Of Dice and Women: Gambling and Exchange in Native North America

Although archaeologists have had success in documenting the movement and distribution of trade goods, they often fail to specify the actual social mechanisms by which such goods are shunted across archaeological landscapes. A thesis is developed that in Native North America gambling was one common mechanism for intergroup exchange. Particular attention is paid to dice games that, according to ethnographic accounts, were often played primarily by women. Building upon the pioneering compilation by Stewart Culin, game paraphernalia, playing rules, as well as odds and payoffs associated with wagering are described and mapped. The social and mythological contexts of dice games are also reviewed. Results indicate that making hitherto neglected links among exchange, gender, and gambling promises novel and more culturally informed ways of approaching the archaeological record.     

ROUTINE MAGIC,MUNDANE RITUAL: TOWARDS A UNIFIED NOTION OF DEPOSITIONAL PRACTICE

This article seeks to advance ongoing discussions within archaeology concerning the relationship between ritual and depositional practices. Previous researchers have argued that ‘structured’ or ‘placed’ deposits are the result of ritual activities, but also that in many societies the disposal of refuse is governed by social ‘rules’. Distinguishing ‘technical’ actions such as rubbish disposal from deliberately ‘placed’ deposits is extremely difficult, however, and reinforces modern dualistic thought. Instead, this article argues that there was a continuum of practices from formal and ritualized events through to small‐scale, informal acts undertaken on a routine basis, including everyday refuse discard. It also questions purely utilitarian interpretations of storage structures. Drawing on ethnographic and ethnohistorical examples, it explores case studies from the later prehistoric and Romano‐British periods of north central England, and concludes by proposing methodologies through which these practices can be explored more fully in the future.     

Where the garbage goes: Refuse disposal in the Maya Highlands

Secondary refuse disposal behavior is structured by three major concerns in the Maya Highlands: economy of effort, potential value of refuse, and potential hindrance by refuse. According to the needs of each household and the nature of the refuse, material slated for discard may be sorted and dumped in separate locations, within or outside compounds. Archaeologists should be aware of this refuse structure in seeking specific types of refuse as well as in comparing refuse from households, or other types of excavational units. At the household level, recognition of the toft area (the area immediately surrounding the household and related outbuildings) is especially important in acquiring representative samples of “hard” types of refuse. Analysis of neighborhood dumps is strongly advocated as one of the more economical, meaningful, and representative ways of dealing with refuse accumulations. Because of several randomizing and dispersive processes operating at the household level, as well as sample size considerations, simple diversity measures are recommended for comparing household assemblages.     

The Direct Historical Approach, Analogical Reasoning, and Theory in Americanist Archaeology

Prior to the early 1950s, Americanist archaeologists, given their interest in chronology, routinely searched for direct historical connections between ethnographically documented cultures and archaeological cultures. In those instances where clear evolutionary connections existed between ethnographic and prehistoric cultures, the ethnic affinities of the latter could be assessed, chronologies of prehistoric cultures could be built, and ethnographic descendant cultures could be used as analogs of prehistoric ancestral cultures. The latter became known as specific historical analogy, and it stands in contrast to general comparative analogy, in which no detectable evolutionary connection exists between archaeological subjects and ethnographic sources. The theory underpinning the use of specific historical analogs is Darwinian evolutionism, or descent with modification; thus similarities between ethnographic sources and archaeological subjects are homologous. By midcentury, with the problem of chronology behind them, archaeologists began to address anthropological concerns. Darwinian evolutionism was replaced by the theory of orthogenesis as an explanation of culture change, and concomitantly specific historical analogy was replaced by general comparative analogy, in which similarities between ethnographic sources and archaeological subjects are the result of convergence. For over a century anthropologists and archaeologists have mixed elements of the two theories.     

Harvesting molluscs in the Eneolithic: a study of freshwater bivalve accumulations from the tell settlements of Borduşani-Popină and Hârşova (Romania, 5th millennium BC)

Freshwater bivalve shells are frequently identified in faunal assemblages from Neo-Eneolithic tell settlements along the Danube River valley in South-East Romania (5th millennium BC). Up until now, significant accumulations of freshwater bivalve shells have been identified only in household refuse areas of the settlements, where they form consistent shell layers. The origin and formation of such shell accumulations and, more generally, the role of bivalves in the animal economy of the prehistoric populations that inhabited the settlements, are poorly understood. Two freshwater bivalve shell accumulations were studied in household refuse areas of Eneolithic tell settlements, one at Bordu?ani-Popin? and the other at Hâr?ova tell. The occurrence of similar accumulations in the two settlements indicates generalized practices between the two communities. This first study of such accumulations addresses the relationship between bivalves and other animal species used in alimentation by the two Eneolithic communities, as well as the relationships between these communities, their environment, and the evolution of the settlements. Bivalves were harvested in the close vicinity of the settlements and large quantities were obtained only towards the end of the summer season. During this season there is an inverse relationship between high water levels in the river and the availability of bivalves for harvesting. Bivalves played an important role in the alimentation of the prehistoric populations – at Hâr?ova tell their contribution to alimentation in terms of energetic yield surpasses that of fish, at least for the short period of time represented by the stratigraphic sequence analysed. Bivalve shells were used, along with other types of household refuse, in construction techniques aimed at limiting soil humidity in the settlements and inside the dwellings.     

6. FROM DECOLONIAL INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGES TO VERNACULAR IDEAS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

Relations between humans and orangutans in present-day Malaysia show the historiographic and ethnographic problem of using the term “Indigenous knowledge.” Iban and Malay relationships with nonhuman animals are intersubjective and informed by particular subject formations, and indigeneity explains only one kind of relation. To analyze their relations simply in terms of decolonial Indigenous knowledge would be a culturally imperialist act from the Americas: decoloniality is specific to the development of racialization in the West via white settler colonialism, antiblack enslavement, and anti-Indigenous exploitation and genocide. Instead, this article draws from southern African historical sources and Southeast Asian ethnographic sources to advocate a historiography and ethnography of vernaculars, both vernacular knowledge and vernacular ignorance, in order to avoid autochthonous and potentially xenophobic claims.     

Major Fallacies Surrounding Stone Artifacts and Assemblages

While lithic objects can potentially inform us about past adaptations and behaviors, it is important to develop a comprehensive understanding of all of the various processes that influence what we recover from the archaeological record. We argue here that many assumptions used by archaeologists to derive behavioral inferences through the definition, conceptualization, and interpretation of both individual stone artifact forms and groups of artifacts identified as assemblages do not fit squarely with what we have learned from both ethnographic sources and analyses of archaeological materials. We discuss this in terms of two fallacies. The first is the fallacy of the “desired end product” in stone artifact manufacture, which also includes our ability to recognize such end products. The second fallacy has to do with the notions that lithic assemblages represent simple accumulations of contemporary behaviors and the degree to which the composition of the depositional units we study reliably match the kinds of activities that took place. Although it is beyond the scope of this paper to offer a comprehensive set of new methodologies and theoretical perspectives to solve these problems, our goal here is to stress the importance of rethinking some of our most basic assumptions regarding the nature of lithic objects and how they become part of the archaeological record. Such a revision is needed if we want to be able to develop research questions that can be addressed with the data we have available to us.     

Neotaphonomic measures of carnivore serial predation at Ngamo Pan as an analog for interpreting open-air faunal assemblages

Here I present a neotaphonomic account of natural bone accumulations that have resulted from carnivore serial predation at Ngamo Pan, a vast complex of seasonal water holes located in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. Reconstructing the taphonomic histories of faunal assemblages from open-air archaeological sites is burdened with a host of interpretive complications, and this study is offered as a referential means for evaluating instances where stone tools and bone accumulations are associated in apparent archaeological contexts. While the presence of stone tools implies some involvement on the part of humans, open-air sites near water would also have served as prime locations for serial predation by large carnivores to ambush prey—a situation that, over time, can mimic archaeological bone accumulations. The taphonomic and zooarchaeological signatures of carnivore serial predation at Ngamo Pan show marked similarities with the open-air faunal accumulation from Kalkbank, a late Pleistocene site in Limpopo Province, South Africa, located along the margins of a relict pan. Many potential archaeological sites within the interior of southern Africa dating to the Middle Stone Age are known from open-air settings near permanent or ephemeral bodies of water, and the ability to decipher between hominin and non-hominin carnivore involvement with bone accumulations is paramount in determining the hunting and scavenging behaviors of our early ancestors. As much of our understanding of hominin subsistence during the Middle Stone Age is drawn from coastal cave locations, this study is intended to encourage a broadening of our perspective on the taphonomic histories of faunal accumulations dating to the Middle Stone Age by incorporating supplementary evidence provided by these open-air sites.     

Assessing Methodologies in Archaeological Ethnography: A Case for Incorporating Ethnographic Training in Graduate Archaeology Curricula

Abstract

Archaeologists have increasingly turned to ethnography as a tool for understanding the contemporary social context of material culture, archaeological practice, and ‘de-colonizing’ archaeology. Furthermore, ethnographers have turned their analysis to the practice of archaeology, providing insights into key ethical dilemmas. This work has produced signi?cant dialogue, demonstrating the potential for research and collaboration at the interface of two sub-disciplines. However, much of the research to date has relied on a limited range of ethnographic methods. We suggest that archaeologists working in this area would bene?t from using a wider repertoire of ethnographic data collection tools and ethics training opportunities. We advocate for greater collaboration between archaeologists and ethnographers and provide suggestions on methods that are well-suited for use in archaeological practice. In the long term, the most effective and far-reaching solution may be to incorporate ethnographic methods training as fundamental to graduate programmes in archaeology.     

The Definition of Spatial Units in Middle Palaeolithic Sites: The Hearth-Related Assemblages

This paper deals with hearth-related accumulations in Middle Palaeolithic sites. Spatial behaviour is a key to understanding the cultural capabilities of ancient hominids. Ethnoarchaeological and archaeological research has shown that hearth-related assemblages are a basic feature in the spatial behaviour of modern and prehistoric hunter–gatherers. In this paper, we propose a methodology for analysing archaeological accumulations and study a series of hearth-related assemblages from the Abric Romanı́ Middle Palaeolithic site (Capellades, Spain). We also analyse the degree of contemporaneity between the different activity episodes documented at each archaeological accumulation. Our results suggest that the characteristics of domestic areas in this site are not substantially different from those observed in ethnoarchaeological contexts and Upper Palaeolithic sites.     

Evidence of an Eleventh-Century AD Cola Nitida Trade into the Middle Niger Region

Kola nut (Cola cf. nitida) and Safou fruit (Dacryodes edulis) remains have been discovered in eleventh- to fourteenth-century archaeological contexts at Togu Missiri near Ségou in Mali. These remains are evidence of early trade in perishable foodstuffs from the West African forest zone into the Middle Niger region. On the basis of these finds, this paper argues that long-distance trade links were well established by the end of the first millennium AD. It thereby supports the hypothesis that dates the inception of trade between the West African forest zone and the savanna regions to the first millennium AD. The circumstances of the find are discussed, as are the implications for our understanding of the wider exchange network based on the Niger River system in the late first and early second millennium CE.

     

Processing ochre in the Middle Stone Age: Testing the inference of prehistoric behaviours from actualistically derived experimental data

The increase in the presence of ‘ochre’ in African Middle Stone Age contexts has been employed, together with changes in human biology and behaviour, to support the hypothesis that ‘modern’ cognitive abilities arose in Africa. The consistent exploitation of ochre is interpreted as evidence for colour symbolism, a proxy for the origin of language and a defining aspect of ‘modern’ human behaviour. That humans attached considerable symbolic value to red ochres in particular is illustrated by ethnographic examples. Research has shown that wear patterns indicative of abrasive processing methods prevail, but many archaeological specimens also exhibit wear traces not derived from grinding or scraping alone. Building on former research, I present here the results of an experimental study devised to infer the methods employed to extract powder from ochre during the African Middle Stone Age. The prospect of ascertaining at least some of the likely uses to which ochre may have been put, is also explored. I conclude that functional data derived from actualistic experiments can be used to enhance our understanding of some aspects of prehistoric behaviour.     

Cabeza de Vaca's land of maize: an assessment of its agriculture

The inhabitants of eastern Sonora were reported by the Spaniards to be more populous and culturally more advanced than other groups in northern México and the southern portion of the American Southwest at the time of Spanish contact. They were also reported to have possessed a well developed agricultural complex. In spite of their achievements, the ancient people of this region have been the subject of few studies because of perceived data limitations. Although they are sparse, data are sufficient to reconstruct the agricultural base. Historical documentations, archaeological remains, and ethnographic analogs indicate that these people relied on a variety of cultivars and agricultural techniques. In addition to dry farming maize, beans, and squash, they also double cropped and irrigated through intricate canal systems. With such elaborate practices and techniques, enough was produced to feed a population of nearly 100,000 and to support a culture that was the only one in the region to be at its zenith when the Spaniards arrived.     

Ethnographic Clay Sourcing Practices: Insights for Archaeological Assemblage Interpretations

This paper uses examples of ethnographic clay sourcing strategies from coastal and central Kenyan communities (Digo, Jomvu, Chonyi, Tigania and Mbeere), and potsherds from the Manda archaeological site in Kenya (seventh-fourteenth centuries AD), to illustrate archaeological clay variability and discuss cultural and social behaviour which may contribute to paste inconsistences in an archaeological assemblage. I demonstrate that while function and environmental constraints influence the potters’ decision in the selection of clay sources/treatment, the choice may also be influenced by other factors such as aesthetics, which are dependent on the values of the customer, and in some cases, societal taboos. I also argue that clay sources are not always indicators of production centres, and that heterogeneity and homogeneity in paste composition could imply production centres and customer homesteads respectively.     

Identification and assessment of secondary refuse aggregates

Secondary refuse contains a wealth of information on the people who generated it. This article identifies some means by which archaeologists can identify and characterize secondary refuse aggregates — localized, high-density deposits of artifacts that have been discarded away from their place of use. A variety of studies of archaeological deposits — from prehistoric and historical archaeology, ethnoarchaeology, and modern material culture studies — provides hypotheses and a comparative database for discussion. I suggest that socioeconomic and demographic factors operating in a society greatly affect the composition of secondary refuse aggregates and propose some hypotheses regarding the directions and magnitudes of these relationships.     

The Production and Exchange of Marine Shell Prestige Goods

Marine shell ornaments have several characteristics that make them significant for archaeological analysis. Made from a raw material valued by cultures throughout the world and imbued with water, life, health, and fertility symbolism, shell objects have functioned as prestige goods. Shell prestige goods circulated between individuals, groups, and societies and materialized interpersonal relationships, making them valuable for archaeologists shifting focus from objects to the people in past societies. Shell ornaments had multiple roles, including ornamentation, wealth, marking status, and as ritual paraphernalia, and had varying symbolic associations even within a society. The rich ethnographic literature on shell use provides a source for archaeological model building. Marine shell artifacts often moved between societies and across long distances, offering a way for archaeologists to explore regional relationships and the interactions between ancient societies. To do this requires using several scales of analysis to investigate archaeological residues of a system that includes marine shell ornaments, the social organization of their production and exchange, and the people who made, displayed, and circulated them.     

Shell morphometry of seven limpet species from coastal shell middens in southern Africa

Measurements of shell parts and features (elements) of marine limpets can be used to derive morphometric equations for estimating total shell lengths. This is demonstrated for seven limpet species commonly found on the southern African coast. The equations can be used to reconstruct whole shell lengths for highly fragmented limpet samples in prehistoric shell middens. A linear regression model is based on measurements of all shell elements, resulting in high coefficients of determination with excellent predictive power in most cases. These morphometric equations would enable archaeologists to derive more metrical information from fragmentary archaeological material than was previously the case. We also present a case study where morphometric equations of two limpet species are applied to an archaeological sample from the South African west coast for the purpose of investigating possible biases in limpet shell preservation. We conclude that small whole limpet shells survive longer than the bigger ones in this particular case, but that many more such case studies need to be conducted in order to fully understand differential preservation of southern African limpet shells in archaeological sites.     

Stratigraphic and spatial variability in shell middens: microfacies identification at the ethnohistoric site Tunel VII (Tierra del Fuego,Argentina)

Based on ethnographic accounts from the eighteenth to the twentieth century, functional areas have been identified within Fueginian shell middens. In this context, archaeological microfacies acquire a functional meaning when the microscopic record is compared to information gathered from ethnology, macroscopic observations made during excavation, and experimental modern analogues. All these lines of evidence were combined for the first time at Tunel VII, an eighteenth/nineteenth century shell midden occupied repeatedly by Yamana people, the last hunter–gatherer–fisher groups of the Beagle Channel. The sampling strategy involved three sets of samples: (1) two stratigraphical columns taken from the hut “entrance” and from a portion of the shell midden (i.e., the surrounding refuse shell ring), (2) thin sections from five hearths representing successive phases of frequentation of the hut, and (3) experimental burnt valves of Mytilus edulis, the main malacological component of the site. Comparison of microfacies from groups (1) and (2) provided microscopic indicators to distinguish between shell dumping areas and occupation surfaces. Comparison of microfacies within columns from group (1) allowed recognizing periods of site abandonment and periods of more intense/longer site frequentation. The experimental samples from M. edulis served as a reference to characterize the five central hearths in terms of maximum burning temperatures reached. Different burning structures were correlated to the season of hut frequentation and to their location (and function) within different portions of the hut. The intra-site micromorphological comparison strategy within a well-documented ethnohistorical context provides valuable indicators for the identification of functional areas in archaeological contexts when ethnographical information is not available.     

Material Culture and Indigenous Spiritism: the Katamansu Archaeological “Otutu” (Shrine)

Through the integration of oral history and ethnographic and historical data with archaeological evidence, attempts have been made to understand and reconstruct the settlement history of Katamansu, a late eighteenth-century historic town located on the Accra Plains of Ghana. Two seasons of archaeological excavations at the Koowule site of the town yielded some evidence of the 1826 Battle of Katamansu, a battle that was fought on the site between the Asante and the Ga and their coastal allies of the Gold Coast. The excavations also yielded two spectacular features, whose configuration and content appear to be the remains of a shrine of the Ga people. The features correlate well with ethnographic parallels described by Margaret Field, an anthropologist, in her research on the religion and medicine of the Ga in the 1930s. This paper presents the historical and material evidence of the 1826 battle as well as the analysis of the shrine contents. The shrine features provide insights into an archaeological shrine's mundane materiality. They also expose how local (Neolithic and historic) and European artifacts were recrafted and imbued with medicinal, magical, and spiritual properties to possibly cure and impress patients and supplicants in shrine ritual practices.     

Activity-induced musculoskeletal stress markers (MSM) and subsistence strategy changes among ancient Hudson Bay Eskimos

Although archaeological evidence may express the results of several seasons of activity, the human skeleton, when correlated with archaeological and ethnographic data, provides information concerning daily activities performed throughout an individual's lifetime. Studies in occupational and sports medicine, along with electromyographic analysis of movement, have shown that different activities place different amounts of stress on human bone. In the present study, analysis of upper extremity musculoskeletal stress markers (MSM) has been used to clarify habitual activity patterns of two ancient Thule Eskimo groups from northwest Hudson Bay, Canada. Distinct pattern differences in muscle use occurred between Thule adult males and females and suggest possible gender-specific activity patterns that are not always discernible from the archaeological record alone. Temporal applications of the MSM data for Early and Late Period Thule support McCartney's theory of a substantial change in subsistence strategies through time, particularly among the adult males.