Karen G. Harry

The Beauty of "Ugly" Eskimo Cooking Pots

Arctic Alaskan ceramics offer several interpretive challenges for the archaeologist. In contrast to most cross-cultural patterns, these cooking vessels were produced by hunter-gatherers living in a cool and humid environment and were used to cook meat rather than starchy seeds. Additionally, when compared to cooking vessels and techniques from other areas of the world, their shapes and textures are atypical and appear poorly suited for their intended use. At first impression, these vessels might appear to reflect simply a lack of technological expertise. However, we argue that when considered in relation to the local social and environmental context under which these vessels were produced and used, these apparent contradictions can be understood.

Ceramic Specialization and Agricultural Marginality: Do Ethnographic Models Explain the Development of Specialized Pottery Production in the Prehistoric American Southwest?

Ethnographic data indicate that historically, ceramic specialization is strongly correlated with agricultural and economic marginality. Where such specialization is concentrated geographically, it often is found in areas having agriculturally poor lands (Arnold 1985). Although this association is well established for modern-day and historic peasant communities, the degree to which this pattern extended into prehistory is unknown. In this paper, I evaluate the applicability of the agricultural marginality model to the prehistoric American Southwest by considering evidence from six areas where specialized pottery production is known to have occurred. The data from these areas suggest that, in the prehistoric Southwest, agricultural marginality was not the primary or sole factor leading to the adoption of part-time ceramic specializations. To understand why the ethnographic model does not apply to the prehistoric Southwest, attention must be focused on understanding the differing social and economic contexts within which prehistoric farmers and historic and modern-day peasants operated.

Cation-ratio dating of varnished artifacts: testing the assumptions

Dorn (1983) has proposed that changes in rock varnish chemistry can be used to date varnished artifacts. Specifically, he suggests that the varnish cation ratio, (K + Ca)/Ti, decreases as the age of the varnished surface increases. Although the method is generating significant archaeological interest, many of its underlying assumptions remain undemonstrated. This paper examines one premise of the method, that the varnishing process is regular. Data obtainedfrom varnish distributional studies challenge this assumption and, when compared with the chemical data obtained from the same archaeological site, suggest that the cation-ratio dating technique may not be able to provide accurate dates for most varnished artifacts. Dorn (1983) ha propuesto que cambios en la guimica del barniz de las rocas puede usarse para datar artefactos barnizados. Especificamente, el sugiere que el radio de cationes de barniz (K + Ca)/Ti disminuye a medida que la edad de la superficie barnizada aumenta. A4 unque el metodo ha generado un significativo interes arqueologico, muchos de sus supuestos bsicos continuan sin ser demostrados. Este articulo examina una premisa del metodo, la que sostiene que el proceso de barnizado es regular. Datos obtenidos de estudios de distribucion de barniz desafian esta premisa y, cuando son comprados con los datos quimicos obtenidos del mismo sitio arqueologico, sugieren que la tecnica de datacion por radio de cationes podria no ser adecuada para extraer fechas exactas de la majoria de los artefactors barnizados. Rock varnish is a shiny, generally black accretion found on the surfaces of some rocks, including petroglyphs and lithic artifacts, in arid regions. Dorn (1983, 1992; Dorn and Oberlander 1981) has proposed that varnished materials can be dated by determining the cation ratios of the overlying varnish. This technique is based on the premise that rockvarnish chemistry changes predictably through time. Specifically, Dom proposes that the varnish cation ratio, (K + Ca)/Ti, decreases as the age of the varnish increases. This trend has been calibrated with varnish radiocarbon dates, and rock-varnish cation ratios have been used to assign numerical ages to landforms, surface artifacts, and rock art. Because these types of materials generally cannot be directly dated by other techniques,

EXAMINING THE PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF SHIVWITS WARE POTTERY IN THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST

Abstract Compositional analyses were undertaken to evaluate the hypothesis that Shivwits Ware pottery found in southern Nevada was not produced in that area but, instead, manufactured on the Shivwits Plateau. The evidence supports this hypothesis and indicates that large quantities of Shivwits Ware jars moved through a distribution system linking the upland areas of the western Arizona Strip with the lowlands of southeastern Nevada. This long-distance movement of utilitarian pottery is unusual for precontact North America, in that it occurred in the apparent absence of any centralized distribution mechanisms and between what would have been small, kin-based communities. The nature and the causes for the development of this distribution system are discussed.

THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF PUEBLO GRANDE DE NEVADA

Abstract Pueblo Grande de Nevada, more popularly known as “Lost City,” refers to a loosely defined series of archaeological sites in the Moapa Valley of southern Nevada. Excavated between the years of 1924 and 1941, these sites were to have a major impact on early-twentieth-century Southwestern archaeology. Despite the excitement that surrounded these finds at the time of their discovery, their legacy has largely been forgotten today. We argue one reason for this oversight is that the data obtained by the original researchers are inadequate for addressing the questions being asked of the region today. In particular, because plant and animal remains were not systematically recovered by the original researchers, the early fieldwork has provided only a broad sketch of the subsistence activities practiced in the region. To remedy these shortcomings, in 2006 archaeologists from the University of Nevada Las Vegas conducted additional excavations at House 20, a roomblock located within one of the so-called Lost City sites. In this paper, the history of the Lost City fieldwork is reviewed and results from our 2006 excavations are presented. The newly obtained data suggest that the inhabitants of House 20 were heavily invested in agriculture and utilized wild resources that could be obtained in the immediate vicinity. Abstract El Pueblo Grande de Nevada, mejor conocido como “Lost City” (Ciudad Perdida), es una serie de sitios arqueológicos en el valle de Moapa al sur de Nevada. Estos sitios, excavados entre 1924 y 1941, tuvieron un gran impacto en los estudios arqueológicos del Suroeste Norteamericano de principios del siglo XX. A pesar de la sensatión que causaron estos descubrimientos, su legado actualmente ha sido olvidado. Creemos que una de las razones detrás de este descuido es que los datos obtenidos por los investigadores originales son inapropiados para responder interrogantes contemporaneas. Espectfícamente, los restos de flora y fauna no fueron recuperados sistematicámente por los investigadores, y el trabajo de campo solo proporciona una idea general de las actividades de subsistencia practicadas en la región. Para remediar esta falta de information, durante el 2006 arquedlógos de al Universidad de Nevada en Las Vegas realizaron nuevas excavaciones en la Casa 20, un complejo de casas localizado dentro de uno de los sitios de Lost City. En este artículo se hace una reseña de las investigaciones arqueológicas realizadas en Lost City y se presentan los resultados de nuestras excavaciones en la temporada del 2006. Los datos obtenidos indican que los habitantes de la Casa 20 invirtieron mayor tiempo y esfuerzo hacia la agricultura pero también utilizaron recursos silvestres locales.

Reply to Bamforth

Bamforth contends that research conducted into cation-ratio dating at CA-KER-140 wasflawed because of (1) a poorly conceived research design, (2) a lack of site integrity, and (3) misinterpretation of the chemical data. He further argues that processes affecting artifact stability at KER-140 were absent from the IPP sites. As a result, he suggests that the conclusions presented in my earlier article are unsound and irrelevant to the interpretation of previously derived cation-ratio dates. In this article I respond to these assertions. Specifically, I demonstrate that Bamforth has failed to establish grounds for dismissing either the KER-140 research design or the chemical results obtained from that study. In addition, I review descriptions of the IPP sites presented elsewhere by Bamforth and conclude that these descriptions support the interpretation of artifact instability at the IPP sites.

An Experimental Approach to Understanding Thule Pottery Technology

The Arctic is poorly suited for pottery manufacture. For historic and prehistoric potters, the cool humid weather would have meant that clays were collected wet, that pots were formed and dried under humid conditions, and that the ground and fuels used during firing would be damp. These situations would have created substantial problems for potters. To investigate how these issues might have affected Thule pottery production, in 2004 the authors initiated a series of replication experiments. These experiments, informed by ethnographic accounts, were carried out in Tununak, Alaska and on the campus of the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Results of our experiments confirm the extreme difficulties associated with making pots in the Arctic. Additionally, they inform on the effects of some of the manufacturing techniques reported to have been used historically and shed light on why Arctic potters might have made the technological choices that they did.

Examining style in Virgin Branch corrugated ceramics

In this article, we examine variation in the corrugation styles of ceramics from the Virgin Branch Puebloan culture. These ceramics were recovered from two regions: the Moapa Valley of southern Nevada and the Mt. Dellenbaugh area of northwestern Arizona. Three wares—Shivwits, Moapa, and Tusayan—are examined, each of which was produced in different locations. Similarities and differences in corrugation styles between these wares are used to investigate ceramic learning frameworks and the nature of the pottery production and distribution system.

Canadian Arctic Soapstone Cooking Technology

This article examines the thermal properties of soapstone in comparison to other materials, to help us explore why Arctic cooks might have elected to use this material for their cooking containers. Low energy water boiling experiments, designed to simulate the low energy, oil-based fuel technologies of the Arctic, were undertaken. The results indicate that compared to metal and ceramic containers, soapstone is better able to store heat. We propose that this property makes soapstone especially useful in Arctic environments, where fuel sources are limited and indigenous heating techniques commonly relied on low energy. By understanding how heat is absorbed into metal, ceramic, and stone containers and how it is subsequently released into water we gain important contextual insights into the technological choices made by Arctic people.

Exploratory Studies into Possible Uses of Calcareous Dolostone

Abstract Excavations at habitation sites on the Shivwits Plateau, northwestern Arizona suggest that calcareous dolostone was regularly procured and used by the prehistoric inhabitants of that region. Calcareous dolostone, a soft, powdery carbonate rock composed of the minerals dolomite and calcite, is not local to these sites but crops out some four to six kilometers from the site. Its presence at the sites, therefore, indicates its intentional procurement for some as-yet undetermined purpose. To investigate how the material might have been used, a series of archaeological experiments were conducted to evaluate possible functions suggested by ethnographic analogy. Specifically, we evaluated the performance characteristics of powdered dolostone with reference to three activities: clay processing, pigment production, and the production of architectural plaster. Our results suggest that, as a clay additive, dolostone improves the texture of the sticky Shivwits Plateau clays; and that, when mixed with appropriate binders, it produces a durable pigment that could have been used as a paint. Our attempts to produce a waterproof and weather resistant plaster, in contrast, failed, although our results suggest that the dolostone could produce a thick whitewash appropriate for painting room interiors.