Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Landscape archaeology'

This thesis examines the lithic assemblage from the 2005-2012 field seasons at the Sarah Boston site in Grafton, Massachusetts. The Sarah Boston site is associated with a multi-generational Nipmuc family living on the site during the late 18^th through early 19^th centuries. In total, 163 lithic artifacts, primarily quartz flakes and cores, were found throughout the site with concentrations north of a house foundation associated with the Nipmuc family. Reworked gunflints and worked glass were examined as examples of lithic practice associated with artifacts that are conclusively datable to the period after European arrival. Presence of quartz artifacts in an undisturbed B-horizon demonstrates a much-earlier Native component to the Sarah Boston site. Lithics and ground stone tools present in the later intact midden deposit demonstrate that the Nipmuc family interacted with these materials. Given the concentration of flakes found within the midden, it is likely that some portion of these flakes as well as the reworked gunflints and knapped glass were actively used, and perhaps produced, by the occupants of the house as an alternative or replacement of other tools, including iron. This thesis concludes that the practice of knapping persisted on this site into the 19^th century indicating a cultural continuity of Nipmuc cultural practices and identity in addition to the adoption of European-produced ceramics, iron knives, and other later materials.

This thesis investigates the processes of place-making at Rock Art Ranch, northeastern Arizona from the Paleoindian period to early agricultural Basketmaker II period (11,500 BCE-600 CE) using the surface distributions of projectile points. Three major canyons cross-cut the ranch providing ample water resources that can be exploited year-round through natural springs, groundwater, and seasonal pools, attracting fauna and providing a diverse range of floral resources. Resources at Rock Art Ranch also include two cobble outcrops, providing raw material for stone tool manufacture. Additionally, thousands of petroglyphs scale the walls of Chevelon Canyon, ranging from Archaic to Pueblo styles. The sample of 162 preceramic projectile points are mostly found close to the canyons. Paleoindian, early Archaic, and middle Archaic projectile points are concentrated around Bell Cow Canyon. Projectile points made by semi-sedentary groups of the late Archaic and Basketmaker II periods occur more often around Chimney Canyon, demonstrating a shift in settlement. Projectile points dating from earlier periods are often associated with pithouse and pueblo sites, suggesting curation practices and active engagement with these materials. Continued use of the landscape seen in the discard of projectile points indicates that RAR was an important area for procurement of resources such as water, plant and animal foods, and lithic material. Evidence of discard and engagement with the artifacts and features from older occupations suggest that their cultural memories tied to this place were associated with the resources found there, but that memory of the place was reinforced by the archaeological record

This dissertation seeks to explain the settlement of Conchal from a landscape perspective and to ascertain the symbolic identity of the various shell mounds located there. The hypothesis is that the increasing sizes of the mounds are associated with burials and fluctuate due to increases in population. The physical changes of the landscape, as well as the change in the meaning of those changes that occurred over time are analyzed. A succinct, definitive interpretation of landscape and archaeology is complicated because there continues to be ongoing debate (Tilley 1997; Bender 2001; Knapp and Ashmore 2003; Smith 2003) which will be addressed below. The material culture, as well as the material patterns encountered during excavations illustrate the creation of meaning within the Conchal tradition. The analysis of the artifacts and features of the landscape reveal the importance of Conchal to the pre-Columbian inhabitants. The excavations at Conchal are part of a larger Permitted project, Proyecto La Flor. Conchal is a first step in this on-going long-term project and provides the baseline information for future archaeological research in this area.

The transformation of the natural environment and the creation of Conchal's constructed landscape is the focus of this dissertation. The assumption is that this location was recognized as a special area with diverse and abundant natural resources. The vast amount of data from the Americas supports this assumption (Willey 1966). Neither surveys of resource procurement nor excavation to discover mounds have been undertaken for the Nicaraguan Pacific coast. The analysis below focuses on the changing meaning the population gave to Conchal which is unique to this area. The mounds increase in number and size as the population grew and diversified during the Sapoá period (AD 800-1350), supporting the theoretical position that the landscape was created. The mounds are thus transformed into meaningful structures and become a place to process harvests, to bury the dead and to mark the inhabitants' territory; in other words Conchal became a tangible space that held a symbolic sense of identity that persisted through time.

These mounds grew in size once the inhabitants realized what their actions had created. These people then gave the mounds meaning and continued to throw away debris from their daily life to increase the size of the mounds. The early settlers of Conchal began to inter the dead in the mounds. When the mounds became too difficult to navigate (e.g. too tall to add debris), the inhabitants of Conchal created another mound. The creation of multiple mounds perpetuated the claim to the land and the meaning that these burials gave to Conchal, as well as building on tradition.

The analysis of the data from Conchal is influenced by an understanding of landscape theory as discussed below (Crumley and Marquardt 1987); this analysis strongly suggests a fortunate confluence of resources with geography. This is supported by the human remains, the molluscs, the different types of ceramics and stone tools found during the excavations of the mounds at Conchal. At the heart of this study is an interest in how people lived their daily lives and how the analysis of these artifacts and ecofacts might reveal their daily life. It is assumed that Conchal was continuously occupied by the same group. This is reified by the continuation of the artistic traditions in the ceramic styles combined with no evidence of another population. Also, there is no break in stratigraphy. Proximity to their ancestors through the burials located near their daily activities may have added more importance. The mounds illustrate their claim on the land and the ceramics and tools show that the landscape of Conchal became a settlement as illustrated by the artifacts and their context.

During the transition from the Bagaces to the Sapoá period, Conchal started out as a small population of individuals who harvested shells. The type of stone tools found throughout Conchal illustrates a pattern of daily activity. The artifacts and their density and distribution over time support this assumption. Curiously there were no complete vessels encountered at Conchal. The different types of burials during the latter part of the settlement, the transition from Sapoá to Ometepe period, indicate that there was a difference in status among the occupants.

Over the next few hundred years, the inhabitants of Conchal began to conduct more complex tasks and exhibit a division of labor. The lithics, ceramics and spatial context exhibited by the burials, is positive evidence for this division of labor. By the latter time period of the settlement at Conchal, there was a difference in status, which is demonstrated by more elaborate vessels that were used by higher status individuals for eating and drinking as well as the different burial practices.

Conchal, its landscape, and the people that inhabited it, aid in the understanding of the prehistoric inhabitants along the coast of lower Central America. To date, no other prehistoric site with shell mounds has been excavated in Pacific Nicaragua. There are other sites that are at least superficially similar to Conchal; one is approximately seven kilometers to the south in the present-day town called Ostional. It is believed that subsequent investigations of Ostional and similar places will contribute to a clearer picture of the activities that occurred in lower Central America.

How do we, as humans and as scientists, learn about the world around us? In this dissertation, I explore how models--epistemological tools that connect theory and reality--not only structure scientific inquiry (including the social sciences), but also reflect how humans experience and understand the world. Using this insight enables anthropologists and other social scientists to build more ontologically powerful understandings of human behavior. Here, I focus on how humans experience physical and social landscapes--the environments in which they live and with which they interact. The dissertation consists of three studies, each of which build on the previous by adding to the complexity of modeled landscapes. The first concerns static landscapes--those that are unchanging over the temporal timescales relevant to human experience. I develop a topographically-derived index of defensibility and use it to infer defensive behavior among prehistoric populations in the Northwest Coast of North America. The second paper introduces dynamic landscapes--those that change at scales experienced by humans, but whose changes are primarily driven by external forces. An example relevant to agrarian societies is climate change. I develop a new method for reconstructing past climate landscapes and explore the potential impacts of those changes on Ancestral Pueblo maize farmers in the southwestern United States over the past two millennia. Finally, the third paper grapples with complex landscapes--dynamic landscapes in which human behaviors play important and recursive causal roles. I highlight the coevolution of locally-adapted maize varieties and human selection and cultivation strategies as an example of these types of landscapes, and develop frameworks for modeling maize paleoproductivity that can better honor the realities of Pueblo agricultural strategies.