and social implications of the tether settlement model and the non-slash swidden hypothesis for understanding regional Grasshopper prehistory are also discussed.

No description available.

Until relatively recently, the view of Late Pleistocene hunter-gatherers in the Americas was dominated by the “Clovis-first” paradigm. However, recent discoveries have challenged traditional views and forced reconsiderations of the timing, processes, and scales used in modeling the settlement of the Americas. Chief among these discoveries has been the recognition of a wide range of early cultural diversity throughout the Americas that is inconsistent with previously held notions of cultural homogeneity. During the Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene, the development of widely varying economic, technological and mobility strategies in distinct environments is suggestive of a range of different adaptations and traditions. It is argued that colonization was a disjointed process involving alternative, perhaps competing strategies at local and regional levels. Individual groups likely employed distinct strategies for settling new landscapes. These different strategies are reflected in the cultural variability that has been documented in the Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene archaeological records of South and North America. A scalar framework for conceptualizing and modeling this variability on local, regional, and continental scales is introduced. Although primarily focused on local and regional reconstructions, the results can be integrated with other regional studies to generate more comprehensive, continental-scale models of the peopling of the New World. This research provides insight into the local and regional variability—in terms of settlement patterns and economic and technological strategies—present in the archaeological record of at least two formally recognized Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene complexes (Fishtail and Paiján complexes) in the Quebradas del Batán and Talambo of the lower Jequetepeque Valley, northern Perú. Results of extensive survey, excavation, and materials analyses are used to characterize mobility strategies and settlement organization. This research indicates that two distinct patterns of site types, settlement, subsistence, and technology existed at the local level between the Fishtail (ca. 11,200-10,200 B.P.) and Paiján (ca. 10,800-9,000 B.P.); these patterns are indicative of differing regional strategies of colonization. Lastly, it is suggested that the adaptations and behaviors pursued during regional settlement, particularly by Paiján groups, set in motion an increasing reliance on plant foods and an early trend toward sedentism that carried forward into the Holocene period.

Using a Geographic Information System (GIS), locational analysis was performed for prehistoric sites recorded during a 1985 surface survey conducted in Henry County, Indiana. Two sensitivity models were developed to identify areas more likely to contain substantial archaeological resources. Both models were based on environmental data derived largely from soil survey information. An intuitive model was created and "blindly" applied to the study area. This model did not interpret the distribution of sites very well. During development of an alternative model, the 1985 survey data was more thoroughly investigated. Site locations were found to be correlated with Soil Conservation Service drainage categories. In upland areas, sites with ten or more artifacts clustered around pockets of very poorly drained Millgrove loam soils. In lowland areas, sites with ten or more artifacts exhibited a preference for well drained soils. Before and during analysis, the integrity of source data was investigated. A United States Geological Survey 7.5-minute digital elevation model was found to be unsuitable for analysis within the study area. Mapping errors were discovered within the 1985 survey data. Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, which can increase the spatial integrity of survey data, was demonstrated and used to register and adjust source data. A mapping-grade GPS base station was established at Ball State University. / Department of Anthropology

The Upper Wabash Drainage over the last few years has become an area which has provided archaeologists with vital data concerning prehistoric settlement patterns. One time period which has not been well represented is the Archaic Period. Many questions have been unanswered about Archaic settlement patterns within the region. This study examines data from archaeological survey and presents a model for both Early and Late Archaic settlement within the Upper Wabash drainage. The information generated by this analysis will provide a better understanding of the Archaic period within this region. The study will also prove to be useful as a reference for future research as well as an important mechanism for resource management. / Department of Anthropology

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Geography, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on July 22, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 228-249). Also issued in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Riverside, 2009. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 215-235). Issued in print and online. Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations.