Since mid-1974 very significant advances have been made in interpreting the Mixtec codices of Mexico. Many older hypotheses have been disproved, including the long-accepted chronological scheme proposed by Caso (1949), and these will cause profound changes in archaeological correlations for the Oaxacan area. The most important codex research is now focused upon correcting the chronology, distinguishing between actual history and mythical events, and clarifying the natures and roles of supernatural beings. The use of Central Mexican concepts hindered earlier research, but these patterns are erroneous for the Mixtecs and have now been discarded; accurate interpretations occur only with the use of Mixtec cultural and linguistic data. Mixtec codex studies are now firmly established as a separate and independent area of specialization within Mesoamerican scholarship.

As a step toward delineation of prehistoric urbanism on the North Coast of Peru, Royal Ontario Museum teams have conducted intensive structural-functional analysis of “urban context” at the site of Pampa Grande, much of which was last occupied by a Moche V population (ca. A.D. 600-700). Such analysis entails, among other requirements, rigorous temporal control and a systemic conception of archaeological sites, emphasizing interlinkage of various activity loci. The multistage excavation-sampling design devised for the task was based on codification of architectural forms in terms of access pattern and on the belief that ceramically defined “contemporaneity” is inadequate for functional analysis. Application of the method showed that the site contained dispersed loci of low-output craft production, with a labor force commuting from elsewhere and fed by spatially segregated kitchens. An extensive network of corridors and formal storage complexes further attests to a concern with the control of commodity and labor movement.

This study contends that flooding and related stream-flow phenomena have had an extensive impact on archaeological resources. An analysis of 1972 flood damage on 226 aboriginal sites in a portion of the Susquehanna River drainage indicates a need for special concern about differential preservation, discovery techniques, and interpretation of archaeological data in stream valley areas. Unless archaeologists and cultural resource managers take into account the natural and/or man-induced events and processes which may have affected the fluvial history of a region under study, their prediction and detection of sites-and their description, analysis, and interpretation of those that have been discovered-may be hampered seriously.

Despite a continuing heavy reliance on general ecology and allied subfields for analytical models and empirical findings, ecological anthropologists remain reluctant to critically evaluate potential pitfalls of borrowing from other disciplines. Through an examination of how archaeologists have superficially and selectively applied the concepts of ecotone and edge effect, it becomes evident why anthropologists must take a closer, critical view of cross-disciplinary terms and studies.

Meadowcroft Rockshelter is a deeply stratified multicomponent site in Washington County, southwestern Pennsylvania. The 11 well-defined stratigraphic units identified at the site span at least 16,000 years and perhaps 19,000 years of intermittent occupation by groups representing all of the major cultural stages/periods now recognized in northeastern North America. Throughout the extant sequence, the site served as a locus for hunting, collecting, and food-processing activities, which involved the seasonal exploitation of the immediately adjacent Cross Creek Valley and contiguous uplands. Presently, Meadowcroft Rockshelter represents one of the earliest well-dated evidences of man in the New World as well as the longest occupational sequence in the Western Hemisphere.

In 1958 and 1969 the Tokyo University expeditions excavated the Formative site of Las Haldas on the Peruvian coast as part of their multiyear investigation into the developmental processes of Andean civilization. The site, known for a temple complex consisting of 6 terraces and a circular sunken court, provides comparative data for the key highland Formative site of Kotosh. The results of the 1969 excavation refuted the earlier view that the temple complex was preceramic. The large quantity of organic refuse, the architectural build-up, and the radiocarbon dates suggest long, continuous occupation based on maritime economy. Las Haldas was a key component of a pan-Andean exchange system, which cross-cut major ecological zones, and must be considered in conjunction with agricultural populations in the nearby Casma Valley and farther inland.

The Codices Porfirio Diaz and Fernandez Leal have not been satisfactorily analyzed as to content, nor have their origins been explained. New data relevant to their history are presented, establishing a definite Cuicatec origin and content. They were utilized in a court case (ca. 1562) concerning nobility succession rights. Historical sections contain dates of founding and conquest of Cuicatec towns. Toponymics written in hieroglyphics, in Spanish, and in Cuicatec using the Latin alphabet mark Cuicatec district landscape features still called by the same names. The codices cover approximately 260 years and correlate with a written document. Where, how, and why the codices were created and multilated is discussed, and evidence is presented which corrects previous analyses.

The recently discovered Stela 5 at Pixoy is of particular interest because its Initial Series contains lunar glyphs as coefficients for the 3 lowest periods. While lunar glyphs do not appear in any other known Initial Series, they are to be found in other chronological counts. A study of the moon sign usage in these other counts leads to the conclusion that Stela 5 records the Long Count position 9.14.0.0.0 in a nontraditional manner as the Initial Series 9.13.20.0.0.

Teeth of Vildivia Period C Indians lack caries, a fact inconsistent with suggestions for intensive agriculture at this time (ca. 2000 B.C.) in coastal Ecuador.

A systematic underwater survey of the Atherley Narrows, in southern Ontario at the outlet of Lake Simcoe, has revealed the remains of numerous wooden stakes preserved in the bottom sediment. Some of these stakes are aligned in patterns across the channel and are believed to be the remains of fishweirs. Radiocarbon ages on stakes indicate that at least 2 of these structures date from the Late Archaic period.

Experiments were performed to determine the effectiveness of obsidian tools with different forms of edge treatment for animal processing. For most butchering tasks, primary flakes with unmodified working edges were more effective than bifacially pressure-flaked tools. The data presented indicate considerable variability among animal species in the demands placed on tools used for specific butchering tasks. It is suggested that consideration by prehistoric hunters of factors such as tool longevity and raw material availability could have resulted in the use of butchering tools with less than optimal cutting characteristics.

Paleodemography is a useful adjunct to archaeological reconstruction, but as a research tool it is relatively new and requires further study. This paper reports on a project in which the life-table method of modeling demographic processes, based on a sexed and aged sample from the community ossuary, was tested against census records of the population structure. Data were taken from cemetery headstones in a township in central Indiana, spanning the period from its first settlement by Euroamerican farmers in 1830 through 1972. Life-expectancy estimates produced from the life tables were essentially identical to those produced from federal census data. Paleodemographic models of population structure were statistically different from census tabulations but were similar in form, representing a "smoothed" estimate of age structure.

Several solar alignments were found for the east window of Room 44 at Wupatki. Analysis shows that these alignments were the accidental products of National Park Service construction and not the intended design of the original builders of the pueblo. This analysis provides an excellent example of the problems inherent in archaeoastronomical and architectural studies at "reconstructed" and stabilized sites.

The replicated collection of the surface of a site provides one way of learning more about a site during survey work. Examples of the use of this technique at 2 sites in southern Italy are presented. The suggestion is made that the site surface in some cases can be viewed as operating as a biased multinomial sampling process. A statement of this hypothesis in formal terms is given.

Two types of government contracts, the firm fixed price and the cost reimbursement, are discussed in the context of archaeological research. The major features of these types of contracts are presented so that the archaeologist may more fully understand some basic contracting procedures and requirements that may directly affect archaeological work.