This dissertation tests the theory that lithic raw materials were a strategic resource among the ancient Maya of Blue Creek, Belize that markedly influenced the development of socio-economic hierarchies at the site. Recent research has brought attention to the role of critical resource control as a mechanism contributing to the development of political economies among the ancient Maya. Such research has been primarily focused on the control of access to water and agricultural land. The examination of lithic raw materials as a critical economic resource is warranted as stone tools constituted a fundamental component of the ancient Maya economy. My research objectives include measuring raw material variability in the Blue Creek settlement zone and its immediate environs, assessing the amount of spatial and temporal variability present in the distribution of various raw materials, determining the degree to which proximity to a given resource influenced the relative level of its use, and testing whether differential resource access relates to variability in aggregate expressions of wealth. To meet these objectives, I examined 2136 formal stone tools and 24,944 pieces of debitage from excavations across the Blue Creek settlement zone, and I developed a lithic raw material type collection using natural outcrops. Significant spatial and temporal differences were observed in the use of various raw materials. Control of critical resources under conditions of scarcity is shown to have caused social stratification among the ancient Maya of Blue Creek. Initial disparities in use-right arrangements based on first occupancy rights produced substantial, accumulative inequality in economic capability and subsequent achievements. During the Early Classic period, these disproportionate allowances ultimately undermined the more egalitarian structure observed during the Preclassic. The Early Classic period at Blue Creek is characterized by increasing extravagance among the elites and increasing disenfranchisement throughout the hinterlands when compared to earlier periods. This suggests that elites at the site only became fully able to convert their resource monopolies into substantial gains in power, prestige, and wealth during the Classic period.

No description available.

The Green River region of western Kentucky has been a focus of Archaic period research since 1915. Currently, the region is playing an important role in discussions of Archaic hunter-gatherer cultural complexity. Unfortunately, many of the larger Green River sites contain several archaeological components ranging from the Early to Late Archaic periods. Understanding culture change requires that these multiple components somehow be sorted and addressed individually. Detailed re-analyses of Works Progress Administration (WPA) era artifact collections from two archaeological sites in the Green River region – the Baker (15Mu12) and Chiggerville (15Oh1) shell middens – indicate that these sites are relatively isolated Middle and Late Archaic components, respectively. The relatively unmixed character of Baker and Chiggerville makes these sites excellent candidates for evaluating aspects of complexity during the Archaic. After developing a theoretical basis for evaluating the relative complexity of the social organization of the Baker and Chiggerville site inhabitants on the basis of the material record they left behind, I employ detailed analyses of the bone, antler, and stone tools from these two sites to examine six microscalar aspects of complexity – technological organization, subsistence, specialization, leadership, communication networks, and exchange. These microscalar aspects of complexity all can be linked materially to the archaeological record of the Green River region and can be evaluated as proxies for changes in social organization among the hunter-gatherers who inhabited this region during the Middle and Late Archaic periods. Although the Baker assemblage indicated greater complexity in communication networks and certain proxies for leadership and technological organization, most indicators suggest that the Chiggerville site inhabitants were the more complexly organized group and were in the process of developing a tribal-like social formation. This research, therefore, tentatively supports the hypothesis of increasing complexity through time during the Archaic. However, marked differences in the technological strategies utilized by the Baker and Chiggerville site inhabitants indicates these groups may not have been historically related, thereby violating one of the primary assumptions of the project. If this alternative hypothesis is confirmed through additional research, then no conclusions concerning change through time can be derived from this study.

One of the primary research interests at many late Pleistocene/early Holocene sites has been the transition from bifacial technology to a focus on microblade technology. Relationships between sites in Asia, Alaska, British Columbia, Haida Gwaii and elsewhere are frequently discussed with reference to the presence or absence of these technologies. As the focus has largely been on bifaces and microblades, other technologies have received considerably less attention. However, many of these more expedient technologies comprise the majority of assemblages found at any given site and reflect a substantial portion of technological practice and behavior. At the Richardson Island site, in southeastern Haida Gwaii, the stone tool assemblage is largely composed of unifacially manufactured tools that remain somewhat prevalent throughout the record of site activity. In this thesis, I begin my analysis with an exploration of the amount of standardization present in the unifacial tool types using cluster analysis. Following cluster analysis, the artifacts are discussed within the context of a behavioral model, taking the tools through a life history approach from raw material procurement to discard. Finally, this thesis focuses on technological change and continuity, tracing unifacial technologies through the detailed record of site activity at Richardson Island.

Previous archaeological research in southern Tanzania has focused on Plio-Pleistocene sites documenting early hominid evolution, or alternatively, the late Holocene Later Stone Age and Iron Age sites documenting the transition from foraging to food production. However, recent surveys and test excavations conducted by Dr. Pamela Willoughby in Iringa have revealed the regions potential for also contributing to the study of the Middle Stone Age, the time period and technological system that coincides with the appearance of anatomically modern humans. Analysis of lithics recovered from two 1m2 test pits during 2006 test excavations at Magubike rockshelter demonstrate the site contains sequences yielding Middle Stone Age, Later Stone Age, and Iron Age materials. Michael Mehlmans lithic typology is used to place the lithics within a relative cultural historical context. Further analysis documents patterns and intensity of lithic reduction, raw material utilization, and other aspects of lithic production at Magubike throughout time.

One of the primary research interests at many late Pleistocene/early Holocene sites has been the transition from bifacial technology to a focus on microblade technology. Relationships between sites in Asia, Alaska, British Columbia, Haida Gwaii and elsewhere are frequently discussed with reference to the presence or absence of these technologies. As the focus has largely been on bifaces and microblades, other technologies have received considerably less attention. However, many of these more expedient technologies comprise the majority of assemblages found at any given site and reflect a substantial portion of technological practice and behavior. At the Richardson Island site, in southeastern Haida Gwaii, the stone tool assemblage is largely composed of unifacially manufactured tools that remain somewhat prevalent throughout the record of site activity. In this thesis, I begin my analysis with an exploration of the amount of standardization present in the unifacial tool types using cluster analysis. Following cluster analysis, the artifacts are discussed within the context of a behavioral model, taking the tools through a life history approach from raw material procurement to discard. Finally, this thesis focuses on technological change and continuity, tracing unifacial technologies through the detailed record of site activity at Richardson Island.

This study discusses the extent to which hunter-gatherer mobility strategies are changed by abrupt climate change events by monitoring changes in lithic assemblage compositions through the Pleistocene/Holocene Transition, from ca. 14,000 cal BP to 10,000 cal BP in northwest Europe, with a focus on the Younger Dryas Stadial event, which occurred around 12,900 cal BP to 11,700 cal BP. A set of predicted archaeological indicators were formed from existing theoretical models, based largely on Binford’s logistical and residential mobility model, with the expectation that a more residential mobility strategy would be used by hunter-gatherer-populations during warmer climatic phases (i.e. the Allerød and Preboreal) and a more logistical mobility strategy would be used during cold climatic phases (i.e. the Younger Dryas). The lithic assemblages from sites across northwest Europe were then compared with these expectations in order to determine if a shift from a more residential strategy to a more logistical strategy can be seen from the lithic record. Additionally, a further comparative dataset was collected from south Europe in order to determine if there were differences in the response to the Younger Dryas at lower latitudes where the impact of this event is assumed to be less severe. The results found that in northwest Europe there is evidence to suggest there was indeed a shift from a more residential strategy during the warm Allerød interstadial to a more logistical strategy during the Younger Dryas Stadial, and the adoption of a more residential strategy with the return of warmer conditions during the Preboreal. However, it appears that the Preboreal Interstadial shows significant differences between the Allerød Interstadial, with the Preboreal sharing more characteristics in common with the Younger Dryas. This has been interpreted as a response to the unstable climatic conditions reported from the environmental evidence in this region during the Preboreal, which may have limited the ability of hunter-gatherer populations to return to similar levels of residential mobility seen during the Allerød. The south Europe dataset provides evidence that the lesser impact of the Younger Dryas at lower latitudes brought about a more muted response by hunter-gatherer populations to this event when compared with the northwest. However, there appears to be a reversal of that seen in the northwest, with more logistically mobile populations during the Allerød and especially the Preboreal, and more residentially mobile populations during the Younger Dryas. This is despite the environmental evidence showing a very similar environmental response to the northwest, with a distinct opening of the landscape during the Younger Dryas. The apparent difference in mobility strategies appear to be more related to the available faunal species within a region and their behaviour within their environment rather than directly to the climate. In the south, species such as red deer and ibex are the main source of faunal subsistence throughout the Pleistocene/Holocene Transition, unchanged by shifts in temperature and environment, but the way in which hunter-gatherers would hunt such species would be expected to change in more wooded environments compared with more open environments. If we compare this with the northwest, there is evidence of a distinct change from hunted prey, such as red deer, during the Allerød and Preboreal, to reindeer and horse during the Younger Dryas (although faunal preservation is poor in this region). With this shift to a more mobile prey species, along with a harsher, more open environment it may be more suitable to practise a more logistical strategy. Additionally, the instability of the Preboreal may have also changed the environment on a smaller scale, which would have required the hunting of warmer climate prey in shifting local environments, much like that of the Younger Dryas in south Europe. This might explain the differences seen between the Allerød and the Preboreal. Overall, there appears to be strong evidence supporting the theory that colder, harsher climates promote a more logistically mobile response from hunter-gatherer populations as seen in the northwest of Europe, and that there was a more muted, different response to the Younger Dryas in the lower latitudes of south Europe. However, it is the opinion here that changes in human mobility are not controlled directly be climatic conditions, rather controlled by the available major prey species and their behaviour in changing environments.

Archaeobotanical evidences for the presence of wild plants at Fremont archaeological sites are numerous. However, little can be positively argued for why those plants are present, if they were used by site inhabitants, and how they were used. Additionally, there are likely several wild plants that were used but that do not appear in the archaeobotanical record as pollen or macrobotanicals, the two most commonly identified plant remains. I argue that it is possible to provide better interpretations for how and why the Fremont used plants by researching how their historic counterparts, the Goshute, Shoshone, Ute, and Southern Paiute, used the same plants that are identified at prehistoric sites. I further argue that a phytolith typology for Fremont archaeology can provide more insight into prehistoric plant use. I demonstrate its utility through a phytolith analysis of ground stone tools from Wolf Village, a Fremont site in Utah County.

No description available.

Analytical methods for extracting detailed functional and technological information from Middle Stone Age stone tools were refined and developed. This was achieved within a theoretical framework that insists on multiple-stranded evidence for behavioural interpretation. The methods include micro-residue analysis, macrofracture analysis and usewear analysis. Stone tool assemblages – spanning the period between about 100 000 and 50 000 years ago – from Sibudu Cave, Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter, Klasies River Cave 2 and Blombos Cave were analysed. Results derived from macrofracture analyses, that are often conducted as an initial study to assess whether tool classes could have been used in hunting weapons, are used to formulate the following working hypotheses for Stone Age hunting technologies in South Africa: a) some pre-Howiesons Poort pointed tools were used as hafted butchery knives, while others could have been used to tip hunting weapons; b) Howiesons Poort backed tools were probably used as interchangeable pieces in hafted hunting weapons; c) post-Howiesons Poort points were used to tip hunting weapons; d) Later Stone Age hunting technologies were different from those practiced during the Middle Stone Age. The macrofracture results also provided interesting comparable data showing distinct time-related clustering of the results. Although more tools that could have functioned as hunting weapons must be analysed to evaluate the authenticity of these observations, the results suggest that macrofracture studies are important for the study of change in Stone Age hunting behaviours. The main methodological contribution of this thesis is micro-residue analysis. Advances in this method developed from blind tests on replicated flakes with residues derived from the processing of plant and animal products. Lessons learned from previous blind tests shaped the new research reported here and lead to improved methodology and interpretative skills. The last test in the series of four resulted in the most accurate interpretations because, prior to Test 4, iv identification difficulties experienced during the first three blind tests were addressed through replication. The new work reported here highlights some of the difficulties that can be experienced in the morphological identification of microscopic organic residues, particularly the distinction between animal and plant residues. It is specifically recommended that multi-stranded evidence be used for the identification of animal and plant residues. Micro-residue analysis of archaeological samples provided direct evidence for functional and hafting interpretations. These can be used to evaluate the hypotheses based on the results of macrofracture analyses and to provide data for further detailed interpretations. For example, it is shown that: a) retouched points from the Still Bay were used as knives hafted to wooden handles; b) segments from the Howiesons Poort were probably hafted in bone and wood shafts in different hafting configurations that varied during the span of the technocomplex; c) Howiesons Poort segments were mostly used on animal material; d) ochre was mixed into the adhesive recipes during the post-Howiesons Poort, the Howiesons Poort and possibly during the Still Bay technocomplexes at Sibudu Cave. Thus, the multi-analytical approach followed throughout the study contributes evidence for the early development of sophisticated and variable hunting and hafting technologies used by anatomically modern humans in South Africa. Our current knowledge of behavioural trends during the Middle Stone Age has been expanded, allowing rare glimpses into the everyday activities of people living in the deep past. Perceptions of a static, pre-modern technology and unvaried faunal exploitation during the Middle Stone Age in southern Africa are unfounded.