Evolutionary Ecology,Resource Depression,and Niche Construction Theory: Applications to Central California Hunter-Gatherers and Mimbres-Mogollon Agriculturalists

Evolutionary ecology is a theoretical framework that has been widely applied to problems in human evolution and prehistory. Because the approach often focuses on how behavioral adjustments to changing socio-ecological conditions create novel selective pressures that in turn drive other changes in morphology and behavior, it draws on the same evolutionary logic that underlies niche construction theory. We illustrate here the important role that niche construction has played in archaeological applications of evolutionary ecology with two detailed case studies: one from Late Holocene hunter-gatherer populations in Central California and one from Mimbres-Mogollon agriculturalists in New Mexico. These examples illustrate that evolutionary ecology-based approaches, with an emphasis on formal predictive modeling, allow for the incorporation of niche construction as it affects model parameters with reference to specific problems involving past behavior. Further modeling and empirical applications will expand the synergies between these complementary approaches and advance our understanding of the human past.     

A human-centered GIS approach to modeling mobility on southern Baffin Island,Nunavut, Canada

Southern Baffin Island has been occupied for several millennia, but its enormous size, coupled with scarcity of identified inland archaeological sites that can be confidently linked to coastal occupations, makes modeling ancient seasonal mobility across the region through traditional cost-surface least-cost pathway approaches impractical. We present a method that combines weighted multi-criteria cost surface analysis with a watershed function to create a “mobility-shed” of non-winter travel pathways covering the study area. We evaluate the predictive utility of the resulting pathways for future archaeological survey by assessing their spatial relationships to known archaeological sites. The results of this comparison suggest that elevation and land cover criteria should be augmented with ethnographic and resource availability data to model mobility in this region.     

An ethnoarchaeological inductive model for predicting archaeological site location: A case-study of pastoral settlement patterns in the Val di Fiemme and Val di Sole (Trentino,Italian Alps)

In this paper I propose a novel integration of inductive predictive modelling and ethnoarchaeology. The case study concerns seasonal upland pastoral settlement patterns in the eastern Italian Alps. A sample of modern pastoral sites has been selected, and their relationships with environmental variables have been analyzed in order to create a model to predict the location of archaeological upland pastoral sites. The model has been tested with modern and archaeological control samples. It has proved to be useful for predicting the location of specific site categories. Ethnoarchaeological fieldwork has been carried out in the same alpine sample area, which has enhanced the interpretative potential of the proposed model, suggesting that the spatial of the analyzed sites could well be related to their dairying function. The creation of ethnoarchaeological locational models with a predictive potential may be very important not only in helping to tackle some theoretical and methodological problems in predictive modelling, but also in enhancing the importance of ethnoarchaeology in landscape archaeology projects.     

Sequential, Bayesian Geostatistics: A Principled Method for Large Data Sets

The principled statistical application of Gaussian random field models used in geostatistics has historically been limited to data sets of a small size. This limitation is imposed by the requirement to store and invert the covariance matrix of all the samples to obtain a predictive distribution at unsampled locations, or to use likelihood-based covariance estimation. Various ad hoc approaches to solve this problem have been adopted, such as selecting a neighborhood region and/or a small number of observations to use in the kriging process, but these have no sound theoretical basis and it is unclear what information is being lost. In this article, we present a Bayesian method for estimating the posterior mean and covariance structures of a Gaussian random field using a sequential estimation algorithm. By imposing sparsity in a well-defined framework, the algorithm retains a subset of " basis vectors " that best represent the " true " posterior Gaussian random field model in the relative entropy sense. This allows a principled treatment of Gaussian random field models on very large data sets. The method is particularly appropriate when the Gaussian random field model is regarded as a latent variable model, which may be nonlinearly related to the observations. We show the application of the sequential, sparse Bayesian estimation in Gaussian random field models and discuss its merits and drawbacks.     

The Social Production of Latin@ Visibilities and Invisibilities: Geographies of Power in Small Town America

This paper explores the sociospatial dynamics unfolding in Perry, a rural Iowa town that has been facing rapid change since the 1990s due to growing Latin@ settlement. We focus on what we call the social production of Latin@ visibilities and invisibilities: spatialized practices by individuals, families, communities, and institutions that render different Latin@ groups visible or invisible, with repercussions for survival, community integration, and political praxis. We discuss the border within as an extension of border politics and borderlands rhetorics to the US “heartland”, and how the entrenchment of a regime of deportability creates racialized and gendered conditions for the in/visibility of Latin@ immigrants and Latin@s more broadly. We conclude by considering some of the theoretical and political implications of our analysis for such geographies of power and the social relations, locations, and discourses that constitute and are constituted by them.     

Ancient Egypt in Brazil: A Theoretical Approach to Contemporary Uses of the Past

In this paper we consider archaeology as a product of social interaction, and discuss how ancient Egyptian materiality has been an important part of identity building in Brazil. We begin by reviewing our theoretical setting, and suggest that a postmodern approach is most helpful to our goal of understanding the social context of the public uses of archaeology. The paper then turns to the trajectory of “Egyptomania” in Brazil, from the 19th century onwards, highlighting the importance of cultural movements such as Kardecism and Masonry in this trend. We argue that the use of Egyptian subjects in Brazil has connections with social inequality, racism, and gender biases. Finally, we present a case study on positive recent trends in the presentation of ancient Egypt in school textbooks which highlights critical approaches to the use of ancient Egyptian subjects in contemporary Brazil.     

The corporate group as an archaeological unit

Although corporate groups have featured in the anthropological literature for a century, and have more recently been proposed as a potentially useful unit for archaeological analysis (L. Freeman, 1968, In Man the hunter, edited by R. Lee and I. De Vore, pp. 262–267. Aldine, Chicago), application of the concept in archaeology has largely remained hypothetical, and little theoretical modeling has been attempted. In spite of this neglect, it is argued here that the corporate group is potentially one of the most useful and important aspects of the archaeological record that can be dealt with. This conclusion is derived from a detailed ethnoar-chaeological analysis of over 150 households in the Maya Highlands, in which it became apparent that social, economic, and demographic characteristics of households were only loosely associated with a wide variety of material culture expressions. In contrast, such inferences seemed to be much more reliable when households were grouped into “hypothetical corporate groups” and group averages were compared. In addition, theoretical considerations based on economics and on interactions also indicate that the analysis of corporate groups shold be more rewarding and potentially more accurate than the analysis of individual households. Archaeologically, corporate groups can be defined where residential coherency and internal hierarchies are demonstrable. Because corporate groups can be viewed as signaling major changes in the structuring of society, and in the evolution of social and political complexity, the investigation of conditions under which corporate groups emerge should be of major theoretical significance to the entire discipline of archaeology. Moreover, because of the close logical links to material culture and the environment, theoretical modeling should be particularly amenable to archaeological testing. In sum, corporate groups provide an unusually fertile problem area which archaeologists can hope to attack with at least a promising degree of success.     

The development of a new geospatial framework for the palaeoanthropological site of the Sterkfontein Caves,Cradle of Humankind,Gauteng, South Africa

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) provide an essential element in modern paleoanthropological inquiry through their ability to integrate a diverse range of data within a multidimensional spatial framework which can be used for data storage, analysis and modeling. One of the challenges of creating such a framework is the integration of legacy and new data (collected with digital technologies) at large sites with a long history of research. The Sterkfontein Caves, located in the Cradle of Humankind, is the richest Australopithecus-bearing locality in the world and has been the focus of intense palaeoanthropological research for the past 80 years. A diverse range of spatial data has been collected over this history and future integrative research necessitates the development of a unified, cohesive 3D GIS framework. In this paper we describe three phases of work undertaken to implement such a framework and discuss the next steps in its development and utilization for spatial analyses.     

A FRAMEWORK FOR REGIONAL MODELING AND IMPACT ANALYSIS: AN ANALYSIS OF THE DEMAND FOR ELECTRICITY BY LARGE MUNICIPALITIES IN ONTARIO,CANADA*

ABSTRACT. We propose a mixed fixed and random coefficients framework for regional modeling. The framework allows the presence of both the region-specific effects and commonality of responses across regions. Bayes solutions for estimating parameters of interest and for generating predictions are derived. Within a Bayesian framework a predictive density approach to evaluate the impact of changes is suggested. We apply the methodology to evaluate the impact of new rate structures on Ontario regional demand for electricity.     

Integrating Delegation into the Policy Theory Literature

Public policy scholars have developed a number of theories of the policymaking process. Their work has come to define what some now refer to as the "policy theory" literature. Our task is to identify theoretical and empirical courses of study that will advance this research program. We limit ourselves to identifying an existing theory that already provides such an advance and discuss some of its theoretical benefits and empirical support. Specifically, we make the case that there exists a well-developed theory of delegation that rivals what we deem to be the best of the existing policy theories. We also suggest that existing theoretical frameworks might benefit from incorporating delegation theory explicitly and conclude that policy research has much to contribute to the development and useful application of delegation models.     

The material culture of the modern world

SUMMARY: We discuss results of a content analysis of material culture articles in Post-Medieval Archaeology in the context of the development of historical archaeology as a discipline. We conclude that the journal remains an important outlet for detailed field reports, but in recent years, influenced by social and anthropological theories, the discipline has matured and articles have changed from antiquarian artefact presentations to contextualized material culture studies. Expansion of the journal’s temporal frame to include the recent past has so far had little effect, but the journal has benefited from the broadened international range of articles and the intellectual and theoretical backgrounds they convey.     

Archaeological Survey of Dynamic Coastal Landscapes and Paleoshorelines: Locating Early Holocene Sites in the Prince Rupert Harbour Area,British Columbia,Canada

We present and test a predictive archaeological survey model that targets early Holocene paleoshorelines in the Prince Rupert Harbour area using LiDAR bare earth digital terrain models and a 15,000-year reconstructed history of relative sea level change. Despite a century of archaeological research in the study area, no sites dating earlier than 6000 cal b.p. had been identified prior to our research. Our field survey identified three early Holocene sites associated with paleoshorelines 7–10?m above current sea level (masl). These locations demonstrate repeated use through the Holocene even as shoreline position changes. We discuss these new data in relation to the early Holocene archaeological record from the rest of the northern Northwest Coast and suggest that the region was ubiquitously occupied by this time and that the lack of recorded early Holocene sites in some areas is likely a result of survey and preservation bias, rather than historical reality.     

Voluntary Environmental Programs: A Canadian Perspective

In light of the increasing number of environmental problems necessitating government's attention and the limited scope and budget for addressing these issues, environmental protection has, and continues to evolve as more flexible approaches to regulation are being sought and embraced by governments throughout the world. Voluntary environmental programs (VEPs) are a pragmatic response by both governments and business to find a more flexible way to protect the environment. We discuss the theoretical motivations for firms to adopt VEPs in general and examine Canada's experience with three types of VEPs, public, negotiated, and unilateral agreements, to assess whether the motivating factors are present. We then argue that the institutional, political, and regulatory framework governing environmental policy in Canada does not provide the conditions necessary to effectively promote superior corporate environmental protection across jurisdictions. Despite the lack of government‐directed VEPs, there has been considerable interest by both the private sector and civil society who have taken the lead by developing unilateral agreements. Using existing literature and our current research, we examine the factors that motivate firms in Canada to participate in unilateral agreements and the characteristics of firms with the higher environmental performance and suggest some policy implications.     

Quotidian geographies: placing feminism

We discuss Susan Hanson's contributions to geography during the 1970s and 1980s through the lens of quotidian geographies, geographies of the everyday. Beginning from our own experiences as graduate students and new faculty members, we describe the social and theoretical context in which Susan published her initial studies of men's and women's activity patterns that examined gender differences in travel behavior and their origins in men's and women's different household responsibilities. We also review her success peopling the discipline of geography. We conclude that human geography has benefited from the incorporation of feminist theory and methods as Susan predicted.     

Equilibrium and Economic Growth: Spatial Econometric Models and Simulations

Neoclassical theory assumes diminishing returns to capital and spatially constant exogenously-determined technological progress, although it is questionable whether these are realistic assumptions for modeling manufacturing productivity growth variations across European Union (E.U.) regions. In contrast, the model developed in this paper assumes increasing returns and spatially varying technical progress, and is linked to endogenous growth theory and particularly to 'new economic geography' theory. Simulations, involving 178 E.U.regions, show that productivity levels and growth rates are higher in all E.U. regions when the financially assisted (Objective 1) regions have faster output growth. This also reduces inequalities in levels of technology. Allowing the core regions to grow faster has a similar effect of raising productivity growth rates across the E.U., although inequality increases. Thus, the simulations are seen as an attempt to develop a type of 'computable geographical equilibrium' model which, as suggested by Fujita, Krugman, and Venables (1999), is the way theoretical economic geography needs to evolve in order to become a predictive discipline.     

REGIONAL PREDICTION OF POPULATION AND ETHNIC PROCESSES

The forecasting of future trends of population, as a key component of spatial systems, has been assuming increasing significance in Soviet planning. The predictive models now being used do not take adequate account of ethnic processes such as changes in ethnic self-identification. Such changes are usually associated with the offspring of mixed marriages, which in turn are a function of the frequency of ethnic contacts. A model is proposed for measuring the theoretical probability of an ethnic group entering into interethnic contacts as a function of its share in the total population of a region. The theoretical curve is tested against the actual share of births in ethnically mixed marriages. The frequency of mixed marriages is also related to a mosaic index of ethnic composition of a region.     

Exploratory Models in a time of Big Data

This paper aims to trigger discourse about the emergence of a new type of social scientific model — Exploratory Models — which draw on Big Data, computer modeling and interdisciplinary research to tackle complex social scientific processes. First, we define Exploratory Models referring to Batty and Morgan and Morrison. We then present changes to the traditional modeling paradigm. We show how Exploratory Models circumvent challenges related to the idiosyncracy, self-reflexivity and acceleration of social phenomena, which limit predictive effectiveness of traditional models. We show that Exploratory Models are better equipped to tackle complex problems due to their capacity to process heterogeneous datasets. Having established that Exploratory Models are predominantly problem- and data-driven, we emphasize that scientific theory is indispensable to their progress. Finally, the development of an integrative platform is suggested as a way of maximizing the benefits of this approach. Discussion concludes by flagging areas for further research.     

Balancing Spatial and Non-Spatial Variation in Varying Coefficient Modeling: A Remedy for Spurious Correlation

This study discusses the importance of balancing spatial and non-spatial variation in spatial regression modeling. Unlike spatially varying coefficients (SVC) modeling, which is popular in spatial statistics, non-spatially varying coefficients (NVC) modeling has largely been unexplored in spatial fields. Nevertheless, as we will explain, consideration of non-spatial variation is needed not only to improve model accuracy but also to reduce spurious correlation among varying coefficients, which is a major problem in SVC modeling. We consider a Moran eigenvector approach modeling spatially and non-spatially varying coefficients (S&NVC). A Monte Carlo simulation experiment comparing our S&NVC model with existing SVC models suggests both modeling accuracy and computational efficiency for our approach. Beyond that, somewhat surprisingly, our approach identifies true and spurious correlations among coefficients nearly perfectly, even when usual SVC models suffer from severe spurious correlations. It implies that S&NVC model should be used even when the analysis purpose is modeling SVCs. Finally, our S&NVC model is employed to analyze a residential land price data set. Its results suggest existence of both spatial and non-spatial variation in regression coefficients in practice. The S&NVC model is now implemented in the R package spmoran.     

Capital Accumulation,Economic Restructuring,and Nonequilibrium Regional Growth Dynamics

Recently, there has been a resurgence of interest in explaining the significance and persistence of regional growth differentials. Much of the debate in contemporary political economy has focussed on the relative importance of either “weak” or “strong” competition in regulating movements in prices, profits, and investments both within and between economic sectors and regions. However, little attention has been directed toward developing theoretical models that are capable of evaluating the relative importance of (non) equilibrating forces in determining the long-run accumulation dynamics of capitalist space economies. In this paper, I develop an approach to modeling regional growth that simultaneously theorizes the link between processes of economic restructuring and regional capital accumulation. I examine the stability properties of this model in order to evaluate the theoretical significance of both equilibrating and nonequilibrating forces in determining the trajectory of regional outputs, profits and employment.