Mark F. Seeman

Intercluster lithic patterning at nobles pond: a case for disembedded procurement among early paleoindian societies

This study examines the relation between raw-material procurement and subsistence behavior among foraging societies. “Embedded procurement” of raw materials may characterize many or most modern foraging societies (Binford 1979). Past societies, however, present economic configurations different than those of any contemporary society. The Early Paleoindian societies of North America present extreme examples in this regard, and were characterized by high mobility, low population density, and high weapon reliability. A lithic-debitage analysis of a portion of the Nobles Pond site (33ST357) supports the argument that the acquisition of lithic raw materials was not embedded in subsistence behavior, but rather, was a specialized activity required by the particular demands of band aggregation in a location far removed from sources of acceptable lithic materials.

Working with Wilmsen: Paleoindian end scraper design and use at nobles pond

Abstract This study is an investigation of tool design and the organization of work. Here we further test Wilmsen’s (1970) conclusion that early Paleoindian tools—specifically, hafted end scrapers—were redesigned to facilitate the processing of a broader range of resources as colonizing populations moved into the forested environments of eastern North America from the west. We use a large sample from the Nobles Pond site, morphometic variables, and high-powered microwear to evaluate the effects of design and reduction as they bear on this generalization. Results do not support Wilmsen’s model, and, more generally, we conclude that an understanding of form and function in reductive technologies comes not only from an appreciation of the planned, stage-like change that is inherent in the design of reliable tools, but also from a consideration of the many contingencies and particular work situations that arise in the lives of mobile foragers.

A Quantitative Analysis of Skill and Efficiency: Hopewell Blade Production at the Turner Workshop, Hamilton County, Ohio

Abstract We describe and analyze blade production at a small site near the Turner Earthworks, Hamilton County, Ohio. The Turner Workshop provides perhaps the largest sample of Ohio Hopewell (ca. A.D. 50–350) blades and blade-cores recovered from a single site to date. We focus on describing the production process at Turner and comparing our results with those from other Ohio Hopewell and nonHopewell blade production sites. Special attention will be focused on rates of production errors, metric variability in final products, and the variability introduced into the production process by increases in distance-to-source and how these lines of evidence bear on the question of specialized production in middle-range societies. Our analysis reveals an industry characterized by a high frequency of errors, a high level of variability in final products, and a lack of standardization in reduction process. We therefore conclude that the Ohio Hopewell blade industry did not employ craft specialists.

Determining the Cultural Affiliation of Terminal Late Woodland-Mississippian Hunting Stations: A Lower Ohio Valley Example:

Discriminant analysis, a multivariate statistical technique is used to clarify terminal Late Woodland-Mississippian settlement patterns in the lower Ohio Valley. Initially, the ability of this technique to recognize variation among stylistically similar populations of Yankeetown, Angel, and Caborn-Welborn triangular arrow points is tested with favorable results. These results are then used to determine the cultural affiliation of small hunting stations in the area. The data indicate that hunting station distributions are largely independent of patterns previously documented for local habitation sites and can be used to clarify settlement-subsistence relationships.

USE AND MULTIFACTORIAL RECONCILIATION OF UNIFACE REDUCTION MEASURES: A PILOT STUDY AT THE NOBLES POND PALEOINDIAN SITE

How much stone tools are reduced and their form changed from first use to discard bears upon issues such as typological integrity, curation rate, and effects of occupation span. But degree of reduction depends partly upon the measures used to gauge it. Most studies involve single indices that gauge reduction in different ways or at different scales, so results are difficult to compare between studies. In this pilot study, we compare four allometric reduction measures—one each based on length, length:thickness ratio, volume, and mass, estimated by comparing observed values in discarded tools to estimated original values—for consistency when applied to an endscraper sample from the Nobles Pond Paleoindian site in Ohio, USA. Fitted to the Weibull distribution, all measures suggest attrition compared to experimental controls, but variation among them demands reconciliation. A multifactorial method that weights individual measures by their principal-component loadings suggests attritional discard at increasing rate as reduction advances. More importantly, it addresses the growing problem of reconciling the many reduction measures in use, a major concern in this expanding research area. El grado de reavivado de las herramientas líticas y su trayectoria morfológica entre primer uso y desecho están íntimamente relacionados con temas teóricos como la integridad tipológica, la tasa de curación y las consecuencias de la duración del periodo de ocupación. Sin embargo, el grado de reavivado también depende de las medidas empleadas para determinarlo. La mayoría de los estudios utilizan una única medida que estima la reducción de diferente manera y a diferente escala, complicando la comparación entre estudios. En este estudio piloto, comparamos el grado de consistencia de cuatros medidas alométricas—basadas respectivamente en el largo, la proporción entre largo y grosor, el volumen y la masa calculada como la diferencia entre las herramientas descartadas y una estimación de su valor original—aplicadas a una muestra de raspadores procedentes del conjunto paleoindio de Nobles Pond, Ohio, Estados Unidos. Ajustadas a la distribución Weibull, todas las medidas sugieren una tasa de desgaste considerable en comparación con los controles experimentales, pero existen variaciones entre las medidas que requieren explicación. Planteamos el uso de un método multifactorial para ponderar cada medida de reducción utilizando su peso calculado en el análisis de componentes principales. Este método sugiere que la tasa de desecho aumenta conforme avanza el proceso de reducción. De manera más importante, este método ofrece una solución al problema de cómo reconciliar las muchas medidas de reducción existentes, tarea que representa un desafío crucial en esta área de investigación creciente.

An empirical evaluation of copper procurement and distribution: elemental analysis of Scioto Valley Hopewell copper

In prehistoric North America, artifacts of copper occupy a position of prominence in the Hopewell societies of Ohio’s Scioto Valley. These artifacts also represent the social contacts and long-distance interactions that brought copper to the Scioto Valley. Yet, our understanding of Hopewell copper acquisition, and the movement of copper artifacts within the social networks of the Scioto Valley and beyond, has been limited due to the limited availability of geochemical data concerning provenance and variability. We begin to develop the foundation for understanding these important social issues by analyzing the elemental variability of Hopewell copper through the use of laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. We analyze 24 samples from four known copper source regions and 52 samples from 6 prominent sites in the Scioto Valley. Results suggest that a majority of the artifacts are consistent with sources in the Great Lakes, with a plurality classified as Isle Royale. However, 21% of Scioto Hopewell copper artifacts were most consistent with southern Appalachian sources. High elemental variability argues against simple models of copper acquisition and suggests that different social groups had access to a variety of copper sources through varying social networks. Native copper regardless of source seems to have been channeled along similar social and symbolic pathways. Our results suggest that instead of being derived from the struggle to access a specific source, value is derived from the social relationships represented by the copper and the connotation of exotic connection embodied in both style and material.