Ethnographers in the early 20th century compiled notes and published reports and books concerning the cultures and life-ways of the California Indians. Among these are the Juaneño (Acjachemen) and Gabrielino (Tongva) peoples. This study aimed to correlate ethnographic data with methods of spatial archaeology and GIS analysis to test if the privately owned resource collecting areas and tribal boundaries described in the ethnographies could be seen archaeologically. Centered on CA-ORA-507 (an ancient chert quarry), the study shows that the boundaries between these resource areas are culturally derived as well as a part of the greater pattern of sites on the landscape and that the pattern of sites on the landscape conform to descriptions of the practices written at the turn of the last century.

This dissertation is an archaeological study of the ancient settlement of Labna, a Lowland Maya community in the Puuc Region of Yucatan, Mexico. The form, layout, and architecture of Labna are representative of a large number of Maya centers. The architectural core is considered a model for studying ancient Maya social organization and reflects the debate among Mayanists about the mechanisms and principles that held together Maya communities and states. Analysis of form and layout, as well as of function and meaning of built spaces in Labna, indicates a stratified type of community, with an internal composition based on social units integrated by different organizational principles. This conclusion is based on comparisons of archaeological feature clusters on basal platforms, the remains of several types of roofed spaces on top of such platforms, and the presence/absence and location/distribution of underground cisterns for storing rain water (chultuns), and grinding stones for corn (metates). In the site center, architectural style, form, layout, and iconography were important sources for inferring chronological and functional information. Excavations that exposed the building sequence of structures forming the architectural core of the ancient community revealed several stages of development. Continuous growth and reorganization of the public buildings resulted in changes in form and function of built spaces. A diachronic approach for understanding core composition of the ancient community showed the dynamic nature in the layout of public architecture. The final layout of the urban core of Labna was the result of architectural programs conducted by several generations of rulers. The notion of sequential architectural programs and the identification of a particular form of built space as throne rooms provided a way to define temporal periods. The notion that throne rooms were manufactured in a sequential order in palace complexes, when combined with analysis of architectural styles, suggest three major building episodes, each probably related to a ruler. This dynamic perception of the social organization reflected in the layout of the site center is the result of a long term conjunctive study that included archaeological excavations, site and intersite settlement patterns, iconographic, geographical, and architectural approaches. / acase@tulane.edu

This research employs a sample of archaeological sites from three ecological zones to investigate the mobility strategies of hunter-gatherer groups in Late Archaic southwestern Idaho. The sample sites are organized into site types based on an independent evaluation of site components and existing site records. Ceramic assemblages at each site were analyzed to quantify the investment in ceramic technology, as a proxy for mobility. These measures were then compared to expectations generated from three proposed mobility patterns for hunter-gatherer groups in southwestern Idaho. Some of the predictions were met and these data allude to an archaeological record with a multitude of settlement patterns that may have changed over the course of seasons, years, and even decades.

Assessing the timing of seasonal movements by the prehistoric peoples of Otago has long been a problem in the archaeology of this region. The oxygen isotope ratio (18 o/16o) of mollusc shell carbonate is temperature dependent. By sampling successive increments of shell growth, palaeotemperature curves can be constructed to provide �season of death� estimates for individual shells. In this work carbonate samples from the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) were used to estimate the seasonality of four prehistoric fishing sites. A total of 275 samples of shell material were analysed for carbon and oxygen isotope ratios at the Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Lower Hutt. Where fishing and shellfishing were important activities they were consistently associated with the winter season. A model of seasonal activity is presented for the Early part of the prehistoric period.

Thesis (Ph. D. in Anthropology)--Vanderbilt University, May 2007. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Dept. of Economics and Dept. of Sociology/Criminal Justice & Criminology. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2005. / "A dissertation in economics and social science." Advisor: Peter J. Eaton. Typescript. Vita. Title from "catalog record" of the print edition Description based on contents viewed March 12, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 301-324). Online version of the print edition.

The following paper focuses on the transitional period between the Middle Bronze Age (MBA) and the Late Bronze Age (LBA) in the Southern Urals, Russia. GIS-based analysis of Bronze Age settlement patterns in the Kyzil Area points to a number of important findings. The study concludes the demographic impossibility of an autonomous development scenario of the Sintashta – Srubnaya-Alakul cultural transformation, rejects the presence of ‘proto-city’ or urbanization developments in the region during the Bronze Age, and points to the shift to a more collective form of control over natural resources during the LBA period. The study also examines the spatial distribution of ‘kurgan’ cemeteries in the area. Among other things, this thesis illustrates how settlement pattern studies can add to and complement the heavily burial data - driven research, often relied upon in the archaeological analysis of the Eurasian Steppes.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 603-641). Also available on the Internet.

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.

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. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (p. 255-285) and index.