The relationships between the social development in the upper Lurin valley and an expanding Early Intermediate period Lima state are examined. Internally, population growth and irrigation complexity progress together in the Lurin. Warfare, although not directly caused by population expansion, may function to regulate population. With irrigation and population expansion, a local social stratification originates but political control remains highly dispersed. A centralized control is only initiated by the external introduction of direct dominance by the Lima state.

Lexico-reconstruction techniques are used to examine the possible affinities between speakers of the Muskogean and Siouan families and the bearers of Mississippian culture. Lexical data are presented in terms of a typology of social systems which is descriptive of the range of socio-cultural complexity which characterizes Mississippian communities and societies. These social systems are defined as: descent-ranked societies, genealogy-ranked societies, and stratified societies. Non-material aspects of Mississippian culture are also examined. These suggest a concern with calendrics and the presence of mathematical decimal systems.

Davies (1969) has applied the need-Achievement test of individual motivation in assessing the decline of Minoan Civilization. Such use of psychology for interpreting past events is potentially of great interest to anthropologically-oriented archaeologists. This paper, therefore, is a discussion of the theoretical aspects of such a proposition, a commentary on its previous applications, and a report of methodology and negative results for a similar test that I have applied to the prehistoric southwestern U.S. culture of the Hohokam.

The inability to control for variables which affect protein decay is the major problem limiting the use of nitrogen as a chemical method of dating archaeological bone specimens. Of these variables, soil pH, ground water, and temperature are the major factors. In laboratory simulation experiments, we determined the effect of temperature on the time dependent decay rate of bone protein. In this research, 100 mg samples of ground cow bone were sealed in test tubes containing 5 ml of water and heated at temperatures varying from 100 degrees C to 140 degrees C for time periods up to 5 hr. Nitrogen concentration for each sample was determined using a modified micro-Kjeldahl method developed in our laboratory. Using standard regression analysis, we determined the decay rates of nitrogen for each temperature. By extrapolation from these data, we were able to show that differences in mean annual temperature between archaeological sites can have a substantial effect on the decay rate of bone protein.

Using data collected by NASA in the Tehuacan Valley, Mexico, tests were undertaken to determine the effectiveness of aerial color infrared film for archaeological reconnaissance. The study area was chosen primarily because MacNeish's Tehuacan Archaeological-Botanical Project (1960-1964) provided a convenient check of site visibility on the photographs, and because microenvironmental zones have been delineated in the valley allowing visibility of sites in different microenvironments to be determined. Our tests indicate that the type of cultural feature or its age are not as important as the environmental situation in distinguishing the site. The greatest archaeological value, however, of color infrared photography is in the delineation of microenvironmental zones and the construction of natural maps rather than the identification of cultural features.

Mound J, Monte Albán, a building of peculiar orientation and shape, has been mapped and tested for astronomical orientation. At the time of construction of the building, a line perpendicular to the base of the steps of J would have pointed to the rising position of the bright star Capella, which rose heliacally on one of the days of solar zenith passage. We note the existence of a possible zenith sighting tube built into the steps of building r which lies in the line of sight. A second coincidence is discussed in which 5 of the 25 brightest stars are found to have set close to the azimuth of the "point" of the building at the time it was erected.

Tables are presented which give the rise-set azimuths of prominent celestial bodies and the heliacal rise-set dates of bright stars for a combination of epochs, latitudes, and horizon elevations.

The rapid decomposition of organic remains under tropical forest conditions forces the archaeologist to rely entirely upon soil characteristics, indestructible artifacts, and refuse deposition patterns for his cultural interpretations. Such evidence is used to identify a unifunctional turtle harvesting encampment on the lower Aguatia River in eastern Peru.

In an earlier article, we presented a model for the culture history of the Columbia Plateau. In response to comment about this model, we have clarified our definition of the emergence of Plateau culture and have elaborated on the appearance of both blade and microblade industries in the area.

Recent excavations at the Valdivia site (G-31) have led to the discovery of a pre-Valdivia pottery complex named San Pedro, and of apparently preceramic occupation layers, below deposits of the Valdivia phase. A description of the San Pedro pottery is offered and the implications of the new evidence are discussed.

The future of American archaeology continues to be threatened by the destruction of sites by pot-hunters. Furthermore, there is no clear indication that relief is in sight, either by way of a reduction of pot-hunting or a concerted attack on the problem by archaeologists. Since a fatalistic attitude toward pot-hunters appears to have been, up to now, a self-fulfilling prophecy, McGimsey"s recent comments on the necessity of influencing public opinion and working for appropriate legislation are seen as both timely and critical for the future of American archaeology.