Faunal changes in farming communities from Basketmaker II to Pueblo III (A.D. 1–1300) in the San Juan Basin of the American Southwest

The San Juan Basin of the American Southwest is home to some of the best known architecture in pre-Columbian North America. Although many faunal assemblages have been reported for individual sites, there has been little synthesis of hunting and husbandry in these farming communities. In an attempt to understand changing animal usage over time in the San Juan Basin, we use three indices to investigate the usage of artiodactyls, lagomorphs and turkeys. These three taxonomic groups formed the bulk of meat diets between Basketmaker II and Pueblo III times (A.D. 1–1300). Our analysis indicates that artiodactyls declined over time in relation to lagomorphs. Turkeys increased in the northern regions when compared to lagomorphs. Cottontails increased when compared to jackrabbits over time. We suggest that as human populations increased in the San Juan Basin, artiodactyls were more intensely hunted. People then began to raise more turkeys in favorable regions, and also hunted more lagomorphs in relation to artiodactyls. Deforestation, also as a result of increased human populations, would have created conditions more favorable for cottontails than jackrabbits in many areas.     

Avian resource depression or intertaxonomic variation in bone density? A test with San Francisco Bay avifaunas

Previous analyses of the Emeryville Shellmound fauna suggested that ever-expanding late Holocene human populations of the San Francisco Bay area depressed a wide range of vertebrate taxa, including cormorants (Phalacrocorax), geese (Anserinae), and large shorebirds (e.g., Numenius, Limosa). Far-reaching implications for prehistoric human behavior, historical ecology, and modern conservation biology have resulted from that work. We test the generality of the bird-based conclusions here by documenting temporal trends in avifaunal abundances from five additional sites located on the San Francisco Peninsula. Analyses of these data reveal patterns identical to those found at Emeryville, showing significant declines through time in the relative abundances of both geese and cormorants between about 2000 and 700 B.P. New photon absorptiometric-based density data for cormorants, geese, and ducks (Anatinae) are used to determine if the declines through time in the relative abundances of geese and cormorants are correlated with variation in the extent of density-mediated attrition observed in these faunas. The data and analyses presented here suggest that while density-mediated attrition played a role in structuring element abundances in these avifaunas, there is no evidence that it varied systematically through time to produce the revealed patterns in taxonomic abundances. Resource depression thus remains a viable hypothesis for the declining abundances of large-sized waterbirds during the late Holocene of the San Francisco Bay region. The new bone density data we present should be useful to analyses of archaeological and paleontological avifaunas wherever these or related taxa are found around the world.     

The United States government’s deliberations and actions on the status of the South China Sea Islands, 1943–1951: the formation of American policy towards South China Sea disputes

In 1943, the United States began to consider the issue of the world order after the end of World War II; at that time, the status of the islands in the South China Sea remained undetermined. Towards the end of the war, a US policy-planning document on this issue favored either returning the islands to one of the parties claiming sovereignty or placing the islands under international trusteeship once the war ended. Immediately after the end of World War II, the United States withdrew its support for an international trusteeship, and it did not back up any single party’s claim of sovereignty over the islands. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the United States did not clarify its stance on the issue of sovereignty over the South China Sea islands, hoping the eventual outcome would not favor the newly founded People’s Republic of China. Finally, the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1951, signed under the guidance of the United States, stipulated only that Japan relinquish the islands, but failed to identify who would take them over. The San Francisco Peace Treaty signaled the formation of the official US policy towards disputes over the islands in the South China Sea.     

Early Olmec obsidian trade and economic organization at San Lorenzo

The Olmec were the first complex society to develop in Mesoamerica between 1800 and 600 cal B.C. The earliest large Olmec center during this period was the archaeological site of San Lorenzo which emerged as Mesoamerica's first large ritual and political center between 1400 and 1000 cal B.C. San Lorenzo's growth as a prominent center included the development of long distance trade relationships with adjacent areas of Guatemala and highland Mexico. High precision chemical analysis of obsidian imported for use in the fabrication of cutting tools is used to reconstruct the growth, size and extent of San Lorenzo's interregional exchange networks with areas of Mexico and Guatemala where obsidian occurs as raw material. A total of 852 obsidian artifacts were analyzed to reconstruct changes in obsidian procurement between 1800 and 800 cal B.C. This represents one of the largest samples of sourced obsidian from a Mesoamerican site and it provides a comprehensive picture for the development of interregional trade networks for Mesoamerica's first large Olmec center.     

Work,young people and neighbourhood representations

Extending ideas of social exclusion and cultural modelling, I demonstrate that work identities of young inner-city men and women are shaped by cultural representations of the neighbourhood. I explore, in particular, the internal and external representations of culture and neighbourhoods, and the relationship between the two forms of representation. Empirical research focuses on two inner-city neighbourhoods of San Antonio, Texas. I present data from in-depth interviews with twenty-nine young Latinos and Latinas and seventeen representatives of community-based institutions. The results reveal that place is an important mechanism in the production of work identities. By considering the contingency of norms of success and marginality, the paper critiques underclass and culture-ofpoverty concepts. À partir de concepts d'exclusion sociale et de modélisation culturelle, je démontre que, pour les jeunes provenant de quartiers urbains défavorisés, les identités reliées au travail sont influencées par les représentations culturelles de leur environnement. J'examine en particulier les représentations internes et externes de culture et quartier, ainsi que la relation entre ces deux formes de représentation. Mes recherches empiriques sont axées sur deux quartiers dévaforisés de San Antonio, Texas. Je présente des données tirées d'entrevues détaillées avec vingt-neuf jeunes hommes et femmes Latinose et dix-sept représentants d'institutions communautaires. Les résultats indiquent que l'identification au lieu est un mécanisme important dans la formation d'identités reliées au travail. En examinant comment les normes de succès et de marginalité varient selon l'environne-ment, cet article questionne les concepts de sous-classe et de culture de la pauvreté. Ampliando ideas sobre exclusión social y moldeamiento cultural, demuestro que las identidades de trabajo de los jóvenes hombres y mujeres de barrios marginales son moldeadas por representaciones culturales de la vecindad. Examino, principalmente, las representaciones internas y externas de cultura y vecindades y la relación entre las dos formas de representación. La investigacion empírica tiene como enfoque dos barrios de San Antonio, Texas. Incluyo datos sacados de entrevistas largas con 29 Latinos y Latinas jóvenes y 17 representantes de instituciones basadas en la comunidad. Los resultados revelan que el lugar es un mecanismo muy importante en la producción de identidades de trabajo. Por una consideración de la contingencia de normas de éxito y marginación el papel critica ideas de clases marginadas y la cultura de pobreza.     

美国加州圣地亚哥华人专业技术新移民的跨国认同调查与研究——移民跨国认同的个案分析

论文以美国加州圣地亚哥中国大陆的专业技术新移民为个案,通过问卷形式,从双语能力、认同类型、文化保持与文化适应、跨国活动和跨国倾向等方面对受访的华人群体进行了调查。通过对调查结果的梳理分析,得出三点结论:一是大部分受访者具有较强的中英双语能力,这既是其高度融入美国主流社会的基础,也是其较强文化适应程度的表现;二是在受访的华人群体中,规律性、经常性的跨国活动并不明显,但其跨国认同度较高;三是在受访的华人群体中,跨国认同是一个多层次、多类型的结合体,它既包括以中国人的族裔认同为主、美国人的国家认同为次的双重认同,也包括混杂性的中美双文化认同。     

Stable isotope reconstructions of shellfish harvesting seasonality in an estuarine environment: implications for Late Holocene San Francisco Bay settlement patterns

Seasonality estimates based on stable isotope analyses of shellfish remains has been an important thrust of settlement pattern reconstruction, allowing researchers to place people on the landscape at points in space at different times of the year. In exposed coastal settings seasonality reconstructions are typically dependent on annual changes in water temperature. This paper has two goals. First, we continue development of a method for determining shellfish harvest seasonality in estuarine environments where annual salinity changes, not temperature, drive isotopic variation. Second, we contribute to settlement pattern studies by showing how small and large sites can be linked into a single system by examining different site types and shellfish species. Our case study focuses on the Late Prehistoric period of the San Francisco Peninsula, includes a large shellmound (CA-SMA-6) and an ephemeral camp (CA-SFR-171), and examines clam (Macoma spp.) and mussel (Mytilus spp.) harvesting. In this case, data support a fission-fusion settlement pattern, with periods of dispersal during late winter through early summer and aggregation in late summer through early winter.     

Paleodietary analysis of a San Francisco Bay Area shellmound: stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of late Holocene humans from the Ellis Landing site (CA-CCO-295)

The late Holocene archaeofaunal record of the San Francisco Bay Area demonstrates temporal declines in the abundance of low-cost, high-ranked marine and terrestrial resources. During later periods of occupation, faunal assemblages are often dominated by lower-ranked, higher-cost resources, suggesting an increase in diet breadth through time. Archaeological resource intensification models argue that this marks a late Holocene decline in foraging efficiency in the Bay Area, driven by human-induced harvest pressure. This study examines dietary change in the region using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data from 65 human burials, spanning two temporal components (cal AD 55–890 and cal AD 762–1550) at the Ellis Landing site (CA-CCO-295). The strong linear relationship between collagen carbon and nitrogen isotope values reflects both marine and terrestrial food consumption, with individuals showing a high level of dietary variability at the site. No temporal trend or meaningful sex differences were found in isotope values. The widening of diet breadth predicted by the archaeofaunal record occurred prior to the occupation of the Ellis Landing shellmound site. The trend in exploiting a greater amount of terrestrial resources during the Middle and Late Period in central California was supported by isotopic evidence.     

El codescubridor Juan Niño y el puerto de San Juan en el marco de la marinería andaluza y de los viajes de Colón

Este trabajo de investigación ofrece resultados inéditos en relación con Juan Niño —maestre y propietario de la carabela Niña— que colaboró de forma relevante con Cristóbal Colón en la preparación de la armada en 1492 y en su primera travesía oceánica a tierras americanas. Asimismo, desvela el lugar concreto de vecindad y de residencia de este marino en el puerto de San Juan (Huelva, España) mediante documentación contrastada, así como el periodo en el que se produjo su fallecimiento permitiendo aclarar especulaciones historiográficas que ofrecían determinados datos erróneos sobre su trayectoria vital después del descubrimiento de América. Por último, aporta datos indicativos sobre el estatus socioeconómico y el nivel de rentas disfrutado por el codescubridor de América y por su familia.     

Settlement and subsistence among the Early Formative Gulf Olmec

Mounting archaeological evidence suggests that floodplain resources, not maize (Zea mays) agriculture, were instrumental in the emergence of Early Formative (ca. 1500–900 uncal BC) complexity across Mesoamerica’s isthmian lowlands. The lion’s share of these data derives from the Pacific side of the isthmus; discussions of the Early Formative Olmec along Mexico’s southern Gulf lowlands have not kept pace. This paper presents settlement and subsistence data that highlight the role of floodplain resources in the development of Gulf Olmec politico-economic complexity. These data support a non-agricultural alternative to traditional models of Gulf Olmec emergence at San Lorenzo, the premier Early Formative Gulf lowlands center. Increased productivity of maize toward the end of the Early Formative period challenged San Lorenzo’s extant politico-economic basis, bringing about a short-term, hyper-acceleration of elite competitive displays. Ultimately, the adoption of maize agriculture generated a reorganized Middle Formative period (ca. 900–400 uncal BC) landscape in and around San Lorenzo. This agrarian adjustment saw occupation move out of the floodplain and into the upland areas, a process sometimes characterized as a cataclysmic system collapse in the Coatzacoalcos basin.