Petrographic analysis of potsherds from Dzibilchaltun and other Maya sites conclusively establishes the presence of volcanic ash temper in ceramics from northern Yucatan. The distribution of ash-tempered ceramics in time and space suggests import of ash in bulk from sources in highland Guatemala or El Salvador in exchange for salt. The homogeneous nature of the ash in northwestern Yucatan supports the idea that certain trading organizations enjoyed exclusive access to that region, while competing for markets in other lowland areas.

Geoarchaeology is the contribution from earth sciences to the resolution of geology-related problems in archaeology. Its scope is wide, encompassing (1) locating archaeological sites, (2) evaluating the geomorphic landscape for site catchment activities and site location, (3) studying regional stratigraphic and microstratigraphic materials for relative dating and recognition of lateral and vertical distribution of activity areas, (4) analyzing sediments for the elucidation of site-forming processes and quantification of microarchaeological (sub-macroscopic) remains, (5) analyzing paleoenvironments, (6) studying artifacts to determine manufacturing practices, procurement range, trade, and exchange networks, (7) modeling cultural/environmental interactions, (8) conserving archaeological resources, and (9) geochronology.

The development of social complexity at the Formative period site of Chalcatzingo, Morelos, Mexico, is traced through its effect on the distribution of variability in the anthropomorphic figurines found there. A new methodology for the analysis of stylistic data is applied. The implications of the character and timing of elite developments at Chalcatzingo are placed in the more general context of highland developments in central Mexico. It is suggested that complex society arose in the region primarily as a result of internal processes and that external stimulus from the Olmec area was relatively unimportant.

Monographs and other recent works are reviewed to highlight several trends in Old World archaeology that seem to be of more than passing interest to archaeologists whose primary research interests are in the Americas. Included in this review are works involving natural historical studies applied to archaeology; current works involving lithic and ceramic technology, spatial analysis, and intrasite and intersite community studies; and recent works on questions of early food production and selected other topics. This paper, the first of an anticipated annual exchange between the Archaeological Institute of America and the Society for American Archaeology, emphasizes prehistoric studies; subsequent contributions will treat a fuller range of Old World archaeological interests.

Recent excavations in Belize have resulted in the discovery of an earlier period of sedentary occupation than has hitherto been documented in the Maya Lowlands. The Swasey phase is stratigraphically antecedent to occupations of the early Middle Formative, the earliest horizon located until now, and associated radiocarbon dates suggest a persistence from 2000–1000 b.c./2500–1300 B.C. The ceramic and lithic material culture of the phase are described, together with architectural construction and burial practice, and the overall cultural identity is recognized as ancestral to the known Maya Lowland Formative. External contacts of the Cuello site are documented by exotic minerals, and the possible external antecedents for the Swasey ceramic tradition are canvassed.

Hypotheses regarding functions of prehistoric ridge-and furrow agricultural fields from Wisconsin and Michigan have been tested by resorting to data derived from experimental agricultural fields. The primary function of these fields was frost drainage in an area that was marginal to agriculture because of a minimal frost-free growing season. The time of introduction and disappearance of these features may correlate with climatic changes in North America from A.D. 1250 to 1550.

Alternative models for the exchange of serving vessels at Late Classic Lowland Maya sites are presented. These models are examined in the light of evidence on serving vessel distribution from peripheral and central Tikal, Guatemala, and adjacent intersite areas. Multidimensional scaling analysis is used to demonstrate patterning in area assemblage similarities. The revealed patterning most closely fits a model of distribution based on a fairly centralized marketing system. Changes in the organization and scale of the system between Ik and Imix complexes are examined in the light of other evidence of internal site dynamics.

A satisfactory and explicit definition of the Fremont has not been produced in over 50 years of research—a failure which suggests that no comprehensive entity exists. Attempts to define a Fremont through the use of trait lists have failed, although such lists have provided the basis for three apparently conflicting theories of origin. Analyses of subsistence economies and settlement patterns suggest that no comprehensive entity exists and that all three origin theories may possibly be valid. A Sevier "culture," based on marsh collecting and supplemented by corn agriculture, can be defined in the eastern Great Basin. A Fremont "culture," based on corn agriculture and supplemented by hunting, can be defined on the Colorado Plateau. A third unnamed, but possibly Plains-related, culture may be defined to the north of these. These "cultures" are distinctive enough to be separated on the same taxonomic level as are the Anasazi and the Sinagua.

Documentary data reveal the Aztec marketing system in the Valley of Mexico to have been a highly developed and complex institution. Examination of this information shows that the Aztec regional economy fits the requirements of classical central place theory as developed by Christaller. A central place analysis of Aztec settlement locations is presented, and it is concluded that commercial factors were of primary importance in shaping the settlement pattern in the Valley of Mexico. This does not rule out political, ecological, and other factors, whose roles in the settlement system are discussed. The implications of these results in terms of the Aztec economy and its development over time are briefly considered, and comparative data are mentioned.

Radiocarbon determinations on marine shell have previously been used to provide evidence assigning a fourth to sixth millennium B.C. age to ceramic objects excavated at the Irvine site, an early Archaic period shell midden located in coastal southern California. Objections have been raised concerning the reliability of the stratigraphic association of ceramics and the radiocarbon-dated marine shell materials. An examination of the thermoluminescence responses of two ceramic samples resulted in minimum TL ages of ca. 1500 B.C. Evidence for a presumably indigenous California ceramic tradition may also be present at two additional sites. This suggests that the arrival of ceramic forms into southern and central California by way of the southern Great Basin and Colorado River may be seen as a separate, comparatively recent [ca. A.D. 1000] phenomenon.

Turrialba, a multicomponent quarry and manufacturing site in eastern Costa Rica, has yielded in surface collections 18 fluted points, fragments, and preforms. Both North and South American paleo-Indian point types are represented. Also present are keeled scrapers, end scrapers with lateral spurs, large flake side scrapers, burins, knives, and large blades. Turrialba is as yet undated, but future excavations at the site will be crucial in understanding the diffusion and development of the fluted point tradition in the Americas.

Bones of two cranes, the sandhill crane [Grus canadensis] and the whooping crane [Grus americana], can occur in archaeological sites in North America. Fragments of these bones are frequently and easily confused with similar bone fragments of the common turkey [Meleagris gallopavo]. To preclude these errors, identification techniques are provided for major elements of the sandhill crane and turkey.

Underlying paleo-Indian period artifacts, deeply weathered chert implements have been recovered in Florida from a sandy clay horizon heretofore considered culturally sterile. Although the stratigraphic position of the stone implements in the sandy clay deposit has been demonstrated without question, dating has been a problem because no carbon-containing material has been preserved. Thus experiments were undertaken to investigate the environmental conditions under which the stone artifacts have weathered and the time required for the given extent of weathering. The electron microprobe was used to evaluate the surface compositional changes that occur in Florida chert during weathering. The patina of a chert surface exposed to an acid environment was found to be depleted of iron to a depth of ∼ 600μm. The mechanism through which Fe is leached from the surface is thought to be a diffusion-controlled process in which the depth of leaching is proportional to the square root of exposure time. This may provide a means of dating artifacts fashioned from these cherts.

A prehispanic Maya dam is reported in the Copan Valley of Honduras. The dam is situated in the foothills above the river bottom at the headwaters of a small tributary, the Quebrada Petapilla. Constructed of cut stone and mortar, the dam was built immediately downstream from a spring and once created a small, flowing pond. The function of the dam is uncertain, although the creation of a greater head of water for the irrigation of the quality farmlands in the foothill zone is a possibility. The dam probably dates no later than the Late Classic period [A.D. 650-800].

An archaeological example of simple watertable farming dating to the beginning of the Early Intermediate period in the Viru Valley, northern Peru, is reported. This technique was deployed by functionally differentiated segments of a single community, one stressing fishing and the other farming. Analyses of pollens indicate that Zea, Leguminosae, and Solonaceae were grown in two separate field systems.

Concordant radiocarbon and aspartic acid racemization dates have been obtained for several Holocene aboriginal skeletons from coastal southern California sites. These results further demonstrate the reliability of racemization dating. One of the skeletons (SDM 16709), dated at 8,300 years, was a burial around which several milling stones had been placed. This well-dated burial indicates that the Southern California Milling Stone horizon is significantly older than has previously been accepted.