North American Archaeologist

While a comparative faunal collection would be convenient in one's own laboratory, consideration must be given to sources, preparation, and storage of the animal carcasses and skeletons, federal and state laws, and transmittable diseases. The identification of bones by genus and species, age, and sex is only the first step and is not an end in itself. An experienced zooarchaeologist knows the habits and habitats of mammals, birds, reptiles, and fish to interpret their role in a society's subsistence pattern.

This article is an examination of the diverse roles shell middens played in the prehistoric settlement systems of coastal New York. Test expectations are generated for three kinds of shell middens established by hunter-gatherer groups employing different subsistence/settlement strategies to exploit the coastal environment. The identification of the different shell middens is based on information commonly collected or reported from excavated coastal sites, including shellfish frequencies, artifact assemblages and architectural features. An analysis of eight shell middens excavated along the north shore of Long Island and the New York City vicinity suggests that the functions and occupation durations of these coastal sites varied significantly, findings that indicate a complex mix of coastal settlement strategies were practiced by prehistoric groups.

Artifact-to-source assignments were made on over 200 obsidian artifacts from San Diego, San Bernardino, and Riverside Counties, California, using non-destructive X-ray fluorescence analysis. In addition to providing new data on the spatial distributions of Obsidian Butte and Coso Hot Springs volcanic glasses in extreme southern California, results of the present study call into question the empirical utility of previous distance-decay models. Present data indicate that Coso Hot Springs obsidian was conveyed much more widely than previously believed. Previous predictions about the source-specific composition and percentage of obsidian in the entire chipped stone inventory in late prehistoric site assemblages in San Diego County were not sustained by observed empirical results.

Ceramic analysis was undertaken to identify spatial patterns of stylistic variables which might shed light on the social organization of the prehistoric Mohawk, who have been described ethnographically as both matrilocal and matrilineal. Attribute analysis of samples of decorated ceramics recovered from two longhouses at the Smith site, in Fulton County, New York, was carried out. The percentage of occurrence of stylistic attributes was calculated, and a coefficient of agreement generated between pairs of ceramic samples. Based on these data, it is concluded that the ceramics demonstrate within-longhouse homogeneity. This would be compatible with a preferred, but not necessarily prescribed, matrilocal rule of post-marital residence.