The distance-decay model of commodity distribution is examined for its potential utility in accounting for the interregional patterning of nonlocal goods during prehistoric times. Data obtained through a spectrochemical trace element analysis of Mesoamerican obsidian artifacts serve to expose some of the model's explanatory deficiencies and, when viewed in the context of what we know about the events of Mesoamerican prehistory, suggest that variables of a sociopolitical nature must enter into any comprehensive attempt to understand the processes by which long-distance networks of commodity distribution evolved and were maintained.

Evidence provided by conjoined bone and lithic fragments from Old World sites such as Gombe Point, Meer II. Terra Amata, and Hortus shows that disturbance during burial, or following deposition, may affect archaeological assemblages to a much larger extent than previously imagined. The existence of an apparently undisturbed matrix, or of a finely stratified sequence, is not enough to rule out vertical displacement of artifacts and, in the case of multilevel sites, mixture of assemblages. As a result, many inferences based on fine stratigraphic controls may be open to question. Conjoined pieces can be used to test the presence and extent of stratigraphic disturbances that have not left clear, macroscopic traces in archaeological sediments and which have, therefore, few chances of being recognized.

It is argued here that the effects of variable site occupation span on frequency seriation have not yet been clearly elucidated. The necessary clarification is provided by graphic models used to generate simulated data which are then seriated. After an analysis of the seriation results, it is concluded that site duration variability poses a more serious problem for frequency seriations than was once thought. Possible solutions are then discussed. It is shown that no solution is in the offing for typological seriations, although it is possible to estimate the magnitude of the errors produced. Something approaching a solution does exist, however, for attribute microseriations.

We have empirically tested and evaluated several astronomically related hypotheses about the ruins of Alta Vista near the modern town of Chalchihuites, Zacatecas, in Northwest Mexico. We conclude that the site was deliberately located and oriented astronomically by people of the Teotihuacan civilization.

As supporting evidence we analyze (a) a double solar alignment incorporating a labyrinthine hallway at the ruins, and (b) a pair of circle-shaped markers, of a type found at Teotihuacan, pecked into a flat stone on a hilltop to the south. The former can be correlated with an equinoctial sunrise observation and the latter with a summer solstice sunrise, each over the same distant peak. Furthermore, a detailed examination of the pecked petroglyphs reveals that they may have served as time-marking devices.

Considerations of markets in Precolumbian Mexico have failed to analyze the significance of periodicity for Precolumbian market systems. This essay examines periodicity and argues that the several types of recorded Precolumbian markets are qualitatively different; the 5-day market was basic, while 9-, 13-, and 20-day markets were ritual in nature, tied to specific and infrequent days, and played little or no part in market articulation.

Recent analyses of primary documentary sources have demonstrated that Don Crabtree's technique of prismatic blade manufacture differs significantly from that of the ancient Mexicans. The most widely known of these ethnohistoric descriptions of blademaking, as well as several previously not considered, are reevaluated and compared to the Crabtree technique. Major discrepancies between the Aztec technique and that described by Crabtree then became the focus of replication experiments. Finally, prismatic blades were successfully produced in the manner and with the tool described by the early Spanish friars.

A 1980 amendment to the Internal Revenue Code introduced a new concept of the “qualified conservation contribution” which provides income tax benefits to the donor of historic land areas and certified historic structures. Archaeological sites can be either, and archaeologists who understand the charitable contribution provisions of the Internal Revenue Code will recognize opportunities to protect archaeological resources through donations of land or easements. This article describes the tax concepts in sufficient detail to enable archaeologists to help interested landowners begin to explore charitable contributions as alternatives to sales.

The chronological placement of the Dalton horizon in the southeastern United States has traditionally been between 10,000 and 8,000 B.P. (8000–6000 B.C.). A review of previous dating approaches questions the basis for that assignment and casts serious doubts about the validity of alleged associations between Dalton remains and C-14 dates in caves and shelters. The significance of two Dalton-associated C-14 dates from the alluvial terrace of the Rodgers Shelter site is discussed in regard to their age and contexts. Excavations of Dalton open sites during the 1970s revealed pure Dalton assemblages with no side-notched and corner-notched points present. Radiocarbon dates spanning the period from 9,500 to 9,000 B.P. for side-notched and corner-notched points indicate that the Dalton point had ceased to be made by that time. It is argued that the interval from 10,500 to 9,900 B.P. (8500–7900 B.C.) is the correct temporal position of the Dalton horizon. The importance of correctly estimating the age and duration of the Dalton adaptation is emphasized, particularly for relating technological and settlement strategies to the paleoenvironmental changes of the early Holocene.

A plain stela has been identified at the site of Cuello, Belize. On the basis of stratigraphy and the accompanying cache vessels it has been dated to the latter part of the Late Formative, ca. A.D. 100. This date is approximately 200 years older than the earliest Initial Series dated stela so far known in the Maya lowlands, and comparable with some early dated monuments in the Pacific piedmont zone. Stela erection in the lowlands may antedate the secondary use of such monuments as vehicles for dynastic propaganda.

A blue pigment having the chemical stability of authentic Maya Blue can be prepared from indigo and attapulgite with the raw materials available to the ancient Maya, and by techniques presumably within their knowledge. The procedure possibly used consists of impregnating attapulgite with an extract of indigo plant leaves and stems and subsequently heating the impregnated clay for an extended period of time at the temperature of boiling water. This procedure would obviate the need for transportation of montmorillonite to areas far removed from its source and would account for the existence of the various types of Maya Blue noted in a previous report.

Professional archaeologists in America seem to have reached a consensus that systematic archaeological collections are vital to current and future comparative research. Current repositories are inadequately designed and insufficiently funded. Minimally, a repository must be housed in a safe, sturdy, secure building equipped to handle curation and conservation as well as special storage functions. It must include areas for collections study and have an effective information storage/retrieval system. It must have a qualified professional staff. While initial processing of materials may be accounted for in research budgets, long-term (in perpetuity) curatorial maintenance charges may be best defrayed by interest income from funds invested by the repository.

The increasing incorporation of economic concepts into archaeological theory has led to an increased potential for misunderstanding through terminological sloppiness. Misuse of such terms as minimax, efficiency, risk, and maximization has already laid a solid foundation for confusion. These comments are intended to provide brief definitions for several key economic terms and to indicate how they can be used so that their meanings are clearly understood.

In a recent statistical study of settlement patterns at Tikal, Guatemala, Arnold and Ford failed to find evidence for the concentric zonation model which specifies that high-ranking persons generally lived closer to the site center than persons of lesser rank. However, their conclusions are invalidated by their exclusion from consideration of the houses occupied by the wealthy and powerful members of Tikal society. Attention is called to other deranging factors which need to be considered before a valid test of the concentric zonation model can be carried out Tikal, or at any other large and complex site.

Data from Coba, Quintana Roo, Mexico indicate strongly that Arnold and Ford"s (1980) settlement pattern analysis of Tikal, Guatemala is the result of an insufficient sample combined with their inability to distinguish between vaulted and unvaulted masonry structures. These deficiencies, together with a standard labor investment calculation for shrines and the use of an invalid measuring technique, have produced a distorted homogenized view of Classic Maya urban organization.

There are two basic concerns expressed in the comments by Haviland and Folan et al.: the possible exclusion from consideration of specific residential unit areas and the method for calculating labor investments. Although all the issues expressed may be legitimate, most have been explicitly addressed in our original article (Arnold and Ford 1980), and none alter our conclusions.

Stone engravings from Sechin, hitherto interpreted as human eyes, are reinterpreted as anuran eggs. The reasons for this interpretation and the possible symbolic meaning of such eggs are given.