Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T08:12:03.089Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Ecological Interpretation in Archaeology: Part I

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

C. W. Meighan ,
D. M. Pendergast ,
B. K. Swartz Jr.  and
M. D. Wissler
C. W. Meighan
Affiliation:
University of California, Los Angeles, Calif.
D. M. Pendergast
Affiliation:
University of California, Los Angeles, Calif.
B. K. Swartz Jr.
Affiliation:
University of California, Los Angeles, Calif.
M. D. Wissler
Affiliation:
University of California, Los Angeles, Calif.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Interpretations of man's relationship to his environment are basic to the understanding of archaeological data. Such interpretations are made by almost all archaeologists in the course of presenting their findings, and there is a growing trend toward more precise delineation of human ecology in prehistoric times. Yet much archaeological writing of this sort tends to be sketchy and fragmentary, and techniques of value are often overlooked or ignored. More or less standardized procedures for interpreting prehistoric ecology are still in the process of being worked out, and even the physical techniques of collecting and sorting samples are experimental at present.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 24 , Issue 1 , July 1958 , pp. 1 - 23
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1958

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, R. Y. 1955 Pollen Analysis, a Research Tool for the Study of Cave Deposits. American Antiquity, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 84–5. Salt Lake City.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anonymous 1904 Quantitative Estimation of Cellulose in Foods and Faeces. The Analyst, Vol. 29, p. 371.Google Scholar
Anonymous 1954 Science News [Abri Pataud, France]. Science, Vol. 119, No. 3088, pp. 311–12. Washington.Google Scholar
Bailey, I. W. and Barghoorn, E. S. Jr. 1942 Identification and Physical Condition of the Stakes and Wattles from the Fishweir. In “The Boylston Street Fishweir. A Study of the Archaeology, Biology, and Geology of a Site on Boylston Street in the Back Bay District of Boston, Massachusetts,” by Johnson, Frederick. Papers of the Robert S. Peabody Foundation for Archaeology, Vol. 2, p. 82-9. Andover.Google Scholar
Barghoorn, E. S. Jr. 1944 Collecting and Preserving Botanical Materials of Archaeological Interest. American Antiquity, Vol. 9, No. 3, pp. 289–94. Menasha.Google Scholar
Bascom, W. R. 1941 Possible Application of Kite Photography to Archaeology and Ethnology. Illinois Academy of Science Transactions, Vol. 34, No. 2. Urbana.Google Scholar
Baumhoff, Martin 1955 Excavation of Teh-1 (Kingsley Cave). University of California Archaeological Survey Reports, No. 30, Paper 33. Berkeley.Google Scholar
Bell, W. H. And King, C. J. 1944 Methods for the Identification of the Leaf Fibers of Mescal (Agave), Yucca (Yucca), Beargrass (Nolina) and Sotol (Dasylirion). American Antiquity, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 150–60. Menasha.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boyer, W. W. And Robinson, Peter 1956 Obsidian Artifacts of Northwestern New Mexico and Their Correlation with Source Material. El Palacio, Vol. 63, Nos. 11-12, pp. 333–45. Santa Fe.Google Scholar
Brainerd, G. W. 1939 An Illustrated Field Key for the Identification of Mammal Bones. Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly, No. 48, pp. 324-38. Columbus.Google Scholar
Breuil, Abbe Henri 1955 The White Lady of the Brandberg. Praeger, New York.Google Scholar
Brown, G. H. 1952 Illustrated Skull Key to the Recent Land Mammals of Virginia. Virginia Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Release No. 52–2. Blacksburg.Google Scholar
Cain, S. A. 1939 Pollen Analysis as a Paleo-ecological Research Method. Botanical Review, Vol. 5, pp. 627–54. Lancaster.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Childe, V. G. 1937 Adaptation to the Postglacial Forest on the North Eurasiatic Plain. In Early Man, edited by MacCurdy, G. G., pp. 233–42. J. P. Lippincott, London.Google Scholar
Childe, V. G. 1950 The Dawn of European Civilization. Routledge and Kegan Paul, London.Google Scholar
Clark, J. G. D. 1947 Archaeology and Society. Methuen, London.Google Scholar
Clark, J. G. D. 1952 Prehistoric Europe: The Economic Basis. Methuen, London.Google Scholar
Clark, J. G. D. 1957 Star Carr, a Mesolithic Site in Yorkshire. In Recent Archaeological Excavations in Britain, edited by Bruce-Mitford, R. L. S., pp. 1–20. Macmillan, New York.Google Scholar
Cole, Sonia 1954 The Prehistory of East Africa. Pelican Books, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cook, S. F. 1946 A Reconsideration of Shellmounds with Respect to Population and Nutrition. American Antiquity, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 50-3. Menasha.Google Scholar
Cook, S. F 1950 Physical Analysis as a Method for Investigating Prehistoric Habitation Sites. University of California Archaeological Survey Reports, No. 7, Paper Berkeley.Google Scholar
Cook, S. F. And Heizer, R. F. 1951 The Physical Analysis of Nine Indian Mounds of the Lower Sacramento Valley. University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology, Vol. 40, No. 7, pp. 281-312. Berkeley.Google Scholar
Cook, S. F. and Treganza, A. E. 1947 The Quantitative Investigation of Aboriginal Sites: Comparative Physical and Chemical Analysis of Two California Indian Mounds. American Antiquity, Vol. 23, No. 2, pp. 135–41. Menasha.Google Scholar
Cook, S. F. and Treganza, A. E. 1950 The Quantitative Investigation of Indian Mounds. University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology, Vol. 40, No. 5, pp. 223–62. Berkeley.Google Scholar
Cornwall, I. W. 1956 Bones for the Archaeologist. Phoenix House, London.Google Scholar
Crawford, O. G. S. 1953 Archaeology in the Field. Phoenix House, London.Google Scholar
Crawford, O. G. S. And Keiller, Alexander 1928 Wessex from the Air. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Dart, R. A. 1956 The Myth of the Bone-Accumulating Hyena. American Anthropologist, Vol. 58, No. 1, pp. 40- 62. Menasha.Google Scholar
De Lauwe, P. C. 1951 Photographies Aeriennes. Armand Colin, Paris.Google Scholar
Douglass, A. E. 1936 Climatic Cycles and Tree Ring Growth. Camegie Institution of Washington, Publication 289. Washington.Google Scholar
Faegri, Knut And Iversen, J. 1950 Text-book of Modern Pollen Analysis. Ejnar Munksgaard, Copenhagen.Google Scholar
Fitch, J. E. 1953 Common Marine Bivalves of California. State of California, Department of Fish and Game, Marine Fisheries Branch, Fish Bulletin No. 90. Sacramento.Google Scholar
Fowler, M. L. And Winters, Howard 1956 Modoc Rock Shelter, Preliminary Report with Faunal Analysis by Paul W. Parmalee. Illinois State Museum, Report of Investigations No. 4. Springfield.Google Scholar
Frobenius, Leo And Fox, D. C. 1937 Prehistoric Rock Pictures in Europe and Africa. Museum of Modern Art, New York.Google Scholar
Gauthier, Henri 1956 Report on the Fauna. In “The Rock Shelter of La Colombiere,” by H. L. Movius, Jr., and Sheldon Judson. American School of Prehistoric Research, Bulletin No. 19, pp. 75-82. Cambridge.Google Scholar
Gebhard, P. H. 1949 An Archaeological Survey of the Blowouts of Yuma County, Colorado. American Antiquity, Vol. 15, No. 2, pp. 132–43. Menasha.Google Scholar
Gifford, E. W. 1916 Composition of California Shellmounds. University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology, Vol. 12, No. 1. Berkeley.Google Scholar
Glock, W. S. 1937 Principles and Methods of Tree-Ring Analysis. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Publication 486. Washington.Google Scholar
Goodwin, A. J. H. 1953 Method in Prehistory. 2nd edition. South African Archaeological Society Handbook Series, No. 1. Capetown.Google Scholar
Gradwohl, R. B. H. 1948 Clinical Laboratory Methods and Diagnosis, Vol. 1, pp. 1104–5. 4th edition. C. V. Mosby, St. Louis.Google Scholar
Greengo, R. E. 1951 Molluscan Species in California Shell Middens. University of California Archaeological Survey Reports, No. 13. Berkeley.Google Scholar
Greengo, R. E. 1954 Archaeological Marine Shells. In “The Monagrillo Culture of Panama,” by Willey, G. R. and McGimsey, C. R.. Papers of the Peabody Museum, Harvard University, Vol. 49, No. 2, pp. 141–50. Cambridge.Google Scholar
Heizer, R. F. And Cook, S. F. 1956 Some Aspects of the Quantitative Approach in Archaeology. Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, Vol. 12, No. 3, pp. 229–48. Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Heizer, R. F. And Treganza, A. E. 1944 Mines and Quarries of the Indians of California. California Journal of Mines and Geology, Report No. 40, pp. 291-359. Sacramento.Google Scholar
Hill, H. R. And Tompkins, P. D. 1954 Common Sea Shells of the Los Angeles County Coast. Los Angeles County ‘Museum, Science Series No. 16, Publication No. 7.Google Scholar
Holmes, W. H. 1919 Handbook of Aboriginal American Antiquities, Part I, The Lithic Industries. Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 60. Washington.Google Scholar
Howard, Hildegarde 1929 The Avifauna of Emeryville Shellmound. University of California Publications in Zoology, Vol. 32, No. 2. Berkeley.Google Scholar
Hubbs, Carl 1948 Changes in the Fish Fauna of Western North America with Correlated Changes in Ocean Temperature. Contributions from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, News Series, No. 379. La jolla.Google Scholar
Kelker, G. H. 1937 Insect Food of Skunks. Journal of Mammalogy, Vol. 18, No. 2, p. 165. Baltimore.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, A. R. 1950 Cattle Point, a Stratified Site in the Southern North West Coast Region. Memoirs of the Society for American Archaeology, No. 7. Menasha.Google Scholar
Krieger, A. D. 1954 A Comment on “Fluted Point Relationships” by John Witthoft. American Antiquity, Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 273–5. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Lindner, Kurt 1950 La Chasse Prehistorique. Payot, Paris.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loud, L. L. And Harrington, M. R. 1929 Lovelock Cave. University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology, Vol. 25, No. 1. Berkeley.Google Scholar
Mallery, Garrick 1893 Picture-Writing of the American Indians. 10th Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1888–89. Washington.Google Scholar
Martin, P. S., Quimby, G. I., And Collier, Donald 1947 Indians Before Columbus. University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Mcgeein, D. J. And W. C., Mueller 1955 A Shellmound in Marin County, California. American Antiquity, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 52-62. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Mclean, Richard 1951 The Pelecypoda or Bivalve Mollusks of Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands. New York Academy of Sciences Transactions, Vol. 17, Pt. 1. New York.Google Scholar
Meighan, C. W. 1953 The Coville Rock Shelter, Inyo County, California. Anthropological Records, Vol. 12, No. 5, pp. 171–224. Berkeley and Los Angeles.Google Scholar
Meighan, C. W. 1954 A Late Complex in Southern California Prehistory. Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 215–27. Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Meighan, C. W. 1955a Archaeology of the North Coast Ranges, California. University of California Archaeological Survey Reports, No. 30, Paper 32, pp. 1-39. Berkeley.Google Scholar
Meighan, C. W. 1955b Excavation of Isabella Meadows Cave, Monterey County, California. University of California Archaeological Survey Reports, No. 29, Paper 30, pp. 1-30. Berkeley.Google Scholar
Morris, P. A. 1947 A Field Guide to the Shells of Our Atlantic Coast. Houghton Mifflin, Boston.Google Scholar
Morrison, J. P. E. 1942 Preliminary Report on Mollusks Found in the Shell Mounds of the Pickwick Landing Basin in the Tennessee River Valley. In “An Archaeological Survey of Pickwick Basin in the Adjacent Portions of the States of Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee,” by Webb, W. S. and De-Jarnette, D. L.. Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 129, pp. 341-92. Washington.Google Scholar
Murie, O. J. 1954 A Field Guide to Animal Tracks. Houghton Mifflin, Boston.Google Scholar
W. T., Neil, Gut, H. J., And Brodkorb, Pierce 1956 Animal Remains from Four Precerarnic Sites in Florida. American Antiquity, Vol. 21, No. 4, pp. 383–95. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Obermaier, Hugo 1924 Fossil Man in Spain. Yale University Press, New Haven.Google Scholar
Peck, S. L. 1955 An Archeological Report on the Excavation of a Prehistoric Site at Zuma Creek, Los Angeles County, California. Archeological Survey Association of Southern California Papers, No. 2. Los Angeles.Google Scholar
Pool, R. J. 1929 Flowers and Flowering Plants. McGraw-Hill, New York.Google Scholar
Ricketson, O. G. Jr., And Ricketson, E. B. 1937 Uaxactun, Guatemala; Group E —1926-4931. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Publication 477. Washington.Google Scholar
Rouse, Irving 1951 A Survey of Indian River Archaeology, Florida. Yale University Publications in Anthropology, No. 44. New Haven.Google Scholar
Roy, E. J. 1954 Kite Takes Aerial Photos. Mechanix Illustrated, October, 1954, pp. 174–6, 199. Greenwich, Conn.Google Scholar
Shepard, A. O. 1936 The Technology of Pecos Pottery. In “The Pottery of Pecos, Vol. 2,” by A. V. Kidder and A. O. Shepard, pp. 389-587. Papers of the Southwestern Expedition, No. 7. Yale University Press, New Haven.Google Scholar
Shepard, A. O. 1956 Ceramics for the Archaeologist. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Publication 609. Washington.Google Scholar
Solecki, R. S. 1957 Practical Aerial Photography for Archaeologists. American Antiquity, Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 337–51. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Steward, J. H. 1929 Petroglyphs of California and Adjoining States. University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology, Vol. 24, No. 2. Berkeley.Google Scholar
Sudworth, G. B. And C. D., Mell 1911 The Identification of Important North American Oak Woods. United States Department of Agriculture Bulletin, No. 102. Washington.Google Scholar
Taylor, W. W. 1948 A Study of Archeology. Memoirs of the American Anthropological Association, No. 69. Menasha.Google Scholar
Treganza, A. E. And S. F., Cook 1948 The Quantitative Investigation of Aboriginal Sites: Complete Excavation with Physical and Archaeological Analysis of a Single Mound. American Antiquity, Vol. 23, No. 4, pp. 287–97. Menasha.Google Scholar
Wheat, J. B. 1955 Mogollon Culture Prior to A.D. 1000. Memoirs of the Society for American Archaeology, No. 10. Menasha.Google Scholar
White, T. E. 1952 Observations on the Butchering Technique of Some Aboriginal Peoples. American Antiquity, Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 337-8. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
White, T. E 1953a A Method of Calculating the Dietary Percentage of Various Food Animals Utilized by Aboriginal Peoples. American Antiquity, Vol. 18, No. 4, pp. 396–8. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
White, T. E 1953b Observations on the Butchering Technique of Some Aboriginal Peoples. American Antiquity, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp. 160-4. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
White, T. E 1954 Observations on the Butchering Technique of Some Aboriginal Peoples, Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6. American Antiquity, Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 254–64. Salt Lake City.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
White, T. E 1955a The Technic of Collecting Osteological Materials. American Antiquity, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 85–7. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
White, T. E 1955b Observations on the Butchering Technics of Some Aboriginal Peoples, Nos. 7, 8, 9. American Antiquity, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 170–8. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Willey, G. R. (EDITOR) 1956 Prehistoric Settlement Patterns in the New World. Viking Fund Publications in Anthropology, No. 23. New York.Google Scholar
Witthoft, John 1952 A Paleo-Indian Site in Eastern Pennsylvania: An Early Hunting Culture. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 96, No. 4, pp. 464–95. Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Wlttry, W. L. and R. E., Rltzenthaler 1956 The Old Copper Complex: An Archaic Manifestation in Wisconsin. American Antiquity, Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 244–54. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar