History of development of the American Formative concept is briefly outlined. A chronology is presented that covers the three millennia before the Christian Era and which extends from Ecuador to the Ohio Valley. The Stalling’s Island complex of fiber-tempered pottery from the coast of Georgia is compared with the Valdivia Period ceramics of Ecuador, and the Orange fiber-tempered wares of Florida are compared with the Machalilla Period ceramics of Ecuador and related material in Mesoamerica. The conclusion is drawn that these early Southeastern Cultures ultimately derived from the Ecuadorian early Formative by way of colonies that probably existed in the southern part of Mesoamerica.

Faunal analysis suggests that before the retreat of the Wisconsin glaciers from North America, the occupants of the Valley of Tehuacan, Puebla, engaged in communal drives of jackrabbit (and possibly pronghorn antelope as well). With the arrival of the present (warmer) climatic regime, antelope and jackrabbit were replaced by whitetailed deer and cottontail, and all evidence of communal drives ceased. This change, which has interesting implications from the standpoint of interband cooperation, is not reflected in either artifacts or settlement patterns as presently rscoverable by archaeologists. It also suggests that the nature of the post-Pleistocene "readaptation" in semi-tropical America differed from that postulated for the northern temperate regions.

Excavations to investigate stratigraphy at Zia Pueblo indicate that the mesa now occupied by the tribe was first settled by their ancestors during the fourteenth century, when a neighboring site also was established by others of the same people. Except for a short period in the late seventeenth century when the group moved to a refugee site, occupation was continuous. In the east dump, sterile soil was encountered on the bottom of level 36 (each level of 25 cm. thickness); above this, five sloping zones with sherd complexes differing in proportions, if not always in types, could be traced.

Geologic investigation and radiocarbon dating of a newly exposed stratigraphic section at the famous Early Man site of Blackwater No. 1 (Clovis) in eastern New Mexico show the Brown Sand Wedge to be in part a contemporaneous facies of the Diatomaceous Earth (10,000 to 11,000 years old) and in part older (11,000 to 11,500 years old). The Gray Sand is probably more than 12,000 years old. Artifacts contained therein are concentrated in the upper 6 in. and are believed to have intruded the sand via the tramplings of the surface by man and animals.

The discovery of ancient spring-feeder conduits confirms the springhead origin for the Brown Sand Wedge and the Gray Sand suggested by Sellards and Evans (1960). In addition to well-sorted, nearly spherical, graded, quartz grains the conduits contained Clovis, Folsom, and Agate Basin artifacts bearing an extremely high polish. Some Agate Basin points appear to have been coeval with Folsom points; others are younger. Deposition of the Carbonaceous Silt containing Scottsbluff points, Frederick points, and points of the Portales complex began as early as 9,800 years ago, and possibly continued as late as 7,000 years ago.

A secondary burial of at least 30 individuals was excavated on Polacca Wash south of the Hopi Reservation in Arizona. This burial does not match either the prehistoric or contemporary Hopi pattern and cannot be duplicated in the recorded habits of surrounding tribes. Slight evidence favors a prehistoric placement. The formal arrangement of the burial, with skulls around the periphery and the remainder of the bones within the outline, suggests a magico-religious rite.

Three point types, and the several varieties of each, make up the Small Side-notched Point System of the northern Plains. The earliest type is the Avonlea, appearing with large-scale communal bison hunting in the northern Plains early in the Christian era. The Avonlea type is replaced after ca. A.D. 700 by the Prairie Sidenotched type, which may have been derived from the Middle Woodland Besant points that were contemporary with Avonlea. The final northern Plains type of point is the Plains Side-notched, present from ca. A.D. 1300 to the historic period. It is suggested that the Avonlea point may have been brought by Athabascans, the Prairie Sidenotched may have been an Algonkian type, and the Plains Side-notched may have been of Mississippian derivation.

Reconnaissance, surface collecting, and test excavation were carried on in Salts Cave in August, 1963, by a joint Illinois State Museum-Cave Research Foundation expedition in cooperation with the National Park Service. Various analyses and secondary investigations have continued since then. The main upper passages of the cave were extensively visited during the last millennium B.C. by a prehistoric people who are probably to be assigned to the Early Woodland culture grouping. They were exploiting the mineral resources of the cave, primarily sulfate crystalline deposits, at least one of which is cathartic. Some individuals penetrated nearly two miles into the cave, using cane torches. Quantities of prehistoric, dried human feces are available and are yielding important dietary information. The people were apparently cultivating some plant species, including sunflower (Heliarn thus annus) and two members of the classic tropical horticultural complex, squash and gourd (Cucurbita pepo and Lagenarid siceraria). There is as yet no evidence that they grew or used maize (Zea mays).

A collection from a small Late Wisconsin site is described. This assemblage exhibits a distinctive coreworking technique and a distinctive variety of fluted points. It is dated on geological grounds to between 11,000 B.C. and 9000 B.C. at a time when spruce stands were probably becoming established in the area. The contrasts between this assemblage and others described from Northeastern North America suggest a number of hypotheses not testable with the available data.

Two stone stelae at the Crystal River site, Florida, are in similar alignment with two temple mounds. One stela has an incised human head, ceremonial caches, and a radiocarbon date of about A.D. 440. The stelae, their spatial relationships, and the ceremonial deposits are evidence of influences from southeastern Mexico.

A recently published statement by Baumhoff and Heizer that the "large herbivores disappeared in the Great Basin before man’s entry into the area" is contrary to the facts in the case. The correct data are supplied.

BAUMHOFF AND HEIZER (1965: 699) in their discussion of "Climate and Archaeology in the Desert West" state:

Petrographic analyses and a determination of manganese in pottery clay by the electron probe have clarified questions raised by the Bennyhoff and Heizer article on the results of analyses by neutron activation of Cuicuilco and Teotihuacan sherds.

Excavations in the Savannah River swamp in southeastern South Carolina have uncovered a shell midden believed to represent the accumulation of a single occupation by Savannah River Archaic peoples. Two radiocarbon dates from the basal portions of this shell midden suggest an age for the associated Stallings Plain pottery of 2505 B.C. and 2515 B.C. A third radiocarbon date — A.D. 1450 — from the upper levels of the shell midden clearly reflects contamination derived from later occupations of the site. Nothing in the field evidence provides a sound basis for refuting the two early dates, but in view of their antiquity, firm acceptance must await independent corroborative evidence from other Southeastern sites.

A study of some projectile points collected in the region of Oaxaca, Mexico, was recently concluded. It was possible to relate most of the specimens to the typology employed at nearby Tehuacan. The earliest points date from the El Riego phase, beginning ca. 6800 B.C. Limited evidence suggests that, possibly because of pluvial conditions, the early folk of Oaxaca kept to the foothills rather than the valley floors. This may have effected cultural differences with Tehuacan. Oaxaca may also have had an important part to play in the migration of early man to South America.

In the present paper a systematic classification of ancient calcareous materials has been proposed which more closely defines limestone in terms of the ratio of calcium to magnesium present. The same classification may be applied to mortars and plasters to characterize the raw materials from which they were made. The classification includes "pure" calcium and magnesium minerals and any combination of the two.

A new analytical procedure has been devised which eliminates the major sources of error in a previously used method and consists of first igniting the sample to remove all organic matter and most of the carbon dioxide and to oxidize any iron compounds to the ferric state. This is followed by solution of the sample under mild conditions and volumetrically determining the calcium and magnesium under conditions which eliminate the effect of any dissolved impurities.