David Hurst Thomas

Arrowheads and Atlatl Darts: How the Stones Got the Shaft

An ethnographic and archaeological sample of 142 stone-tipped arrows and atlatl darts has been analyzed from several points of view. The raw data provide some quantitative measures against which unknown archaeological specimens can be compared. Several assumptions regarding projectile points are examined, and statistical analysis determines how much can be reasonably inferred about the entire artifact, given only the stone tip. Discriminant analysis further indicates how these 2 groups differ, and classification equations have been derived to classify unknown points as arrowheads or dart points. While separation is not perfect, the results indicate that arrowheads can be quantitatively distinguished from dart points with some degree of accuracy.

An empirical test for Steward's model of Great Basin settlement patterns

Julian Stewards theory of Great Basin cultural ecology and settlement pattems has been subjected to empirical validation. Since the only data available to test this hypothesis are archaeological, it was first necessary to determine the artifactual correlates for the posited ethnographic system. These deductive propositions were determined by the BASIN I computer simulation model. On the basis of data obtained in a regional random sampling project in the Reese Valley of central Nevada, over 75% of the nearly 130 deductive predictions were statistically verified. The rejected propositions probably reflect failure of the computer model rather than shortcomings in Stewards theory. The archaeological manifestation of the Shoshonean pattern is defined as the Reese River Subsistence-Settlement System which operated in the central Great Basin from about 2500 B.C. to historic times. Department of Anthropology The American Museum of Natural History June, 1971 THE REESE RIVER ECOLOGICAL PROJECT is an integrated effort to answer a cultural anthropological research problem using archaeological data. The proposal under study is Julian Stewards well-known theory of Great Basin Shoshonean subsistence patterns. A variety of investigatory techniques have been employed: computer simulation modeling, random archaeological sampling, and operational definitions of artifact types. Methodological aspects have been discussed elsewhere (Thomas 1971 a, 1972) and the express purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the entire project. Emphasis will be upon (a) the hypothesis-testing nature of the Reese River project and (b) substantive conclusions and implications. Julian Stewards pioneer research (1938) on Great Basin cultural ecology has profoundly influenced both American archaeology and ethnology. In addition to describing an extinct socio-cultural system in the Desert West, Stewards interpretation of Shoshonean cultural adaptations has implications far beyond the arid margins of the Great Basin. Steward himself proffered the Shoshonean example as an illustration of the family band level of socio-cultural integration, thereby providing one link in his overall theory of multilinear evolution (Steward 1955). More recent evolutionary schemes have also been quick to utilize the Shoshonean example (for example, Service 1962; Cohen 1968:49; Fried 1967) and no current discussion of the hunter-gatherer technological level of society seems complete without consideration of the Great Basin Shoshoneans (for example, Service 1966; Lee and DeVore 1968; Damas 1969). Archaeologists also generalize from the Shoshoni case. Both MacNeish (1964) and Flannery (1966) use Shoshonean exploitative patterns as a framework for reconstruction of prehistoric procurement systems of the Tehuacan Valley of Mexico. Wilmsen (1970:82) suggests that the generalized Shoshonean case is, in part, similar to band organization of the Paleo-Indian hunters of North America. Furthermore, the entire thrust of the Desert culture or Desert Archaic turns on an analogy with the historic Shoshoni cultural adaptation. Although never clearly spelled out, there can be little question that Stewards ethnographic descriptions and interpretations of the basic Shoshonean lifeway provided the basis for both original and subsequent definitions of the Desert culture. Jennings (1957:8) refers to Stewards (1938) monograph as vivid contemporary description of the Desert culture lifeway. Recently, however, Stewards interpretations of the Shoshonean data have been questioned. Service (1962) and Owen (1965) suggest that the basic unit of the prehistoric Great Basin was not Stewards family band, but rather the patrilocal band. According to Service, the scattered Shoshonean families observed by Steward in the 1930s were merely the survivors of deleterious

The Awful Truth about Statistics in Archaeology

The archaeology of the past two decades has become increasingly quantitative, computerized, statistical, and this is as it should be. All right-thinking archaeologists begin with samples and attempt to generalize about the populations from which their samples were drawn. Statistical theory has evolved to assist investigators in making just this important inferential step and archaeologists have increasingly turned to statistics to square their research with the canons of Science. But the statistical revolution in archaeology is not without its price. We must now face the fact that all applications of statistics to archaeology can no longer be applauded. The archaeological literature is badly polluted with misuses and outright abuses of statistical method and theory. This paper discusses some of these faulty applications and makes some recommendations which, if heeded, should improve the quality of quantitative methods in archaeology.

On Distinguishing Natural from Cultural Bone in Archaeological Sites

A quantitative method is presented which assists the archaeologist in distinguishing between bones resulting from human activity and those deposited in archaeological contexts by non-cultural means. The assumption is that relatively incomplete carcasses are more likely to have been deposited or disturbed by extra-corporeal activities such as carnivores, raptorial birds, rodents, stream action, or man. This method is illustrated on faunal data from 3 sites in the High Rock county of extreme northwestern Nevada.

Points On Points: a Reply To Flenniken and Raymond

Three rather redundant papers (Flenniken 1984, 1985; Flenniken and Raymond 1986) recently questioned the efficacy and validity of my research on Great Basin projectile point types (especially Thomas 1970, 1981, 1983b). These articles reflect a distorted view of how lithic studies articulate with todays archaeology, betraying serious misunderstandings about the objectives and methods of contemporary archaeology. While I am generally sympathetic with experimental approaches, these particular interpretations and recommendations require rethinking.

The Gruesome Truth about Statistics in Archaeology

A couple of years ago, when I wrote an article entitled The Awful Truth about Statistics in Archaeology (Thomas 1978), I thought I had something to say, and spent a good bit of time trying to whip my manuscript into readable prose. Granted that the subject matter was somewhat complex, I still thought that I had written a straightforward article. Apparently I was wrong: we now have Matsons critical review which indicates-at least to me-that I did not write a very lucid paper. In fact, I did not get my point across at all, at least to Matson.

Retrospective Look at Columbian Consequences

The Executive Committee of the Society for American Archaeology (SAA) determined in 1988 that the primary vehiclefor observing the Columbian Quincentenary would be a three-volume series, ultimately entitled Columbian Consequences. The objective of these volumes is to probe the social, demographic, ecological, ideological, and human repercussions of European-Native American encounters across the Spanish Borderlands. This inquiry is informed by a cubist perspective, which attempts to approach the past from multiple directions simultaneously. The ninety-three chapters of Columbian Consequences drew upon a diverse range of disciplines, including archaeology, history, physical anthropology, ethnohistory, cultural anthropology, art history, and geography. The royalties from Columbian Consequences are earmarked for the Native American Scholarship Fund, sponsored by the SAA.

On the Use of Cumulative Curves and Numerical Taxonomy

Irwin and Wormington (1970) employ cumulative curves to assess overall similarity between artifact complexes of the Great Plains. Properly applied, ogives are relevant only to R-mode phenomena. Numerical taxonomic aids are advanced as procedures more ef ficacious for such Q-mode analyses. Numerical taxonomy and computer techniques in general are currently within the reach of every archaeologist. Department of Anthropology University of California, Davis April, 1970 Irwin and Wormington (1970) recently presented a rather sophisticated synthesis of Paleo-Indian artifact assemblages from the Great Plains. By and large, their interpretation and summary of basic data is to be praised. Although correctly stressing the need for quantitative analysis, they chose to analyze the assemblages by the method of cumulative percentage diagrams, also termed ogival curves (Johnson 1968:25). This paper questions the utility of ogives in this context and suggests a more acceptable alternative. [Vol. 36, No. 2, 1971 NEIJMANN, GEORG K. 1938 The human remains from Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. American Antiquity 3:339-353. WATSON, ERNEST H., and GEORGE H. LOWREY 1962 Growth and development of children, 4th edition. Year Book Medical Publishers. WATSON, PATTY JO (Editor) 1969 The prehistory of Salts Cave, Kentucky. Reports of Investigations, No. 16, Illinois State Museum. WATSON, PATTY JO, and RICHARD A. YARNELL 1966 Archaeological and paleoethnobotanical investigations in Salts Cave, Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky. American Antiquity 31:842-849. WEBB, WILLIAM S., and CHARLES E. SNOW 1945 The Adena people. The University of Kentucky, Reports in Anthropology and Archaeology, Vol. 6. YARNELL, RICHARD A., and PATTY JO WATSON 1967 The prehistoric utilization of Salts Cave, Kentucky. Paper presented at the 32nd Annual Meeting, Society for American Archaeology, Ann Arbor, Michigan. The cumulative curve has been popularized by F. Bordes (1950, 1953), among others. By its nature, however, the ogive is an R-technique, in which items are arrayed according to their similarities across a number of common variables (Stephenson 1953). A comparison of artifact complexes based upon artifact types is termed Q-mode, while assessment of groupings of rtifact types (tool kits) across complexes is in the R-mode. Cumulative curves are quite sensitive with respect to frequency shifts over R-mode variables (Johnson 1968:25). Inferences regarding importance of groups such as side and end scrapers in the Clovis and Frederick samples, for example, are quite within the sweep of this technique (Irwin and Wormington 1970:32-33). My objection is to the use of ogives to assess overall similarity between complexes (Q-mode). Irwin and Wormington state, for example, that overall it may be seen that Clovis, Folsom and Midland form very similar curves. . .(Cody and Frederick) curves are more similar to each other than to any of the preceding groups (1970:33). Ogives seem to evince ineffable relations with respect to overall similarity. A high loading on any variable, such as projectile points, can cause undue dissimilarity throughout the remainder of the curve. Furthermore, a reordering of variables on the abscissa produces variform curves. Two complexes which appear similar in one ordering ameRican antiquity This content downloaded from 157.55.39.205 on Sun, 04 Dec 2016 04:53:04 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

The Archaeology of Hidden Cave, Nevada

La grotte dHidden a ete formee il y a environ 21 000 ans et remplie par les eaux du lac Lahontan a plusieurs reprises. Historique des recherches archeologiques. Les datations C 14 des sequences culturelles vont de 810 a 5 365 B. P., mais la principale occupation de la grotte semble se situer a la phase Devils Gate (3 200-5 000 B. P.). Il sagit dune occupation saisonniere du printemps a lautomne. Utilisation essentielle comme lieu de stockage

God's Truth in Great Basin Archaeology?

I will reply briefly to Madsens criticism in order to clarify some points raised about the specifics of my research in the Reese River Valley and elsewhere in the Great Basin. While Madsens paper makes two worthwhile points, it suffers from four, more basic difficulties. Madsen is correct when he highlights the wide, uncritical acceptance by some readers of the archaeological literature. Despite the fact that I have repeatedly emphasized the tentative and unproven nature of the Reese River work (see Thomas 1971a:190, 1973:174; Williams et al. 1973:222), this research is still often cited without regard for this caution. Much of this problem stems, no doubt, from the silly reverence with which statistically based models and procedures are still regarded by the archaeological community in general; I have previously expressed my personal displeasure at this tendency (Thomas 1978a, 1980). Madsen also discusses my assumption regarding the distribution of the pinyon-juniper woodland. Of course Great Basin tree lines have fluctuated during the Holocene; in fact, some years ago, I studied precisely this problem with regard to Western Shoshoni cultural ecology during the historic period (Thomas 1971b). Unfortunately, we do not know the magnitude of such tree-line fluctuations with any certainty, and the real issue is whether we are going to allow this uncertainty to curtail all further analysis of archaeological settlement patterns. In the Reese River sampling design, I took contemporary biotic communities as simply best estimates of prehistoric distributions, as operational indicators of how best to distinguish one sampling domain from another (see Thomas 1975:65). I still contend that this was a reasonable estimate and approach. Since I do not think that Madsen wishes to argue against the use of assumptions in archaeology, I will stand by a point made earlier: all archaeologists agree that some assumptions are necessary, and most would concur that the more explicit these assumptions, the higher the quality of the resulting archaeological interpretations (Thomas 1978b:461). I trust that my assumptions are suitably explicit. Let us now examine some difficulties in the Madsen critique.