Anthropology

The St. John’s River site is a Ceramic Age settlement on Grenada’s southwest coast, largely destroyed by the expansion of a public cemetery, stadium, and road bridge. The St. George’s Community Archaeology Project (SGCAP) was a summer program developed to engage young people and community members in the investigation and preservation of the remaining site. During the summers of 2011 and 2012, surface collection, shovel testing, and four excavation pits were implemented in the area. The artifacts recovered fit mostly within Troumassoid period typology (AD 600-900), though local pastes, tempers, and paint combinations were observed. This paper summarizes the results of SGCAP and presents a template for a community-based approach that could be used for other archaeological sites in Grenada, such as the site of Pearls, where intermittent looting continues.

... America. In the Central American region, agricultural terraces are such prominent ... Thus, further detection of residential terraces in Mesoamerica may provide a better ... complexes, temples and other buildings seen at monumental Mesoamerican sites. ...

This report summarizes the 2006 and 2007 seasons of research on the Residential Terraces of Group B, Chawak But'o'ob, Belize. The 400 linear meters of terracing here were the most intensively and substantially occupied of the four kilometers of Prehispanic terracing of all types that occur in relic form at the site (Hanna et al. 2006; Walling n.d.). Excavations and other investigations in 2006 and 2007, which were under the supervision of Jonathan Hanna, Residential Terrace Director, were part of the larger investigation of the southern section of the site by the Rio Bravo Archaeological Survey, directed by Stanley Walling. During the 2006 season, research in Group B focused on two areas of the Residential Terraces: Foundation Brace B on Terrace 5, and the gap between F.B. E and F.B. J on Terrace 3. On F.B. B, during this and the subsequent season, relic double walls, the remains of successive floors, possible hearths, and various utilitarian artifacts were found within leve...

Report of archaeological fieldwork conducted at prehistoric sites in Grenada, West Indies in 2016, along with an assessment of current threats and a comprehensive inventory of all known sites (n=84). The latter is the Archaeological Site Inventory for Grenada (ASIG), and is based on summary of past archaeological reports and salvage work conducted at the Grenada National Museum. The report is targeted at heritage officials working in Grenada, and the version here is redacted (without site coordinates)-- uncensured available upon request. Likewise, a redacted version of the associated ASIG database can be found at: http://doi.org/10.18113/S1KS3V. An updated and fully online version of the ASIG will be available in early 2018, at: http://www.GrenadaArchaeology.com.

Chronological changes in sternal rib morphology have long been known to have applications for determination of skeletal age. Unfortunately, this technique has seen limited application in some circles due to a perception that it is only applicable to the fourth rib. This study demonstrates a reasonable consistency in sternal rib morphology within individuals from an archaeological collection recently excavated from the site of Pirivoj at Viminacium, Serbia. It thereby reveals that identifi cation of the fourth rib is not necessary and, in fact, development of a method that considers multiple rib scores from the same individual is likely to improve the accuracy of the technique.

The economic organization of ancient Mesoamerican societies has long been a subject of interest to archaeologists. The topic is of increased importance given recent debates over the degree of centralization characterizing polities among the Maya of the Classic period. Unfortunately, many aspects of economic structure are notoriously difficult to investigate solely through material remains. This thesis therefore takes a conjunctive approach to economic issues
that incorporates archaeological, linguistic and epigraphic data and attempts to synthesize these spatially and temporally in order to address some of the more elusive problems surrounding ancient Maya exchange structure.

The study begins with an investigation of the local lithic economy at a small Late to Terminal Classic community on the coastal margins of the Southern Maya Lowlands. The site of Saktunha, economically specialized in the extraction of marine resources and well connected to
regional and inter-regional exchange networks, is found to be engaged in both local reduction of expedient lithic tools and procurement of substantial numbers of prefabricated formal implements from inland workshops. An examination of debitage assemblages from other sites reveals that domestic lithic production occurs almost ubiquitously across the Maya area, even in areas characterized by intensified stone tool workshops and a lack of locally available raw material. There are, however, some salient regional distinctions—most notably between the coastal plain of northern and central Belize and the inland uplands of the Peten. A call is issued for archaeologists to appreciate the value of lithics for understanding complex economies, rather than just reduction technology and tool distribution. It is also important to establish some consistency in data collection for comparative purposes while developing theoretical models more suited to the
investigation of the subtleties of exchange in large-scale societies.

Some of the more esoteric aspects of economic organization, such as exchange mechanisms and their origin, are examined through a study of the historical development of Maya languages using comparative etymological data. A cultural reconstruction of economic relations
is attempted using the methods of ‘linguistic paleontology’. Notable findings are the antiquity of commercial relationships among Maya speakers, a pervasive cognitive association between markets and plaza architecture, and the complexity of tribute based relationships in areas of more intense social stratification. An epigraphic study of texts from Classic Maya stone monuments and ceramic vessels reveals the importance of direct appropriation in the political economy of urban centers. Texts and art show an ideological basis for the collection and redistribution of labor and wealth goods by and among the Classic period elite. There is no indication that market commerce held any such prominence. Examination of the archaeological data confirms that
evidence for intensive market commerce is found only on the periphery of the Southern Lowlands during the Classic period.

The research supports models of political economy arguing that the majority of urban centers during the Classic period were not driven by market commerce to any significant degree. While market exchange probably occurred in open plazas as early as the Late Formative, tribute, outright plunder, and other multifarious forms of reciprocation, transfer, and elite controlled trade seem to have been the dominant forms of exchange among individuals of importance. This relationship apparently began to change with the onset of the Terminal Classic, when small, remote communities such as Saktunha began to prosper and urban centers in the Northern Lowlands with more evidence for formal markets rose to prominence. There are clear implications here for factors in the Maya collapse, as well as the antiquity of competition and conflict between market and command economies.

It has been known for several decades that certain regions of the Maya Lowlands were characterized by specialized production of chert tools in ancient times. The extent, intensity, organization, and net social effects of centralized lithic production in the Maya area as a whole, however, are not well understood. In order to address issues of broader relevance to social and economic processes, lithicists working in the Maya region need to develop analytical approaches suited to the study of complex economies. The research presented here attempts to establish simple baseline measures for use in comparing the production of siliceous stone tools, both formal and expedient, at different scales across the Maya area. Scholarship in this region has been chronically plagued by prolonged, unresolved debates— mostly a factor of the multitude of single-site focused projects employing different methodologies and research emphases. The present study therefore proposes
a new direction in Maya lithic studies with the goal of enhancing comparability of data on ancient economic structure through the use of standardized statistics that facilitate spatial analysis. Using the proportion of early- stage core reduction debris to the total of all debitage from a given context, for instance, enables the analyst to roughly assess the amount of tool manufacture taking place locally. By extension, inferences can be made about the degree of economic integration and interdependence characterizing any given geographic scale, including the architectural group, site, region, and so on. Preliminary analysis of patterns in early-stage reduction illustrates differential spatial distributions of chert tool production and consumption at several scales from across the southern Lowlands, allowing for the refinement of current models of ancient Maya lithic economy.

This article presents a cultural reconstruction of ancient Maya economic development derived through etymological study of exchange related terms in Mayan languages. It applies the results of historical linguistic analysis to archaeological and epigraphic data in order to gain insight into Maya economic prehistory. Cognitive spheres examined include generalized exchange, reciprocation, appropriation and vertical transfers of goods and labor, open commerce, and material valuables. Among the most poignant implications of the results are the antiquity of commerce and its rather extended evolutionary trajectory. Indicators of intense commercialization, however, are few and rather
late. Widespread recognition of several elements of the diverse complex of Contact period Mesoamerican valuables can be traced only to the latter part of the Late Formative period or afterward. Evidence of formalized market systems—specifically linking commerce to towns and architectural plazas—appears only late in the Classic period. Terms associated with the hierarchical appropriation of goods and labor appear earlier and are more persistent and stable over time. In particular, there is a single widespread root for tribute obligation apparently subsuming tax, plunder, and work debt all under a single term, as well as evidence for the great antiquity of formalized servitude. Finally, various forms of general reciprocity and gifting are, as might be expected, shown to be of great diversity, complexity, and antiquity. In the course of analysis, several recent models of Mayan language interaction and diversification are examined and evaluated, and a slightly revised linguistic chronology is suggested that better reconciles linguistic data with archaeological facts as they are currently known. The
results also have interesting implications for proto-Mayan geographical origins.

This article presents an overview of paleodemographic data obtained from six field seasons of osteological research at Viminacium – a provincial city on the Danubian frontier of the Roman Empire. Skeletal remains from 254 graves – representing 297 individuals – excavated from four cemeteries situated about the eastern perimeter of the ancient city were analyzed for the study. Results suggest that the skeletal sample examined may be considered generally representative of the ancient mortality profile from the population as a whole. Key demographic details emerging from the research include a persistent preponderance of males within the population of Viminacium throughout its existence, albeit accompanied by evidence for considerably greater survivorship among females at most ages. Some interesting mortuary findings also emerge from the study, such as a trend in declining use of wooden coffins in the last century of occupation and disproportionate investment in burial treatment for certain females.

Cross-culturally and across time archaeologists have found that—in cases where human societies have become hierarchically structured—individuals of higher rank tend to manage resources and allocate risk primarily to their own benefit. There is little reason to believe that Late Roman Imperial frontier elites would have behaved any differently. This paper examines the relationship between ‘biological stress', or health, as inferred from skeletal remains and socio-economic status / class, as established on the basis of mortuary treatment, at the Roman frontier city of Viminacium—located on the Danube River in modern day Serbia. Mortality estimates, paleopathology, skeletal lesions and stature data are all considered in an integrative approach to complicated issues of health and socio-economic class under historically known conditions of intense status hierarchy.

Preliminary zooarchaeological analysis of the Kirshner Site (36WM213), a Middle Monongahela site in western Pennsylvania, has expanded the understanding of this important site. As faunal remains are one of the most commonly recovered materials from this site, further study of the faunal assemblage can add to the interpretations of the nature of this site and the activities of Campbell Farm and Youghiogheny Phase Monongahela people. A sample of previously unstudied faunal remains collected from 1981 to 1995 has been identified and analyzed, examining distributions across the site, as well as feature associations and functions, site organization, and subsistence. This research, in addition to comparisons with other faunal studies, like those done on zooarchaeological materials from other Middle Monongahela sites, including the Johnston Site (36IN2) and the Hatfield Site (36WH678) can further expand on the understanding of the Kirshner Site and the Middle Monongahela tradition.