Comment on Quimby's “Cultural and Natural Areas before Kroeber”

1955 ◽  
Vol 20 (4Part1) ◽  
pp. 377-378
Author(s):  
Homer Aschmann
Keyword(s):  
Physical Environment ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
New World ◽  
Time Span ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
American Antiquity ◽  
World Archaeological ◽  
Short Time Span ◽  
Established Fact ◽  
Short Time

One is forced to admire Quimby's enterprise (1954, American Antiquity, Vol. 19, No. 4, pp. 317-31) in attempting not only a characterization but a mapping of the paleogeography of North America at 7 stages between 8500 B.C. and 500 B.C. Among other things it shows a healthful awareness that the physical environment cannot be considered a constant even in the relatively short time span generally accepted for the New World archaeological record. Fruitful investigations can be pursued through coordinating the geological, climatological, paleoecological, and archaeological evidence over extensive regions, and this tentative essay may provide a needed impetus.On the other hand, certain of the hypotheses presented in this paper seem to me to demand immediate examination before they become established dogma to burden subsequent investigations. I shall not question the eclectic use of 2 main chronological frameworks, those provided by Antevs and by radiocarbon dating, though the former, at least, is hardly established fact (Burma 1950).

Too Little, Too Late? The Radiocarbon Chronology of Alaska and the Peopling of the New World

2006 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 595-620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael R. Bever
Keyword(s):  
Native Americans ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
New World ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Human Occupation ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Point Of Entry ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Terminal Pleistocene ◽  
Radiocarbon Chronology

Alaska is commonly viewed as a gateway between the Old and New Worlds, and as such, figures prominently in most models of the peopling of the New World. With a growing number of archaeological sites dating to the terminal Pleistocene, Alaska might be expected to provide direct evidence bearing on the colonization of the Americas. Based on 27 site components with 114 radiocarbon dates, this paper discusses the archaeological record of late Pleistocene Alaska, organized around the characteristics and chronology of three complexes: the microblade-bearing Denali complex, the Nenana complex, and the Mesa complex. This paper shows that the archaeological record of late Pleistocene Alaska is quite diverse, and not lacking in controversy and conflicting interpretations. In addition, this period of archaeological diversity coincides with the Younger Dryas climatic event. However, none of the reliably dated sites is older than the earliest evidence of human occupation further south in the Americas. Despite this, evidence from DNA studies points strongly to a north-central Asian homeland for Native Americans, upholding Alaska as the point of entry into the New World. Suggestions are offered, then, as to why the Alaskan record remains silent about the initial peopling of the New World.

scholarly journals Diversity of management strategies in Mesoamerican turkeys: archaeological, isotopic and genetic evidence

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 171613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurelie Manin ◽  
Eduardo Corona-M ◽  
Michelle Alexander ◽  
Abigail Craig ◽  
Erin Kennedy Thornton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New World ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Meleagris Gallopavo ◽  
Isotopic Analysis ◽  
Domestic Animals ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Mixed Feeding ◽  
Postclassic Period ◽  
Southwest Usa ◽  
Domestic Products

The turkey ( Meleagris gallopavo ) represents one of the few domestic animals of the New World. While current research points to distinct domestication centres in the Southwest USA and Mesoamerica, several questions regarding the number of progenitor populations, and the timing and intensity of turkey husbandry remain unanswered. This study applied ancient mitochondrial DNA and stable isotope ( δ 13 C, δ 15 N) analysis to 55 archaeological turkey remains from Mexico to investigate pre-contact turkey exploitation in Mesoamerica. Three different (sub)species of turkeys were identified in the archaeological record ( M. g. mexicana , M. g. gallopavo and M. ocellata ), indicating the exploitation of diverse local populations, as well as the trade of captively reared birds into the Maya area. No evidence of shared maternal haplotypes was observed between Mesoamerica and the Southwest USA, in contrast with archaeological evidence for trade of other domestic products. Isotopic analysis indicates a range of feeding behaviours in ancient Mesoamerican turkeys, including wild foraging, human provisioning and mixed feeding ecologies. This variability in turkey diet decreases through time, with archaeological, genetic and isotopic evidence all pointing to the intensification of domestic turkey management and husbandry, culminating in the Postclassic period.

scholarly journals A SYNTHESIS OF NEW WORLD ARCHÆOLOGICAL FINDS

Nature ◽  
1943 ◽  
Vol 152 (3863) ◽  
pp. 577-577
Author(s):  
M. C. B.
Keyword(s):  
New World ◽  
World Archaeological

scholarly journals Hunter-Gatherer Earth Ovens in the Archaeological Record: Fundamental Concepts

2014 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen L. Black ◽  
Alston V. Thorns
Keyword(s):  
New World ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Edwards Plateau ◽  
South Central ◽  
Technological Concepts ◽  
The World ◽  
Earth Ovens ◽  
Earth Oven

AbstractRemains of earth ovens with rock heating elements of various sizes and configurations are common at hunter-gatherer sites around the world. They span the last 30,000 years in the Old World and some 10,000 years in the New World. Although various foods were baked in these ovens, plants predominate. Earth ovens are ethnographically well documented as family-size and bulk cooking facilities, but related technology and its archaeological signatures remain poorly understood and understudied. These ubiquitous features are often mischaracterized as generic cooking facilities termed hearths. It is proposed that, in fact, most rock “hearths” are heating elements of earth ovens. Reliable identification and interpretation of earth ovens requires documentation of heating elements, pit structure, rock linings, and various remnants thereof. Fundamental technological concepts for investigating their archaeological signatures include thermodynamics, construction designs, and life cycles in systemic context, as informed by ethnographic, archaeological, and experimental data. Earth oven technology explains well the primary purpose of labor-intensive thermal storage for long-term cooking and conserving fuel. Information from the extensive archaeological record of earth ovens on the Edwards Plateau of south-central North America illustrates these points.

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