The geology of the Darwin Forest in central-western Argentina has been extensively studied since it was originally described by the author of On the Origin of Species. However, its role as a source and quarry of lithic raw materials throughout human history in the region has received less attention. In this paper, we evaluate the potential of the fossil trunks as knappable resources. Geological and archaeological surveys characterize the different features of human use in the Paramillos and Los Colorados geological formations. Petrographics and GIS analysis are also developed. Results show a strategic location of the sources related to Uspallata valley and Precordilleran sites (Agua de la Cueva). The favorable conditions related to accessibility and visibility, as well as quality and abundance of these raw materials explain the extensive exploitation demonstrated in quarried trunks and the corresponding incidence of primary debitage in surface areas.

Stranded in Jamaica for a year in AD 1503, Christopher Columbus and crew became reliant on the Taíno village of Maima for provisions. Recent archaeological survey and excavations at this site document a sizeable hillside settlement established early in the White Marl period of Jamaican culture history with continued occupation up to Spanish contact. Beginning by 13th to 14th century AD, the people at Maima expanded their settlement capacity across the hillslope through construction of house terraces and platforms employing large volumes of limestone rock and gravel fill. Archaeological excavation on these features has exposed at least one circular, center-pole Taíno house with a surprisingly limited floor space. A review of Jamaican archaeology suggests both hillside terracing and small house form is characteristic of Jamaican Taíno village configuration more broadly. This pattern stands in contrast to other areas of Taíno settlement in the Caribbean, and to the small number of Spanish chronicles in which Taíno villages and houses are described.

The Recorrido Arqueológico de Coixtlahuaca (RAC) presents period-by-period settlement pattern maps for the valley of Coixtlahuaca in the northern Mixteca Alta. The RAC project made improvements in full-coverage survey methods. We identify limitations and suggest that similar projects in the future need to resolve several management and budget problems. The survey revealed two periods of heavy occupation, 700–300 BC and AD 1200–1520, separated by a long period of lower population. Archaeological and historical data indicate that during the AD 1200–1520 period, and probably earlier, small landholders organized in strong communities managed an intensive agroecosystem, investing in landesque capital. Urbanization was impressive, yet cities were aggregations of communities and barrios. Today local citizens pose questions about how the large prehispanic population could have organized and sustained itself; these questions coincide with anthropological interest in collective agency, property, landesque capital, and collapse.

Warfare was a prevalent phenomenon throughout the Andes during the Late Intermediate period (LIP; AD 1000–1450). A salient research topic within broader investigations of conflict is how populations cope with chronic warfare. This article utilizes statistical and GIS-based analyses of architectural features and settlement patterns to reconstruct defensive coping mechanisms among groups living in 15 fortified settlements in the Nazca region of Peru. This research evaluates how populations deployed artificial defenses (fortifications), natural defensibility, and settlement placement to best protect themselves and critical resources from enemy incursions. Intersite variation in fortification was primarily driven by population size: the smallest and most vulnerable settlements were the most heavily fortified and occupied the least accessible areas. Variation in fortification investment within each site was driven by differences in the accessibility of approaches leading to the residential sector of a site. Settlement patterns were largely driven by natural defensibility, large viewsheds, and proximity to economic resources. This research demonstrates that LIP populations made optimal trade-offs between competing defensive variables, revealing highly patterned regional defensive strategies. Broader spatial, settlement, and architectural data indicate that warfare in the region was chronic and internecine.

This article contributes to the ichthyoarchaeological record of the north coast of the province of Río Negro, Patagonia Argentina, by exploring the chronological variations in the fish exploitation in the area of Bahía San Antonio (BSA). This study examines 7,473 ichthyoarchaeological remains from excavations and surface contexts, and identifies the represented species and parts. Recovered otoliths have been used to determine the sizes of the Micropogonias furnieri (White croaker). The results indicate temporal changes in the fish exploitation in the area in both frequency and diversity of species. Finally, these results are discussed in relation to the available archaeological information at the regional scale in order to characterize the role of ancient fishing in this sector of the north Patagonian coast.

The ballgame, played in an open-air public facility, was an integral institution for most major Mesoamerican centers. Although its social roles likely included political and social mediation among polities or communities, who could witness a game? Our estimates of the numbers of viewers derive from lines of sight toward the playing alley from nearby construction and plazas or other open ground. Focusing on centers in south-central and southern Veracruz, Mexico, we assess court viewership relative to people accommodated in the main plaza to determine the degree to which prime ballgame viewership was restricted. Ratios of prime viewers to plaza capacities for primary and secondary centers show that relative limitations in viewership did not covary consistently with the settlement hierarchy. We show that viewership was markedly curtailed compared to public assembly space in plazas and likely favored the upper echelons of society.

We present new data on a class of ceramics called Tiltepec yellow wares, dated to the Late and Terminal Formative period occupations at Cerro Jazmín, Oaxaca (300 BC– AD 300). Evidence from 27 radiocarbon-dated ceramic assemblages indicates that Tiltepec yellow wares are a distinct ceramic type. Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) results further confirm the wares’ identification. Defining Tiltepec yellow wares as a type apart from Classic-period orange ceramics allows the reassessment of the regional settlement sequence, previously understood to indicate widespread settlement abandonment in the Terminal Formative period. The new data suggest that Cerro Jazmín had a more continuous urban occupation than previously thought.