The results from an autecological study of the growth, reproduction, and population dynamics of Brosimum alicastrum (ramón) in southern Mexico are applied to the controversy surrounding the use of this species in Maya subsistence practice. The frequent occurrence of B. alicastrum near ruins is explained by its competitive advantage on shallow limestone soils coupled with a continual input of bat-dispersed seed. Populations of the tree at Tikal are then compared with other naturally occurring populations as an example of how a detailed ecological analysis may furnish valuable insight into the historical use of a plant species. The Tikal populations are shown to be atypical in terms of phenology, productivity and breeding systems, suggesting that some form of artificial selection may have been practiced by the Maya.

While acknowledging the possible former role of floodwater in Chilca's sunken fields, this paper expresses concern about the limited and inconclusive evidence that Knapp presents in support of floodwater management. Too much reliance is placed upon inferences from integrated field layout while we still appear to lack either unequivocal and consistent stratigraphic evidence or firsthand experience of river flooding at Chilca. It is also doubtful whether one can legitimately assess the archaeological or hydraulic status of these fields without considering (1) the wider context of local irrigated farming, (2) the perennial source of underground water, and (3) the near certainty that fishing rather than agriculture was the subsistence base in such localities without perennial streams.

In his review of my monograph, Prehistoric Pueblo Settlement Patterns: The Arroyo Hondo, New Mexico Site Survey, E. Charles Adams makes several misstatements, questions some of my methods of data presentation, and asserts that the site densities reported are too low. An endeavor is made to answer his criticism.

The distinction between embanked and sunken fields is not merely semantic. There is good evidence for frequent flooding at Chilca. Archaeostratigraphy provides neither privileged nor unambiguous evidence for original field function. The full range of environmental, archaeological, ethnohistoric, and ethnographic evidence is more consistent with the embanked-field theory than with Smith’s alternative.

Since carbonized seed species differ in buoyancy characteristics, and since certain conditions may cause carbonized seeds to become nonbuoyant, the use of both buoyant and nonbuoyant modern carbonized seed species as a recovery standard is suggested in order to provide a more representative measure of flotation device effectiveness. Recovery standards utilizing modern carbonized seeds should be viewed as probable, rather than absolute, determinations of flotation device recovery efficiency because the effectiveness of flotation systems can be significantly altered by subtle changes in technique.

In a recent article Thomas W. Stafford, Jr., outlined results of geological investigations (1974–1978) at the Lubbock Lake site (41LU1). Geological, pedological, and archaeological investigations conducted by the authors since 1972 govern these clarification comments offered. Numerical or stratigraphic corrections are included for several radiocarbon ages presented by Stafford. Five stratigraphic units at Lubbock Lake span the past 11,000 + years, grading from alluvial to lacustrine to marsh and finally eolian sediments. Assessing the archaeological potential of the Southern High Plains on the basis of Lubbock Lake is inadvisable due to limited and possibly biased data.

Geologic conclusions on Llano Estacado Late Quaternary stratigraphy are further quantified to strengthen previously published interpretations.

The suggestion of Brecher and Haag that the Poverty Point, Louisiana, earthwork structure possesses solar alignments is shown to be incorrect. The existence of other astronomical markers is problematical.