The metal objects found in 1969 at the north Peruvian site of Loma Negra, in the region of Cerro Vicús, form one of the largest and most important single groups of Moche metal artifacts known. Since the objects were looted from burials at the site, they are without context, seriously compounding the problems of their relative chronology within the Moche sequence and of their relations with Moche material from the coast farther to the south. Metallurgical studies of a group of gilt copper objects from Loma Negra have shown that the gilding was achieved by an electrochemical replacement plating process in which gold and silver are dissolved in an aqueous solution of corrosive minerals. The precious metals are then plated from solution onto the copper objects. Moche metal craftsmen can now be credited with having developed the two most sophisticated of Andean gilding procedures: depletion gilding and electrochemical replacement plating.

This article discusses an approach to spatial analysis which is more closely tailored to archaeological objectives and archaeological data than are more "traditional" quantitative techniques such as nearest neighbor analysis. Heuristic methods, methods which make use of the problem context and which are guided in part by intuitively derived "rules," are discussed in general and with reference to the problem of spatial analysis in archaeology. A preliminary implementation of such a method is described and applied to artificial settlement data and artifact distributions from the Magdalenian camp of Pincevent. Finally, the prospects for further development of heuristic methods are elaborated.

This paper examines the development of social differentiation and simple decision-making organizations in the Mogollan region of the prehistoric American Southwest. We suggest that intensifying managerial problems associated with the transition to sedentism may have selected for suprahousehold sociopolitical organizations. Based on cross-cultural data, a set of theoretical expectations concerning social differentiation and leadership development is formulated which focuses on regularities in the regional settlement pattern and intrasettlement distribution of architectural features and material goods. These expectations are then used to generate a set of propositions which are evaluated archaeologically using data from early pithouse villages. On the basis of a test of these propositions it appears that simple suprahousehold decision-making organizations were present in the American Southwest by A.D. 600. The implications of this interpretation for understanding subsequent developments in Southwestern prehistoric sociopolitical organization are then discussed.

The aim of this article is to describe and discuss the use of archaeological survey in the Mediterranean area during recent decades. Emphasis will be placed on research conducted since World War II, and I will concentrate primarily on Greece and the Western Mediterranean. In this context, surveys centering on later prehistoric and historic periods will receive most attention. Note that even within these areas of concentration, this article cannot claim to be exhaustive. It is my intention to discuss the highlights of this rapidly developing field.

A recently discovered sheltered rock scar covered with red pictographs, in Jalisco, west Mexico, is a major addition to the rather meager data on pictographs in Mesoamerica. It appears to contain a complex set of data pertaining to the cosmology of the relatively unknown Indians who inhabited the Jalisco coast during the last Pre-Hispanic period. Analysis of the scar has incorporated both the artistic symbolism of the nearby Huichol Indians, and concepts developed through archaeoastronomy. This analysis suggests that the ceiling pictographs record the use of sky transits of the sun, Venus, or the constellation Orion as wet-season/dry-season calendrical markers. Wall pictographs show the sun on the mountainous horizon, below which is the earth filled with symbols of plants and animals; among these stand shamans calling down the life-giving rain from the god(s) of the sky. I also explore the possibility that one of the ceiling pictographs is a record of the appearance of the Crab supernova in the sky in A.D. 1054.

The poppy seed recovery test is a simple and inexpensive means of determining the effectiveness and consistency of any particular botanical flotation system. By adding a known number of charred poppy seeds (Papaver somniferum) to a sample before it is processed, archaeologists can check for loss, damage, and inter-sample contamination. Different systems, equipment, methods, and personnel tested since 1976 yield recovery rate percentages ranging from 6% to 98%. Such percentages provide a basis of comparison among widely differing flotation systems and enable the archaeologist to decide which flotation system to use under particular logistical constraints.

A major theoretical issue in studies of prehistoric societies in the Basin of Mexico concerns the relationship between irrigation and the development of prehistoric settlement systems. Locating and dating the remains of prehistoric water control systems, however, presents a major methodological problem. The discovery of a series of stratified prehistoric canals in the exposed profiles of contemporary borrow pits near Santa Clara Coatitlan provided an excellent opportunity for dating a prehistoric irrigation system. Results of recent excavations, reported on in this paper, demonstrate that these canals are part of a middle Formative floodwater irrigation system, which is the earliest confirmed evidence, to date, for the use of irrigation in the Basin of Mexico.

Prehistoric agricultural landforms at Chilca, Peru have been traditionally identified as sunken fields, excavated basins designed to provide planting surfaces close to the natural water table. Analysis of the morphology, physical context, and recent use of the features indicates that this view is incorrect, and that the bulk of the features are flood control embankments. Parallels with similar systems elsewhere in the Americas are described, and the implications for reconstructing prehistoric agricultural processes are explored.

The long-eared owl (Asio otus) and short-eared owl (A. flammeus) are indistinguishable by bone morphology alone. Since they inhabit contrasting ecological situations, identification of their bones from prehistoric sites is important for paleoenvironmental interpretations. Measurements on long bones of modern specimens indicate these species can be identified by bone size. Tables are presented for use by the analyst in identifying complete or fragmentary wing and leg bones.

The recognition of archaeology as a profession requires a certain amount and kind of commitment on the part of those who would call themselves professional archaeologists. The Society of Professional Archeologists was formed to provide the mechanism for that recognition by both archaeologists and others and to provide the support for professionalism in the practice of archaeology.

Since its inception the Society for American Archaeology has been concerned about "encourag[ing] a rational public appreciation of the aims… of archaeological research," and aiding in the conservation of archaeological data. The Society has acted on these concerns by becoming involved in the development of legislation intending to regulate the management of the archaeological resource base. During the recent campaign to amend the National Historic Preservation Act, a statement of "Basic Principles of Archaeological Resource Management" was drafted and accepted by the SAA Executive Committee. This position paper was useful in developing new congressional guidelines for the National Historic Preservation Act Amendments of 1980 (P.L. 95-515), and will serve as a basis for evaluating future international, federal, state, and local legislation and management programs.

Controversy exists over the geographic placement of the ethnohistoric Itza capital called "Tayasal." At the heart of this dispute are the differences and limitations inherent in the use of either archaeological or ethnohistoric data to solve the problem. As presently understood, archaeological data do not support the traditional placement of Tayasal in Lake Peten-Itza.

It is suggested that archaeologists would benefit by conceiving organizational variation in hunter-gatherer societies to be the result of both organization around resources and organization around other persons in social relations of production. This approach allows for predictions to be made about the patterning of material remains which are the products of intergroup and intragroup interaction, such as internal site structure, profiles of exchange, stylistic variation in artifacts, etc. To illustrate this point, I outline a number of social strategies for reducing risk in social and natural resources and derive hypotheses about their material correlates. While I emphasize the importance of understanding these strategies within a framework of adaptation, I question whether it is possible to predict strategies of organization from environmental variables alone.

Two new terms are recommended for the disciplines of faunal and ecological studies in historical perspective. They are congruent with terms in related sciences.

Olsen and Olsen's concern for terminology may be excessive; research proceeds without hindrance under many labels.

Corrections and additions to Olsen and Olsen's comment on terminology in faunal studies are provided. It is shown that a single term in faunal studies is not crucial to maintain subdisciplinary communication.

Odell’s use of activity areas, population parameters, seasonality, and ethnographic analogy concepts is criticized for the lack of adequate testing of his premises.

George Odell's article calls attention to the need for more creative uses of the results of lithic use-wear studies. However, the structure of his argument is precarious because it is based on a hierarchy of assumptions about the stone tools themselves, as well as about the behavioral contexts of their use. A major failing of the argument is the lack of a rigorous methodology for construction and application of ethnographic analogies. The present comment argues for the use of general analogy, based on consideration of a range of pertinent ethnographic examples.