Attention is called to a case of duplication of nomenclature in which the Milling Stone complex of San Clemente Island, California, as defined by M. B. McKusick and C. N. Warren, is apt to be confused with the Milling Stone horizon of the adjacent coast, as delineated by William Wallace. Existence of the Milling Stone complex has been questioned by Sam-Joe Townsend. The complex of the island and the horizon of the coast are claimed by no one to be equivalent in time or content, and an attack on the former should not be mistaken as an attack on the latter. It is suggested that before the confusion is further compounded another term be found for the island manifestation.

On the basis of ethnohistorical data, Clune has questioned the identification and use of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican stone objects formerly known as “padlock stones” or “sling stones” and recently designated by de Borhegyi as “ball-game handstones.” According to de Borhegyi, these stones were used by players in the Mesoamerican ball game to deflect or propel a high-arching ball. Archaeological evidence strongly supports the inference that “ball-game handstones” and such ball-game paraphernalia as stone yokes and palmate stones were used in the ball game as it was played during Early and Late Classic times (A.D. 200-900) along the Gulf coast of eastern Mexico and in the Maya area. The indiscriminate use of Spanish and other early ethnohistoric records may be misleading in the reconstruction and interpretation of cultural events that occurred centuries earlier in a variety of places.

Two instances of birch-bark “scrolls” in archaeological contexts are reported from the Head-of-the-Lakes region of Ontario. One site in Rainy Lake yielded numerous examples; another in Quetico Park produced several other specimens. Archaeologists should be aware of the possibility of making such finds in the paper-birch area.

Although noted authorities contend that percussion flakes made with a wooden billet are thinner and shapelier than those made with a hammerstone, this experimenter wishes to report that he can see no difference, even when he strikes off the flakes himself. He begins to doubt that anybody else can tell the difference.

Selected key traits are discussed as illustrations of the ceramic constellations of the Woodland and Mississippi traditions. Surface texturing is shown to be the dominant Woodland ceramic trait and an interest in vessel form, the dominant Mississippi trait. It is pointed out that the constellations outlined as characteristic of the two North American traditions can be observed in the early ceramic complexes of the Mediterranean region as early as the sixth millennium B.C.

A device now being used in industry is suggested as a way to automate much of the labor of artifact description and comparison. This is a numerically controlled machine tool, and some problems and possibilities connected with its use are discussed.

In an attempt to compare a large number of fluted points in the Eastern United States, metric data were coded on punch cards and analyzed statistically. A sample of fluted points from Virginia was tested in a trial study. It was found that some attributes showed significant but predictable clustering. The variation in fluting pattern between geographical areas within the state was significant.

During the 12th and 13th centuries A.D., diverse populations of Pueblo Indians gradually withdrew from the drainages of the San Juan River and its tributaries, leaving the area uninhabited and open to future reoccupancy by Navajos. Two hypotheses have been put forward to explain these emigrations: the great drought theory and the Athabaskan raider theory. However, data from recent field work in the Four Corners area can be put together with clues from the literature to construct a third hypothesis: that late Pueblo II population shifts from the north created multiple, small pressures which slowly built into a chain-reaction of anxieties, producing widespread population rearrangements in the San Juan regions, cultural and stylistic changes and, finally, an increasing trend toward emigration. Paiute pressures in the north may have combined with climatic deterioration to initiate withdrawal of the Utah peripheral farmers who, in retreating, disturbed precarious balances of San Juan groups who were already maximally expanded in population. These, in turn, began to move about more frequently than previously, disturbing one another. Stylistic changes in pottery and architecture, large towns, and defensive sites reflect the unrest which resulted in final migration to more peaceful drainages.

The locations of certain mounds at the Cahokia site indicate that the rate of Mississippi River channel migration in the American Bottoms in the Upper Mississippi Valley has differed from the rate of channel movement in the Lower Mississippi Valley. The American Bottoms was probably the most favorable section of the Mississippi River Valley for long-term prehistoric settlement with regard to location within the present meander belt of the river.

At the 29th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology I presented a paper entitled “Excavations on Hiva Oa, 1963.” In the abstract distributed at the meetings I stated (p. 41) that a decorated potsherd which appeared to be a fragment of a ceramic disk had been found at the Pekia site on Hiva Oa, Marquesas Islands. I also stated, “Thus far no parallels are known in Polynesia. A comparative study is in progress.” I can now report that the specimen is of modern manufacture. This came to light upon the return of Dr. Yoshiko Sinoto to Hiva Oa on May 21, 1964.

It is generally accepted that Lake Mohave artifacts date from the closing phase of the last deglaciation when the lake stood at its highest level. A re-evaluation of published data shows that Lake Mohave artifacts date from the overflow period, but only after the lake had abandoned the highest or 946-foot beach. A radiocarbon date of 9640 ± 240 years has been obtained from Anodonta shells at levels between 925 and 930 feet. These shells have been interpreted as remains of animals stranded en masse during the final recession of the Pluvial lake. No evidence for such a catastrophic event has been presented, and there is some evidence which suggests the opposite. The Anodonta shells appear to represent remains of dead animals deposited when the lake stood somewhat higher than 930 feet. It is apparent that an interdisciplinary approach, involving geology, paleolimnology, and palynology, as well as archaeology, is needed if man's place in the history of Lake Mohave is to be understood.

Finding sites of U.S. Army outposts of the Seminole War period (1835-42) in Florida is difficult under the best conditions. Little in the way of occupation residue is generally visible to indicate the presence of these sites in the heavily vegetated lowlands of Florida. One of these posts, Fort Stansbury, headquarters for the 3rd Regiment of the U.S. Infantry during the Florida Wars, has been relocated. The methods used and the military artifacts leading to its discovery are described.

Finds of Cody knives, Agate Basin, Allen, Clovis, Eden, and Meserve points indicate that the Colorado Front Range was occupied at least 7000 to 8000 years ago. Apparently Folsom hunters avoided the higher altitudes, but Clovis hunters may have crossed the Continental Divide.

The occurrence of sherds of Southwestern pottery in several localities is noted. These sherds are briefly described and are discussed in terms of probable trade routes between the Southwest and southern California.

In the past six years a number of pits dug into cobble-stone beaches of Lake Superior have been discovered. These are as much as four feet in depth and some are large enough to accommodate several people. They do not appear to have been roofed, and the small amount of animal bones, charcoal, potsherds, and other objects suggests that these pits were used as occasional shelters from the wind by Indians fishing through the ice on Lake Superior.

In 1953 it was suggested that bifurcate-stemmed projectile points might serve as a horizon marker in the southwestern United States. Since then material has been reported which indicates that this is also true for the eastern United States. There are two types of bifurcate-stemmed points: a larger form which may be older than 5000 B.C. and a smaller form which appears to be more recent.

Radiocarbon dates of 6880, 6980, 7270, and 6380 B.P. have been obtained for an Early Horizon site (Oak Grove) in the region of Santa Barbara, California. These dates permit the definite association of many cultural features which have previously been denied for the Oak Grove complex: a partial maritime economy, a core-and-flake industry, bone and shell technology, the use of asphaltum, and flexed burials. It is unlikely that the Early Horizon in Santa Barbara was sedentary to any degree.

In his reply to de Borhegyi's review of his book Los Mayas Eternos, Girard succeeds in bringing greater confusion to the picture of Quiché and Maya cultural and history. In this rebuttal to Girard's reply, some pertinent archaeological facts relevant to the Classic period in Highland Guatemala are used to point out weaknesses in Girard's untenable theory that the Quiché-Mayas were responsible for the origin and development of such Mexican high cultures as Classic period Teotihuacán and Postclassic Tula.