Arthur Spiess
Biographic Data
| ID | 5180193 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Arthur Spiess |
| GIVEN NAMES | Arthur |
| FAMILY NAME | Spiess |
| SIGNATURE | SPIESS A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Heritage Preservation |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 21 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 80 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 21 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1976 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Characterizing the Erosion of Coastal Archaeological Sites on the Maritime Peninsula Using Survey, Collection Analysis, Excavation, and Modeling
The erosion of coastal archaeological sites is a worldwide heritage crisis. However, regional variability in the archaeological record and the natural environment necessitates localized consideration of the erosion of archaeological sites to facilitate informed research prioritization decisions about coastal cultural resources. In this article, we present and compare the results of recent coastal survey programs from southern Nova Scotia and far …
Paleoindian Lithic Distribution in the New England-Maritimes Region
The archaeological record of fluted-point using Paleoindian groups in the Northeast rarely preserves bone or other perishable material. Paleoindian lithic material distribution in many North American regional analyses has been interpreted in the context of two separate explanatory hypotheses. An integral feature of a logistically-organized subsistence strategy that is followed in areas where resources are temporally dispersed involves a caching o…
A Late Woodland paddle in association with a dugout canoe from Cape Porpoise, Maine, USA
In 2019, Professional archaeologists and volunteers of the Cape Porpoise Archaeological Alliance (CPAA) excavated and recovered the remains of a dugout canoe that was located during a surface survey of the Cape Porpoise tidal flats in Kennebunkport, Maine. A sample of the canoe dated to between AD 1275 and 1380 making it the oldest known from the region. Three days later, a CPAA citizen scientist returned to the site and recovered the remains of …
A report on a late Woodland period dugout canoe from Cape Porpoise, Maine, USA
In 2018, the Cape Porpoise Archaeological Alliance recovered a dugout canoe located during a surface survey of the Cape Porpoise tidal flats in Kennebunkport, Maine. A sample of the canoe dated to between 1275 and 1380 cal AD making it the oldest known from the region. Professional archaeologists and volunteers excavated the canoe from the intertidal in the summer of 2019 for analysis and conservation. This paper provides new insight into pre-Con…
Ground-Penetrating Radar as a Cultural Resource Management Tool for Assessment of Eroding Shell Middens
With an increasing rate of sea level rise inherently linked to climate change, numerous coastal archaeological resources are under threat. In Maine, virtually all 2000+ coastal aboriginal shell middens are eroding. Given limited time and resources, an efficient method for making informed cultural resource management decisions is critical. Herein, we describe a six-step protocol for a minimally invasive and cost-effective ground-penetrating radar …
Brian Scott Robinson - In Memoriam
People of the Clam
Relatively few shell midden sites around the Gulf of Maine have been excavated and analyzed for the quantity of shellfish incorporated into the site. Such data would help us understand the intensity of past shellfish-harvesting pressure on nearby shellfish beds, and the ef fects of shellfish collection on settlement patterns. Moreover , the relative amounts of protein contributed to diet by shellfish versus vertebrates, based on the remains disca…
Early Human Settlement of Northeastern North America
This paper summarizes current evidence for earliest human occupation of northeastern North America during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. We review evolution of the region's landscapes and evidence of archaeological chronologies as context for understanding human settlement of the region. Current data support limited evidence for pre-Clovis occupation south of the Laurentide glacial margin, followed by a significant temporal gap prior to…
Further Documentation Supporting the Former Existence of Grizzly Bears ( Ursus arctos ) in Northern Quebec-Labrador
The discovery in 1976 of a grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) skull in an 18th-century Labrador Inuit midden effectively ended speculation about the former existence of the species in the barrenlands of northern Quebec and Labrador. We analyzed a photograph of a bear skull taken in 1910 at an Innu camp in the Labrador interior (east of the George River), which appears to be that of a grizzly bear. Coupled with previously unpublished historical accounts …
Atlantic salmon, archaeology and climate change in New England
Phoques et morses dans la préhistoire du littoral du golfe du Maine
Le témoignage archéologique de la pêche et de la chasse côtières des autochtones est principalement représenté dans les amas coquilliers où la conservation des os est excellente. À cause de l’affaissement et de l’érosion de la côte, ce témoignage ne couvre que les périodes de l’Archaïque récent et Céramique (ou Sylvicole), c’est-à-dire les derniers 5000 ans de la période préhistorique. Durant cette période, les autochtones ont exploité au moins q…
Skeleton of Extinct North American Sea Mink ( Mustela macrodon )
Mustela macrodon (extinct sea mink) is known only from prehistoric and historic Native American shell middens dating less than 5100 years old along coastal islands of the Gulf of Maine, northeastern North America. The species is distinct from all known extant subspecies of M. vison (American mink) but still belongs to the North American subgenus Vison. Metric comparisons between M. macrodon and five subspecies of M. vison, using skull, mandible, …
The Significance of New Faunal Identifications Attributed to an Early Paleoindian (Gainey Complex) Occupation at the Udora Site, Ontario, Canada
Analysis of calcined bone from the Udora site in south-central Ontario, Canada, indicates that the subsistence of Early Paleoindian (Gainey complex) peoples in the lower Great Lakes region included a mix of both large and small mammals: caribou, hare, and arctic fox. The presence of arctic fox and other paleoecological data indicate that the Paleoindian occupation at Udora occurred in a spruce parkland environment between 10,000 and 10,500 years …
On New England Shell Middens
There is an ongoing debate about the nature of artifact association and the expression of living surfaces in New England and Maritime Provinces shell middens. I focus this debate on a single shell midden where supposedly Early Woodland styles of projectile points are associated with Middle Woodland ceramics. These findings suggest that either a revision of the New England and Maritime Provinces Woodland sequence is necessary, or that we should re…
Caribou ( Rangifer Tarandus L.) Bones from New England Paleoindian Sites
The use of caribou ( Rangifer tarandus) and beaver ( Castor canadensis) by New England Paleoindians has been confirmed by new evidence. Using an approach which includes consideration of bone shrinkage during calcination, in addition to species—specific morphology, Spiess has identified faunal assemblages composed exclusively of mammal bone from two sites in central New England, The Bull Brook site (Massachusetts) and the Whipple site (New Hampshi…
Early and Middle Archaic Site Distribution in Western Maine
Recent survey and excavation projects in western Maine have greatly expanded knowledge of the distribution and frequency of recognized Early and Middle Archaic artifact types. Comparison of Maine data with those from southern New England indicate significant differences in settlement density and location, despite very similar lithic technologies. The Maine data provide convincing evidence for coastal use during Middle Archaic times and suggestive…
Reindeer and Caribou Hunters. An Archaeological Study
Dorset Settlement and Subsistence in Northern Labrador
Archaeological surveys in northern Labrador have supplemented previous evidence from the central coast concerning the Dorset subsistence-settlement system. The evidence suggests a flexible Dorset economic base capable of exploiting a wide variety of environments, but lacking full development of certain food procurement systems that would later become important in Thule culture. In particular, site location and faunal analysis indicate that breath…
Archaeology
Determining Season of Death of Archaeological Fauna by Analysis of Teeth
Seasonality of site occupation is a common concern in northern archaeology, and any faunal remains recovered should be analysed in an attempt to provide data useful for its determination. Conclusions reached in the past on the subject of seasonality have been based on data concerning composition of species, age composition of mammalian remains based on tooth eruption or epiphyseal closure ages, or traits such as antler retention or loss in cervid…
Discovery of the Skull of a Grizzly Bear in Labrador
The skull of a small, young adult grizzly bear was discovered in the course of archaeological excavation of an early historic Eskimo house in northern Labrador. This discovery confirms the rumoured presence of Ursus arctos in Labrador in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It is suggested that the Labrador grizzly represents an eastward extension of the barren-ground grizzly population across the mouth of Hudson Bay
Early Human Settlement of Northeastern North America
This paper summarizes current evidence for earliest human occupation of northeastern North America during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. We review evolution of the region's landscapes and evidence of archaeological chronologies as context for understanding human settlement of the region. Current data support limited evidence for pre-Clovis occupation south of the Laurentide glacial margin, followed by a significant temporal gap prior to…
The Significance of New Faunal Identifications Attributed to an Early Paleoindian (Gainey Complex) Occupation at the Udora Site, Ontario, Canada
Analysis of calcined bone from the Udora site in south-central Ontario, Canada, indicates that the subsistence of Early Paleoindian (Gainey complex) peoples in the lower Great Lakes region included a mix of both large and small mammals: caribou, hare, and arctic fox. The presence of arctic fox and other paleoecological data indicate that the Paleoindian occupation at Udora occurred in a spruce parkland environment between 10,000 and 10,500 years …
Caribou ( Rangifer Tarandus L.) Bones from New England Paleoindian Sites
The use of caribou ( Rangifer tarandus) and beaver ( Castor canadensis) by New England Paleoindians has been confirmed by new evidence. Using an approach which includes consideration of bone shrinkage during calcination, in addition to species—specific morphology, Spiess has identified faunal assemblages composed exclusively of mammal bone from two sites in central New England, The Bull Brook site (Massachusetts) and the Whipple site (New Hampshi…
Atlantic salmon, archaeology and climate change in New England
People of the Clam
Relatively few shell midden sites around the Gulf of Maine have been excavated and analyzed for the quantity of shellfish incorporated into the site. Such data would help us understand the intensity of past shellfish-harvesting pressure on nearby shellfish beds, and the ef fects of shellfish collection on settlement patterns. Moreover , the relative amounts of protein contributed to diet by shellfish versus vertebrates, based on the remains disca…
Archaeology
On New England Shell Middens
There is an ongoing debate about the nature of artifact association and the expression of living surfaces in New England and Maritime Provinces shell middens. I focus this debate on a single shell midden where supposedly Early Woodland styles of projectile points are associated with Middle Woodland ceramics. These findings suggest that either a revision of the New England and Maritime Provinces Woodland sequence is necessary, or that we should re…
Early and Middle Archaic Site Distribution in Western Maine
Recent survey and excavation projects in western Maine have greatly expanded knowledge of the distribution and frequency of recognized Early and Middle Archaic artifact types. Comparison of Maine data with those from southern New England indicate significant differences in settlement density and location, despite very similar lithic technologies. The Maine data provide convincing evidence for coastal use during Middle Archaic times and suggestive…
Determining Season of Death of Archaeological Fauna by Analysis of Teeth
Seasonality of site occupation is a common concern in northern archaeology, and any faunal remains recovered should be analysed in an attempt to provide data useful for its determination. Conclusions reached in the past on the subject of seasonality have been based on data concerning composition of species, age composition of mammalian remains based on tooth eruption or epiphyseal closure ages, or traits such as antler retention or loss in cervid…
Discovery of the Skull of a Grizzly Bear in Labrador
The skull of a small, young adult grizzly bear was discovered in the course of archaeological excavation of an early historic Eskimo house in northern Labrador. This discovery confirms the rumoured presence of Ursus arctos in Labrador in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It is suggested that the Labrador grizzly represents an eastward extension of the barren-ground grizzly population across the mouth of Hudson Bay
Dorset Settlement and Subsistence in Northern Labrador
Archaeological surveys in northern Labrador have supplemented previous evidence from the central coast concerning the Dorset subsistence-settlement system. The evidence suggests a flexible Dorset economic base capable of exploiting a wide variety of environments, but lacking full development of certain food procurement systems that would later become important in Thule culture. In particular, site location and faunal analysis indicate that breath…
Archaeology
Reindeer and Caribou Hunters. An Archaeological Study
Early and Middle Archaic Site Distribution in Western Maine
Recent survey and excavation projects in western Maine have greatly expanded knowledge of the distribution and frequency of recognized Early and Middle Archaic artifact types. Comparison of Maine data with those from southern New England indicate significant differences in settlement density and location, despite very similar lithic technologies. The Maine data provide convincing evidence for coastal use during Middle Archaic times and suggestive…
Caribou ( Rangifer Tarandus L.) Bones from New England Paleoindian Sites
The use of caribou ( Rangifer tarandus) and beaver ( Castor canadensis) by New England Paleoindians has been confirmed by new evidence. Using an approach which includes consideration of bone shrinkage during calcination, in addition to species—specific morphology, Spiess has identified faunal assemblages composed exclusively of mammal bone from two sites in central New England, The Bull Brook site (Massachusetts) and the Whipple site (New Hampshi…
On New England Shell Middens
There is an ongoing debate about the nature of artifact association and the expression of living surfaces in New England and Maritime Provinces shell middens. I focus this debate on a single shell midden where supposedly Early Woodland styles of projectile points are associated with Middle Woodland ceramics. These findings suggest that either a revision of the New England and Maritime Provinces Woodland sequence is necessary, or that we should re…
The Significance of New Faunal Identifications Attributed to an Early Paleoindian (Gainey Complex) Occupation at the Udora Site, Ontario, Canada
Analysis of calcined bone from the Udora site in south-central Ontario, Canada, indicates that the subsistence of Early Paleoindian (Gainey complex) peoples in the lower Great Lakes region included a mix of both large and small mammals: caribou, hare, and arctic fox. The presence of arctic fox and other paleoecological data indicate that the Paleoindian occupation at Udora occurred in a spruce parkland environment between 10,000 and 10,500 years …
Skeleton of Extinct North American Sea Mink ( Mustela macrodon )
Mustela macrodon (extinct sea mink) is known only from prehistoric and historic Native American shell middens dating less than 5100 years old along coastal islands of the Gulf of Maine, northeastern North America. The species is distinct from all known extant subspecies of M. vison (American mink) but still belongs to the North American subgenus Vison. Metric comparisons between M. macrodon and five subspecies of M. vison, using skull, mandible, …
Phoques et morses dans la préhistoire du littoral du golfe du Maine
Le témoignage archéologique de la pêche et de la chasse côtières des autochtones est principalement représenté dans les amas coquilliers où la conservation des os est excellente. À cause de l’affaissement et de l’érosion de la côte, ce témoignage ne couvre que les périodes de l’Archaïque récent et Céramique (ou Sylvicole), c’est-à-dire les derniers 5000 ans de la période préhistorique. Durant cette période, les autochtones ont exploité au moins q…
Further Documentation Supporting the Former Existence of Grizzly Bears ( Ursus arctos ) in Northern Quebec-Labrador
The discovery in 1976 of a grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) skull in an 18th-century Labrador Inuit midden effectively ended speculation about the former existence of the species in the barrenlands of northern Quebec and Labrador. We analyzed a photograph of a bear skull taken in 1910 at an Innu camp in the Labrador interior (east of the George River), which appears to be that of a grizzly bear. Coupled with previously unpublished historical accounts …
Atlantic salmon, archaeology and climate change in New England
Early Human Settlement of Northeastern North America
This paper summarizes current evidence for earliest human occupation of northeastern North America during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. We review evolution of the region's landscapes and evidence of archaeological chronologies as context for understanding human settlement of the region. Current data support limited evidence for pre-Clovis occupation south of the Laurentide glacial margin, followed by a significant temporal gap prior to…
Brian Scott Robinson - In Memoriam
People of the Clam
Relatively few shell midden sites around the Gulf of Maine have been excavated and analyzed for the quantity of shellfish incorporated into the site. Such data would help us understand the intensity of past shellfish-harvesting pressure on nearby shellfish beds, and the ef fects of shellfish collection on settlement patterns. Moreover , the relative amounts of protein contributed to diet by shellfish versus vertebrates, based on the remains disca…
Ground-Penetrating Radar as a Cultural Resource Management Tool for Assessment of Eroding Shell Middens
With an increasing rate of sea level rise inherently linked to climate change, numerous coastal archaeological resources are under threat. In Maine, virtually all 2000+ coastal aboriginal shell middens are eroding. Given limited time and resources, an efficient method for making informed cultural resource management decisions is critical. Herein, we describe a six-step protocol for a minimally invasive and cost-effective ground-penetrating radar …
A report on a late Woodland period dugout canoe from Cape Porpoise, Maine, USA
In 2018, the Cape Porpoise Archaeological Alliance recovered a dugout canoe located during a surface survey of the Cape Porpoise tidal flats in Kennebunkport, Maine. A sample of the canoe dated to between 1275 and 1380 cal AD making it the oldest known from the region. Professional archaeologists and volunteers excavated the canoe from the intertidal in the summer of 2019 for analysis and conservation. This paper provides new insight into pre-Con…
Paleoindian Lithic Distribution in the New England-Maritimes Region
The archaeological record of fluted-point using Paleoindian groups in the Northeast rarely preserves bone or other perishable material. Paleoindian lithic material distribution in many North American regional analyses has been interpreted in the context of two separate explanatory hypotheses. An integral feature of a logistically-organized subsistence strategy that is followed in areas where resources are temporally dispersed involves a caching o…
A Late Woodland paddle in association with a dugout canoe from Cape Porpoise, Maine, USA
In 2019, Professional archaeologists and volunteers of the Cape Porpoise Archaeological Alliance (CPAA) excavated and recovered the remains of a dugout canoe that was located during a surface survey of the Cape Porpoise tidal flats in Kennebunkport, Maine. A sample of the canoe dated to between AD 1275 and 1380 making it the oldest known from the region. Three days later, a CPAA citizen scientist returned to the site and recovered the remains of …
Characterizing the Erosion of Coastal Archaeological Sites on the Maritime Peninsula Using Survey, Collection Analysis, Excavation, and Modeling
The erosion of coastal archaeological sites is a worldwide heritage crisis. However, regional variability in the archaeological record and the natural environment necessitates localized consideration of the erosion of archaeological sites to facilitate informed research prioritization decisions about coastal cultural resources. In this article, we present and compare the results of recent coastal survey programs from southern Nova Scotia and far …
Archaeology (18 works) · Geography (18 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (15 works) · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (11 works) · Biology (8 works) · Ecology (7 works) · Indigenous Studies and Ecology (7 works) · Geology (6 works) · Agriculture (4 works) · Marine animal studies overview (4 works)