William C. Prentiss

Calibrated Radiocarbon Dating at Keatley Creek: The Chronology of Occupation at a Complex Hunter-Gatherer Village

This paper provides an analysis of radiocarbon dates acquired during earlier and recent field seasons at the Keatley Creek site, southern British Columbia. Results indicate that early occupations predating 1900 cal. B.P. occurred, but were not likely associated with population aggregation and large housepits. The aggregated village appears to have emerged by approximately 1700 cal. B.P. and was abandoned at approximately 800 cal. B.P. A break in the occupational sequence is recognized at 1450-1350 cal. B.P. and one other short break may have occurred shortly after 1250 cal. B.P. Peak socioeconomic complexity appears to have been achieved between 1350 and 800 cal B.P. Climatic warming may have provided a selective environment favoring population aggregation and intensification during this time. The final abandonment of the Keatley Creek village appears to have been part of a regional phenomenon suggesting the possibility that climatic factors were important in this case as well.

The reliability and validity of a lithic debitage typology : Implications for archaeological interpretation

Sullivan and Rozens (1985) debitage typology has been proposed as a method for measuring the effects of variation in lithic reduction by describing distinctive assemblages. This is in contrast to many traditional analytical methods oriented toward identifying the effects of lithic reduction techniques on individual flakes. Debate over the use of the typology has focused primarily on the ability of the typology to accurately measure variation in lithic reduction behavior, and secondarily on the role of experimental studies in archaeology. In this paper I present an analysis designed to estimate the reliability and validity of the typology. An experimental design is developed to permit data collection with minimal analyst induced random or systematic error. Principal components analysis and the coefficient theta demonstrate that the typology provides reliable or replicable results when applied to debitage assemblages of similar technological origin. Further principal components analysis suggests that the instrument is of limited utility in recognizing effects of variation in reduction activities associated with highly vitreous lithic raw materials. A means of expanding the typology and increasing its accuracy in archaeological pattern recognition is presented.

A Darwinian macro-evolutionary perspective on the development of hunter-gatherer systems in Northwestern North America

The archaeological record of western North American hunter-gatherers is characterized by long periods of socio-economic homogeneity interrupted by short bursts of variation. This pattern of punctuated equilibrium is best understood using a macro-evolutionary model like that employed in paleontology. We offer such a Darwinian framework, focusing on methods for recognizing distinct socioeconomic systems archaeologically and addressing processes that maintain systemic stasis and enable change. We apply this model to the prehistory of Northwestern North America, explaining a region-wide transition from highly residentially mobile foragers to semi-sedentary, logistically mobile, storage-dependent collectors between 3750 and 3000 cal. bp. Archaeological and paleoecological evidence shows that the collector Bauplan arose first along the northern Northwest Coast under conditions of relaxed competition that permitted multiple distinct Baupläne to develop. These systems coexisted from 5000 to 4200 cal. bp, when a marked temperature decline and a growing population altered the selective equation and heightened competition. Offering selective advantage under cooler conditions, the collector model spread by a combination of ethnic expansion and inter-ethnic transmission to become the sole Bauplan in the region by 3000 cal. bp.

The emergence of large villages and large residential corporate group structures among complex hunter-gatherers at Keatley Creek. Authors' reply

Prentiss et al. (2003) have argued for a relatively recent, short (1600–1100 B.P.), and noncontinuous occupation of large villages and large housepits on the British Columbian Plateau. They argue that these developments resulted from climatically induced resource impoverishment in the region. I maintain that their database is inadequate for such conclusions and that their interpretations are in conflict with dates that I obtained from large housepits as well as with the distribution of early point styles (dating from 1200–4800 B.P.) that concentrate in the rim middens of large and medium-sized housepits. These data indicate that large villages and housepits that emerged by 2600 B.P., or earlier, were continuously occupied and corresponded more to the development of collector-based technologies rather than any climatic deteriorations or the introduction of the bow and arrow.

The Emergence of Complex Hunter-Gatherers on the Canadian Plateau: A Response to Hayden

Brian Hayden argues that our analysis of Keatley Creek stratigraphy and dates offers inaccurate conclusions. Although our data demonstrate that the village appeared late and was somewhat unstable, Hayden continues to support a model of early emergence and high stability. Hayden offers no new data to support his position. Consequently, we argue that there is no reason to reject our revised view.