Andrew L Christenson
Biographic Data
| ID | 152170 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Andrew L Christenson |
| GIVEN NAMES | Andrew L |
| FAMILY NAME | Christenson |
| SIGNATURE | CHRISTENSON A L |
| AFFILIATIONS | Prescott College |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 28 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 183 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 28 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1977 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2022 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Settlement, Subsistence, and Society in Late Zuni Prehistory
KEITH W. KINTIGH fIrst participated in archaeological fIeld work in the southwestern United States in 1973, and since then his interest in the Southwest has focused on the prehistoric period in the Zuni area of New Mexico.He has had additional fIeld experience
Population Growth and Mobility in Southern Colorado Plateau Archaeology
This chapter examines how population growth and, to a lesser extent, population decline have been interpreted and how demographic studies have played a role in understanding cultural dynamics in the regioa because population movement has been important in such interpretation. It considers mobility as it pertains to studies of Plateau paleodemography. Prior to the development of a prehistoric time-scale, however, there could be little concept of p…
La coproducción del conocimiento arqueológico
The process of professionalization in American archaeology naturally created boundaries between insiders and outsiders, with insiders having special training or degrees and institutional affiliation and employment. Amateur archaeologists, with their intimate knowledge of sites and the landscapes into which they are situated, were actively involved in trying to understand the archaeological record but were often treated as outsiders even though th…
Who were the Professional North American Archaeologists of 1900? Clues from the Work of Warren K. Moorehead
It is generally agreed that the period around the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries was one when the term ‘professional’ could be applied to a significant number of North American archaeologists (Browman 2002b: 514; Kehoe 1999: 5; Kurtz 1979: 13), even though the term itself rarely appears. In June 1900, Warren K. Moorehead, unemployed and living in a cabin in Saranac Lake, New York, recovering from tuberculosis, had …
Years After Snaketown – A Nod to the Past and an Eye Toward the Future. 5–6 March 2010, at the University of Arizona and Arizona State Museum
Encyclopedia of Archaeology
There have been two previous volumes published on Great Archaeologists, one for young adults (Daugherty 1962) and one a collection of articles from the Illustrated London News (Bacon 1976). What really distinguishes this two volume set from the earlier books is that who was included was decided by archaeologists, rather than by educators or journalists. Archaeologists whose lives are considered great for didactic or journalistic reasons are most …
Finding the Walls of Troy
As a teenager my parents received through the Book-of-the-Month Club a volume that could easily have led me to want to become an archaeologist if I had not already made that decision. Gods, Graves. and Scholars by C. W. Cerarn (pseudonym of German journalist Kurt W. Marek) had been first published in Germany in 1949 and translated and published in the U.S. in 1951 (Ceram 1951). This book, still in print, was one of the few written in the first ha…
The American Discovery ofAncient Egypt by Nancy Thomas, 1995, and The American Discovery of Ancient Egypt - Essays, edited by Nancy Thomas, 1996
Side-Notched and Unnotched Arrowpoints
History of Science in the United States
There are four parts to this volume - a chronology of events by year, a chronology of leading scientists grouped by the decade in which they reached 25 years of age? a research guide, and a research bibliography. The author has written extensively on American science, including co-editing the volume Science at Harvard University (reviewed in BHA 2(1):17-19).The volume covers mostly what are termed the "hard" sciences (-.e., chemistry. biology, ge…
A History of American Archaeology, by Gordon R. Willey and Jeremy A. Sabloff, 3rd edition. W. H. Freeman and Co., New York, 1993
Those who were waiting to see dramatic changes in Willey and Sabloff will be disappointed. The first five chapters are virtually identical to the previous edition, except that Indians have been transformed into Native Americans and the footnotes have been expanded somewhat to incorporate new publications. I have little to say about this section, which comprises two thirds of the book, and which does a reasonable job of covering the major archaeol…
Archaeology of Eastern North America
This well-produced volume honors Stephen Williams, recently retired Peabody Professor of American Archaeology at Harvard University.Section one, on Williams' life, career, and publications, is of most interest to readers of BHA. Chapter 1, by James B. Griffin details Williams' career in teaching, in museum management, and southeastern archaeology and ethnohistory. Williams served as chairman of at least 25 doctoral committees and is credited with…
Alonzo Pond and the 1930 Logan Museum Expedition to North Africa - The Beloit College Symposium, edited by L. B. Breitborde, Logan Museum Bulletin (new series), vol. 1, no. 1, 1992
Ruins, Reputations, and Regulation
Hal Rothman specializes in the history of the U.S. national monuments, both in the broad view (Rothman 1989) and focused upon specific Southwest monuments (Rothman 1988, 1991). This article takes up one of his major interests - the shift in the West from local and regional interests in management of Federal lands to national interests - and uses the formation of Navajo National Monument as an example.The story begins with Richard Wetherill's exca…
A Test of Mean Ceramic Dating using Well-Dated Kayenta Anasazi Sites
Mean ceramic dating is a technique developed in historical archaeology to date Euroamerican ceramic assemblages. Previous uses of the method on prehistoric sites in the Southwest have not been conclusive because of the lack of independent dates to assess the results. Tree-ring-dated ceramic assemblages from the Kayenta Anasazi area are used to test the technique. Confidence intervals calculated from these results indicate that the mean ceramic da…
The Microenvironment of Cliffdwellings in Tsegi Canyon, Arizona
Cliffdwellings are commonly thought to be good places to live because of their favorable microclimate and other desirable characteristics, but few substantive data have been collected to support such assumptions. As a step toward filling this gap, temperature and relative humidity measurements were collected in several Anasazi cliffdwellings in the Tsegi Canyon system of northeastern Arizona. Evaluation of these data and consideration of other ro…
Tracing archaeology's past
Petroglyphs of Ohio
The Identification and Study of Indian Shell Middens in Eastern North America
Although the interest in shell middens in North America is often traced to reports of the discoveries in Danish kjoekkenmoeddings in the mid-nineteenth century, extensive shell midden studies were already occurring on the East Coast by that time. This article reviews selected examples of this early work done by geologists and naturalists, which served as a foundation for shell midden studies by archaeologists after the Civil War
Projectile Point Size and Projectile Aerodynamics
Although often treated as complete cultural entities, projectile points are only the partial remnants of complex projectile delivery systems. The problem explored in this paper is the inferences that can be made about a prehistoric projectile from its one remaining part, the stone tip. A model is outlined to suggest how projectile point size, as measured by weight and neck width, may relate to the accuracy, flight stability, range, and killing po…
Anthropological Applications of Optimal Foraging Theory
Recent applications of models of optimal foraging behavior to human foraging economies are summarized and evaluated. These models predict patterns of prey choice, habitat use, time allocation, settlement pattern, and foraging group size that will maximize some objective currency (such as the net rate of energy capture while foraging) under the constraints of resource characteristics and forager capabilities pertaining to a particular situation. I…
Maximizing Clarity in Economic Terminology
The increasing incorporation of economic concepts into archaeological theory has led to an increased potential for misunderstanding through terminological sloppiness. Misuse of such terms as minimax, efficiency, risk, and maximization has already laid a solid foundation for confusion. These comments are intended to provide brief definitions for several key economic terms and to indicate how they can be used so that their meanings are clearly unde…
Modelling Change in Prehistoric Subsistence Economies
Modeling change in prehistoric subsistence economies
Covers applications of marginal analysis, linear programming, decision theory, niche theory, and optimal diet models to various prehistoric situations.
The Role of Museums in Cultural Resource Management
Cultural resource management is often considered to end when endangered resources are collected or excavated. Actually, this is only an early step in the process. An increasing proportion of our preserved cultural heritage is being managed in museums, and it is in museums that much future archaeological research will have to be done. This brief essay reviews the role of museums in cultural resource management and points to the need for a careful …
Projectile Point Size and Projectile Aerodynamics
Although often treated as complete cultural entities, projectile points are only the partial remnants of complex projectile delivery systems. The problem explored in this paper is the inferences that can be made about a prehistoric projectile from its one remaining part, the stone tip. A model is outlined to suggest how projectile point size, as measured by weight and neck width, may relate to the accuracy, flight stability, range, and killing po…
Modeling change in prehistoric subsistence economies
Covers applications of marginal analysis, linear programming, decision theory, niche theory, and optimal diet models to various prehistoric situations.
A Test of Mean Ceramic Dating using Well-Dated Kayenta Anasazi Sites
Mean ceramic dating is a technique developed in historical archaeology to date Euroamerican ceramic assemblages. Previous uses of the method on prehistoric sites in the Southwest have not been conclusive because of the lack of independent dates to assess the results. Tree-ring-dated ceramic assemblages from the Kayenta Anasazi area are used to test the technique. Confidence intervals calculated from these results indicate that the mean ceramic da…
Modelling Change in Prehistoric Subsistence Economies
Numerical Taxonomy, R-Mode Factor Analysis, and Archaeological Classification
The concepts underlying numerical taxonomy and factor analysis are examined in relation to the goals and requirements of archaeological classification. Numerical taxonomy, represented in the archaeological literature most commonly by cluster analysis on raw data, is found to be inappropriate for those goals. In contrast, the technique of r-mode factor analysis fits very well with the nature of archaeological data and the general aims of archaeolo…
Maximizing Clarity in Economic Terminology
The increasing incorporation of economic concepts into archaeological theory has led to an increased potential for misunderstanding through terminological sloppiness. Misuse of such terms as minimax, efficiency, risk, and maximization has already laid a solid foundation for confusion. These comments are intended to provide brief definitions for several key economic terms and to indicate how they can be used so that their meanings are clearly unde…
La coproducción del conocimiento arqueológico
The process of professionalization in American archaeology naturally created boundaries between insiders and outsiders, with insiders having special training or degrees and institutional affiliation and employment. Amateur archaeologists, with their intimate knowledge of sites and the landscapes into which they are situated, were actively involved in trying to understand the archaeological record but were often treated as outsiders even though th…
The Identification and Study of Indian Shell Middens in Eastern North America
Although the interest in shell middens in North America is often traced to reports of the discoveries in Danish kjoekkenmoeddings in the mid-nineteenth century, extensive shell midden studies were already occurring on the East Coast by that time. This article reviews selected examples of this early work done by geologists and naturalists, which served as a foundation for shell midden studies by archaeologists after the Civil War
On the Virtues Of Simplicity
The assumption of complexity seems to dominate much of anthropological thinking. This is clearly indicated by the frequency of use of complex multivariate statistics such as factor analysis. It is argued here that human behavior may often be much simpler than assumed and that the optimal approach to data analysis is to assume simplicity until demonstrated otherwise. It is also argued that when multivariate statistics are used, they are most effec…
Some Trends in Biface Technology in Central Illinois
There is a significant lack of studies of long-term technological change in the Midwest. This paper provides an example of the potential of such studies. A sample of stylistically dated chipped stone bifaces from the Sangamon River Valley is examined. The frequencies of four technological processes . beveling, serration, stem and basal grinding, and heat treating . are noted for each of 6 temporal units. Possible explanations for changes in the f…
Numerical Taxonomy, R-Mode Factor Analysis, and Archaeological Classification
The concepts underlying numerical taxonomy and factor analysis are examined in relation to the goals and requirements of archaeological classification. Numerical taxonomy, represented in the archaeological literature most commonly by cluster analysis on raw data, is found to be inappropriate for those goals. In contrast, the technique of r-mode factor analysis fits very well with the nature of archaeological data and the general aims of archaeolo…
The Role of Museums in Cultural Resource Management
Cultural resource management is often considered to end when endangered resources are collected or excavated. Actually, this is only an early step in the process. An increasing proportion of our preserved cultural heritage is being managed in museums, and it is in museums that much future archaeological research will have to be done. This brief essay reviews the role of museums in cultural resource management and points to the need for a careful …
On the Virtues Of Simplicity
The assumption of complexity seems to dominate much of anthropological thinking. This is clearly indicated by the frequency of use of complex multivariate statistics such as factor analysis. It is argued here that human behavior may often be much simpler than assumed and that the optimal approach to data analysis is to assume simplicity until demonstrated otherwise. It is also argued that when multivariate statistics are used, they are most effec…
Modeling change in prehistoric subsistence economies
Covers applications of marginal analysis, linear programming, decision theory, niche theory, and optimal diet models to various prehistoric situations.
Modelling Change in Prehistoric Subsistence Economies
Maximizing Clarity in Economic Terminology
The increasing incorporation of economic concepts into archaeological theory has led to an increased potential for misunderstanding through terminological sloppiness. Misuse of such terms as minimax, efficiency, risk, and maximization has already laid a solid foundation for confusion. These comments are intended to provide brief definitions for several key economic terms and to indicate how they can be used so that their meanings are clearly unde…
Anthropological Applications of Optimal Foraging Theory
Recent applications of models of optimal foraging behavior to human foraging economies are summarized and evaluated. These models predict patterns of prey choice, habitat use, time allocation, settlement pattern, and foraging group size that will maximize some objective currency (such as the net rate of energy capture while foraging) under the constraints of resource characteristics and forager capabilities pertaining to a particular situation. I…
The Identification and Study of Indian Shell Middens in Eastern North America
Although the interest in shell middens in North America is often traced to reports of the discoveries in Danish kjoekkenmoeddings in the mid-nineteenth century, extensive shell midden studies were already occurring on the East Coast by that time. This article reviews selected examples of this early work done by geologists and naturalists, which served as a foundation for shell midden studies by archaeologists after the Civil War
Projectile Point Size and Projectile Aerodynamics
Although often treated as complete cultural entities, projectile points are only the partial remnants of complex projectile delivery systems. The problem explored in this paper is the inferences that can be made about a prehistoric projectile from its one remaining part, the stone tip. A model is outlined to suggest how projectile point size, as measured by weight and neck width, may relate to the accuracy, flight stability, range, and killing po…
Tracing archaeology's past
Petroglyphs of Ohio
The Microenvironment of Cliffdwellings in Tsegi Canyon, Arizona
Cliffdwellings are commonly thought to be good places to live because of their favorable microclimate and other desirable characteristics, but few substantive data have been collected to support such assumptions. As a step toward filling this gap, temperature and relative humidity measurements were collected in several Anasazi cliffdwellings in the Tsegi Canyon system of northeastern Arizona. Evaluation of these data and consideration of other ro…
Alonzo Pond and the 1930 Logan Museum Expedition to North Africa - The Beloit College Symposium, edited by L. B. Breitborde, Logan Museum Bulletin (new series), vol. 1, no. 1, 1992
Ruins, Reputations, and Regulation
Hal Rothman specializes in the history of the U.S. national monuments, both in the broad view (Rothman 1989) and focused upon specific Southwest monuments (Rothman 1988, 1991). This article takes up one of his major interests - the shift in the West from local and regional interests in management of Federal lands to national interests - and uses the formation of Navajo National Monument as an example.The story begins with Richard Wetherill's exca…
A Test of Mean Ceramic Dating using Well-Dated Kayenta Anasazi Sites
Mean ceramic dating is a technique developed in historical archaeology to date Euroamerican ceramic assemblages. Previous uses of the method on prehistoric sites in the Southwest have not been conclusive because of the lack of independent dates to assess the results. Tree-ring-dated ceramic assemblages from the Kayenta Anasazi area are used to test the technique. Confidence intervals calculated from these results indicate that the mean ceramic da…
A History of American Archaeology, by Gordon R. Willey and Jeremy A. Sabloff, 3rd edition. W. H. Freeman and Co., New York, 1993
Those who were waiting to see dramatic changes in Willey and Sabloff will be disappointed. The first five chapters are virtually identical to the previous edition, except that Indians have been transformed into Native Americans and the footnotes have been expanded somewhat to incorporate new publications. I have little to say about this section, which comprises two thirds of the book, and which does a reasonable job of covering the major archaeol…
Archaeology of Eastern North America
This well-produced volume honors Stephen Williams, recently retired Peabody Professor of American Archaeology at Harvard University.Section one, on Williams' life, career, and publications, is of most interest to readers of BHA. Chapter 1, by James B. Griffin details Williams' career in teaching, in museum management, and southeastern archaeology and ethnohistory. Williams served as chairman of at least 25 doctoral committees and is credited with…
History of Science in the United States
There are four parts to this volume - a chronology of events by year, a chronology of leading scientists grouped by the decade in which they reached 25 years of age? a research guide, and a research bibliography. The author has written extensively on American science, including co-editing the volume Science at Harvard University (reviewed in BHA 2(1):17-19).The volume covers mostly what are termed the "hard" sciences (-.e., chemistry. biology, ge…
The American Discovery ofAncient Egypt by Nancy Thomas, 1995, and The American Discovery of Ancient Egypt - Essays, edited by Nancy Thomas, 1996
Side-Notched and Unnotched Arrowpoints
Finding the Walls of Troy
As a teenager my parents received through the Book-of-the-Month Club a volume that could easily have led me to want to become an archaeologist if I had not already made that decision. Gods, Graves. and Scholars by C. W. Cerarn (pseudonym of German journalist Kurt W. Marek) had been first published in Germany in 1949 and translated and published in the U.S. in 1951 (Ceram 1951). This book, still in print, was one of the few written in the first ha…
Encyclopedia of Archaeology
There have been two previous volumes published on Great Archaeologists, one for young adults (Daugherty 1962) and one a collection of articles from the Illustrated London News (Bacon 1976). What really distinguishes this two volume set from the earlier books is that who was included was decided by archaeologists, rather than by educators or journalists. Archaeologists whose lives are considered great for didactic or journalistic reasons are most …
Years After Snaketown – A Nod to the Past and an Eye Toward the Future. 5–6 March 2010, at the University of Arizona and Arizona State Museum
Who were the Professional North American Archaeologists of 1900? Clues from the Work of Warren K. Moorehead
It is generally agreed that the period around the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries was one when the term ‘professional’ could be applied to a significant number of North American archaeologists (Browman 2002b: 514; Kehoe 1999: 5; Kurtz 1979: 13), even though the term itself rarely appears. In June 1900, Warren K. Moorehead, unemployed and living in a cabin in Saranac Lake, New York, recovering from tuberculosis, had …
Archaeology (21 works) · History (18 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (12 works) · History (12 works) · Geography (11 works) · Computer Science (8 works) · Historical and Cultural Archaeology Studies (7 works) · Archaeological Research and Protection (6 works) · Classics (6 works) · Philosophy (6 works)