James H Burton
Biographic Data
| ID | 105886 |
|---|---|
| NAME | James H Burton |
| GIVEN NAMES | James H |
| FAMILY NAME | Burton |
| SIGNATURE | BURTON J H |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Wisconsin–Madison |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-5695-9152 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 37 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 869 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 37 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1990 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2018 |
| H-INDEX | 14 |
Population movements and identity in Postclassic Yucatan. Bioarchaeological analysis of human remains from the East Coast of the Yucatan peninsula
New insights into the composition and microstructure of ceramic artifacts associated with the production of Chinese bronzes at Yinxu, the last capital of the Shang dynasty
Strontium Isotopes and the Study of Human Mobility Among the Ancient Maya
New isotope data on Maya mobility and enclaves at Classic Copan, Honduras
Isotope studies of human remains from Mayutian, Yunnan Province, China
Medieval Migrations: Isotope Analysis of Early Medieval Skeletons on the Isle of Man
MANX NATIONAL HERITAGE re-opened its Viking and Medieval Gallery in 2007. Isotope analysis of two archaeologically famous skeletons, the Balladoole Viking and the Pagan Lady of Peel, was undertaken to gain information on Viking-Age migration and regional interaction. Additional testing of five early medieval skeletons from the St Patrick's Isle cemetery and two from Speke Keeill was also completed. Here we present the results of the analysis of d…
Maya Coastal Production, Exchange, Life Style, and Population Mobility: A View From the Port of Xcambo, Yucatan, Mexico
Anchored in archaeological, bioarchaeological, and chemical research conducted at the coastal enclave of Xcambo, this paper examines Classic period Maya coastal saline economic production and exchange, along with the lifestyle, ethnicity, and mobility of the traders. Nestled in the coastal marshlands of the northern Yucatan, Mexico, Xcambo functioned as a salt production center and port during its occupation, maintaining long-reaching ties with o…
A new approach to tracking connections between the Indus Valley and Mesopotamia: Initial results of strontium isotope analyses from Harappa and Ur
Isotopic Studies of Human Skeletal Remains from a Sixteenth to Seventeenth Century AD Churchyard in Campeche, Mexico: Diet, Place of Origin, and Age
In AD 2000, construction activities in the central plaza of the city of Campeche, Mexico, led to the discovery of an early colonial church and an associated burial ground dating from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries AD. During the subsequent rescue excavations, the remains of at least 180 individuals were unearthed from the churchyard. We have concluded a series of isotopic studies of these remains to obtain information on diet, status, pl…
The children of Kaminaljuyu: Isotopic insight into diet and long distance interaction in Mesoamerica
A Taphonomic Approach to Late Classic Maya Mortuary Practices at Xuenkal, Yucatán, Mexico
Following a brief introduction to mortuary practices in Prehispanic Maya society, we outline the analytical procedures followed during the excavation and laboratory investigation of five burial assemblages from the Late Classic period site of Xuenkal, Yucatán, Mexico. A detailed account of a sequence of primary and secondary interments is provided with a focus on taphonomic and biovital information, emphasizing the importance of an interdisciplin…
Kings and commoners at Copan: Isotopic evidence for origins and movement in the Classic Maya period
Archaeological Chemistry. Zvi Goffer
Bergson's non-archival theory of memory
Literal and metaphorical associations between memory and archives are found throughout traditional and contemporary thinking about memory. Despite a long-running tendency in the western tradition to doubt the adequacy of archival metaphors for memory, and despite much recent research that implicitly treats memory in terms of dynamic mnemonic and memorial processes, imprint/substrate models epitomized by Plato's wax tablet seem extraordinarily res…
Strontium Isotopes and the Study of Human Mobility in Ancient Mesoamerica
We analyzed strontium isotopes in more than 500 samples of shell, bone, and dental enamel from modern and archaeological contexts throughout Mesoamerica. The results correspond closely with expectations based upon the local geology and earlier measurements of geological materials. The results show that isotopic variation is significant across Mesoamerica. Thus strontium isotope ratios in dental enamel, which mark the place of childhood residence,…
Machines Making Gods: Philip K. Dick, Henri Bergson and Saint Paul
This article addresses shared themes in the writing of Saint Paul and the work of the science fiction writer Philip K. Dick. Much recent philosophical interest in Saint Paul focuses on his contemporary significance as a radical political thinker, following Jacob Taubes' influential late work, The Political Theology of Paul. Assessments of Paul's writing in this context (e.g. by Agamben, Badiou, Milbank) highlight the various ways in which he uses…
Victims of Sacrifice: Isotopic Evidence for Place of Origin
Place of Origin of Prehistoric Inhabitants of Aztalan, Jefferson Co., Wisconsin
The archaeological site of Aztalan in southeastern Wisconsin is a large, palisaded complex of mounds and other structures along the banks of the Crawfish River in Jefferson County. The unusual nature of this settlement has been noted for many years and the origin of the inhabitants has been the subject of considerable debate. The similarities between the materials at Aztalan and other Mississippian period sites to the south in Illinois have long …
Early African diaspora in colonial Campeche, Mexico: Strontium isotopic evidence
Construction activities around Campeche's central park led to the discovery of an early colonial church and an associated burial ground, in use from the mid-16th century AD to the late 17th century. Remains of some individuals revealed dental mutilations characteristic of West Africa. Analyses of strontium isotopes of dental enamel from these individuals yielded unusually high (87)Sr/(86)Sr ratios, inconsistent with an origin in Mesoamerica, but …
On the Logic of Archaeological Inference: Early Formative Pottery and the Evolution of Mesoamerican Societies
The 2005 articles by Stoltman et al. and Flannery et al. to which Neff et al. (this issue) have responded are not an indictment of instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) but, rather, of the way Blomster et al. (2005) misuse it and of the hyperbolic culture-historical claims they have made from their INAA results. It has long been acknowledged that INAA leads not to sources but to chemical composition groups. Based on composition groups d…
The use of barium and strontium abundances in human skeletal tissues to determine their geographic origins
Decades of research show that barium and strontium enter skeletal tissues in proportion to their dietary abundance and, hence, to local environmental levels. Among regions that contrast geologically or climatologically, the environmental abundance of these elements can vary substantially and exceed variation due solely to local dietary differences. Because dental enamel develops during childhood and retains the original levels of these elements, …
The Characterization of Biologically Available Strontium Isotope Ratios for the Study of Prehistoric Migration
Strontium isotope analysis of bone and tooth enamel from prehistoric human skeletons is an important new technique used to address questions regarding migration. Two problems arise in such investigations: (1) levels of strontium isotope ratios in local bedrock, soil, water, plants and animals are variable; and (2) a range of values in human bone and enamel data make it difficult to distinguish some migrants from locals. Analysis of the bones of s…
Evaluation of bone strontium as a measure of seafood consumption
The recognition that bone strontium/calcium ratios reflect dietary levels of strontium and that seawater has a high strontium content led some archaeologists to infer that seafood consumption produces high Sr/Ca ratios in bone. Analyses of seawater and of marine organisms reveal, however, a marine trophic effect comparable to the trophic effect seen in terrestrial food chains. This marine trophic effect reduces the Sr/Ca levels in seafood such th…
Evaluation of bone strontium as a measure of seafood consumption
The recognition that bone strontium/calcium ratios reflect dietary levels of strontium and that seawater has a high strontium content led some archaeologists to infer that seafood consumption produces high Sr/Ca ratios in bone. Analyses of seawater and of marine organisms reveal, however, a marine trophic effect comparable to the trophic effect seen in terrestrial food chains. This marine trophic effect reduces the Sr/Ca levels in seafood such th…
Correlation of Bone Ba/Ca and Sr/Ca due to Biological Purification of Calcium
The Characterization of Biologically Available Strontium Isotope Ratios for the Study of Prehistoric Migration
Strontium isotope analysis of bone and tooth enamel from prehistoric human skeletons is an important new technique used to address questions regarding migration. Two problems arise in such investigations: (1) levels of strontium isotope ratios in local bedrock, soil, water, plants and animals are variable; and (2) a range of values in human bone and enamel data make it difficult to distinguish some migrants from locals. Analysis of the bones of s…
Residential Mobility in the Prehistoric Southwest United States: A Preliminary Study using Strontium Isotope Analysis
Strontium Isotopes and the Study of Human Mobility in Ancient Mesoamerica
We analyzed strontium isotopes in more than 500 samples of shell, bone, and dental enamel from modern and archaeological contexts throughout Mesoamerica. The results correspond closely with expectations based upon the local geology and earlier measurements of geological materials. The results show that isotopic variation is significant across Mesoamerica. Thus strontium isotope ratios in dental enamel, which mark the place of childhood residence,…
Diagenesis in prehistoric bone: Problems and solutions
Correlation of Bone Ba/Ca and Sr/Ca due to Biological Purification of Calcium
Isotopic Studies of Human Skeletal Remains from a Sixteenth to Seventeenth Century AD Churchyard in Campeche, Mexico: Diet, Place of Origin, and Age
In AD 2000, construction activities in the central plaza of the city of Campeche, Mexico, led to the discovery of an early colonial church and an associated burial ground dating from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries AD. During the subsequent rescue excavations, the remains of at least 180 individuals were unearthed from the churchyard. We have concluded a series of isotopic studies of these remains to obtain information on diet, status, pl…
Place of Origin of Prehistoric Inhabitants of Aztalan, Jefferson Co., Wisconsin
The archaeological site of Aztalan in southeastern Wisconsin is a large, palisaded complex of mounds and other structures along the banks of the Crawfish River in Jefferson County. The unusual nature of this settlement has been noted for many years and the origin of the inhabitants has been the subject of considerable debate. The similarities between the materials at Aztalan and other Mississippian period sites to the south in Illinois have long …
The ratio of barium to strontium as a paleodietary indicator of consumption of marine resources
Early African diaspora in colonial Campeche, Mexico: Strontium isotopic evidence
Construction activities around Campeche's central park led to the discovery of an early colonial church and an associated burial ground, in use from the mid-16th century AD to the late 17th century. Remains of some individuals revealed dental mutilations characteristic of West Africa. Analyses of strontium isotopes of dental enamel from these individuals yielded unusually high (87)Sr/(86)Sr ratios, inconsistent with an origin in Mesoamerica, but …
On the Logic of Archaeological Inference: Early Formative Pottery and the Evolution of Mesoamerican Societies
The 2005 articles by Stoltman et al. and Flannery et al. to which Neff et al. (this issue) have responded are not an indictment of instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) but, rather, of the way Blomster et al. (2005) misuse it and of the hyperbolic culture-historical claims they have made from their INAA results. It has long been acknowledged that INAA leads not to sources but to chemical composition groups. Based on composition groups d…
Nonlinearity in the relationship between bone Sr/Ca and diet: Paleodietary implications
Strontium in archaeological human bones is widely, almost paradigmatically, used as a measure of the relative dietary abundances of plants and meat. Quantitative modeling reveals, however, that there is not a simple proportional relationship between bone strontium and the dietary plant/meat ratio. While knowledge of specific foods and their compositions may permit accurate calculation of average bone strontium levels, knowledge of bone strontium …
A new approach to tracking connections between the Indus Valley and Mesopotamia: Initial results of strontium isotope analyses from Harappa and Ur
Acid Extraction as a Simple and Inexpensive Method for Compositional Characterization of Archaeological Ceramics
An acid-extraction method for analyzing the composition of ceramics produces highly precise results capable of intraregional discrimination of production loci. The method is safe, inexpensive, minimally destructive, and uses widely available instrumentation. It produces results that are highly useful in archaeological interpretation as illustrated by selected case studies
A Pot is Not a Rock: A Reply to Neff, Glascock, Bishop, and Blackman
There are some fundamental errors in the arguments of our critics: equating acid extraction with bulk techniques; confusing extractability, the signal of interpretive interest, with analytical error; and, most importantly, presuming that the influences of behavioral choices of prehistoric potters are unwanted “noise” in the data. In confirmation of our original statements, Neff et al., demonstrate that neutron activation analysis (NAA) and acid e…
The use of barium and strontium abundances in human skeletal tissues to determine their geographic origins
Decades of research show that barium and strontium enter skeletal tissues in proportion to their dietary abundance and, hence, to local environmental levels. Among regions that contrast geologically or climatologically, the environmental abundance of these elements can vary substantially and exceed variation due solely to local dietary differences. Because dental enamel develops during childhood and retains the original levels of these elements, …
Isotope studies of human remains from Mayutian, Yunnan Province, China
New insights into the composition and microstructure of ceramic artifacts associated with the production of Chinese bronzes at Yinxu, the last capital of the Shang dynasty
A Taphonomic Approach to Late Classic Maya Mortuary Practices at Xuenkal, Yucatán, Mexico
Following a brief introduction to mortuary practices in Prehispanic Maya society, we outline the analytical procedures followed during the excavation and laboratory investigation of five burial assemblages from the Late Classic period site of Xuenkal, Yucatán, Mexico. A detailed account of a sequence of primary and secondary interments is provided with a focus on taphonomic and biovital information, emphasizing the importance of an interdisciplin…
Maya Coastal Production, Exchange, Life Style, and Population Mobility: A View From the Port of Xcambo, Yucatan, Mexico
Anchored in archaeological, bioarchaeological, and chemical research conducted at the coastal enclave of Xcambo, this paper examines Classic period Maya coastal saline economic production and exchange, along with the lifestyle, ethnicity, and mobility of the traders. Nestled in the coastal marshlands of the northern Yucatan, Mexico, Xcambo functioned as a salt production center and port during its occupation, maintaining long-reaching ties with o…
A Study in Sourcing Hohokam Basalt Ground Stone Implements
Ground stone implements were important tools for the Hohokam because they relied heavily on plant foods in their diet. Current data suggest that in the Phoenix Basin vesicular basalt materials were favored for the rectangular mano and trough metates common at most Hohokam sites. The distribution of basaltic materials is relatively limited' however, and specific outcrops were exploited as quarries. Experiments with low-power reflected light and BS…
Excavations at Pirincay in the Paute Valley of southern Ecuador, 1985-1988
The Formative in the northern AndesThe northern Andean regions, encompassing northernmost Peru, all of Ecuador and the southern provinces of Colombia, remain archaeologically very poorly known. Although the past 30 years have witnessed an increasing number of archaeological projects in coastal zones, especially the Santa Elena Peninsula, work in the highlands outside of the greater Quito commute zone has lagged sadly behind. Southern Ecuador, in …
Bergson's non-archival theory of memory
Literal and metaphorical associations between memory and archives are found throughout traditional and contemporary thinking about memory. Despite a long-running tendency in the western tradition to doubt the adequacy of archival metaphors for memory, and despite much recent research that implicitly treats memory in terms of dynamic mnemonic and memorial processes, imprint/substrate models epitomized by Plato's wax tablet seem extraordinarily res…
Population movements and identity in Postclassic Yucatan. Bioarchaeological analysis of human remains from the East Coast of the Yucatan peninsula
Medieval Migrations: Isotope Analysis of Early Medieval Skeletons on the Isle of Man
MANX NATIONAL HERITAGE re-opened its Viking and Medieval Gallery in 2007. Isotope analysis of two archaeologically famous skeletons, the Balladoole Viking and the Pagan Lady of Peel, was undertaken to gain information on Viking-Age migration and regional interaction. Additional testing of five early medieval skeletons from the St Patrick's Isle cemetery and two from Speke Keeill was also completed. Here we present the results of the analysis of d…
Elemental signatures of human diets from the Georgia Bight
Multielement analysis was performed on bone samples extracted from the femora of 39 adults from three mortuary sites (Johns Mound, Santa Catalina de Guale, and Santa Catalina de Guale de Santa Meria) and time periods (late preagricultural, early contact, and late contact) in the Georgia Bight. This study was used to investigate whether elemental analysis would support or contradict other lines of data regarding diets and dietary change previously…
The ratio of barium to strontium as a paleodietary indicator of consumption of marine resources
Excavations at Pirincay in the Paute Valley of southern Ecuador, 1985-1988
The Formative in the northern AndesThe northern Andean regions, encompassing northernmost Peru, all of Ecuador and the southern provinces of Colombia, remain archaeologically very poorly known. Although the past 30 years have witnessed an increasing number of archaeological projects in coastal zones, especially the Santa Elena Peninsula, work in the highlands outside of the greater Quito commute zone has lagged sadly behind. Southern Ecuador, in …
Diagenesis in prehistoric bone: Problems and solutions
A Study in Sourcing Hohokam Basalt Ground Stone Implements
Ground stone implements were important tools for the Hohokam because they relied heavily on plant foods in their diet. Current data suggest that in the Phoenix Basin vesicular basalt materials were favored for the rectangular mano and trough metates common at most Hohokam sites. The distribution of basaltic materials is relatively limited' however, and specific outcrops were exploited as quarries. Experiments with low-power reflected light and BS…
Acid Extraction as a Simple and Inexpensive Method for Compositional Characterization of Archaeological Ceramics
An acid-extraction method for analyzing the composition of ceramics produces highly precise results capable of intraregional discrimination of production loci. The method is safe, inexpensive, minimally destructive, and uses widely available instrumentation. It produces results that are highly useful in archaeological interpretation as illustrated by selected case studies
Residential Mobility in the Prehistoric Southwest United States: A Preliminary Study using Strontium Isotope Analysis
Nonlinearity in the relationship between bone Sr/Ca and diet: Paleodietary implications
Strontium in archaeological human bones is widely, almost paradigmatically, used as a measure of the relative dietary abundances of plants and meat. Quantitative modeling reveals, however, that there is not a simple proportional relationship between bone strontium and the dietary plant/meat ratio. While knowledge of specific foods and their compositions may permit accurate calculation of average bone strontium levels, knowledge of bone strontium …
Elemental signatures of human diets from the Georgia Bight
Multielement analysis was performed on bone samples extracted from the femora of 39 adults from three mortuary sites (Johns Mound, Santa Catalina de Guale, and Santa Catalina de Guale de Santa Meria) and time periods (late preagricultural, early contact, and late contact) in the Georgia Bight. This study was used to investigate whether elemental analysis would support or contradict other lines of data regarding diets and dietary change previously…
A Pot is Not a Rock: A Reply to Neff, Glascock, Bishop, and Blackman
There are some fundamental errors in the arguments of our critics: equating acid extraction with bulk techniques; confusing extractability, the signal of interpretive interest, with analytical error; and, most importantly, presuming that the influences of behavioral choices of prehistoric potters are unwanted “noise” in the data. In confirmation of our original statements, Neff et al., demonstrate that neutron activation analysis (NAA) and acid e…
Archaeological chemistry
Intraregional Connections in the Development and Distribution of Salado Polychromes in Central Arizona
Salado polychrome is associated with Classic period (A.D. 1270-1450) sites across much of the American Southwest, but its distributions are variable. Although multiple production centers are recognized for these decorated vessels, their roles in intraregional social networks are still open to interpretation. Recent compositional studies using petrography and weak-acid extraction ICP-MS compare locally produced wares to the characterization of Sal…
Anthropological Interpretations from Archaeological Ceramic Studies: An Introduction
For decades, ceramic analysis has been widely used in archaeological research of the American Southwest, but several recent ceramic studies have gone well beyond classification and material sourcing to examine the social relationships among ceramic exchange, production, and complexity. Presented here are studies from Classic period (A.D. 1270-1450) sites of central Arizona that focus on prehistoric social relationships among communities during ti…
Evaluation of bone strontium as a measure of seafood consumption
The recognition that bone strontium/calcium ratios reflect dietary levels of strontium and that seawater has a high strontium content led some archaeologists to infer that seafood consumption produces high Sr/Ca ratios in bone. Analyses of seawater and of marine organisms reveal, however, a marine trophic effect comparable to the trophic effect seen in terrestrial food chains. This marine trophic effect reduces the Sr/Ca levels in seafood such th…
Evaluation of bone strontium as a measure of seafood consumption
The recognition that bone strontium/calcium ratios reflect dietary levels of strontium and that seawater has a high strontium content led some archaeologists to infer that seafood consumption produces high Sr/Ca ratios in bone. Analyses of seawater and of marine organisms reveal, however, a marine trophic effect comparable to the trophic effect seen in terrestrial food chains. This marine trophic effect reduces the Sr/Ca levels in seafood such th…
Correlation of Bone Ba/Ca and Sr/Ca due to Biological Purification of Calcium
The Characterization of Biologically Available Strontium Isotope Ratios for the Study of Prehistoric Migration
Strontium isotope analysis of bone and tooth enamel from prehistoric human skeletons is an important new technique used to address questions regarding migration. Two problems arise in such investigations: (1) levels of strontium isotope ratios in local bedrock, soil, water, plants and animals are variable; and (2) a range of values in human bone and enamel data make it difficult to distinguish some migrants from locals. Analysis of the bones of s…
The use of barium and strontium abundances in human skeletal tissues to determine their geographic origins
Decades of research show that barium and strontium enter skeletal tissues in proportion to their dietary abundance and, hence, to local environmental levels. Among regions that contrast geologically or climatologically, the environmental abundance of these elements can vary substantially and exceed variation due solely to local dietary differences. Because dental enamel develops during childhood and retains the original levels of these elements, …
Early African diaspora in colonial Campeche, Mexico: Strontium isotopic evidence
Construction activities around Campeche's central park led to the discovery of an early colonial church and an associated burial ground, in use from the mid-16th century AD to the late 17th century. Remains of some individuals revealed dental mutilations characteristic of West Africa. Analyses of strontium isotopes of dental enamel from these individuals yielded unusually high (87)Sr/(86)Sr ratios, inconsistent with an origin in Mesoamerica, but …
On the Logic of Archaeological Inference: Early Formative Pottery and the Evolution of Mesoamerican Societies
The 2005 articles by Stoltman et al. and Flannery et al. to which Neff et al. (this issue) have responded are not an indictment of instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) but, rather, of the way Blomster et al. (2005) misuse it and of the hyperbolic culture-historical claims they have made from their INAA results. It has long been acknowledged that INAA leads not to sources but to chemical composition groups. Based on composition groups d…
Victims of Sacrifice: Isotopic Evidence for Place of Origin
Place of Origin of Prehistoric Inhabitants of Aztalan, Jefferson Co., Wisconsin
The archaeological site of Aztalan in southeastern Wisconsin is a large, palisaded complex of mounds and other structures along the banks of the Crawfish River in Jefferson County. The unusual nature of this settlement has been noted for many years and the origin of the inhabitants has been the subject of considerable debate. The similarities between the materials at Aztalan and other Mississippian period sites to the south in Illinois have long …
Bergson's non-archival theory of memory
Literal and metaphorical associations between memory and archives are found throughout traditional and contemporary thinking about memory. Despite a long-running tendency in the western tradition to doubt the adequacy of archival metaphors for memory, and despite much recent research that implicitly treats memory in terms of dynamic mnemonic and memorial processes, imprint/substrate models epitomized by Plato's wax tablet seem extraordinarily res…
Strontium Isotopes and the Study of Human Mobility in Ancient Mesoamerica
We analyzed strontium isotopes in more than 500 samples of shell, bone, and dental enamel from modern and archaeological contexts throughout Mesoamerica. The results correspond closely with expectations based upon the local geology and earlier measurements of geological materials. The results show that isotopic variation is significant across Mesoamerica. Thus strontium isotope ratios in dental enamel, which mark the place of childhood residence,…
Machines Making Gods: Philip K. Dick, Henri Bergson and Saint Paul
This article addresses shared themes in the writing of Saint Paul and the work of the science fiction writer Philip K. Dick. Much recent philosophical interest in Saint Paul focuses on his contemporary significance as a radical political thinker, following Jacob Taubes' influential late work, The Political Theology of Paul. Assessments of Paul's writing in this context (e.g. by Agamben, Badiou, Milbank) highlight the various ways in which he uses…
Kings and commoners at Copan: Isotopic evidence for origins and movement in the Classic Maya period
Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (33 works) · Archaeology (28 works) · Geography (24 works) · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies (19 works) · Chemistry (17 works) · Geology (15 works) · Strontium (15 works) · History (14 works) · Art (11 works) · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (11 works)