A series of nonceramic sites is described for the purpose of indicating the nature of the resources to be found along the western margin of the Andean precordillera in northern Chile. Artifacts recovered from several sites are similar to those designated Ayampitin and Lauricocha from other regions in Andean South America. Strong ties are suggested between coastal and interior sites, due either to trade relationships between separate groups or to the same peoples occupying a series of site locations on a seasonal round. Detailed studies that hopefully will clarify these relationships are in process. Information on permanent agricultural settlements in this same region will be presented in a future summary.

Ethnographic study of painting patterns in a small Tarascan village showed that some variables reflected variation in the intensity of communication between painters while others did not. An analysis of the pottery painting style as a complex, multi-dimensional, hierarchically organized structure facilitated the selection of variables that were good indicators of communication patterns. Patterns of stylistic variation included 1) a distinct variant of the village style that was used only by members of one family painting group and 2) individual style in painting, which characterized the work of every painter. The concepts used in this analysis could be adapted to the study of similar archaeologically known styles so that the patterning of interaction between artisans might be established.

A recent surface survey was conducted at the site of Chan Chan, Peru, for purposes of investigating the nature of community settlement patterns. Previous writers have tended to view these in terms of the speculated sociological implications of specific largescale architectural features known as ciudadelas. In doing so they have neglected an extremely important body of information regarding the many small and inconspicuous building units that are closely associated with the ciudadelas. The present survey concentrated on the smaller complexes and provided data that were relevant to studying aspects of community settlement patterning such as house types, distribution of public buildings, street layouts, distribution of population types, population size and density. The results indicate that the range of social activities that were engaged in at Chan Chan during its flourish cannot possibly be understood in terms of the implications of large-scale architecture. It is suggested here that the overall community settlement pattern of Chan Chan is coincidental to the configuration described by Sjoberg (1965) for the typical preindustrial city. The hypotheses and suggestions generated by this study provide a base or foundation for future research at the site.

Shafts of human femurs from burials on Washington Island, Wisconsin dated ca. A.D. 200 were in good enough condition to allow decalcification, microscopic sectioning and routine staining. Many histological features of the bone are retained. Such procedures are less laborious than grinding undecalcified sections, allow three-dimensional observation of serial sections, and offer possible uses in age determinations of skeletons and paleopathology. The specimens give initial evidence that prompt burial prevents the formation of weathering cracks in bone.

The present weight of evidence indicates that the Sierra Pinacate, Sonora, was an enclave occupied continuously from the end of the Altithermal period by people of the Amargosa complex, who, as Areneños, spoke a dialect of Papago in historic times. It is proposed that the Amargosans spoke an ancestral Piman tongue and that the present range of Piman speakers, from the Gila River to the Río Santiago in Jalisco, represents the extent of the Amargosan occupation. At the extreme southern end of the range, Amargosans were in contact with Mesoamerican culture, and they acquired pottery making, canal irrigation, and other specialized traits from this contact. Given the corridor of Piman speakers from south to north, a group of these southern people is thought to have brought the Vahki phase of the Hohokam, en bloc, to Snaketown on the Gila River, about 300 B.C. There the culture developed and expanded until A.D. 1400, with varying rates of accretions of traits and immigrants from the homeland. At that time, Piman-speaking Sobaipuri from the east, belonging to the Sonoran Brownware tradition, invaded the Hohokam territory and conquered it. Descendants of captive Hohokam survive as the Buzzard and Red Ant moieties of the Papago and Pima. Yuman entry into the South-west is thought to be late, opposing Schroeder's Hakatayan theory. A redefinition of the term "Hohokam" is proposed. It is suggested that this term be confined to the culture pattern which developed in the Gila Valley and thus to separate the Hohokam from those Amargosans who developed in the Sonoran Brownware tradition, who might be called the "Ootam."

Survey and excavations carried out at the Inca administrative center of Huánuco Viejo revealed a large city with a ceremonial and palatial section, large residential zones, and huge storage facilities. Well-cut Cuzco style masonry was limited to the ceremonial areas, which included platforms, gateways, a bath and an elaborate apartment, probably intended to house royalty or important officials. The residential districts were Inca derived in architecture and planning, and the pottery was virtually limited to Inca inspired wares, thus demonstrating a lack of influence in either architecture or ceramics of the local peasants who served at the site. The huge storage areas housed mostly local highland produce which was used to sustain the city, mita laborers, and transients, and was probably not used for extensive redistribution to the local villages in the surrounding area. The city, then, must be described as an artificial device imposed by the Inca for administrative and political purposes, rather than as a city which arose because of local conditions or needs.

In 1964, topsoil removal operations in the Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania, exposed a large cache of beads and shell objects. There is evidence that many of the beads and objects were originally strung as necklaces or belts, but these were destroyed when the discoverer washed the material. An attempt is made to reconstruct the contents of the cache and to determine its approximate age.

Cores recovered from a soil auger were found to yield accurate information about the depth of midden deposit and to compare favorably with column samples as a means of recovering midden material for microanalysis.

Excavations of protohistoric Arikara sites in South Dakota have produced native manufactured blue-glass pendants in association with burials. On the basis of archaeological and laboratory evidence, it is conjectured that the Arikara produced these pendants by first grinding blue-glass seed beads to form a powder. They then moistened the powder to form a paste and shaped and fired the paste to the desired form on a copper plate which often was a rifle butt plate. In addition, it is shown that, through time, the Arikara gradually refined their techniques to produce better made pendants and ornaments of different shapes.

Radiocarbon dating of terrestrial snail shells is examined. Three groups of samples, two from archaeological sites of Venezuela and one from the state of Texas, were taken as examples. The true ages were determined from radiocarbon dates on associated charcoal, and measurements on the snail shells allowed the errors to be determined. The groups showed completely different characteristics: 15 samples from Texas all had ages falsely old, 12 specimens of one Venezuelan group produced all correct dates, and another Venezuelan type with five samples gave dates all too recent. This study defines the directions and extents of errors for each group of snail shells, permitting them to be used as relatively reliable datable objectives in excavations where better materials are not available.

The possibility of correcting the radiocarbon dates using carbon-13 concentrations is considered, and 24 measurements are presented. It is concluded that more than one factor can influence the stable isotope concentrations in each case, and, therefore, carbon-13 is not useful for the improvement of the accuracy of snail shell dates.

We have said that the cargo system integrates contemporary Maya communities and have suggested this interpretation as a model for interpretation of Classic Maya social organization. Haviland's arguments against this idea remain unsupported, especially because he misinterprets Cancian's study of Zinacantan and fails to use other studies of contemporary Maya communities.

Excavation of a coastal site often involves the temptation to perform a quantitative analysis for mollusc shell present in the midden. A major factor in such an analysis is the time expense involved. This paper presents the minimal time costs for the sub-processes of standard shell analysis. Time costs for an actual shell analysis are reconstructed to illustrate the use of sub-process rates and as an independent check on the rates as reported. An adequate standard shell analysis is an expensive undertaking. The time and/or money involved might well be applied to more productive research.

A fluted point fragment was located in the Huichol area of Jalisco, Mexico, in 1966. The point was left with a Huichol informant and later reused in a ceremonial context. The nature of the original find and the point"s relocation are discussed. Some general observations on artifact relocation by aboriginal groups are made.

Marshall's attempt to infer a structural system from evidence provided by post holes does not follow from his analysis.

The repeated occurrence of flakes possessing remnants of unifacially trimmed edges was noted in the analysis of chipping refuse from two late prehistoric sites in west central Texas. Attributes on these flakes suggest three techniques of removal–by a burin technique, by striking the uniface on the ventral surface near the edge, and by striking the uniface on the dorsal surface near the edge. Examples of these retouch techniques were evident on certain unifacially chipped scrapers from the two sites, and, together with wear patterns and edge angle values, support inferences that the flakes are by-products of uniface retouch.

An unusual hourglass-shaped vessel from a tomb in the middle Cauca Valley, Colombia, is described. This is the area of the so-called Quimbaya culture, in which metal work reached a very high artistic and technical development; however, as yet, no tools definitely used in manufacture of metal objects have been found. It is suggested that the vessel described here is a furnace built to hold a crucible, although, since the vessel was apparently placed new into the tomb, definite identification of its function is not possible.

Ritchie and Dragoo's hypothesis concerning Adena migration into the northeastern United States is examined and found lacking because of sample characteristics. An alternative, probabilistic explanation for the index pattern which they found is offered, and it is suggested that data on northeastern Adena are too scanty to allow any type of valid statistical analysis.

Cotton plant parts recovered from archaeological sites usually consist of cordage and textile fragments, raw cotton, boll segments, and seeds. All of these can be readily identified as cotton, but much less easily as particular species of cotton. Some possibilities for obtaining a more precise botanical identification are presented. Peduncles (i.e., the stalks to which the bolls are attached in living material) might be particularly useful for identification purposes.