Antelope Creek people fought against Washita River people, Coalescent people fought against Middl... more Antelope Creek people fought against Washita River people, Coalescent people fought against Middle Missouri people, and Oneota people fought against everyone. Like the widespread recognition of a link between Plains violence and resource shortages, this answer fits well with Ember and Ember's (1992) analysis, which also highlighted the importance of socialization for mistrust of outsiders. Violence across ethnic or cultural boundaries is well documented in North America, perhaps most spectacularly, and sometimes horrifically, between Inuit groups and their interior Athapaskan neighbors (e.g., Hoffecker et al. 2012:147;. But this kind of inference on the Plains assumes a social reality to archaeological culture-historical units that we know is often unwarranted. The unit designated "Post-Contact Coalescent" in the Middle Missouri region, for example, certainly includes sites occupied by multiple social or ethnic groups who were at least intermittently hostile toward one another (Lehmer 1971) and the huge geographic extent and long temporal span of the occupations we subsume under the term "Oneota" suggest a similar pattern. Furthermore, inferring conflict between the kinds of groups that may be represented by archaeological traditions implies decisionmaking at a level somewhere above that of the individual community, suggesting a kind of pan-tribal organization for which we have no evidence. Despite this, though, there are at least some large-scale patterns on the Plains that make sense in terms of well-known culture-historical units. Most clearly, Boyd (1997) notes a general concentration of victims of violence during Late Woodland and early Plains Village times along the area of contact between groups in the southwestern Texas and their neighbors to the north and east. These Texas groups show clear ceramic links to the Puebloan Southwest and not to the Plains, while their neighbors show the opposite, and this area may have been a border of some kind between mutually hostile groups. The absence of skulls and mandibles in central Texas burials of about this age (see, for example, Krieger 1946) also parallels the burial of isolated skulls and mandibles in some Caddoan centers in adjacent areas of the Southeast, perhaps indicating a similar pattern . Indeed, skulls and mandibles at the Crenshaw site in Arkansas do appear to have been taken from nonlocal individuals (Schambach 2014). However, the history of warfare in the Middle Missouri illustrates how complicated this issue can be. Defenses appear there by the eleventh or twelfth century and are scattered throughout the distribution of horticultural sites. In addition, sites just north of these early farmers, like Menoken (Ahler 2007; Krause 2007), occupied by hunters and gatherers, but with pottery clearly influenced by farmers, were also fortified. If the distribution of fortifications tells us
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 2010
Hand tools are used in nearly all occupations and industries. Modern tools have been enhanced wit... more Hand tools are used in nearly all occupations and industries. Modern tools have been enhanced with advance materials, external power and electronics. Some tools no longer have a mechanical connection between the hand and the work object, e.g., joysticks, computer mice and hand controls used for robotic surgery hand tools. Still it is widely recognized that tools must fit the user and task to achieve best possible performance. Failure to consider the user and task can result in acute or chronic injuries. Examination of tools from different applications and from different times offers many important lessons for tools designers and users. Panelist in this session will use historical and contemporary examples, models and standards recommendations for selection and design of tools.
Abstract In 1870, as he was starting his career as a frontier army officer and anthropologist, Jo... more Abstract In 1870, as he was starting his career as a frontier army officer and anthropologist, John Bourke collected a gorget composed of iron scales and the story that it was a relic of early Spanish exploration of the Plains. This paper describes the Bourke armor and assesses its manufacture, history, and cultural context. The origins of the armor remain uncertain, but it seems unlikely that it arrived during initial Spanish explorations of the Plains. The armor probably dates from before the early nineteenth century.
Over a period of more than 50 years, Ray Wood has published a string of major works on Great Plai... more Over a period of more than 50 years, Ray Wood has published a string of major works on Great Plains culture history and other subjects. He has held important professional posts, interacted with a vast cohort, and trained a generation of midcontinent archaeologists. Beyond all that, Ray\u27s memoir, A White-Bearded Plainsman, shows him to be a fine writer and terrific storyteller. Wood presents his story in chronological order, appropriate for a culture historian, but it happens that Ray came up at a time when Plains archaeology was blooming: his story describes the growth of Plains prehistory
This study examined, by measuring the time required and oxygen consumption, the efficiency of thr... more This study examined, by measuring the time required and oxygen consumption, the efficiency of three types of hand saws cutting a standardized block of wood. An American saw which cuts on the push stroke was compared to a Japanese saw which cuts on the pull stroke and to a two handled bow saw whose teeth were clearly raked toward one handle. The bow saw was used twice, once cutting with the push stroke only and once with the pull stroke. The results showed no significant difference among saw types in the time it took to cut the wood, but did show differences in the amount of oxygen consumed. By this measure the Japanese saw was most efficient, the push bow saw and American saw second, and the bow saw cutting on the pull stroke the least efficient.
Gun part assemblages from several Euroamerican and Native American contact period sites from the ... more Gun part assemblages from several Euroamerican and Native American contact period sites from the Plains are compared as a way of examining how firearms were incorporated into Native technology of the Plains region. These data are interpreted in ...
It has become necessary to understand the advantages and disadvan tages of the alternatives repr... more It has become necessary to understand the advantages and disadvan tages of the alternatives represented by spears and arrows, their characteristic applications, and payoffs associated with them. To address such questions, this paper presents the results of behavioral ecological observations of the hunting methods of San (Basarwa, Bushmen) forager/farmers of the Kalahari Desert region of Botswana. We hope to demonstrate that decisions about the
... Douglas D. Scott, US National Park Service, Midwest Archeological Center, Lincoln, NE 68503 P... more ... Douglas D. Scott, US National Park Service, Midwest Archeological Center, Lincoln, NE 68503 Peter Bleed, Department of Anthropology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0368 Andrew E. Masich, Colorado ... His horse is shown in a full gallop with flowing mane and tail. ...
Virtual Reconstruction is a powerful tool broadly suited to a diverse array of archaeological her... more Virtual Reconstruction is a powerful tool broadly suited to a diverse array of archaeological heritage applications. In practice, however, reconstruction has largely focused on grand and monumental sites. Here we present two case studies–one from southern Oklahoma, the other from western Nebraska–to explore the use of this technology for more common heritage applications. The goal of this article is to advertise the dilemma we faced with communicating information on ephemeral sites and how we, as nonspecialists, solved the issue using affordable and accessible digital tools. Our workflow makes use of common tools (GIS) and open source software and online tutorials provide step by step instruction to support its replication. In presenting our experiences and the results of these efforts, we hope to spur similar applications in the use of Virtual Reconstruction to communicate information on archaeological heritage more broadly.
When initially discovered in , Early Stone Age (ESA) pointed stone bifaces from the Uitspa... more When initially discovered in , Early Stone Age (ESA) pointed stone bifaces from the Uitspankraal (UPK) in western South Africa were left in the field but recorded for photogrammetry analysis. Digital models developed with these data made it possible to recognize that UPK handaxes were routinely produced with a process that emphasized outline rather than volumetric adjustment and usually involved only a single flip. The procedural uniformity of the assemblage is clear and rather easily accessible with the field-based photogrammetic technique.
There has been a long history of interest in the material remains of conflict, but in the last tw... more There has been a long history of interest in the material remains of conflict, but in the last two and a half decades archaeologists have made strides in the study of war and warfare. Techniques have been developed, refined, and borrowed to expose the material record of combat. Sites associated with other military undertakings have been discovered and the material culture of conflict has been documented. This growth has expanded an understanding of past conflicts and challenged previously held ideas about warfare. Although archaeologists do not currently have interpretive frameworks to link the diverse sites and objects that form the archaeological record of war, modern military planners have developed such models. This paper uses sites from the North American Great Plains to suggest that military models of conflict analysis can contribute to a synthetic archaeological interpretation of conflict.
ABSTRACTTo study production risks In a prehistoric technology, this paper presents an event tree ... more ABSTRACTTo study production risks In a prehistoric technology, this paper presents an event tree analysis (ETA) of microblade technology at Paleolithic sites from north central Honshu, Japan. ETA reconstructs the sequence of steps involved in making micro-cores and determines the points and rates at which cores failed. The analysis identifies production characteristics of the two assemblages and shows that, although production risks were present, they added little to the overall cost of microblades and associated Implements.
Historical records from both sides indicate that this fight marked an early phase of the Indian W... more Historical records from both sides indicate that this fight marked an early phase of the Indian Wars. Based on systematic metal detections, firearms identification, and terrain analysis, this paper adds archeological insights into the arms and tactics used by the opposing sides. Well-armed Native fighters used terrain to approach U.S. troops, who maintained a defensive posture. U.S. soldiers appear to have dug a rifle pit to see approaching attackers.
Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology, 1997
... 3. THE STUDY POPULATIONS To describe the steps or" events" considered in the analys... more ... 3. THE STUDY POPULATIONS To describe the steps or" events" considered in the analyses that follow, the next section presents an overview of the hunting ... The Botswana govern-ment decided in 1995 to allow bow hunting by safari hunters in Botswana for a trial period ...
Antelope Creek people fought against Washita River people, Coalescent people fought against Middl... more Antelope Creek people fought against Washita River people, Coalescent people fought against Middle Missouri people, and Oneota people fought against everyone. Like the widespread recognition of a link between Plains violence and resource shortages, this answer fits well with Ember and Ember's (1992) analysis, which also highlighted the importance of socialization for mistrust of outsiders. Violence across ethnic or cultural boundaries is well documented in North America, perhaps most spectacularly, and sometimes horrifically, between Inuit groups and their interior Athapaskan neighbors (e.g., Hoffecker et al. 2012:147;. But this kind of inference on the Plains assumes a social reality to archaeological culture-historical units that we know is often unwarranted. The unit designated "Post-Contact Coalescent" in the Middle Missouri region, for example, certainly includes sites occupied by multiple social or ethnic groups who were at least intermittently hostile toward one another (Lehmer 1971) and the huge geographic extent and long temporal span of the occupations we subsume under the term "Oneota" suggest a similar pattern. Furthermore, inferring conflict between the kinds of groups that may be represented by archaeological traditions implies decisionmaking at a level somewhere above that of the individual community, suggesting a kind of pan-tribal organization for which we have no evidence. Despite this, though, there are at least some large-scale patterns on the Plains that make sense in terms of well-known culture-historical units. Most clearly, Boyd (1997) notes a general concentration of victims of violence during Late Woodland and early Plains Village times along the area of contact between groups in the southwestern Texas and their neighbors to the north and east. These Texas groups show clear ceramic links to the Puebloan Southwest and not to the Plains, while their neighbors show the opposite, and this area may have been a border of some kind between mutually hostile groups. The absence of skulls and mandibles in central Texas burials of about this age (see, for example, Krieger 1946) also parallels the burial of isolated skulls and mandibles in some Caddoan centers in adjacent areas of the Southeast, perhaps indicating a similar pattern . Indeed, skulls and mandibles at the Crenshaw site in Arkansas do appear to have been taken from nonlocal individuals (Schambach 2014). However, the history of warfare in the Middle Missouri illustrates how complicated this issue can be. Defenses appear there by the eleventh or twelfth century and are scattered throughout the distribution of horticultural sites. In addition, sites just north of these early farmers, like Menoken (Ahler 2007; Krause 2007), occupied by hunters and gatherers, but with pottery clearly influenced by farmers, were also fortified. If the distribution of fortifications tells us
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 2010
Hand tools are used in nearly all occupations and industries. Modern tools have been enhanced wit... more Hand tools are used in nearly all occupations and industries. Modern tools have been enhanced with advance materials, external power and electronics. Some tools no longer have a mechanical connection between the hand and the work object, e.g., joysticks, computer mice and hand controls used for robotic surgery hand tools. Still it is widely recognized that tools must fit the user and task to achieve best possible performance. Failure to consider the user and task can result in acute or chronic injuries. Examination of tools from different applications and from different times offers many important lessons for tools designers and users. Panelist in this session will use historical and contemporary examples, models and standards recommendations for selection and design of tools.
Abstract In 1870, as he was starting his career as a frontier army officer and anthropologist, Jo... more Abstract In 1870, as he was starting his career as a frontier army officer and anthropologist, John Bourke collected a gorget composed of iron scales and the story that it was a relic of early Spanish exploration of the Plains. This paper describes the Bourke armor and assesses its manufacture, history, and cultural context. The origins of the armor remain uncertain, but it seems unlikely that it arrived during initial Spanish explorations of the Plains. The armor probably dates from before the early nineteenth century.
Over a period of more than 50 years, Ray Wood has published a string of major works on Great Plai... more Over a period of more than 50 years, Ray Wood has published a string of major works on Great Plains culture history and other subjects. He has held important professional posts, interacted with a vast cohort, and trained a generation of midcontinent archaeologists. Beyond all that, Ray\u27s memoir, A White-Bearded Plainsman, shows him to be a fine writer and terrific storyteller. Wood presents his story in chronological order, appropriate for a culture historian, but it happens that Ray came up at a time when Plains archaeology was blooming: his story describes the growth of Plains prehistory
This study examined, by measuring the time required and oxygen consumption, the efficiency of thr... more This study examined, by measuring the time required and oxygen consumption, the efficiency of three types of hand saws cutting a standardized block of wood. An American saw which cuts on the push stroke was compared to a Japanese saw which cuts on the pull stroke and to a two handled bow saw whose teeth were clearly raked toward one handle. The bow saw was used twice, once cutting with the push stroke only and once with the pull stroke. The results showed no significant difference among saw types in the time it took to cut the wood, but did show differences in the amount of oxygen consumed. By this measure the Japanese saw was most efficient, the push bow saw and American saw second, and the bow saw cutting on the pull stroke the least efficient.
Gun part assemblages from several Euroamerican and Native American contact period sites from the ... more Gun part assemblages from several Euroamerican and Native American contact period sites from the Plains are compared as a way of examining how firearms were incorporated into Native technology of the Plains region. These data are interpreted in ...
It has become necessary to understand the advantages and disadvan tages of the alternatives repr... more It has become necessary to understand the advantages and disadvan tages of the alternatives represented by spears and arrows, their characteristic applications, and payoffs associated with them. To address such questions, this paper presents the results of behavioral ecological observations of the hunting methods of San (Basarwa, Bushmen) forager/farmers of the Kalahari Desert region of Botswana. We hope to demonstrate that decisions about the
... Douglas D. Scott, US National Park Service, Midwest Archeological Center, Lincoln, NE 68503 P... more ... Douglas D. Scott, US National Park Service, Midwest Archeological Center, Lincoln, NE 68503 Peter Bleed, Department of Anthropology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0368 Andrew E. Masich, Colorado ... His horse is shown in a full gallop with flowing mane and tail. ...
Virtual Reconstruction is a powerful tool broadly suited to a diverse array of archaeological her... more Virtual Reconstruction is a powerful tool broadly suited to a diverse array of archaeological heritage applications. In practice, however, reconstruction has largely focused on grand and monumental sites. Here we present two case studies–one from southern Oklahoma, the other from western Nebraska–to explore the use of this technology for more common heritage applications. The goal of this article is to advertise the dilemma we faced with communicating information on ephemeral sites and how we, as nonspecialists, solved the issue using affordable and accessible digital tools. Our workflow makes use of common tools (GIS) and open source software and online tutorials provide step by step instruction to support its replication. In presenting our experiences and the results of these efforts, we hope to spur similar applications in the use of Virtual Reconstruction to communicate information on archaeological heritage more broadly.
When initially discovered in , Early Stone Age (ESA) pointed stone bifaces from the Uitspa... more When initially discovered in , Early Stone Age (ESA) pointed stone bifaces from the Uitspankraal (UPK) in western South Africa were left in the field but recorded for photogrammetry analysis. Digital models developed with these data made it possible to recognize that UPK handaxes were routinely produced with a process that emphasized outline rather than volumetric adjustment and usually involved only a single flip. The procedural uniformity of the assemblage is clear and rather easily accessible with the field-based photogrammetic technique.
There has been a long history of interest in the material remains of conflict, but in the last tw... more There has been a long history of interest in the material remains of conflict, but in the last two and a half decades archaeologists have made strides in the study of war and warfare. Techniques have been developed, refined, and borrowed to expose the material record of combat. Sites associated with other military undertakings have been discovered and the material culture of conflict has been documented. This growth has expanded an understanding of past conflicts and challenged previously held ideas about warfare. Although archaeologists do not currently have interpretive frameworks to link the diverse sites and objects that form the archaeological record of war, modern military planners have developed such models. This paper uses sites from the North American Great Plains to suggest that military models of conflict analysis can contribute to a synthetic archaeological interpretation of conflict.
ABSTRACTTo study production risks In a prehistoric technology, this paper presents an event tree ... more ABSTRACTTo study production risks In a prehistoric technology, this paper presents an event tree analysis (ETA) of microblade technology at Paleolithic sites from north central Honshu, Japan. ETA reconstructs the sequence of steps involved in making micro-cores and determines the points and rates at which cores failed. The analysis identifies production characteristics of the two assemblages and shows that, although production risks were present, they added little to the overall cost of microblades and associated Implements.
Historical records from both sides indicate that this fight marked an early phase of the Indian W... more Historical records from both sides indicate that this fight marked an early phase of the Indian Wars. Based on systematic metal detections, firearms identification, and terrain analysis, this paper adds archeological insights into the arms and tactics used by the opposing sides. Well-armed Native fighters used terrain to approach U.S. troops, who maintained a defensive posture. U.S. soldiers appear to have dug a rifle pit to see approaching attackers.
Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology, 1997
... 3. THE STUDY POPULATIONS To describe the steps or" events" considered in the analys... more ... 3. THE STUDY POPULATIONS To describe the steps or" events" considered in the analyses that follow, the next section presents an overview of the hunting ... The Botswana govern-ment decided in 1995 to allow bow hunting by safari hunters in Botswana for a trial period ...
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