Carla S. Hadden

PROVISIONING AN URBAN ECONOMY: ISOTOPIC PERSPECTIVES ON LANDSCAPE USE AND ANIMAL SOURCING ON THE ATLANTIC COASTAL PLAIN

Abstract Isotopic evidence from animal bones deposited in urban contexts offers a landscape perspective into urban life, hinting at where animals lived before reaching their final resting place in the city. Here, we use stable carbon and nitrogen isotope evidence from cattle (Bos taurus) bones excavated from commercial and residential sites within historic Charleston, South Carolina, to evaluate whether markets pooled or segregated access to beef cattle drawn into the urban economy from the broader landscape. Results indicate that stable isotope values of cattle are varied, suggesting a broad catchment area, and differ significantly among site contexts, offering preliminary evidence regarding the roles markets played in integrating the surrounding landscape through market exchange.

Choosing a path to the ancient world in a modern market: the reality of faculty jobs in archaeology

Over the past 30 years, the number of US doctoral anthropology graduates has increased by about 70%, but there has not been a corresponding increase in the availability of new faculty positions. Consequently, doctoral degree-holding archaeologists face more competition than ever before when applying for faculty positions. Here we examine where US and Canadian anthropological archaeology faculty originate and where they ultimately end up teaching. Using data derived from the 2014–2015 AnthroGuide, we rank doctoral programs whose graduates in archaeology have been most successful in the academic job market; identify long-term and ongoing trends in doctoral programs; and discuss gender division in academic archaeology in the US and Canada. We conclude that success in obtaining a faculty position upon graduation is predicated in large part on where one attends graduate school. Durante los últimos 30 años, el número de doctorados en antropología ha aumentado en un 70%, pero no ha habido un aumento correspondiente en la disponibilidad de nuevas plazas docentes. Como consecuencia, hoy los arqueólogos con doctorado se enfrentan a más competencia que nunca al solicitar puestos de profesor. En este artículo examinamos las instituciones de origen de los docentes en arqueología antropológica en Estados Unidos y Canadá y las universidades donde eventualmente terminan enseñando. Usando los datos derivados del AnthroGuide de 2014–2015, clasificamos los programas de doctorado cuyos graduados en arqueología han tenido más éxito en el mercado de trabajo académico, identificamos las tendencias a largo plazo y en curso en los programas doctorales y discutimos las divisiones de género en la arqueología académica en los Estados Unidos y Canadá. Llegamos a la conclusión que el éxito en obtener una plaza docente después de graduarse se basa en gran parte en la institución donde se frecuenta el programa de posgrado.

Spatiotemporal Variability in ΔR in the Northern Gulf of Mexico, USA

Strombus alatus and Busycon sinistrum are large marine gastropods that are frequently recovered from archaeological contexts in southeastern North America. We previously proposed a reservoir age offset (ΔR) for B. sinistrum from the northern Gulf of Mexico region based on known-age pre-bomb 20th-century specimens. We also reported significant variability in radiocarbon both among and within S. alatus specimens, which precluded a reliable estimation of ΔR for this taxon. In this paper, we present a complementary data set from archaeological contexts to re-evaluate marine reservoir effects in the northern Gulf Coast region at multiple spatial and temporal scales. The new data set consists of a total of 13 14 C age determinations from well-associated marine ( B. sinistrum and S. alatus ) and terrestrial ( Odocoileus virginianus ) samples from a closed context at the Bayou St. John (1BA21) archaeological site. We suggest a slightly updated ∆R value of –2±53 14 C yr for late Holocene-age B. sinistrum from the northern Gulf Coast region. S. alatus , and possibly other species of strombid conchs, are poor candidates for 14 C dating due to the highly variable 14 C content observed within and among specimens. Though subregional variability in inputs of 14 C-depleted waters is likely, life-history factors related to ontogenetic niche and/or habitat shifts appear to be a major influence in shell 14 C for S. alatus .

The Age and Origin of Olivella Beads from Oregon’s LSP-1 Rockshelter: The Oldest Marine Shell Beads in the Northern Great Basin

Beads manufactured frommarine shells originating along the Pacific Coast have been found at numerous sites in the western United States. Because they were conveyed across substantial distances and widely exchanged during ethnographic times, researchers generally assume that shell beads were also traded prehistorically. By examining the spatial and temporal distribution of beads, researchers have reconstructed prehistoric exchange networks. In this report, we present stable isotope data and accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS) radiocarbon dates for six Callianax (previously Olivella) biplicata beads from the LSP-1 rockshelter in southcentral Oregon. Most of the beads were deposited during the early Holocene during a series of short-term occupations and the shells used to manufacture them were procured along the northern California, Oregon, or Washington coasts.

Market share and recent hiring trends in anthropology faculty positions

Between 1985 and 2014, the number of US doctoral graduates in Anthropology increased from about 350 to 530 graduates per year. This rise in doctorates entering the work force along with an overall decrease in the numbers of tenure-track academic positions has resulted in highly competitive academic job market. We estimate that approximately79% of US anthropology doctorates do not obtain tenure-track positions at BA/BS, MA/MS, and PhD institutions in the US. Here, we examine where US anthropology faculty obtained their degrees and where they ultimately end up teaching as tenure-track faculty. Using data derived from the 2014–2015 AnthroGuide and anthropology departmental web pages, we identify and rank PhD programs in terms of numbers of graduates who have obtained tenure-track academic jobs; examine long-term and ongoing trends in the programs producing doctorates for the discipline as a whole, as well as for the subfields of archaeology, bioanthropology, and sociocultural anthropology; and discuss gender inequity in academic anthropology within the US.

Carbon and Oxygen Isotope Composition of Early Holocene Olivella Shell Beads from the Northwest Coast, USA

Archaeological investigations of the age and origins of marine shell beads are important for understanding the emergence and maintenance of long-distance trade networks in prehistory. In this paper we expand upon and re-examine the incremental carbon (C and δC) and oxygen (δO) isotope data from two Olivella biplicata shell beads from the LSP-1 Rockshelter, Oregon, USA, to address two common problems in dating marine shell trade goods: (1) the source region is large, adding to uncertainty regarding the appropriate specification of ΔR; and (2) the C activity within individual specimens is variable. Although this combination of factors severely limits the dating precision that is possible, we recommend a sampling and calibration approach that accounts for these added sources of uncertainty and minimizes the loss of precision. We recommend (1) sequential sampling in order to quantify the range of variability in C within shells; (2) a Bayesian calibration procedure that models the C dates as an ontogenetic sequence, in this case constrained by stable isotope sclerochronology; and (3) specifying ΔR in a manner that accounts for the full range of possible reservoir offsets in the source region.