This dissertation focuses on the nature of architectural space in the Caddo area of eastern Texas, in the southwestern portion of the Caddo archaeological area. The early European accounts and the archaeological record indicate there was a wide range in size, shape, form, and use of architectural space in the Caddo area. Buildings have a variety of structural attributes and may be found isolated or associated with plazas or earthen mounds. This dissertation is a detailed examination of this architectural diversity. The sites included in this study range from large multi-mound centers that have seen large-scale and long-term research, such as the George C. Davis site, to smaller hamlets and farmsteads. This study includes 265 structures from 31 sites located throughout the Pineywoods, Post Oak Savanna and Blackland Prairie of eastern Texas. This dissertation provides an examination of the structuring of architectural space by Caddo groups living in eastern Texas. Through a detailed examination of documentary, archaeological, and geophysical data, this research examines the nature of the Caddo built environment; how Caddo cultural space was created, maintained, and altered, and how this relates to broader Caddo society. The purpose of this dissertation is to provide descriptions and comparisons of Caddo architecture from eastern Texas to address three interrelated themes: cultural significance of architectural space to the Caddo, physical form of structures and construction attributes, and variation and change. / text

No description available.

Although the study of Thule harpoon heads has produced important seriations, datings and technological reflections during the last century, a lack of fundamental knowledge about these weapons is still occurring. An attempt is made to document the different contexts surrounding the use of these artifacts. Technological, social and symbolic investigations are made on the occupants of the Skraeling Island site (High Arctic, Canada) and the Clachan site (Coronation Gulf, Canada) in order to build a complete understanding of the harpoon head morphological attributes. Using the hierarchical cluster analysis (SPSS), groupings have been statistically formed, underlying the meaningful dimensions of variation of the objects. It is then found that technological, social and symbolic mechanisms are systematically responsible for different aspects of Thule harpoon head morphology, and by comparing the two archaeological assemblages, we conclude that these mechanisms operate in the same direction, even if resulting in different harpoon head styles.

Chipped stone tools are a truly dynamic medium of material culture. From initial reduction to contemporary excavation, lithic artifacts undergo continuous change. The role of the properties of raw materials in determining rates of use-wear accrual is poorly understood and has rarely been assessed quantitatively (e.g. Goodman, 1944; Greiser and Sheets, 1979; McDevitt, 1994). This dissertation offers such quantification regarding four materials exploited for the production of short-term use implements at the Late Archaic FA2-13 site located just outside the city of Farmington, New Mexico. / Both experimental and archaeological use-wear evidence was assessed in separate but related ways. Digital image analysis of use-wear invasiveness using ClemexVision PE and GIS analysis of use-wear homogeneity using Idrisi Kilimanjaro yielded distinct but highly complementary results. Direct testing of material properties of non-archaeological samples using a Hysitron Triboindenter served to further clarify these findings in terms of the complex relationship between raw material surface hardness and roughness. / The results of the present study show that there are significant differences between rates of wear accrual among the four materials. Analysis of tools from FA2-13 indicates that while scraping activities likely did predominate (Schutt, 1997a), it may also be feasible to generate more detailed assessments regarding the kinds of scraping activities that were undertaken and the respective intensities with which they were performed. This increased insight can then be extrapolated for application to long-term use technologies and their more complex life histories.

This research seeks to elucidate the role of relatively large-scale ceramic productionindustries located at the Classic period center of Matacapan in the Sierra de los Tuxtlas, SouthernVeracruz, Mexico. Arnold et al. (1993) have suggested that the specialized production atComoapan, the largest production locality at Matacapan, was oriented toward supplying theregion with ceramics. This production locality overwhelmingly specialized in manufacturingone standardized ware, Coarse Orange, into necked and neckless jars, which are found in manyparts of the region.The compositional techniques of instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) andpetrography were employed to investigate the distribution of this ware. Control groups weresampled from known production loci at Matacapan. The data does reveal strong evidence thatCoarse Orange was traded from Matacapan to other sites in the Tuxtlas. Comoapan was themost likely producer for this trade. Equally as important, this research yielded several differentcompositional groups, which indicates sites that either did not interact with Matacapan to procurethis ware, or who produced their own varieties of Coarse Orange. While Matacapan seems tohave had economic influence over parts of the Tuxtlas, the distribution of non-Matacapancompositional groups is useful to delineate areas of the Tuxtlas who display minimal economicinteraction with this regional center.

No description available.

The study considers archaeological evidence for burials and other mortuary practices from the Late Chalcolithic period in north-east Bulgaria. The Late Chalcolithic is defined (circa 4500-4000 B.C.) and around 900 burials are attributed to two cultural groups within the region in this period. It is argued that previous studies of the evidence can be rejected for assuming a straightforward equivalence between burial forms and social structures. An alternative model of social organization is proposed based on the 'structuration' and 'habitus' models of Giddens and Bourdieu which emphasize the role of the individual in the reproduction of social institutions. This framework is used to examine the importance of (mortuary) rituals and the symbolic use of material culture in strategies intended to maintain or alter the distribution of power and resources. The data is examined using quantitative measures of spatial and temporal variability and statistical measures of association between variables. It is argued that two basic patterns can be discerned and which correspond to the defined cultures. The inland cultural pattern is further divided into two 'types' based on the location and forms of burials. Burial forms and grave goods are also examined qualitatively and the values attributed to artefacts, materials and the processes of burial are addressed. From this it is argued that meanings are fundamentally mediated through processes of reciprocation between kinship groups and with ancestors. Social structures based on gender and age, the settlement community and residence are proposed. 'Codes' of the use of material culture within mortuary rituals are described and evaluated through a consideration of assemblages and performance. Changes within and between cemeteries over time are used to reconstruct patterns of competition and emulation. The interpretations of social interaction in burial practices are related to other forms of evidence from the Late Chalcolithic in north-east Bulgaria and suggestions made for a new understanding of social organization in both cultures. The conclusions are placed in a wider spatial and temporal perspective and conclusions presented relating to both the data studied and the theoretical models adopted.

This thesis focuses on the Mid/Upper Palaeolithic Transition in the Iberian Peninsula, and questions whether this process took place as hitherto widely claimed, by testing the validity of the traditional characteristics said to portray this event throughout Europe. Research was carried out at different levels: old archaeological collections from two transitional sites (Abric Romani and Reclau Viver), previously unstudied, were systematically analysed and specific organic components (perforated shells) were radiocarbon dated. A thorough bibliographic database including information on these and all other Iberian sites was complied, in order to extend the study. The theoretical perspective of the topic was also investigated, to assess epistemological factors which are so often overlooked in this field of study. The socio-political events that have marked Spain and Portugal's contemporary histories, were also studied, since they played a crucial role in shaping Palaeolithic Research in both countries. The so-called '40,000 BP Crisis', specifically located in northern Iberia, was revisited by studying not only the traditional sites which have produced chronometric readings around that date, but also others in the same region whose transitional layers have yielded much younger dates, to see if that phenomenon really existed or has been created by generalisations that have masked vital - but ultimately uncomfortable - information. The study of this event is also placed into the peninsular and the wider European contexts, an exercise that has disclosed the vast complexity of the Transition, in terms of both the actual archaeological record and the theoretical interpretations that have been presented so far. Ultimately, this research calls for a revision of some of the theoretical perspectives of Palaeolithic archaeologists, as well as far more careful site and regional-level research, in order to redress the abundant misconceptions that distort our understanding of the Transition process.

Along the northern coast of Quintana Roo, Mexico, prehistoric ceramic usage included a variety of unslipped forms. During field excavations at the Maya coastal site of Vista Alegre, Drs. Jeffrey Glover and Dominique Rissolo recovered a high volume of sherds comprising a number of vessel type-varieties and forms. Vessel fragments collected from the Vista Alegre assemblage are comprised largely of ambiguous unslipped plain and unslipped striated sherds. This study explores distinct diagnostic attributes associated with these unlipped plain and unslipped striated sherds such as paste composition, texture, color, rim forms, and handle styles. This research facilitates future ceramic research along the northern coast of Quintana Roo promoting otherwise undefined sherds into a more systematic classification based on recorded modal characteristics.

This study concerns Paleo-Indian behaviour and culture history in the central Great Lakes region. More than 15 sites and numerous loci associated with Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene societies in southwestern Ontario are reported. These are organized into archaeological complexes and their interpretation is synthesized into a broader understanding of early occupations in the Northeast. / Complexes are defined by projectile point typology and substantiated by other technological traits and patterns of lithic raw material utilization. Early (fluted point associated) Paleo-Indian complexes are, in suggested chronological order, Gainey, Parkhill, and Crowfield. Late Paleo-Indian complexes are Holcombe and Madina. All date between 11 000 and 10 000 B.P. according to geological considerations, pollen dating, and comparisons to dated materials elsewhere. / Seasonal rounds of resource exploitation within broad territorial ranges are suggested for Gainey and Parkhill populations. Commodity exchange involving particular implement categories provides evidence of band interaction. Mortuary practices and religious beliefs are suggested by possible cremation burials at the Crowfield site. Other significant behavioural patterns are revealed through inter- and intra-site analyses.