P R Geib
Biographic Data
| ID | 11175 |
|---|---|
| NAME | P R Geib |
| GIVEN NAMES | P R |
| FAMILY NAME | Geib |
| SIGNATURE | GEIB P R |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Nebraska–Lincoln |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6575-5365 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 29 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 242 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 29 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1987 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 8 |
Dating Perishables to Refine the Chronology of Shrine Cave Use, the Goggle-eye Motif, and other Jornada and Mimbres Mogollon Iconography
Professional and avocational archaeologists have recovered thousands of perishable artifacts from caves and rockshelters across the southern US Southwest, but few have been radiocarbon dated. This article reviews thirty AMS radiocarbon dates obtained on perishable items from nine shrine caves in the Jornada and Mimbres Mogollon regions of south-central New Mexico and west Texas. Dates were obtained from fragments of tablitas, effigies, prayer sti…
Chihuahuan Desert Shrine Caves
This article presents radiocarbon dates on 29 perishable objects deposited in shrine caves in the Jornada and Mimbres Mogollon regions of far west Texas and southern New Mexico. The dated objects include tablita fragments, effigies, prayer sticks, hafted projectile point foreshafts, and flat curved sticks. Analysis of the dates reveals three significant trends: a particular set of Indigenous ritual practices involving shrine caves in the North Am…
A Basketmaker II S-shaped Grooved Stick from Central Eastern Utah
A recent archaeological survey disclosed a whole, S-shaped “grooved club” similar to examples from Basketmaker II contexts of the Four-Corners. It represents the farthest north example of this artifact type in the Southwest, occurring outside the traditional area of western Basketmaker II occupation. Artifacts like this were once thought to be a characteristic Basketmaker II trait of the Four Corners, but examples come from sites distributed thro…
Human-Hair Bifurcated Tumplines from Old Man Cave, Utah
Unwrapping a bundle of Basketmaker II textiles from Old Man Cave disclosed two examples of a previously undocumented textile form: bifurcated tumplines. At more than twice the width of standard tumplines, these warp-faced plain weave bands of human hair cordage have one flat end, with the other splitting into two separate parallel bands—one longer and the other shorter. Both narrow bands terminate in tumpline suspension loops. Strains, breaks, an…
Investigating Dismal River obsidian use in central Nebraska
Nineteen obsidian artifacts from surface contexts of probable Dismal River complex sites in the Sand Hills of Nebraska were analyzed via energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometry. The artifacts derive from six distinct geological volcanic glass sources. One of the artifacts was made from ash-flow tuff obsidian of the Brown’s Bench chemical type and another from Wild Horse Canyon, Utah obsidian, representing the first documented us…
The Kaiparowits Puebloans
More than 50 years ago archaeologists identified a high-density of small Puebloan habitations on the Kaiparowits Plateau in southern Utah. Analysis of pottery from these habitations by James Gunnerson and Florence Lister resulted in conflicting interpretations of cultural affiliation. Gunnerson argued for a Virgin affiliation whereas Lister argued for a Kayentan affiliation. Lister’s interpretation triumphed and the Puebloan occupation of the Kai…
Mesoamerican Flat Curved Sticks
Flat and curved sticks with longitudinal facial grooves were dredged from the Sacred Cenote at Chichen Itza in the early 1900s. They are similar to specimens recovered from the North American Southwest, where a suggested function was for defense against atlatl darts. By accepting this interpretation, Mesoamerican archaeologists identified such artifacts as fending sticks. Hassig (1992:112–114, 126–127, 2001:810–811) disputes this role, arguing th…
Continuity and Change in Puebloan Ritual Practice
Radiocarbon dates on artifacts from a Puebloan shrine in New Mexico reveal a persistence in ritual practice for some 3,800 years. The dates indicate that the shrine had become an important location for ceremonial observances related to warfare by almost 2000 cal. B.C., coinciding with the time when food production was first practiced in the Southwest. The shrine exhibits continuity of ritual behavior, something that Puebloans may find unsurprisin…
Sedentism, Social Change, Warfare, and the Bow in the Ancient Pueblo Southwest
In the ancient American Southwest, use of the bow developed relatively rapidly among Pueblo people by the fifth century AD. This new technology replaced the millennia‐old atlatl and dart weaponry system. Roughly 150 years later in the AD 600s, Pueblo socioeconomic organization began to evolve rapidly, as many groups adopted a much more sedentary life. Multiple factors converged to allow this sedentary pattern to emerge, but the role of the bow in…
Should dates trump context? Evaluation of the Cave 7 skeletal assemblage radiocarbon dates
Foragers and Farmers of the Northern Kayenta Region
Foragers and Farmers of the Northern Kayenta Region presents the results of a major archaeological excavation project on Navajo tribal land in the Four Corners area and integrates this new information with existing knowledge of the archaeology of the region. The excavation of 33 sites provides a cross section of prehistory from which Navajo Nation archaeologists retrieved a wealth of information about subsistence, settlement, architecture, and ot…
Cordage, Textiles, and the Late Pleistocene Peopling of the Andes
Harsh high-altitude environments were among the last landscapes to be settled by humans during the Late Pleistocene between ∼15,000 and 11,000 calendar years before present (cal yr BP). Successful colonization required physiological adaptations to hypoxia and cultural adaptations to limited resources and cold temperatures. How and when humans colonized Andean South America has been poorly understood owing to controversial early archaeological sit…
Palynology and archaeological inference
Age Discrepancies with the Radiocarbon Dating of Sagebrush ( Artemisia Tridentata Nutt.)
When ancient hearths at open archaeological sites do not yield carbonized annual plant remains or other high-quality samples, wood charcoal is commonly used for radiocarbon dating. Sagebrush ( Artemisia tridentata Nutt.), a shrub frequently used for fuel across much of the western United States, seems a potentially better candidate for 14 C dating than tree wood since the possibility for significant age discrepancy might be less. A comparison of …
Analysis and Ams Dating of the Great Gallery Food and Tool Bag
Here we present a detailed analysis and description of a leather bag and its contents. The find came from the Great Gallery in Horseshoe Canyon, Utah, an impressive rock art site within Canyonlands National Park. The bag contained marsh elder (Iva xanthifolia Nutt.) seeds and an assortment of flakes and other artifacts that appear related to arrow point production. The bag was made and cached at the site sometime during the interval of cal. A.D. …
The Role of Basketry in Early Holocene Small Seed Exploitation
Despite ranking at the low end of the continuum in net caloric benefit relative to other foods, small seeds assumed great dietary importance in many parts of the world, including western North America. In a series of publications, Adovasio (1970a, 1974, 1980, 1986) argued that coiled basketry technology was invented in the eastern Great Basin during the early Holocene as a specialized food-processing technique. Coiled baskets are indeed useful fo…
Earthen Architecture at the Bluff Great House Site in SE Utah
An earthen terrace has been identified at Bluff Great House, a Chacoan site located in SE Utah. The Bluff site was part of the Chacoan regional system that operated in the northern part of the American Southwest between about A.D. 900 and 1150 and was focused on Chaco Canyon in NW New Mexico. Several types of earthen structures have been identified at great houses in Chaco Canyon and throughout its region, usually associated with the construction…
Ams Dating of a Basketmaker II Hunter's Bag (Cache 1) from Sand Dune Cave, Utah
Three AMS radiocarbon assays on separate components of a hunter's tool bag cached at Sand Dune Cave demonstrate that the assemblage dates to cal. A.D. 80–330 (two-sigma range based on the average). These are the first direct dates on Basketmaker II remains from this site. They reveal that the mountain sheep horn flakers included in the cache have a minimal age on the Rainbow Plateau of the late Basketmaker II period. Horn flakers have relevance f…
Why Flute? Folsom Point Design and Adaptation
Sandal Types and Archaic Prehistory on the Colorado Plateau
Perishable artifacts provide an alternative to projectile points for examining spatial patterns in Archaic material culture between northern and southern portions of the Colorado Plateau of the North American Southwest. This is so because they possess a potential great variety of specific construction and design attributes and can be directly dated to establish independent chronologies of development. The analysis and dating of a collection of wa…
Two Fluted Points from the Kaibito Plateau, Northeastern Arizona
Recently found at two separate locations on the Kaibito Plateau of northeastern Arizona are a fragmentary untyped fluted point and a complete Clovis point. The points and their locations are described. The discovery context of the Clovis point is notable for the presence of probable Pleistocene sediments
Evidence of Late Preceramic Agriculture at Cibecue, East-Central Arizona
A recent test excavation of a late preceramic period site near Cibecue in east-central Arizona has revealed evidence of maize agriculture. This report describes the site, its setting, and the investigative methods. A large sample of lithic artifacts was obtained from surface collection and excavation, including Cienega projectile points and numerous bifaces. Five hearths were uncovered in the test, four of which were excavated. AMS dating of maiz…
Anasazi Origins
Resolving the question of Anasazi origins partially depends upon finding Basketmaker II antecedents. An essential place to search for antecedents is in the Cedar Mesa area of southeast Utah where Basketmaker II remains were first discovered in the late 1800s, and where subsequent investigators have documented various aspects of Basketmaker II lifeways. Old Man Cave, located along the northeast edge of Cedar Mesa, casts some light on the origins i…
Discovery of colon contents in a skeletonized burial
Radiocarbon Dating of Fremont Anthropomorphic Rock Art in Glen Canyon, South-central Utah
Some measure of chronometric control is essential if the important symbolic content of prehistoric rock art is to be fully exploited for interpretative purposes. The relative stylistic chronologies proposed for rock art in various regions of the world are hypotheses needing to be tested. Two recently-processed radiocarbon dates provide the first chronometric evaluation of the suggested chronology for Fremont anthropomorphic depiction on the north…
Why Flute? Folsom Point Design and Adaptation
Cordage, Textiles, and the Late Pleistocene Peopling of the Andes
Harsh high-altitude environments were among the last landscapes to be settled by humans during the Late Pleistocene between ∼15,000 and 11,000 calendar years before present (cal yr BP). Successful colonization required physiological adaptations to hypoxia and cultural adaptations to limited resources and cold temperatures. How and when humans colonized Andean South America has been poorly understood owing to controversial early archaeological sit…
Foragers and Farmers of the Northern Kayenta Region
Foragers and Farmers of the Northern Kayenta Region presents the results of a major archaeological excavation project on Navajo tribal land in the Four Corners area and integrates this new information with existing knowledge of the archaeology of the region. The excavation of 33 sites provides a cross section of prehistory from which Navajo Nation archaeologists retrieved a wealth of information about subsistence, settlement, architecture, and ot…
The Role of Basketry in Early Holocene Small Seed Exploitation
Despite ranking at the low end of the continuum in net caloric benefit relative to other foods, small seeds assumed great dietary importance in many parts of the world, including western North America. In a series of publications, Adovasio (1970a, 1974, 1980, 1986) argued that coiled basketry technology was invented in the eastern Great Basin during the early Holocene as a specialized food-processing technique. Coiled baskets are indeed useful fo…
Anasazi Origins
Resolving the question of Anasazi origins partially depends upon finding Basketmaker II antecedents. An essential place to search for antecedents is in the Cedar Mesa area of southeast Utah where Basketmaker II remains were first discovered in the late 1800s, and where subsequent investigators have documented various aspects of Basketmaker II lifeways. Old Man Cave, located along the northeast edge of Cedar Mesa, casts some light on the origins i…
Continuity and Change in Puebloan Ritual Practice
Radiocarbon dates on artifacts from a Puebloan shrine in New Mexico reveal a persistence in ritual practice for some 3,800 years. The dates indicate that the shrine had become an important location for ceremonial observances related to warfare by almost 2000 cal. B.C., coinciding with the time when food production was first practiced in the Southwest. The shrine exhibits continuity of ritual behavior, something that Puebloans may find unsurprisin…
Should dates trump context? Evaluation of the Cave 7 skeletal assemblage radiocarbon dates
Discovery of colon contents in a skeletonized burial
Ams Dating of a Basketmaker II Hunter's Bag (Cache 1) from Sand Dune Cave, Utah
Three AMS radiocarbon assays on separate components of a hunter's tool bag cached at Sand Dune Cave demonstrate that the assemblage dates to cal. A.D. 80–330 (two-sigma range based on the average). These are the first direct dates on Basketmaker II remains from this site. They reveal that the mountain sheep horn flakers included in the cache have a minimal age on the Rainbow Plateau of the late Basketmaker II period. Horn flakers have relevance f…
Ceramic Exchange Within the Kayenta Anasazi Region
Microscopic examination of ceramic collections from nearly 300 sites, coupled with petrographic analysis of selected sherds, establishes that volcanic ash was often used as temper in Tusayan White Ware by the Kayenta Anasazi. Based on distributional data, oxidation experiments, and geologic sourcing of both clays and volcanic ash, a production zone for the ash-tempered white ware is isolated. The occurrence of this pottery on Kayenta sites outsid…
Palynology and archaeological inference
Sandal Types and Archaic Prehistory on the Colorado Plateau
Perishable artifacts provide an alternative to projectile points for examining spatial patterns in Archaic material culture between northern and southern portions of the Colorado Plateau of the North American Southwest. This is so because they possess a potential great variety of specific construction and design attributes and can be directly dated to establish independent chronologies of development. The analysis and dating of a collection of wa…
Earthen Architecture at the Bluff Great House Site in SE Utah
An earthen terrace has been identified at Bluff Great House, a Chacoan site located in SE Utah. The Bluff site was part of the Chacoan regional system that operated in the northern part of the American Southwest between about A.D. 900 and 1150 and was focused on Chaco Canyon in NW New Mexico. Several types of earthen structures have been identified at great houses in Chaco Canyon and throughout its region, usually associated with the construction…
Radiocarbon Dating of Fremont Anthropomorphic Rock Art in Glen Canyon, South-central Utah
Some measure of chronometric control is essential if the important symbolic content of prehistoric rock art is to be fully exploited for interpretative purposes. The relative stylistic chronologies proposed for rock art in various regions of the world are hypotheses needing to be tested. Two recently-processed radiocarbon dates provide the first chronometric evaluation of the suggested chronology for Fremont anthropomorphic depiction on the north…
A Prehistoric Sinagua Agricultural Site in the Ashfall Zone of Sunset Crater, Arizona
A thermal infrared aerial image revealed evidence of human alteration of Sunset Crater basaltic ash over a 2 sq km area in north-central Arizona. Field investigation confirmed the presence of 19 linear ash ridges, reaching areal dimensions of 20 × 150 m, and 25 circular ash mounds ranging from 10 to 24 m in diameter. Independent lines of evidence (archaeological, chemical, and palynological) support the interpretation of these features as previou…
A Basketmaker II Wooden Tool Cache from Lower Glen Canyon
A cache of three Basketmaker II wooden tools was found in a shallow alcove of lower Glen Canyon. The cache includes a digging stick and a complete and fragmentary 5-shaped stick of the type recovered from BMII sites such as White Dog Cave, and variously referred to as clubs, rabbit-sticks, and fending sticks. The complete 5-shaped stick is believed to have been used as a fending stick, whereas the fragmentary example apparently had been recycled …
Clay Residue on Polishing Stones
Pebble-sized polishing stones are common finds at Southwestern archaeological sites. Pottery-polishing is the principal function assigned to these tools based on ethnographic analogy. Rather than assuming that ethnography correctly informs us about prehistory, we should test the plausible functions for specific tools suggested by analogy with independent artifactual or contextual evidence. In this paper, we show that clay residue on pebble-sized …
Chihuahuan Desert Shrine Caves
This article presents radiocarbon dates on 29 perishable objects deposited in shrine caves in the Jornada and Mimbres Mogollon regions of far west Texas and southern New Mexico. The dated objects include tablita fragments, effigies, prayer sticks, hafted projectile point foreshafts, and flat curved sticks. Analysis of the dates reveals three significant trends: a particular set of Indigenous ritual practices involving shrine caves in the North Am…
Mesoamerican Flat Curved Sticks
Flat and curved sticks with longitudinal facial grooves were dredged from the Sacred Cenote at Chichen Itza in the early 1900s. They are similar to specimens recovered from the North American Southwest, where a suggested function was for defense against atlatl darts. By accepting this interpretation, Mesoamerican archaeologists identified such artifacts as fending sticks. Hassig (1992:112–114, 126–127, 2001:810–811) disputes this role, arguing th…
Age Discrepancies with the Radiocarbon Dating of Sagebrush ( Artemisia Tridentata Nutt.)
When ancient hearths at open archaeological sites do not yield carbonized annual plant remains or other high-quality samples, wood charcoal is commonly used for radiocarbon dating. Sagebrush ( Artemisia tridentata Nutt.), a shrub frequently used for fuel across much of the western United States, seems a potentially better candidate for 14 C dating than tree wood since the possibility for significant age discrepancy might be less. A comparison of …
Evidence of Late Preceramic Agriculture at Cibecue, East-Central Arizona
A recent test excavation of a late preceramic period site near Cibecue in east-central Arizona has revealed evidence of maize agriculture. This report describes the site, its setting, and the investigative methods. A large sample of lithic artifacts was obtained from surface collection and excavation, including Cienega projectile points and numerous bifaces. Five hearths were uncovered in the test, four of which were excavated. AMS dating of maiz…
Dating Perishables to Refine the Chronology of Shrine Cave Use, the Goggle-eye Motif, and other Jornada and Mimbres Mogollon Iconography
Professional and avocational archaeologists have recovered thousands of perishable artifacts from caves and rockshelters across the southern US Southwest, but few have been radiocarbon dated. This article reviews thirty AMS radiocarbon dates obtained on perishable items from nine shrine caves in the Jornada and Mimbres Mogollon regions of south-central New Mexico and west Texas. Dates were obtained from fragments of tablitas, effigies, prayer sti…
Investigating Dismal River obsidian use in central Nebraska
Nineteen obsidian artifacts from surface contexts of probable Dismal River complex sites in the Sand Hills of Nebraska were analyzed via energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometry. The artifacts derive from six distinct geological volcanic glass sources. One of the artifacts was made from ash-flow tuff obsidian of the Brown’s Bench chemical type and another from Wild Horse Canyon, Utah obsidian, representing the first documented us…
Two Fluted Points from the Kaibito Plateau, Northeastern Arizona
Recently found at two separate locations on the Kaibito Plateau of northeastern Arizona are a fragmentary untyped fluted point and a complete Clovis point. The points and their locations are described. The discovery context of the Clovis point is notable for the presence of probable Pleistocene sediments
Ceramic Exchange Within the Kayenta Anasazi Region
Microscopic examination of ceramic collections from nearly 300 sites, coupled with petrographic analysis of selected sherds, establishes that volcanic ash was often used as temper in Tusayan White Ware by the Kayenta Anasazi. Based on distributional data, oxidation experiments, and geologic sourcing of both clays and volcanic ash, a production zone for the ash-tempered white ware is isolated. The occurrence of this pottery on Kayenta sites outsid…
Clay Residue on Polishing Stones
Pebble-sized polishing stones are common finds at Southwestern archaeological sites. Pottery-polishing is the principal function assigned to these tools based on ethnographic analogy. Rather than assuming that ethnography correctly informs us about prehistory, we should test the plausible functions for specific tools suggested by analogy with independent artifactual or contextual evidence. In this paper, we show that clay residue on pebble-sized …
A Prehistoric Sinagua Agricultural Site in the Ashfall Zone of Sunset Crater, Arizona
A thermal infrared aerial image revealed evidence of human alteration of Sunset Crater basaltic ash over a 2 sq km area in north-central Arizona. Field investigation confirmed the presence of 19 linear ash ridges, reaching areal dimensions of 20 × 150 m, and 25 circular ash mounds ranging from 10 to 24 m in diameter. Independent lines of evidence (archaeological, chemical, and palynological) support the interpretation of these features as previou…
A Basketmaker II Wooden Tool Cache from Lower Glen Canyon
A cache of three Basketmaker II wooden tools was found in a shallow alcove of lower Glen Canyon. The cache includes a digging stick and a complete and fragmentary 5-shaped stick of the type recovered from BMII sites such as White Dog Cave, and variously referred to as clubs, rabbit-sticks, and fending sticks. The complete 5-shaped stick is believed to have been used as a fending stick, whereas the fragmentary example apparently had been recycled …
Discovery of colon contents in a skeletonized burial
Radiocarbon Dating of Fremont Anthropomorphic Rock Art in Glen Canyon, South-central Utah
Some measure of chronometric control is essential if the important symbolic content of prehistoric rock art is to be fully exploited for interpretative purposes. The relative stylistic chronologies proposed for rock art in various regions of the world are hypotheses needing to be tested. Two recently-processed radiocarbon dates provide the first chronometric evaluation of the suggested chronology for Fremont anthropomorphic depiction on the north…
Evidence of Late Preceramic Agriculture at Cibecue, East-Central Arizona
A recent test excavation of a late preceramic period site near Cibecue in east-central Arizona has revealed evidence of maize agriculture. This report describes the site, its setting, and the investigative methods. A large sample of lithic artifacts was obtained from surface collection and excavation, including Cienega projectile points and numerous bifaces. Five hearths were uncovered in the test, four of which were excavated. AMS dating of maiz…
Anasazi Origins
Resolving the question of Anasazi origins partially depends upon finding Basketmaker II antecedents. An essential place to search for antecedents is in the Cedar Mesa area of southeast Utah where Basketmaker II remains were first discovered in the late 1800s, and where subsequent investigators have documented various aspects of Basketmaker II lifeways. Old Man Cave, located along the northeast edge of Cedar Mesa, casts some light on the origins i…
Two Fluted Points from the Kaibito Plateau, Northeastern Arizona
Recently found at two separate locations on the Kaibito Plateau of northeastern Arizona are a fragmentary untyped fluted point and a complete Clovis point. The points and their locations are described. The discovery context of the Clovis point is notable for the presence of probable Pleistocene sediments
Why Flute? Folsom Point Design and Adaptation
Sandal Types and Archaic Prehistory on the Colorado Plateau
Perishable artifacts provide an alternative to projectile points for examining spatial patterns in Archaic material culture between northern and southern portions of the Colorado Plateau of the North American Southwest. This is so because they possess a potential great variety of specific construction and design attributes and can be directly dated to establish independent chronologies of development. The analysis and dating of a collection of wa…
Ams Dating of a Basketmaker II Hunter's Bag (Cache 1) from Sand Dune Cave, Utah
Three AMS radiocarbon assays on separate components of a hunter's tool bag cached at Sand Dune Cave demonstrate that the assemblage dates to cal. A.D. 80–330 (two-sigma range based on the average). These are the first direct dates on Basketmaker II remains from this site. They reveal that the mountain sheep horn flakers included in the cache have a minimal age on the Rainbow Plateau of the late Basketmaker II period. Horn flakers have relevance f…
Earthen Architecture at the Bluff Great House Site in SE Utah
An earthen terrace has been identified at Bluff Great House, a Chacoan site located in SE Utah. The Bluff site was part of the Chacoan regional system that operated in the northern part of the American Southwest between about A.D. 900 and 1150 and was focused on Chaco Canyon in NW New Mexico. Several types of earthen structures have been identified at great houses in Chaco Canyon and throughout its region, usually associated with the construction…
Palynology and archaeological inference
Age Discrepancies with the Radiocarbon Dating of Sagebrush ( Artemisia Tridentata Nutt.)
When ancient hearths at open archaeological sites do not yield carbonized annual plant remains or other high-quality samples, wood charcoal is commonly used for radiocarbon dating. Sagebrush ( Artemisia tridentata Nutt.), a shrub frequently used for fuel across much of the western United States, seems a potentially better candidate for 14 C dating than tree wood since the possibility for significant age discrepancy might be less. A comparison of …
Analysis and Ams Dating of the Great Gallery Food and Tool Bag
Here we present a detailed analysis and description of a leather bag and its contents. The find came from the Great Gallery in Horseshoe Canyon, Utah, an impressive rock art site within Canyonlands National Park. The bag contained marsh elder (Iva xanthifolia Nutt.) seeds and an assortment of flakes and other artifacts that appear related to arrow point production. The bag was made and cached at the site sometime during the interval of cal. A.D. …
The Role of Basketry in Early Holocene Small Seed Exploitation
Despite ranking at the low end of the continuum in net caloric benefit relative to other foods, small seeds assumed great dietary importance in many parts of the world, including western North America. In a series of publications, Adovasio (1970a, 1974, 1980, 1986) argued that coiled basketry technology was invented in the eastern Great Basin during the early Holocene as a specialized food-processing technique. Coiled baskets are indeed useful fo…
Foragers and Farmers of the Northern Kayenta Region
Foragers and Farmers of the Northern Kayenta Region presents the results of a major archaeological excavation project on Navajo tribal land in the Four Corners area and integrates this new information with existing knowledge of the archaeology of the region. The excavation of 33 sites provides a cross section of prehistory from which Navajo Nation archaeologists retrieved a wealth of information about subsistence, settlement, architecture, and ot…
Cordage, Textiles, and the Late Pleistocene Peopling of the Andes
Harsh high-altitude environments were among the last landscapes to be settled by humans during the Late Pleistocene between ∼15,000 and 11,000 calendar years before present (cal yr BP). Successful colonization required physiological adaptations to hypoxia and cultural adaptations to limited resources and cold temperatures. How and when humans colonized Andean South America has been poorly understood owing to controversial early archaeological sit…
Sedentism, Social Change, Warfare, and the Bow in the Ancient Pueblo Southwest
In the ancient American Southwest, use of the bow developed relatively rapidly among Pueblo people by the fifth century AD. This new technology replaced the millennia‐old atlatl and dart weaponry system. Roughly 150 years later in the AD 600s, Pueblo socioeconomic organization began to evolve rapidly, as many groups adopted a much more sedentary life. Multiple factors converged to allow this sedentary pattern to emerge, but the role of the bow in…
Should dates trump context? Evaluation of the Cave 7 skeletal assemblage radiocarbon dates
Continuity and Change in Puebloan Ritual Practice
Radiocarbon dates on artifacts from a Puebloan shrine in New Mexico reveal a persistence in ritual practice for some 3,800 years. The dates indicate that the shrine had become an important location for ceremonial observances related to warfare by almost 2000 cal. B.C., coinciding with the time when food production was first practiced in the Southwest. The shrine exhibits continuity of ritual behavior, something that Puebloans may find unsurprisin…
Mesoamerican Flat Curved Sticks
Flat and curved sticks with longitudinal facial grooves were dredged from the Sacred Cenote at Chichen Itza in the early 1900s. They are similar to specimens recovered from the North American Southwest, where a suggested function was for defense against atlatl darts. By accepting this interpretation, Mesoamerican archaeologists identified such artifacts as fending sticks. Hassig (1992:112–114, 126–127, 2001:810–811) disputes this role, arguing th…
Investigating Dismal River obsidian use in central Nebraska
Nineteen obsidian artifacts from surface contexts of probable Dismal River complex sites in the Sand Hills of Nebraska were analyzed via energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometry. The artifacts derive from six distinct geological volcanic glass sources. One of the artifacts was made from ash-flow tuff obsidian of the Brown’s Bench chemical type and another from Wild Horse Canyon, Utah obsidian, representing the first documented us…
The Kaiparowits Puebloans
More than 50 years ago archaeologists identified a high-density of small Puebloan habitations on the Kaiparowits Plateau in southern Utah. Analysis of pottery from these habitations by James Gunnerson and Florence Lister resulted in conflicting interpretations of cultural affiliation. Gunnerson argued for a Virgin affiliation whereas Lister argued for a Kayentan affiliation. Lister’s interpretation triumphed and the Puebloan occupation of the Kai…
Archaeology (29 works) · Geography (26 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (25 works) · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (18 works) · Geology (17 works) · Geology (14 works) · Radiocarbon dating (11 works) · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies (10 works) · Cave (10 works) · Archaeology and Natural History (8 works)