"Stela Stealing" has reached such momentous proportions that if something is not done immediately it will be too late to save remaining monuments. Of the 50 archaeological sites in Guatemala and Mexico at which I have recorded monuments in the past 7 years, 18 have either had stelae removed by thieves just prior to my arrival, or "in-process sawing" was taking place at the time of my investigations. Monuments are being stolen in jungle areas. Two important effects will be felt. First, archaeological investigations will be hindered, and second, a source of tourist income for affected countries will be jeopardized. Lives of archaeologists are already in jeopardy, as indicated by incidents in the Peten during the past several years. Part of this paper was read at the annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology in Norman, Oklahoma, 6 May 1971.

The cultural aspect of the processes responsible for forming the archaeological record is argued to be an underdeveloped branch of archaeological theory. A flow model is presented by which to view the "life history" or processes of systemic context of any material element. This model accounts for the production of a substantial portion of the archaeological record. The basic processes of this model are: procurement, manufacture, use, maintenance, and discard. Refuse labels the state of an element in archaeological context. The spatial implications of the model suggest a largely untapped source of behavioral information. Differential refuse disposal patterns are examined as they affect artifact location and association. The meaning of element relative frequencies in refuse is discussed.

An evolutionary and ecological approach is used in an attempt to define the causes and motivations involved in the process of Oneota development in Wisconsin. A primary thesis of this paper is that the Oneota life-way emerged from a Woodland base modified in the direction of the Mississippian pattern. The rapid appearance of a qualitatively distinctive pattern of socio-political organization, the multi-band or "tribal," is thought to be responsible in part for the difficulty in tracing this development. It is suggested that this level of integration became firmly established as the dominant socio-political structure throughout the northeastern United States by A.D. 1100-1200. Early Oneota settlements (A.D. 900-1300) are then contrasted to late Oneota settlements (A.D. 1300-1600) in Wisconsin and a difference in cultural ecological adaptation is suggested. Examples of organizational change in other cultures are briefly illustrated to suggest that the pattern of development may be at least in part recurrent.

Since laboratory studies on skeletal variations have validated the use of non-metric osteological traits to genetically distinguish populations, a direct relationship between these traits and biological reality can be assumed. Because of this relationship, it is possible to conceive the central thesis of this paper: to the degree that any social organizational feature corresponds to the biological referents of the kinship system, osteological data can be used to elucidate that feature. The kinds of problems that might be investigated are limited by the archaeological determination of certain social units. In the present study, a method is developed to test for residence pattern. This method is applied to data from the Allegany reservation (Seneca) dating from the 1850's to 1930. Ethnohistorical sources support the conclusions of the osteological analysis.

Engraved designs on French Jesuit finger rings from 14 historic sites of the Great Lakes area and the Mississippi Valley were examined. The wide variety of decorative motifs appearing on these rings is attributed to a stylistic drift occurring over a period of 60 yr. An estimated 95% of Jesuit ring designs from this area are traced to 3 prototypes. This paper demonstrates that rings with cast designs on round or oval bezels date between 1624 and 1700, while those with designs engraved on octagonal or heart-shaped bezels were current between 1700 and 1780. The process of stylistic drift and some of the variables conditioning the rate of style drift are considered.

Sea level has been rising over the past 4 millennia along the coast of northern New England, but the rate of rise has been faster in the direction of the Bay of Fundy. In any given locality, the rate of rise has been steadily slowing during that time. These and other concurrent changes have complicated the study of shifts in prehistoric cultural ecology. This paper utilizes archaeological data from 2 important localities to unravel the complex interaction of evolving technology, changing sea level, shifts in marine resources, and probable changes in terrestrial flora and fauna over time. Locally specific natural limitations on cultural options are discussed.

In the spring of 1783, Oconastota, the Great Warrior and principal chief of the Overhill Cherokees, died and was buried at his beloved town of Chota on the Little Tennessee River in present day Monroe County, Tennessee. In the fall of 1969, the Department of Anthropology of the University of Tennessee, while conducting archaeological investigations at this site, disinterred a burial which exhibits striking correlations with the historic accounts of Oconastota and his inhumation.

Prehistoric ridged fields and canals were recognized from the air in 1968 along the Candelaria River of Campeche, Mexico, in the vicinity of sites described by E. Willys Andrews in 1943. These remains were subsequently identified by Scholes and Roys as the settlements of Acalan, a native province along the route of the journey by Cortes to Honduras. Ground exploration in 1969 and 1970 has suggested that the fields were used over a considerable period of time under a system of diversified horticulture. The extensive canal system apparently provided access from the rivers to firm ground and allowed shortcuts and bypasses alongside the rivers themselves. The landscape suggests a considerable prehistoric population, vigorously engaged in major public works projects over a large area. It invites further integrated investigation of its past human ecology, particularly for information on variants of basic Lowland Maya subsistence patterns and the new perspectives this may give on the structure, success and demise of this civilization. An earlier version of this paper was read at the 39th International Congress of Americanists in Lima, 1970.

Salvage operations were carried out at an extensively pot-hunted Zoned Bichrome period (300 B.C. to A.D. 300) cemetery in northwestern Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica. This is the first "pure" Zoned Bichrome site of this type to be studied and yielded a cross-section of ceramics representative of other Late Formative sites in the area and of contact with the Maya lowlands. In addition, it solidified the impression of this period being an entity distinct from subsequent regional developments. This distinction is seen in terms of adaptation to the exploitation of marine mollusca, a pattern not present in Zoned Bichrome sites known at the present time, but very important in succeeding Polychrome periods.

Chemical analyses of soil samples from the Utz site, Missouri, provide results which make it possible to distinguish between soil stains of human origin (postmolds) and similar stains produced by other agencies (for example, rodents). Based on the comparison of the concentrations of magnesium and phosphates in the stains with those of the immediately surrounding soil, postmolds were correctly identified with 96% accuracy in a limited sample. Other soil disturbances in the site (bulldozer drag, an old excavation, and so forth) were also localized on chemical grounds during the course of the research.

Eighteen analyses are presented for 12 different Moche copper pedestal cups. Eight of the cups were made from naturally-occurring copper metal ore; the remaining 4 from copper obtained by smelting of complex oxidized ores. The use of both ore types suggests either a matter of convenience or technology in transition. In general, these people possessed a more advanced level of metallurgical technology than their utilization of primitive naturally-occurring copper metal implies.

Manually operated post-hole diggers have proven to be useful tools for sampling archaeological deposits in an area where surface collection of artifactual material is impossible. Post-hole diggers were used to locate areas of dense occupation debris around residential platforms in the periphery of Tikal, Guatemala. The post-holing of extensive areas as a technique for locating hidden construction was also tested, with positive results.

The historic Maya habit of abandoning a hut after the occupant's death, and the tendency to move communal sites, may be responses to population decimation and foreign political domination following breakup of the Mayapan hegemony. If so, it is doubtful that they should be projected back to the Classic Maya.

Obsidian has proved to be a difficult substance to photograph and various methods have been devised to render it opaque so that this may be more easily accomplished. The method described is simple and requires very inexpensive equipment.