C. Russell Stafford

Geoarchaeological perspectives on paleolandscapes and regional subsurface archaeology

This paper explores geoarchaeological approaches to regional-scale research in dynamic landscapes. Landscape element, a spatial concept from landscape ecology, and the archaeological notion of place are integrated with geomorphological models of landscape evolution. A distributional or non-site approach to the subsurface archaeological record is argued to be most consist with a dynamic view of landscapes. Regional geomorphological studies are shown to be crucial, given the volume of sediment that needs to be searched, in developing efficient subsurface sampling strategies. Various subsurface recovery techniques are reviewed, including the potential use of microartifacts to increase the effectiveness of small bulk samples in sampling the buried archaeological record.

Quantification in American archaeology: A historical perspective

Abstract In this paper we survey the development of the use of quantitative methods in American archaeology, using for our guidance the contents of American Antiquity since its first publication in 1935. We conclude that the utility of ‘Confirmatory Data Analysis’ has been much overrated in archaeology, and suggest that the alternative technique of ‘Exploratory Data Analysis’, developed by Tukey and others, may be greatly preferable.

The Functional Hypothesis: A Formal Approach to Use-Wear Experiments and Settlement-Subsistence

The articulation of experiments, observations of prehistoric use-wear, and settlement-subsistence model testing has remained implicit in most studies and largely oriented toward cultural reconstructionism. This paper discusses the weaknesses of the analogy-based approach and suggests an alternative that uses experiments and other means to test the hypothesis that functional dimensions are represented in a prehistoric assemblage. The results of a quantified use-wear experiment based on microfracture damage are presented, focusing on variable covariance and interaction. A similarly studied prehistoric data set is compared to the experimental results, but without reference to activity-specific designations. We show how this formal approach can be used in testing settlement-subsistence models from east-central Arizona.

The geomorphology of Sugar Loaf Mound: Prehistoric cemeteries and the formation of loess cones in the lower Wabash Valley

Burial mounds found on bluff crests in the Midwest United States overlap in scale with conical shaped Peoria Loess hills along the valley margins of the lower Wabash River. Coring of Sugar Loaf Mound, a feature thought to be an artificial mound for some 200 years, indicates that it is a 9 m eolian feature that contains prehistoric human remains. Analysis indicates that a sharp-edged till ridge resulted in a zone of eolian sand and silt accumulation forming both a climbing and a perched dune. A streamline body resulted. Grain-size analysis indicates a bimodal population, suggesting a dust suspension from an outwash source and a local saltation sand source, with a time transgressive shift in dominance. Three other loess cones of comparable scale, shape, lithostratigraphy, and landscape position that were also used as late prehistoric cemeteries indicate a similar pattern of both formation and prehistoric mortuary use in the lower Wabash valley.

Reply by Sollberger and Patterson to comments by Haynes and White on Bipolar Flaking.

AbstractA reply is given to criticisms by Haynes and White concerning the article by Sollberger and Patterson on bipolar flaking. Definitions of true bipolar fracture and flaking industries are emphasized.

Sampling in Archaeology. Clive Orton 2000. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. xi + 261 pp.

highly accessible fashion, the book appears geared as much toward the general public as members of the profession. Given this, I will note that one of my main sources of frustration with the volume was the citation system, which requires the reader to hunt through unnumbered endnotes at the back of the book to locate references. With Indian remains his leitmotif, Thomas devotes approximately the first half of the book (Parts I and II) to documenting the rise and embeddedness of scientific racism in Anthropology. He skillfully presents this history as a series of vignettes that focus on specific individuals, some obscure, others familiar, but almost all of whom, even Boas, have human skeletal remains in their academic closets. In a manner reminiscent of Triggers masterful History of Archaeological Thought (1989), Thomas seeks to situate the players he chooses to highlight and their motives within their contemporary sociopolitical milieu. While the technique of personalizing history makes it more readable, it is only fair to note that it also necessarily simplifies.