This is a preliminary report on a quantitative method for grouping prehistoric pottery using x-ray diffraction techniques. Of the various analytical methods that have been applied to the analysis of pottery, x-ray diffraction techniques have been among the least used, and then usually to obtain qualitative information. Most analytic methods measure the relative abundance of chemical elements, but diffraction patterns give information on the crystalline substances in the pottery. In this study, attention is directed to the crystalline components of the temper rather than the clays or their derivatives. The method groups pottery according to the relative concentrations of such minerals as quartz, calcite, and the feldspars. Thus, success depends on reasonable consistency in the use of tempering materials by pottery makers at one time and place. I have examined a number of sherds from different sites in Iowa and Missouri supplied by Dale R. Henning, University of Nebraska. The results so far indicate that it is possible to group prehistoric pottery by a quantitative analysis of the x-ray diffraction pattern of the temper in the pottery.

A method is presented for preparing animal skeleton collections while in the field.

An alternative to photomicrography is suggested for photography of specimens in analysis of technology and artifact functions. The photomacrographic system yields superior results up to 40x, at which point photomicrography is preferred. It is suggested that enlarging, movie camera, or specialized macro lenses coupled to view or press cameras, can duplicate results achieved with expensive commercial systems.

The large preceramic site of Aspero, on the central Peruvian coast, was explored in the past by Uhle and by Willey and Corbett; however, these investigators did not recognize the presence of sizable artificial platform mounds or “corporate labor structures” at the site. In spite of its preceramic status, Aspero was a sedentary community, and the corporate labor structures suggest the beginnings of a complex, non-egalitarian society. The hypothesis is advanced that such a society was “pre-adapted” toward corporate labor activity and that this “pre-adaptation” expedited the rapid transference from a marine economy to an agricultural one at the close of the Cotton Preceramic period (about 2000-1800 B.C.).

The potential contributions which imitative experiments can make to archaeology are far greater in scope, complexity, and overall "value" than is commonly realized. A sketch of some of these potential contributions is given and, in support of the claims advanced, a method of measuring the efficiency of hand operated implements is described and then applied in a comparison of different agricultural practices. The results show that experiments can provide important data unobtainable by traditional research methods and aid in the analysis of past subsistence and technological systems.

Nance intended to demonstrate that certain small, bifacially chipped obsidian artifacts from the California Late horizon were used for cutting purposes, and were therefore not projectile points. However, both categories of edge abrasion noted by Nance, attrition and striation, may also appear on the edges of bifacially flaked artifacts during the process of manufacture. The purpose of abrading a biface edge is to strengthen the edge preparatory to pressure or percussion flaking. Criteria to distinguish edge abrasion during manufacture from abrasion deriving from use are presented.

Techniques are described for obtaining thin sections of charcoal and ancient woods for identification. Materials are embedded in epoxy resins and sectioned either with a sliding microtome or by grinding and polishing on silicon carbide or papers.

A hypothesis incorrectly reported in the Current Research section of the April, 1971, American Antiquity is clarified. The methods and results of preliminary testing of this hypothesis are described. A high correlation obtains between the 2 variables, which leads to the construction of a regression equation. By use of this equation, the access volume of a facility may be predicted from knowledge of the diversity of contents.

If an archaeological site is situated near a dependable source of water, a water pump with attached hoses can be utilized to deliver water to screen excavated fill. Screening with water results in the recovery of more and a greater variety of artifacts and non-artifactual materials, and saves time and money. Gasoline-engine powered centrifugal pumps are recommended for most projects.

Kautz has criticized the author's "oversimplified" use of ethnological models in the interpretation of data from a salvaged California cemetery. The author argues that this criticism reflects a misunderstanding of the uses to which archaeological data and models drawn from outside archaeology can appropriately be put.

A small, gilt tumbaga object was excavated by Erika Wagner at the habitation site of La Era Nueva, near the town of Mucuchíes, in the Venezuelan Andes during her 1967–68 field expedition. This object is the only Precolumbian metal artifact excavated in the Mucuchíes region and one of the few ever found in Venezuela. A complete study of the object, including wet chemical analysis, metallographic examination, and electron microanalyser scans, proved it to be of a typical tumbaga alloy, made of extremely thin, cast sheet metal, and gilt by one of the processes of depletion gilding. Both the sophistication of the metallurgy that characterizes this object as well as the lack of any other evidence for a prior metallurgical technology in the region indicate that the object could not have been made locally. It may be of Colombian origin, a product of Chibcha or Tairona goldsmiths.

Archaeologists rely upon the sherd count to quantify creamic data. A simple method for counting rim sherds uses the percentage of a vessel's orifice represented by each sherd. This technique can be used to estimate the minimum number of vessels represented by the sherds in any specific category.

In a recent paper, Nance has proposed that the serrated "Stockton Points" of central California were used as cutting implements rather than as arrow points. His sample comprised 10 specimens. Functional analyses of 87 additional examples (plus the examination of 2 specimens imbedded in human bone) are reported here and indicate that Nance’s hypothesis is incorrect. We argue the obvious point that very limited artifact samples are inadequate for generalizing on functional use.

Several years ago it was generally thought that the stirrup spout form was unique to the New World and that diffusion could account for all of its occurrences. When 2 African stirrup spouts from the Congo were documented, the question of independent invention was raised, even though the Congo vessels were similar to American types. Recently, various stirrup spout vessels have been found in Nigeria. A Mwona stirrup spout, like those of their neighbors, appears to have little in common with American stirrup spout vessels and the vessels reported from the Congo. The differences in form and function of the documented Nigerian vessels make independent invention of the stirrup spout form a more plausible hypothesis than has been previously believed.

Previous discussions of the exchange system of the prehistoric Maya have been based on the assumption that their uniform environment prevented inter-group exchange of local resources. The validity of this assumption is questioned and the stability of primitive exchange systems is examined.

The hypothesis presented by Tourtellot and Sabloff regarding ancient Maya exchange systems, although not necessarily incorrect, is found to be based on inaccurate information. The use of such data leads to the formulation of erroneous ideas concerning Maya economic systems in general. This in turn hinders the application of the useful aspects of Tourtellot and Sabloff"s study to problems concerning the structure of ancient Maya society.