INSIGHTS FROM THE ANALYSIS OF ANGEL MOUNDS POTTERY TROWELS

Archaeologists have recovered pottery trowels in excavations at numerous historic and pre-Columbian archaeological sites in North America since the late nineteenth century. Despite these facts, pottery trowels have not been the subject of thorough scientific analysis or interpretation. In this study, I define and implement a new method of analysis for pottery trowels, using a sample of 188 pottery trowels from the Mississippian site of Angel Mounds (12VG1). After describing the quantitative and qualitative attributes of pottery trowels, I define categories of frequently occurring pottery trowel bell and handle types. The extensive variability of pottery trowel shapes and sizes discovered at Angel Mounds is then discussed with regard to alternative or multiple uses for the tools and the spatial and temporal distributions of pottery trowel types. As an artifact type that provides opportunities to analyze technology, craft production and specialization, and daily practices in past societies, I argue pottery trowels may hold important future insights into a number of topics of interest to archaeologists.     

MAPPING NEVER-NEVER LAND: AN EXAMINATION OF PINSON MOUNDS CARTOGRAPHY

Abstract

The well-known map of the Pinson Mounds site published by William Myer in 1922 illustrates numerous earthworks, including 34 mounds and extensive embankments, most of which are not visible today. Researchers have long debated the existence of these features and the accuracy of Myer’s map in general. Using early photographs, topographic maps, gradiometry, and, most important, the 1917 field map upon which the 1922 map was based, it is clear that a number of the mapped features were not visible to Myer and were simply products of his imagination. Furthermore, we provide strong evidence that the Inner Citadel embankment and several associated mounds never existed.     

REVISITING PLATFORM MOUNDS AND TOWNHOUSES IN THE CHEROKEE HEARTLAND: A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH

Abstract

This article describes the development and initial results of the Western North Carolina Mounds and Towns Project, a collaborative endeavor initiated by the Tribal Historic Preservation Office of the Eastern Band of Cherokee and the Coweeta Long Term Ecological Research Program at the University of Georgia. The goal of this project is to generate new information about the distribution of late prehistoric mounds and historic period townhouses in western North Carolina. This ongoing research has produced updated location and chronological data for 15 Mississippian period mounds and historic Cherokee townhouses, and led to the discovery of a possible location for the Jasper Allen mound. Using these new data, I suggest that David Hally's model for the territorial size of Mississippian polities provides a useful framework for generating new research questions about social and political change in western North Carolina. I also posit that the cultural practice of rebuilding townhouses in place and on top of Mississippian period platform mounds, a process that Christopher Rodning describes as “emplacement,” was common across western North Carolina. In terms of broader impacts, this project contributes positively to the development of indigenous archaeology in the Cherokee heartland.     

SEASONAL FEASTS IN ROMAN BRITAIN

Summary: Epigraphic sources for the celebration of festivals in Roman Britain mainly come from military sites. Archaeological evidence indicates that a calendar of festivals similar to that of Rome was also observed by civilians within the province. the temene of the larger temples, and theatres connected with such shrines, were obvious places for large-scale, popular gatherings but there was also an intimate family cult represented by the care of ancestral tombs and the midwinter Saturnalia festivities.
Finds of sacred objects such as a cernus for first-fruits (offered to Ceres) and a castration-clamp (used in the worship of Cybele) as well as works of art, including gems and terracottas, also throw light on Roman religion. There were close resemblances with Celtic practice, and fusion between imported cults and native ones must have occurred very frequently.
In late Roman times, the Christian calendar came into use in Britain; the celebrations of Easter and the veneration of the Saints are both attested in Dark-age written sources.     

SEASONAL and ANNUAL VARIATIONS IN ICE COVER IN BAFFIN BAY and NORTHERN DAVIS STRAIT

The sea ice cover in Baffin Bay and northern Davis Strait is at a maximum in March and at a minimum in September. It depletes rapidly in July and August and grows rapidly during October and November. More annual variations were noticed during periods of ice cover depletion than during ice cover growth periods. The paper presents a sea ice forecast model which is based on annual ice cover depletion and growth data 1968-79 and which should be useful for planning navigation and drilling operations.
Le couvert de glace dans la baie de Baffin et le nord du détroit de Davis atteint son maximum en mars et est réduit à son minimum en septembre. II régresse rapidement en juillet et en aot et crot rapidement en octobre et en novembre. Plus de variations annuelles ont été observées pour les périodes de diminution du couvert de glace que pour les periodes de croissance de ce dernier. Cet article présente un modèle de prévision du couvert de glace lequel est basé sur les donnees relatives à la croissance et à la régression du couvert de glace pour la période 1968-79. Ce modèle devrait ětre utile dans la planification de la navigation et des opérations de forage.     

季节性退休流动者“家”的地方依恋——以三亚为例

流动性的快速变化为理解发展中的城市和人口提供新的视角。“家”是流动的起点和中心,本研究以海南省三亚市为案例,借鉴地方依恋的三维框架,结合实地调研,从地方—人—心理过程三个维度探讨退休流动背景下老年人口多元居住中发展的与家相关的地方依恋和体验。研究发现：退休流动者在不断追寻非日常化体验、建构第二居所过程中,也未淡化对常住居所的地方依赖和认同,在常住居民和季节性住客的身份转变中,实现了双重朝向的家的地方依恋。多元家的体验既是全球化深度卷入的结果,也是后现代社会以儒家思想为基础的家的文化被不断重构的体现。研究批判审视中国传统文化中“家”的意义,发展中国情境下家的地方依恋的分析框架。     

巴马盘阳河流域季节性移民社区类型与形成机理

季节性移民聚居现象受到西方学术界的极大关注,而我国鲜有研究。采用观察法和访谈法,对巴马盘阳河流域"一地多类"的季节性移民社区的形成过程、类型特征与作用机理进行归纳与揭示。研究表明：①季节性移民社区演变历经萌芽、快速参与和转型发展三个阶段,社区人口结构、聚居空间、经济业态、景观设施及人文氛围在不同时期呈现出不同的特征;②季节性移民社区形态存在差异,可以归类为交融性社区、优势性社区,共享性社区,纯粹性社区。③季节性移民社区是差异化的"美好生活"需求、独特的长寿资源及乡村生活环境、外来商业资本、地方政府调控和利益共生等"五力驱动"的结果,不同发展阶段其主导动力和作用方式存在差异。     

EVAPORITES OF THE WADI NATRUN: SEASONAL AND ANNUAL VARIATION AND ITS IMPLICATION FOR ANCIENT EXPLOITATION*

The evaporitic deposits of the Wadi Natrun on the edge of the Western Desert of Egypt have been used in variety of crafts and industries for over 6000 years. This paper reviews the formation processes of the evaporitic deposits between the different lakes in the wadi and for the wadi as a whole. It shows that the precipitation of sodium carbonate minerals within the lakes is seasonal and probably subject to long‐term fluctuation as climate varies. This has a significant impact on the use of the lakes for ancient industries, particularly the manufacture of glass.