This dissertation reports on findings from three seasons of archaeological fieldwork at Pataraya, a mid-elevation site located on the western slope of the Andes in southern Peru, and its environs. These investigations began with large-scale excavations at Pataraya that were undertaken in 2007. While small, the site is an excellent example of the planned architectural style associated with the imperial expansion of the Wari state that emerged near modern-day Ayacucho during the Middle Horizon AD 750 – 1000). Intensive archaeological survey in the upland headwater valleys of the Nasca drainage was undertaken in 2008 and 2009. Two Middle Horizon sites, including another Wari compound known as Incawasi, were documented in the upper Aja river valley during these efforts and subsequent test excavations were undertaken at each of them in 2009. These surveys also collected data on a prehispanic road that connects the Nasca valley to the sierra. The road has been found to enter the Nasca drainage near modern-day Uchuymarca and travel past Incawasi and Pataraya on its route to the coastal plain below. These data strongly suggest that construction of the road dates to the Middle Horizon and that linkage of important Wari political installations was its primary function. Evidence from the excavations at Pataraya, especially when considered in light of this wider regional system, illuminate the organization and political economy of the Wari empire specifically, as well as the archaeological study of empires more broadly. The evidence from Pataraya suggests that activities related to textile manufacturing was a major part of daily life at the site. Given the importance of cotton in Wari textile technology and the Nasca valleys suitability for cultivation of the fiber, these data suggest that acquisition of coastal cotton and transshipment of the product to the sierra may have been one of the goals of the Wari state in establishing a colony at Pataraya. Wari control of the connection between the south coast and the sierra evidenced by both Pataraya and the newly discovered site of Incawasi also illuminates our understanding of the factors that direct investment in infrastructure by empires generally by demonstrating that many factors, some of which remain unknown, drove such heavy Wari investment in building a secure route to Nasca. Why empires invest heavily in one area and little or not at all in another is thus always an empirical question, one that must be evaluated and explained by real economic, environmental, political, and cultural conditions in the past.

This dissertation research is a zooarchaeological and taphonomic analysis of the faunal assemblage from Tangzigou, an Early Holocene open-air site in Yunnan Province, southwest China. The goal of this study was to reconstruct the foraging behavior of Tangzigou people in order to investigate whether there were archaeological signs of resource stress and/or intensification in post-Pleistocene southwestern China. This research contributes to our current understanding of the timing and process of the subsistence shift from foraging to agriculture during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. No evidence of resource intensification was found in the Tangzigou assemblage. Data used to evaluate the resource stress hypothesis were derived from the analysis of the skeletal element representations, mortality profiles, bone breakage patterns, and bone surface modifications of &sim；9000 mammalian bone fragments. Large-scale comparative datasets were produced from observations of modern antlers and experimental studies on modern cervid/bovid phalanges to accurately document the various types of modifications. This was done in order to confirm or dispute the existence of antler tools at Tangzigou, and to explain the meaning of intensively broken phalanges in the Tangzigou assemblage. The interpretation here is still a hypothesis based on just one site from a single time period that requires further testing. A larger sample is essential for inter-site and diachronic comparisons to understand the timing and process of subsistence shift. Only then, can an accurate portrait of the human subsistence strategies from Tangzigou emerge. This research is a step toward fulfilling that goal.

Excavations at the mound site of Gao Saney, located near the historic town of Gao eastern Niger Bend, Mali, revealed over six meters of domestic deposits and debris from secondary processing of glass and copper dating to the period 700-1100 A.D. This is 200-300 years earlier than anticipated and points to the early development of long distance trade networks. Lead isotope analysis of copper and glass samples using LA-ICP-MS points to multiple sources areas, including copper ores in Tunisia and glass production areas in the Middle East. Secondary processing of copper and glass took place at the site, and a substantial portion of the sequence comprised mud brick structures and associated domestic trash and wall collapse episodes. The distinctive polychrome pottery assemblage found in the Gao Saney deposits occurs along a 500 km stretch of the Niger Bend between Bentia to the south and Timbucktu to the west, where it appears suddenly and intrusively c. 650-700 A.D. This thesis documents the excavations and the material culture, chronology, subsistence economy and production activities at the site. It argues that the findings support the identification of Gao Saney with the trading town Sarneh mentioned in a tenth century Arab chronicle. The relationship of Gao Saney to Gao Ancien, the putative “royal town” of Kawkaw, is considered through a comparison of material excavated from a massive stone building complex there with the material from Gao Saney. The first millennium pottery at both sites is identical, but elite goods and stone architecture are present in abundance only at Gao Ancien. The evidence supports the identification of a royal town linked to Gao Saney by market and trade relations linked to early long-distance trade.

Variability in the production, distribution, consumption, and deposition of pottery is commonly used to identify social, and politico-economic relationships in and between prehistoric populations. Analysis of pottery recovered through archaeological investigations in the Maya Lowlands of Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala typically define these relationships through an identification of spatially or temporally based homogeneities and heterogeneities in ceramic collections. This study uses already established ceramic collections in the Upper Belize River Area of Belize to illustrate the necessity for an objective consideration of ecological and contextual factors in ceramic studies within the Maya Lowlands. The influence that environmental variability may have upon the production, consumption, and deposition of prehistoric pottery is often left unconsidered in current pottery analysis methodology. The effect that ecological factors, such as resource variability, may have on the composition of a ceramic assemblage must be realized in any effort to identify levels of homogeneity and heterogeneity within and between individual ceramic assemblages. Variability in depositional contexts for ceramic assemblage constituents must also be identified and taken into account when efforts are made to determine social or politico-economic relationships from pottery. While landscape diversity may certainly be considered a form of contextual variability, other contextual differences must also be contemplated when analyzing a ceramic assemblage and inferring social or politico-economic relationships. Variability in depositional context such as elite versus non-elite, or architecturally-based versus non-architecturally based contexts must be realized and examined in any investigation of social or politico-economic relationships via a ceramic assemblage. This study will build upon past ceramic research within the Upper Belize River Area and elsewhere to construct and illustrate the use of a pottery analysis methodology that is designed to consider the influence of ecological and contextual variability upon the production, consumption, and deposition of pottery. The methodology outlined in this study is firmly rooted in the theoretical traditions of Ceramic Ecology which has been successfully applied to ceramic collections elsewhere to identify the affect of diversity in the landscape and the ecological relationship upon the production, consumption, and deposition of pottery.

This research explores human response to climate change and asks how this interaction may have helped to form the large-scale prehistoric urbanism in the Timbuktu region. New understandings on the nature of prehistoric urbanism on the Niger Bend have been laid out by employing various theories and working models that deal with the social relationship with the changing climate and seasonal environment. The archaeological data used to address these theories and models were obtained over three seasons of research between 2008 and 2010. Field research involved intensive excavation and survey at the Iron Age tell complex of Tombouze 9 kilometers southeast of modern Timbuktu). Additionally, a wide ranging reconnaissance of the larger Timbuktu region and various forms of paleo-climate studies were also undertaken. My findings suggest that the roles of changing climate regimes, a highly variable seasonal environment, and the unique ways local populations interacted with a difficult and marginal landscape, were all important in the formation of a iv dense and expansive prehistoric urban landscape. Incipient and small-scale semi-sedentary groups which came to the Timbuktu region at approximately 500 BC gave rise to a fully permanent yet highly flexible form of urbanism circa AD 650. Abandonment of the large urban centers and their hinterlands occurred at approximately AD 1000, soon before the foundation of historic Timbuktu by the Tuareg. Investigation and analysis into the unique character of the prehistoric settlements of the Timbuktu region has produced a new hypothetical model of urbanism which may have application to the rest of the Niger Bend region. Known as the “Tombouze Model”, this hypothetical construct suggests that urbanism fluctuates on a seasonal basis in accordance with the high and low flood seasons. During the high flood season, when dry land is limited, the prehistoric urban populations coalesced onto numerous large focus tells reaching probable dimensions of up to 100 hectares. During the low flood season, when land is plentiful but water scarce, the prehistoric populations radiated out into the hinterlands of the focus tells establishing temporary yet specialized seasonal camps in the floodplains while a much reduced permanently inhabited settlement core remained at the focus tells.

Until recently, zooarchaeological investigations in the Maya subarea followed a traditional approach to the study of human/animal interaction, by focusing primarily on the reconstruction of ancient Maya subsistence economies. With the help of modern technological innovations, zooarchaeological procedures can now be applied to investigate a wide range of topics, including the social, economic, and ritual affairs of the ancient Maya. With this in mind, the goal of this study is to shift the attention away from our one- dimensional view of animals as a source of food, towards a focus on their social significance. Specifically, this research will examine the jute Pachychilus species), a freshwater snail frequently observed in a wide range of archaeological contexts throughout the Maya subarea. As a thick-shell gastropod, this species has a tendency to preserve well in the archaeological record, enhancing our opportunity to explore patterns of spatial, temporal, and cultural distributions. Although it was originally assumed that this species only served a dietary purpose, detailed analyses of the jute shell collection from the ancient Maya centre of Minanha, in West Central Belize, suggests that this species entered the archaeological record through a diverse array of processes, only some of which involved consumption. This study contributes to the growing body of data on the importance of molluscan species for the ancient Maya, and provides a more accurate view of the relationship that existed between the ancient Maya and their surrounding animal populations. Keywords: Ancient Maya, Zooarchaeology, Jute Pachychilus species), Belize, Archaeomalacology, Ancient Maya Economy.

This dissertation research project focuses on maritime exploration during the Age of Discovery and the vessels that were the technological impetus for this dynamic era that ultimately led Christopher Columbus to the New World and Vasco da Gama to India. Little is known about the caravel and the nau, two ships which defined this era of global expansion； archival documents provide scant information regarding these vessels and to date there are only a few known archaeological examples. The caravel and the nau became lasting symbols of the bourgeoning Portuguese and Spanish maritime empires and are featured prominently in contemporaneous iconography. This dissertation bridges the gap between the humanities and sciences through the statistical analysis of the caravel, galleon, and nau in the iconographic record. As one of the first intensive uses of iconography in nautical archaeology, the study analyzed over 500 images using descriptive statistics and representational trends analysis in order to explore the two research questions posed, Are the ships represented in the iconography accurate? and Can iconography provide information on constructional characteristics of these vessels that will determine typology, evolution, and design changes? Gauging the accuracy of the ship representations was fundamental to establishing this studys validity. The artists creating these images were not shipwrights or mariners and thus this research was not limited to the technological and constructional aspects alone. The dissertation addressed technology as a cultural symbol in order to understand how and why cultures attach such powerful and important symbolism to technology and adopt it as an identifying feature. On a broader level, this dissertation proved that iconography is a viable data source within nautical archaeology. The representational trends and general construction proportions analyzed in the iconographic record did provide an ample amount of information about the different ship types to greatly assist in the reconstruction of a caravel, galleon, or nau. The vast quantities of new data generated using these methodologies have the potential to significantly advance the study of these three ship types when paired with current and future archaeological evidence.

The Levant Israel and Jordan) has a long history of human occupation. Archaeological sites in the region demonstrate this history as one of continuous change. The focus on understanding this history of change is most pronounced in the overriding interest in the transition from a mobile hunting and gathering economy at the end of the Pleistocene Ice Age), to a settled agricultural economy in the Holocene, less than 10,000 years ago. This transition from the Late Pleistocene to Holocene is the period when the Natufian culture flourished approximately 12,800 BP to 10,300 BP). Forty years of research on the Natufian has led to further understanding of their technology and their place in time. Although the technological patterns are quite similar, the documentation of material culture and features from various Natufian sites throughout the Levant reveals variability across time and space. Traditionally, interpretation of variability is based on chronology and its relation to the ecological setting. I hypothesize that this variability reflects, not only the ecological setting in which Natufian populations were located, but also the social groups formed over time and space. The acceptance of new technology, techniques, and ideas depends on the frequency and intensity of interaction with other groups, both near and distant, throughout the region. The more frequent and intense the interaction, the greater the amount of information, or innovation, that is likely to occur. This thesis addresses some of these issues by demonstrating that the ecological environment does not bind past populations. Both social and ecological structures play a role in the dissemination of knowledge through communication. The sharing of information acquires a spatial context through the construction of an interactive-agent model detailing three spheres of interaction: 1) within-group interaction； 2) between-group interaction； and 3) competitive interaction. Both archaeological interpretive methods collection of site data and analysis of materials) and geographical information science GISc) least cost path analysis) are used to show that Natufian groups had the opportunity to interact with one another and that these interactions occurred in defined locations where potential paths cross.

Metal artifacts from archaeological sites have long been important to archaeologists interested in the origins (invention and diffusion) of metallurgy, and technology in general, as well as social complexity. In northwestern North America, native copper (i.e., naturally occurring 99＋% pure copper), was used by several different indigenous hunting-gathering-fishing groups prior to the influx of smelted metal via Euroamerican fur traders and explorers in the eighteenth century. This thesis presents an overview of native copper using archaeology, archaeometry, and ethnohistory within a general anthropology of technology framework. This approach examines the use of native copper for both utilitarian purposes and for objects of prestige. Native copper was a raw material valued for its potential use in functional, social, economic, and symbolic contexts and its possession was linked to the development and expression of social complexity in the region. A pilot study was undertaken to assess the potential to geochemically characterize native copper sources using Instrumental Neutron Activation Anaysis (INAA) and Inductively Coupled Plasma—Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) to obtain trace element data on both native copper artifacts and native copper from sources. Laser-Ablation Multi-Collector ICP-MS was also used in an effort to obtain lead isotope data on native copper. The initial results indicate that native copper sources in the region can be differentiated to some degree based on trace element signatures, however, the numerous unsampled sources of native copper in the region prevent making definitive statements about the source of the native copper artifacts sampled in this study.

The methodology for identification of the fiber plants used to manufacture a perishable artifact has traditionally been performed using gross morphological characteristics. Fiber plants within the genera Yucca, Agave, Nolina, and Dasylirion were the plants of choice prehistorically for the making of fiber objects, and their similar traits can lead to errors in identification when relying solely on external features. In 1944, Bell and King published a methodology to facilitate identification of fiber plants based on constant anatomical characteristics within the plant’s vascular system. The vascular bundle morphology and arrangement between taxa of the genera are unique and discernable in cross section. The use of vascular bundle anatomy and arrangement and their comparison with fiber artifacts have demonstrated a most effective and reliable method of recognition among eighteen examples analyzed. Limitations of this analytical method include deterioration of fiber materials, restrictions on sample amounts, and lack of identification as to particular species within the genera.