The Stricker Site

Abstract

The Stricker site is a multi-component habitation area in Big Bend Reservoir, South Dakota. Component A, the latest and most I imited occupation, represents the Dakota from the middle of the 19th century to the present. Component B represents the major occupation by people following the Coalescent Tradition in the form of the Extended Coalescent variant. Component C, a minor occupation, is representative of the Initial variant of the Middle Missouri Tradition. Most of the features and artifacts pertain to Component B. The analysis provides evidence for a transition from the Shannon phase into the Felicia phase     

Cross Ranch: A Study of Variability in a Stable Cultural Tradition

Abstract

Work in the Missouri River valley has yielded information on the earliest through historic sedentary, horticultural occupations. In the Cannonball region of North Dakota, previous studies have (1) established the presence of two cultural traditions (the Middle Missouri and Coalescent), and (2) outlined major shifts in intra-tradition and occupational patterns. Tests and excavations at the Cross Ranch (320L 14) and Clark’s Creek (32ME 1) sites provide the first information on the early sedentary occupation of the Knife-Heart region. Remains from these sites are similar to those in Middle Missouri tradition sites in the adjacent Cannonball region. This study defines and evaluates variation in the ceramic and lithic technologies within the seemingly stable Middle Missouri cultural tradition by using new analytic techniques, statistical methods and computer analysis. Previously reported material and new data are analyzed and compared. Radiocarbon dates which range from the 12th through mid-15th centuries provide temporal control. Analysis of the fauna and flora indicate a stable subsistence based on hunting and horticulture. The artifact assemblages suggest general cultural stability and persistence. There are, however, subtle differences in the lithics and ceramics, most of which reflect changes through time by people sharing the same general potting and stone working practices. It is hypothesized that Clark’s Creek represents a northern component of the Fort Yates phase. A Nailati phase is posited on the basis of formal and temporal variation between Cross Ranch and the Fort Yates phase sites.     

Helb: a Preliminary Statement

Abstract

Preliminary inspection of surface features and ceramic remains led one author to assign the Helb site, in north-central South Dakota, to the Term ina I Variant of the Middle Missouri Tradition. New data from limited investigations at Helb are used to evaluate this assignment. The program objectives and design are outlined, and preliminary discussion of structural remains, ceramic and lithic samples and recently obtained radiocarbon determinations are provided. These evidences suggest that the site should be reassigned to the Extended Variant of the same tradition     

Fire-Cracked Rock As Tools: Wear-Pattern Analysis

Abstract

Within the last ten years, lithic studies have focused intensively on chipped stone tool technology, particularly biface reduction procedures. Recent analysis of lithic materials from a multi-component Middle Missouri Village site (32ME7) in North Dakota revealed the necessity for intensively examining another artifact class, fire-cracked rock. A considerable quantity of fire-cracked granitic stones exhibited one or more wear patterns assumed to represent wear suggesting recycled procurement and utilization of a common resource. Supplemented by archaeological analogs and analysis of secondary attributes (i.e., archaeological context and systemic context), the wear pattern study resulted in the identification of five functional classes of fire-cracked rock tools.     

Inferring History From Crania: Biological Distance Comparisons Of Mill Creek And Early Middle Missouri Tradition Crania With Mandan And Arikara Population Samples

Abstract

Craniometric data are used to compare available human crania from Mill Creek and early Middle Missouri Tradition sites with a pooled Mandan sample and Coalescent Tradition samples from Crow Creek, Mobridge and Rygh(inferred proto-Arikara). Discriminant functions are computed for the reference samples, and test cases are classified according to their proximity to each population centroid. With one exception, early Middle Missouri Tradition site crania compare most favorably with Mandan. Mill Creek site specimens are unlike the Mandan, most closely resembling early Coalescent samples.     

The Archaeology Of The Breeden Site

Abstract

The Breeden Site cultural sequence reenforcesthe general culture history already established for the Bad-Cheyenne Region and the more inclusive Middle Missouri Tradition. House remains and the bulk of the ceramic materials from the site indicate habitation of the area by peoples of the Initial Middle Missouri Variant and the PostContact Coalescent Variant.Component A at the Breeden Site and the Monroe and Anderson components at the Dodd Site exhibit a complex of diagnosticcultural traits significant enough to define a new phase - the Anderson Phase. A temporal span of approximately A.D. 950to 1250 is suggested for the phase. Component B of the Breeden Site, an early manifestation of the Post-Contract Coalescent Variant, is closely associated with components of the Felicia Phase and the putative Talking Crow Phase. Breeden Component B probably represents an upriver movement of Coalescent peoples from the Big Bend area, eventually being assimilated into the Arikara populations of the Bad River Phase within the Bad-Cheyenne Region.     

Craniometric Relationships of Plains Populations: Historical and Evolutionary Implications

Abstract

Large skeletal samples from cemeteries in the Northern Plains near Mobridge, South Dakota have made possible the accurate determination of craniometric relationships between populations ancestoral to the historic Arikara. There is considerable change throughout the approximately 200 years represented, due primarily to gene flow from adjacent Siouan speaking groups. Arikara crania from the Northern Plains are seen to be morphologically similar to earlier crania further south, in particular St. Helena materials in northeastern Nebraska. This offers Support for the archaeological hypothesis that Coalescent Tradition cultures grew out of the Central Plains Tradition. Early crania from the Northern Plains are markedly different from those in the Central Plains and more similar to historic Mandan. The craniometric evidence argues for biological continuity rather than replacement in the Plains area.     

中国旧石器原料开发策略的研究进展

石料开发与获取是石器生产操作链的重要环节,也是史前人地关系研究的重要内容,能够反映史前人类的资源开发策略、环境认知与适应能力、移动模式和交流贸易网络等。相比于旧大陆西侧,东亚地区的燧石和黑曜岩等优质石料产地相对稀缺,中国许多旧石器考古遗址的石器原料主要来自遗址周边质量欠佳的脉石英、石英岩和一般燧石等,而相关的旧石器时代石料开发策略系统研究也相对较少。本文对中国目前已开展的旧石器时代石料开发策略研究进行系统梳理分析和总结发现,从旧石器时代早期到晚期末段,中国境内史前人类的石料开发策略存在明显的时空变化,主要体现在石料类型组成、产地选取和开发方式三个方面,可能主要受到史前人类流动性变化、石器技术演变和环境变化等因素的共同影响。综合而言,开展旧石器时代遗址的石料开发策略研究,对于理解中国境内史前人类的行为模式和交流迁徙等有重要意义。     

Some Aspects Of Diet And Butchering Techniques Among Prehistoric Indians In South Dakota

Abstract

Faunal remains from ten South Dakota archaeological sites, ranging temporally from ca. 600 B.C. - A.D. 1600, are identified and analyzed by the method of White (1952). This analysis shows what species were used, and in what numbers, in sites of the three major temporal divisions; Woodland, Middle Missouri and Coalescent. Bison are the preferred animals in all time periods. Group related butchering techniques are discussed.     

Long bone growth variation among Arikara skeletal populations

Long bone growth variation among skeletal samples has had limited application to ecological studies of archaeological groups, in spite of its well-known sensitivity to health and nutritional status. In this study we examine long bone growth variation among ten samples of Arikara skeletal groups, all located in the Middle Missouri subarea of South Dakota and ranging in time from A.D. 1600 to 1832. The samples are analyzed by variant, an archaeological taxonomic unit below Tradition. Children's long bones between about 0.5 and 11.9 years of age were analyzed by means of regression using the model, bone length =b₀ + b₁ (age) + b₂ (log₁₀ age). The three variants, Extended Coalescent, Postcontact Coalescent, and Disorganized Coalescent, differ from one another with regard to health and nutritional status. Extended Coalescent groups probably experienced periods of undernutrition due to unfavorable climatic conditions prevailing at the time. Postcontact Coalescent groups experienced more favorable health and nutrition due to improved climatic conditions and introduction of the horse. Disorganized Coalescent groups were exposed to undernutrition and high levels of morbidity, due to introduction of epidemic diseases, depopulation, and intertribal conflict. Analysis of slopes shows significant heterogeneity among variants for humerus, radius, and tibia, but not femur. In general, the Postcontact Coalescent is characterized by slighter greater rates of increase with age and longer bone lengths for each age than is Extended Coalescent. Disorganized Coalescent exhibits lower rates of increase, particularly in later childhood, with shorter bone lengths in late childhood. Disorganized Coalescent also presents longer radius and humerus lengths than the other two variants in early childhood, an unexpected finding. This may be partly, but not entirely, explained by differential bone response to stress along the lines of maturity gradients.     

The Middle Missouri Tradition: the Late Stage

Abstract

Two prehistoric complexes in the northern part of the Middle Missouri area, the Thomas Riggs and Huff Foci, comprise the late stage of the Middle Missouri Tradition. Although transitional sites are as yet lacking, this late stage is regarded as an outgrowth of the early stages of the same tradition, localized further south along the Missouri River in South Dakota. The Huff Focus postdates the Thomas Riggs Focus and is a direct outgrowth of Thomas Riggs, both foci being assigned to the Fire Heart Aspect. This aspect is the prehistoric antecedent for the Heart River Focus, the protohistoric express ion of Historic Mandan culture. Brief comments are offeredon the history, or1g1ns, distribution, characteristics, dating, and relationships of the Thomas Riggs and Huff Foci.     

A Tentative Radiocarbon Chronology for the Middle Missouri Tradition

Abstract

Chronology has long been a major concern of researchers in the Middle Missouri Subarea. However, the paucity of radiocarbon dates, as well as the general lack of multiple dates for many components, has hampered comprehensive assessment and interpretation of culture-historical sequences. A large number of radiocarbon dates pertaining to the Middle Missouri Tradition has become available over the last several years, and presently at least 124 dates are available from both published and unpublished sources for 36 components of the tradition. Dates for each radiocarbon-dated Middle Missouri Tradition component in the Big Bend, Bad-Cheyenne, Cannonball, and Knife-Heart Regions – a total of 111 dates for 33 components – are assessed and averaged according to techniques recently advanced by Bruce Rippeteau and Austin Long. Tentative occupational sequences for each of these regions are offered and problems with specific date series are discussed. Dates for components in the Grand-Moreau Region and the James River valley are also discussed, but are not fitted into sequence. Lehmer’s earlier postulation of a gap in the Bad-Cheyenne sequence at about A.D. 1300 is supported by this analysis, and the presence of a similar hiatus is suggested for the Cannonball Region.     

The Fox Island Site (39DW230), Dewey County,South Dakota

Abstract

An examination of this site on the west bank of the Missouri River in north-central South Dakota has revealed an unfortified settlement of approximately 30 earthlodges. The settlement pattern and artifact inventory indicate that the Fox Island site is an Extended Coalescent village that appears to be a descendant of the complex defined at Mols, tad Village.     

Stratégies techniques dans le Paléolithique Moyen du sud-est des Pyrénées

In this article, the lithic reduction systems from Middle Paleolithic levels at Roca dels Bous and Tragó are presented. These two sites are located in the South-eastern Pyrenees in Catalunya (Spain) and yield Mousterian levels which are attributed to MIS 3 and MIS 5. At the two studied sites, there is coexistence between expedient knapping systems and more complex techniques such as the Levallois method. Furthermore, cores are heavily exhausted, showing a pattern that cannot be explained by the absence or scarcity of raw material. This technical pattern can be traced across several Mousterian assemblages in the South-eastern Pyrenees, suggesting technocognitive continuity in the Middle Palaeolithic during the Upper Pleistocene, in which changes in lithic reduction patterns are not evident. In this paper, the implications of such observations are contextualized within the general discussion on the behaviour of the South-eastern Pyrenees Neanderthals.     

Implications of Nubian-Like Core Reduction Systems in Southern Africa for the Identification of Early Modern Human Dispersals

Lithic technologies have been used to trace dispersals of early human populations within and beyond Africa. Convergence in lithic systems has the potential to confound such interpretations, implying connections between unrelated groups. Due to their reductive nature, stone artefacts are unusually prone to this chance appearance of similar forms in unrelated populations. Here we present data from the South African Middle Stone Age sites Uitpanskraal 7 and Mertenhof suggesting that Nubian core reduction systems associated with Late Pleistocene populations in North Africa and potentially with early human migrations out of Africa in MIS 5 also occur in southern Africa during early MIS 3 and with no clear connection to the North African occurrence. The timing and spatial distribution of their appearance in southern and northern Africa implies technological convergence, rather than diffusion or dispersal. While lithic technologies can be a critical guide to human population flux, their utility in tracing early human dispersals at large spatial and temporal scales with stone artefact types remains questionable.     

旧石器时代早期石制品分析方案

本文提出一种应用于旧石器时代早期石制品研究的分析方案。本方案以宏观分析方法为主,不包括同样重要的微观分析方法,主要应用于旧石器时代早期石制品的技术-类型学分析,不涉及特定地区和特殊石制品的讨论。在旧大陆旧石器时代早期石器研究中,鉴于学者们使用的技术学与类型学分析方案总体相似,我们认为在研究中使用标准化的分析方案会提高地区间石器面貌的可比性,并有助于理解旧石器时代早期旧大陆古人类的技术行为模式。从这个角度出发,本文将回顾旧石器时代早期石器研究的主要理论和方法,并提出分析视角和术语建议,希望有助于研究中对描述剥片类、废片类、锤击工具、拼合工具和传统石制品的测量与绘图惯例。     

The fragmented character of Middle Palaeolithic stone tool technology

The importance of the transport of stone artefacts in structuring Neandertal lithic assemblages has often been addressed, but the degree to which this led to fragmentation of lithic reduction over Middle Palaeolithic landscapes has not been explicitly studied thus far. Large-scale excavations of Middle Palaeolithic open-air sites and refitting studies of the retrieved assemblages have yielded new, high-resolution data on the mobile aspects of Neandertal stone tool technology. In this paper, we integrate lithic technology and raw material data from recent studies of Middle Palaeolithic open-air and rock shelter sites in Western Europe. We demonstrate that the results of a variety of typological, technological (especially refitting), and lithological studies have important consequences for our knowledge of the acquisition of raw materials and subsequent production, usage and discard of stone artefacts in the Middle Palaeolithic. Neandertal production and use of stone tools was fragmented in three domains: the spatial, the temporal and the social domain. We show that this versatile segmentation of stone artefact handling strategies is a main determinant of the character of the Neandertal archaeological record. Our data testify to ubiquitous and continuous transport of stone artefacts of a wide variety of forms, picked by Neandertals using selection criteria that were sometimes far removed from what archaeologists have traditionally considered, and to some degree still consider, to be desired end products of knapping activities. The data presented here testify to the variability and versatility of Middle Palaeolithic stone tool technology, whose fragmented character created very heterogeneous archaeological assemblages, usually the product of a wide variety of independent import, use, discard and/or subsequent transport events.     

Microevolutionary change in Arikara Crania: a multivariate analysis

Measurements of human crania from five archaeological sites were subjected to canonical analysis. The five sites form a temporal sequence, ranging from prehistoric (ca. 1600 A.D.) to late historic (1830 A.D.), and belonging archaeologically to the Coalescent Tradition, which in South Dakota encompasses the historic Arikara Indians and their prehistoric ancestors. One canonical variate in each sex arranges the sites in their appropriate temporal sequence, presumably reflecting systematic microevolutionary change. The hypothesis that the morphological change resulted from gene flow from either White or Mandan Indian sources was tested using a two-group discriminate function. The function is found to effectively discriminate a Mandan sample and prehistoric Arikara, but becomes progressively less effective on the historic Arikara crania. This would suggest that Mandan gene flow into Arikara populations is responsible for the observed temporal variation. A similar analysis using British White crania suggests the possibility of slight White influence, but the effect is minimal compared to Mandan.     

The Study of Archaeologically Recovered Plant Materials from the Middle Missouri Subarea

Abstract

Archaeologists working in the Middle Missouri have traditionally relied heavily on historic patterns of hunting and gardening in the interpretation of data. This practice is briefly reviewed and related to the traditionally recovered plant remains. Several recent collection of large-seeded Iva and Helianthus are reported. Problems involving the interpretation of the more recent collections are discussed.