{"title":"Hunter-gatherer immediate-return systems: A case study from the mid-Holocene Elk Head site, Big Horn Basin, Wyoming","authors":"Craig S. Smith","doi":"10.1080/00320447.2020.1769536","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00320447.2020.1769536","url":null,"abstract":"The classification of hunter-gatherer societies as immediate-return or delayed-return offers a framework to explore variation in their adaptive strategies. Immediate-return societies would have evidence of limited food storage, sharing of resources, and high residential mobility. Archaeological attributes of an immediate-return society include the absence of formal storage facilities, artifact refits among dwellings indicating the sharing of resources, circular dwellings of small diameter, closely spaced dwellings, low density of artifacts without middens, low diversity of tools, generalized tools, and bifacial tools. The Elk Head site in the Big Horn Basin of Wyoming provides an excellent opportunity to test the hypothesis that the site represents an immediate-return system. The results indicate that households at the site followed a variation of an immediate return adaptive strategy. The site inhabitants constructed basin dwellings in anticipation of later reuse and probably baked geophytes, mostly for immediate consumption as an adaptation to the dry mid-Holocene climate.","PeriodicalId":35520,"journal":{"name":"Plains Anthropologist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00320447.2020.1769536","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41876779","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Obituary, Robert W. Neuman (1930–2019)","authors":"K. Byrd","doi":"10.1080/00320447.2020.1736744","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00320447.2020.1736744","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":35520,"journal":{"name":"Plains Anthropologist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00320447.2020.1736744","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43513005","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Refining chronology for surface collections: A new adaptation of morphological dichotomous keys for the Plains Typology and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem","authors":"Rachel Reckin, L. Todd","doi":"10.1080/00320447.2019.1611022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00320447.2019.1611022","url":null,"abstract":"This paper uses new lithic research with well-dated stratified collections from the foothills of the Absaroka Mountains and adjacent Bighorn Basin to build a dichotomous key for chronologically classifying points in the northern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) as Late Prehistoric (200–1,500 cal BP), Late Archaic (1,500–3,200 cal BP), Middle Archaic (3,200–5,700 cal BP), Early Archaic (5,700–8,500 cal BP) or Paleoindian (8,500–12,000 cal BP). The Plains Typology, which is currently used throughout the GYE, has never been formally based on points with affiliated absolute dates. Further, it has always been unclear how well this typology functions in the mountains of the GYE. Based on detailed attributes from over 600 points, including Mummy Cave (48PA201), a foundational chronology for the region, we build a key intended for use with fragmentary surface collections. We then use this key to consider variation in high elevation projectile points from the Beartooth and Absaroka Mountains.","PeriodicalId":35520,"journal":{"name":"Plains Anthropologist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00320447.2019.1611022","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46072424","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Ambrose Bierce’s Indian inscriptions: Pictographic records of Indian-White conflict along the Bozeman Trail","authors":"J. Keyser, Linea Sundstrom","doi":"10.1080/00320447.2019.1605476","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00320447.2019.1605476","url":null,"abstract":"Western History is often understood primarily from the perspective of the United States westward expansion as reflected in the concept of manifest destiny. Rarely do we have the opportunity to view this period through the eyes of native artists who were fighting to maintain ownership of their ancestral lands. These two historical currents came together in 1866 with the Hazen Expedition, when the expedition’s cartographer, Ambrose Bierce, recorded two “Indian inscriptions” that were first-hand accounts of indigenous groups’ efforts to combat westward expansion of different non-native peoples. Although the native groups ultimately failed in this effort, these narrative vignettes provide first-hand testimony to their effort to maintain control of the Powder River Basin and surrounding regions in the face of a variety of intrusive elements. As a part of the Biographic art tradition, both sites appear to have been left as “calling cards,” a recently recognized site type whose purpose was to taunt defeated enemies with an unmistakable message detailing the artist’s bravery and audacity in invading their territory.","PeriodicalId":35520,"journal":{"name":"Plains Anthropologist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00320447.2019.1605476","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42115350","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Microblade technology, obsidian sourcing, and the Cody complex in early Holocene Alberta","authors":"M. Magne, R. Hughes, Todd J. Kristensen","doi":"10.1080/00320447.2019.1615402","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00320447.2019.1615402","url":null,"abstract":"Despite being an ephemeral presence in Plains archaeological assemblages, the distribution and technical specificity of early Holocene (Denali complex) microblade technology makes it readily identifiable and comparable to similarly-aged Paleoindian projectile point occurrences. In this paper we review the co-occurrence of Denali and Cody complex materials in Alberta, in particular the obsidian and Knife River Flint (KRF) artifacts of these two early Holocene archaeological complexes, employing both lab-based (EDXRF) and portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) analyses. A strong pattern is revealed of southern (Wyoming, Idaho, North Dakota) obsidian sources being limited to southern Alberta microblade and Cody artifacts while northern obsidian sources in British Columbia are only attributed to artifact assemblages from northwestern Alberta and northern British Columbia. Northeastern British Columbia and most of Alberta were ice free at 11,000–10,000 cal BP, and Denali-related artifacts across the deglaciated corridor area indicate southward movement of this technology at a time when the region was also being more broadly and intensively utilized by people using Cody complex technology. We offer scenarios to explain Denali and Cody complexes’ archaeological co-occurrence, while recognizing technical issues in pXRF source identification.","PeriodicalId":35520,"journal":{"name":"Plains Anthropologist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00320447.2019.1615402","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44185555","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Set in stone: Re-examining stone feature distribution and form on the Northwestern Plains","authors":"Lindsay M. Amundsen-Meyer, J. Leyden","doi":"10.1080/00320447.2020.1716921","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00320447.2020.1716921","url":null,"abstract":"Recently, Reeves and Kennedy [(2017) Stone Feature Types as Observed at Ceremonial Site Complexes on the Lower Red Deer and the Forks of the Red Deer and South Saskatchewan Rivers with Ethnohistorical Discussion. Saskatchewan Archaeological Society, Saskatoon] identified a series of what they argue are unique stone feature types in the Forks area, near the village of Empress in southeastern Alberta. These researchers assert that, to their knowledge, no similar stone features exist in southwestern Alberta. They suggest that this regional difference in distribution and their absence from Blackfoot territory in southwestern Alberta indicates that they were created by the Gros Ventre as part of a distinct ceremonial practice. We examine Reeves and Kennedy’s feature types and provide examples of most from southwestern Alberta along the foothills front. We then examine the hypothesis of a Gros Ventre affiliation for these features and discuss how the evidence from southwestern Alberta informs this hypothesis and larger questions of ethnicity. While some of these stone features may have been created by the ancestral Gros Ventre, it appears others were most likely created by ancestral Blackfoot groups as part of their own cultural practice. This is supported by the presence of these feature types in southwestern Alberta and their consistent association with important landmarks and named places in the Blackfoot cultural landscape.","PeriodicalId":35520,"journal":{"name":"Plains Anthropologist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00320447.2020.1716921","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"58930970","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Archaeological Perspectives on Warfare on the Great Plains","authors":"M. Allen","doi":"10.1080/00320447.2019.1634912","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00320447.2019.1634912","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":35520,"journal":{"name":"Plains Anthropologist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00320447.2019.1634912","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47990560","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Pawnee vessel function and ceramic persistence: Reconstructed vessels from the Burkett, Barcal, Linwood, Bellwood, and Horse Creek sites","authors":"Margaret E. Beck","doi":"10.1080/00320447.2019.1707852","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00320447.2019.1707852","url":null,"abstract":"During the AD 1750–1850 period, Pawnee households in the Central Plains made and used ceramic vessels less frequently than Arikara and Hidatsa households in the Northern Plains. Here I explore Pawnee vessel function and ceramic persistence during the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries through measurements and use-alteration analysis of 15 reconstructed jars from five Pawnee or ancestral Pawnee sites. These data indicate that ancestral Pawnee households stopped designing or using ceramics for cooking by the end of the Lower Loup phase, approximately AD 1750, although ceramic vessels were used for liquid storage and ritual practice into the early 1800s. The reasons why Pawnee women stopped cooking in ceramic vessels in the mid-eighteenth century, perhaps a century earlier than Arikara and Hidatsa women to the north, are probably linked to epidemic impacts and economic decisions about bison hide production for European trade.","PeriodicalId":35520,"journal":{"name":"Plains Anthropologist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00320447.2019.1707852","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42803180","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Plant remains and associated insects from the Millipede site (13ML361), a burned earthlodge in southwest Iowa","authors":"W. Green, R. Schirmer, W. Billeck","doi":"10.1080/00320447.2019.1585409","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00320447.2019.1585409","url":null,"abstract":"The Millipede site is a Nebraska variant (Central Plains tradition) lodge dating to ca. AD 1300. The structure had burned, preserving a rich array of plant remains and insects. Elm was the principal wood used in lodge construction and hophornbeam (ironwood) was also heavily employed. Maize (mostly 10-row) was plentiful, and common beans also were present. Over 3,600 goosefoot (Chenopodium cf. berlandieri) seeds were recovered, most of which derive from a domesticated variety. Other abundant native domesticated plants included sumpweed and tobacco. Charred insect larvae, mostly darkling beetles (false wireworms), were associated with food remains in the bottom of an open storage pit and on the lodge floor. We conclude that the lodge’s residents vacated and intentionally burned the structure. Insect infestation may have contributed to the residents’ decision to burn the lodge, but burning also might have formed part of a closing ritual associated with decommissioning the dwelling.","PeriodicalId":35520,"journal":{"name":"Plains Anthropologist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00320447.2019.1585409","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43313901","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}