Brandon T Ritchison
Datos Biográficos
| ID | 225311 |
|---|---|
| NOMBRE | Brandon T Ritchison |
| NOMBRES | Brandon T |
| APELLIDO | Ritchison |
| FIRMA | RITCHISON B T |
| AFILIACIONES | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-7265-6808 |
| VERIFICADO | Sí |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 18 |
| TOTAL DE CITAS | 60 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 18 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2015 |
| AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 5 |
Soils telling time
This study combines archaeological soil micromorphology, experimental archaeology, and Bayesian chronological modeling to refine the timing of a pit fill sequence at a 13-14th century CE Ancestral Native American village. Framed within an event-based archaeological perspective, the analysis focuses on identifying discrete phases of deposition, surface exposure, and burial of an intermediary fill zone within a stratified pit feature. Microstratigr…
Local Responses to a Fourteenth-Century AD Immigration Event on the Georgia Coast
By the end of the fourteenth-century AD, Native peoples throughout the midwestern and southeastern regions of North America had withdrawn from major monumental and political centers established in prior centuries. In this article, I present the results of a community-level examination of settlement transformations on the Georgia Coast that I argue are the outcome of this large-scale movement of Mississippian peoples. Specifically, I examine the c…
Mind the gap
Bayesian Chronological Modeling leads to new interpretations and understandings of migration events and social processes. • Middle/Late Mississippian period migrations were driven by historically contingent factors. • Wiggle-matching is an effective chronological technique to resolve multimodal calibrated intercepts. Archaeological narratives of migrations in pre-Colonial North America rely on cultural materials, which often only convey relative …
Current Understanding of the Earliest Human Occupations in the Americas
Various chronologies of the earliest Native American occupations have been proposed with varying levels of empirical support and conceptual rigor, yet none is widely accepted. A recent survey of pre-Clovis dated sites (Becerra-Valdivia and Higham 2020) concludes a pre-Last Glacial Maximum (>26,500–19,000 cal yr BP) entry of humans in the Americas, in part based on recent work at Chiquihuite Cave, Mexico. We evaluate the evidence used to develop t…
“Vacant Quarters” and Population Movements
The Changing Profile of Tenure-Track Faculty in Archaeology
The goal for many PhD students in archaeology is tenure-track employment. Students primarily receive their training by tenure-track or tenured professors, and they are often tacitly expected—or explicitly encouraged—to follow in the footsteps of their advisor. However, the career trajectories that current and recent PhD students follow may hold little resemblance to the ones experienced by their advisors. To understand these different paths and t…
Climate change, resilience, and the Native American Fisher-hunter-gatherers of the late Holocene on the Georgia coast, USA
How Many Dates Do I Need
As the use of large-scale radiocarbon datasets becomes more common and applications of Bayesian chronological modeling become a standard aspect of archaeological practice, it is imperative that we grow a community of both effective users and consumers. Indeed, research proposals and publications now routinely employ Bayesian chronological modeling to estimate age ranges such as statistically informed starts, ends, and spans of archaeological phen…
A preliminary consideration of craft production and settlement expansion on Ossabaw Island, Georgia, USA
This report presents findings from recent systematic surveys and excavations at the site of Finley’s Pond (9CH204) to evaluate craft production (e.g., shell beads) and settlement expansion on Ossabaw Island, Georgia, within the context of larger social, political, and economic changes that occurred along the Georgia coast over the last millennia. Shovel tests and excavation units were conducted at Finley’s Pond as part of the University of Georgi…
Evaluating Claims of Early Human Occupation at Chiquihuite Cave, Mexico
Archaeologists working in Mexico recently claimed evidence for pre-Last Glacial Maximum human occupation in the Americas, based on lithic items excavated from Chiquihuite Cave, Zacatecas. Although they provide extensive array of ancillary studies of the cave's chronostratigraphic and paleoenvironmental record, the data they present do not support their central argument, that these lithic items are anthropogenic and represent a unique lithic indus…
Using Radiocarbon Data to Chronologically Control Population Density Estimates Derived From Systematically Collected Intra-Settlement Distributional Data
Population density is an important variable in the development of social complexity. Estimating population densities from the archaeological record requires combining estimates of population, area, and time. Archaeological population estimates tend to be reported as a maximum population derived from the total accumulation of discrete archaeological material types, usually ceramics or radiocarbon ( 14 C) dates. However, given the palimpsest nature…
Radiocarbon in Marsh Periwinkle ( Littorina Irrorata ) Conchiolin
In coastal and island archaeology, carbonate mollusk shells are often among the most abundant materials available for radiocarbon ( 14 C) dating. The marsh periwinkle ( Littorina irrorata ) is one of these such species, ubiquitously found along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States in both modern and archaeological contexts. This paper presents a novel approach to dating estuarine mollusks where rather than attempting to characterize …
What Is Ethnohistory
In honor of Ethnohistory's sixtieth anniversary, this paper compiles data on the journal and analyzes patterns and trends throughout the publication. We divided observations into four categories: (1) authorship of each article, particularly focusing on gender in authorship and coauthorship, (2) the region represented in each article, (3) the topic, and (4) data sources used by the author(s). We then analyzed each category in representative ten-ye…
Investigating 14th century immigration and settlement response on the Georgia Coast, USA
Choosing a Path to the Ancient World in a Modern Market
Over the past 30 years, the number of US doctoral anthropology graduates has increased by about 70%, but there has not been a corresponding increase in the availability of new faculty positions. Consequently, doctoral degree-holding archaeologists face more competition than ever before when applying for faculty positions. Here we examine where US and Canadian anthropological archaeology faculty originate and where they ultimately end up teaching.…
Plummets, public ceremonies, and interaction networks during the Woodland period in Florida
Exploring a Bayesian method for examining the regional ceramic sequence along the Georgia Coast
This report presents an exploratory Bayesian modeling program of a recently compiled radiocarbon database for the Georgia Coast. Through use of the region’s well-established ceramic sequence as the a priori modeling framework, a refined temporal sequence for the region is presented. The model demonstrates gaps in the radiocarbon record between the Late Archaic and Refuge periods, the Deptford and Wilmington periods, and the Wilmington and St. Cat…
Provisioning an Urban Economy
Isotopic evidence from animal bones deposited in urban contexts offers a landscape perspective into urban life, hinting at where animals lived before reaching their final resting place in the city. Here, we use stable carbon and nitrogen isotope evidence from cattle (Bos taurus) bones excavated from commercial and residential sites within historic Charleston, South Carolina, to evaluate whether markets pooled or segregated access to beef cattle d…
Exploring a Bayesian method for examining the regional ceramic sequence along the Georgia Coast
This report presents an exploratory Bayesian modeling program of a recently compiled radiocarbon database for the Georgia Coast. Through use of the region’s well-established ceramic sequence as the a priori modeling framework, a refined temporal sequence for the region is presented. The model demonstrates gaps in the radiocarbon record between the Late Archaic and Refuge periods, the Deptford and Wilmington periods, and the Wilmington and St. Cat…
Evaluating Claims of Early Human Occupation at Chiquihuite Cave, Mexico
Archaeologists working in Mexico recently claimed evidence for pre-Last Glacial Maximum human occupation in the Americas, based on lithic items excavated from Chiquihuite Cave, Zacatecas. Although they provide extensive array of ancillary studies of the cave's chronostratigraphic and paleoenvironmental record, the data they present do not support their central argument, that these lithic items are anthropogenic and represent a unique lithic indus…
Choosing a Path to the Ancient World in a Modern Market
Over the past 30 years, the number of US doctoral anthropology graduates has increased by about 70%, but there has not been a corresponding increase in the availability of new faculty positions. Consequently, doctoral degree-holding archaeologists face more competition than ever before when applying for faculty positions. Here we examine where US and Canadian anthropological archaeology faculty originate and where they ultimately end up teaching.…
Provisioning an Urban Economy
Isotopic evidence from animal bones deposited in urban contexts offers a landscape perspective into urban life, hinting at where animals lived before reaching their final resting place in the city. Here, we use stable carbon and nitrogen isotope evidence from cattle (Bos taurus) bones excavated from commercial and residential sites within historic Charleston, South Carolina, to evaluate whether markets pooled or segregated access to beef cattle d…
The Changing Profile of Tenure-Track Faculty in Archaeology
The goal for many PhD students in archaeology is tenure-track employment. Students primarily receive their training by tenure-track or tenured professors, and they are often tacitly expected—or explicitly encouraged—to follow in the footsteps of their advisor. However, the career trajectories that current and recent PhD students follow may hold little resemblance to the ones experienced by their advisors. To understand these different paths and t…
How Many Dates Do I Need
As the use of large-scale radiocarbon datasets becomes more common and applications of Bayesian chronological modeling become a standard aspect of archaeological practice, it is imperative that we grow a community of both effective users and consumers. Indeed, research proposals and publications now routinely employ Bayesian chronological modeling to estimate age ranges such as statistically informed starts, ends, and spans of archaeological phen…
Using Radiocarbon Data to Chronologically Control Population Density Estimates Derived From Systematically Collected Intra-Settlement Distributional Data
Population density is an important variable in the development of social complexity. Estimating population densities from the archaeological record requires combining estimates of population, area, and time. Archaeological population estimates tend to be reported as a maximum population derived from the total accumulation of discrete archaeological material types, usually ceramics or radiocarbon ( 14 C) dates. However, given the palimpsest nature…
Investigating 14th century immigration and settlement response on the Georgia Coast, USA
Radiocarbon in Marsh Periwinkle ( Littorina Irrorata ) Conchiolin
In coastal and island archaeology, carbonate mollusk shells are often among the most abundant materials available for radiocarbon ( 14 C) dating. The marsh periwinkle ( Littorina irrorata ) is one of these such species, ubiquitously found along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States in both modern and archaeological contexts. This paper presents a novel approach to dating estuarine mollusks where rather than attempting to characterize …
A preliminary consideration of craft production and settlement expansion on Ossabaw Island, Georgia, USA
This report presents findings from recent systematic surveys and excavations at the site of Finley’s Pond (9CH204) to evaluate craft production (e.g., shell beads) and settlement expansion on Ossabaw Island, Georgia, within the context of larger social, political, and economic changes that occurred along the Georgia coast over the last millennia. Shovel tests and excavation units were conducted at Finley’s Pond as part of the University of Georgi…
What Is Ethnohistory
In honor of Ethnohistory's sixtieth anniversary, this paper compiles data on the journal and analyzes patterns and trends throughout the publication. We divided observations into four categories: (1) authorship of each article, particularly focusing on gender in authorship and coauthorship, (2) the region represented in each article, (3) the topic, and (4) data sources used by the author(s). We then analyzed each category in representative ten-ye…
Mind the gap
Bayesian Chronological Modeling leads to new interpretations and understandings of migration events and social processes. • Middle/Late Mississippian period migrations were driven by historically contingent factors. • Wiggle-matching is an effective chronological technique to resolve multimodal calibrated intercepts. Archaeological narratives of migrations in pre-Colonial North America rely on cultural materials, which often only convey relative …
Provisioning an Urban Economy
Isotopic evidence from animal bones deposited in urban contexts offers a landscape perspective into urban life, hinting at where animals lived before reaching their final resting place in the city. Here, we use stable carbon and nitrogen isotope evidence from cattle (Bos taurus) bones excavated from commercial and residential sites within historic Charleston, South Carolina, to evaluate whether markets pooled or segregated access to beef cattle d…
Plummets, public ceremonies, and interaction networks during the Woodland period in Florida
Exploring a Bayesian method for examining the regional ceramic sequence along the Georgia Coast
This report presents an exploratory Bayesian modeling program of a recently compiled radiocarbon database for the Georgia Coast. Through use of the region’s well-established ceramic sequence as the a priori modeling framework, a refined temporal sequence for the region is presented. The model demonstrates gaps in the radiocarbon record between the Late Archaic and Refuge periods, the Deptford and Wilmington periods, and the Wilmington and St. Cat…
Investigating 14th century immigration and settlement response on the Georgia Coast, USA
Choosing a Path to the Ancient World in a Modern Market
Over the past 30 years, the number of US doctoral anthropology graduates has increased by about 70%, but there has not been a corresponding increase in the availability of new faculty positions. Consequently, doctoral degree-holding archaeologists face more competition than ever before when applying for faculty positions. Here we examine where US and Canadian anthropological archaeology faculty originate and where they ultimately end up teaching.…
Radiocarbon in Marsh Periwinkle ( Littorina Irrorata ) Conchiolin
In coastal and island archaeology, carbonate mollusk shells are often among the most abundant materials available for radiocarbon ( 14 C) dating. The marsh periwinkle ( Littorina irrorata ) is one of these such species, ubiquitously found along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States in both modern and archaeological contexts. This paper presents a novel approach to dating estuarine mollusks where rather than attempting to characterize …
What Is Ethnohistory
In honor of Ethnohistory's sixtieth anniversary, this paper compiles data on the journal and analyzes patterns and trends throughout the publication. We divided observations into four categories: (1) authorship of each article, particularly focusing on gender in authorship and coauthorship, (2) the region represented in each article, (3) the topic, and (4) data sources used by the author(s). We then analyzed each category in representative ten-ye…
Using Radiocarbon Data to Chronologically Control Population Density Estimates Derived From Systematically Collected Intra-Settlement Distributional Data
Population density is an important variable in the development of social complexity. Estimating population densities from the archaeological record requires combining estimates of population, area, and time. Archaeological population estimates tend to be reported as a maximum population derived from the total accumulation of discrete archaeological material types, usually ceramics or radiocarbon ( 14 C) dates. However, given the palimpsest nature…
Climate change, resilience, and the Native American Fisher-hunter-gatherers of the late Holocene on the Georgia coast, USA
How Many Dates Do I Need
As the use of large-scale radiocarbon datasets becomes more common and applications of Bayesian chronological modeling become a standard aspect of archaeological practice, it is imperative that we grow a community of both effective users and consumers. Indeed, research proposals and publications now routinely employ Bayesian chronological modeling to estimate age ranges such as statistically informed starts, ends, and spans of archaeological phen…
A preliminary consideration of craft production and settlement expansion on Ossabaw Island, Georgia, USA
This report presents findings from recent systematic surveys and excavations at the site of Finley’s Pond (9CH204) to evaluate craft production (e.g., shell beads) and settlement expansion on Ossabaw Island, Georgia, within the context of larger social, political, and economic changes that occurred along the Georgia coast over the last millennia. Shovel tests and excavation units were conducted at Finley’s Pond as part of the University of Georgi…
Evaluating Claims of Early Human Occupation at Chiquihuite Cave, Mexico
Archaeologists working in Mexico recently claimed evidence for pre-Last Glacial Maximum human occupation in the Americas, based on lithic items excavated from Chiquihuite Cave, Zacatecas. Although they provide extensive array of ancillary studies of the cave's chronostratigraphic and paleoenvironmental record, the data they present do not support their central argument, that these lithic items are anthropogenic and represent a unique lithic indus…
Current Understanding of the Earliest Human Occupations in the Americas
Various chronologies of the earliest Native American occupations have been proposed with varying levels of empirical support and conceptual rigor, yet none is widely accepted. A recent survey of pre-Clovis dated sites (Becerra-Valdivia and Higham 2020) concludes a pre-Last Glacial Maximum (>26,500–19,000 cal yr BP) entry of humans in the Americas, in part based on recent work at Chiquihuite Cave, Mexico. We evaluate the evidence used to develop t…
“Vacant Quarters” and Population Movements
The Changing Profile of Tenure-Track Faculty in Archaeology
The goal for many PhD students in archaeology is tenure-track employment. Students primarily receive their training by tenure-track or tenured professors, and they are often tacitly expected—or explicitly encouraged—to follow in the footsteps of their advisor. However, the career trajectories that current and recent PhD students follow may hold little resemblance to the ones experienced by their advisors. To understand these different paths and t…
Local Responses to a Fourteenth-Century AD Immigration Event on the Georgia Coast
By the end of the fourteenth-century AD, Native peoples throughout the midwestern and southeastern regions of North America had withdrawn from major monumental and political centers established in prior centuries. In this article, I present the results of a community-level examination of settlement transformations on the Georgia Coast that I argue are the outcome of this large-scale movement of Mississippian peoples. Specifically, I examine the c…
Mind the gap
Bayesian Chronological Modeling leads to new interpretations and understandings of migration events and social processes. • Middle/Late Mississippian period migrations were driven by historically contingent factors. • Wiggle-matching is an effective chronological technique to resolve multimodal calibrated intercepts. Archaeological narratives of migrations in pre-Colonial North America rely on cultural materials, which often only convey relative …
Soils telling time
This study combines archaeological soil micromorphology, experimental archaeology, and Bayesian chronological modeling to refine the timing of a pit fill sequence at a 13-14th century CE Ancestral Native American village. Framed within an event-based archaeological perspective, the analysis focuses on identifying discrete phases of deposition, surface exposure, and burial of an intermediary fill zone within a stratified pit feature. Microstratigr…
Archaeology (17 obras) · Geography (15 obras) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (14 obras) · History (8 obras) · Computer Science (7 obras) · Ecology (6 obras) · Historical and Cultural Archaeology Studies (6 obras) · Geology (5 obras) · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (5 obras) · Radiocarbon dating (5 obras)