Aaron's SIR...finally

Getting this up took longer than I thought it would. I took three classes and taught one, worked at OPA, and tried to keep my Bishop's interview lists full. It was a busy semester.

Keep in mind that the majority of you have had the exact same (or similar) semester during your first year of graduate school, so some of it may be boring. I've liked the outline form that everyone has used so I will continue with that.

501

Honestly, one of the most difficult classes I've ever had. Clark expects a lot and doesn't mess around. Witnessed in this class, were two particularly nasty attacks on one of the newbies. This kid has no background in archaeology and apparently, no real background in research methods. Clark ended our last class period accusing him of having "done diddily". Hope the kid survives.

Anyway, 501 was structured differently than previous years. Our studies were not centered solely on the comp. exam test questions. Rather, we focused on larger issues that could be applied to the test questions. We read two Hodder books, Archaeological Theory Today and Reading the Past. We also read a few more.

Here they are in no real order. We read a monograph by Patrick Kirch on state development in Hawaii. It wasn't the best. Kirch focused mainly on lexical data and did not provide much hard data (artifacts, etc). His main focus was trying to pinpoint the location of a general ancestral polynesian homeland. In my opinion, he relied too heavily on glottochronology. Not my favorite.

We also read a book on biblical archaeology. It was essentially a critique on post-modern approaches. Again, not my favorite. The author, William Dever, spends more time attacking opponents than actually discussing critiques on PoMos. Unfortunately, I'm not really sure why we read the book, it seemed more like an excercise in how to rip your opponents apart. After finishing the Dever book, we watched an anti-mormon film deconstructing the BoM. We got into a lot of discussion on the marginalization of christian/mormon archaeologists, and how our perspective in just one more to add to the many voices of post-processualism.

We read another book on the state development on in China...meh.

My favorite book was Myths of the Archaic State by Norman Yoffee (2005). Yoffee criticizes the neo-evolutionary model of band, tribe, cheifdom, and state. He argues that each culture developed individually and that they should be approached individually as well. Yoffee also criticizes perceptions of traditional leadership roles, suggesting that early states were not as stratified previously assumed. Yoffee feels confident that the agency of various individuals (from all classes) influenced the formation of early states. Therefore, concerns with everyday life served as the catalysts from early state development. Yoffee struggles with the problem of lanugage. He criticizes neo-evolutionary models but still uses their language. It is difficult to understand when he is talking about his version of the state and chiefdoms and when he is talking about the neo-evolutionary version.

Ultimately, I think Myths serves as a great introduction to some new ideas concerning the development of early states. To be honest, I was not aware that there were other perspecitves beyond the neo-evolutionary model. It was beaten into my head in 215 by Joel, and has remained until I read this book.

502

Bottom line, it was statistics.

I think I learned the material better with Jim than I did with Ian. Jim left a lot more to the imagination, and we found ourselves struggling to figure out exactly what he expected of us. Towards the end of the class, he gave us Cowgill's list of 8 things you should remember about statistics.
I chose some of my favorites:

1. Statistical analysis is not a way to arrive at certainty; it is a powerful aid in discerning what your data suggest, and how strongly they suggest it. This is often done better by an estimation approach than by hypothesis testing.

2. Look at your data dirst, through simple tables and pictures. Often this tells you everything important. If not, it will tell you what is sensible or not sensible to do next. Do not rush to apply advanced techniquest while overlooking the messages of simple methods.

4. It's not the sampling fraction that matters; it's the size of the sampel. For example, a well-chosen sample size of 100 that is one percent of a large population can tell you a lot, but a sample of 10 that is 20 percnt of a small population tells you less.

6. Proportions, percents, and ratios represent something relative to something else. Proportions are fractions, with a numerator and a denominator. When you read, always ask yourself whether you understand what denominator is implied. Often you will find that the denominator is unclear or inappropriate.

8. If you are worried about data quality, reducing data to "present/absent" only makes the problem worse unless you are sure that absence in the sample unambiguously implies abscence in the relevant population. But a category that is scarce but present in the population will be totally absent in many random samples from that population, and the chance that it is absent in any one sample is strongly dependent on the size of that sample. Together with sampling vagaries, this makes "presence/abscence" a very unstable statistic. if you want to be conservative, us something like "way below average," "about verage," and "way above average."

For the rest of the 8, see page 35 of

Kintigh, Keith

2005 Writing Archaeology: Analyses and Archaeological Argumentation. The SAA Archaeological Record.

I don't have the volume number (it's upstairs), but it is from September 2005 (SAA members- you should have it)

512

Laws...ARPA, NAGPRA...Agencies...BLM, EPA....Ethics...zzzzzz

Anthropology 207

This is the class I taught. It was a rewarding experience, and I've learned a lot about how a class should and should not be taught.

We began with cordage, processing dogbane, yucca, raffia, and whatever else students brought in. The cordage unit was alright, but I was dissapointed in some of the students inability to go and forage for their own materials. I told them were plants were, and would have been happy to take them to the sources. Instead, I had students ask their mothers to send them yucca from New Mexico, and come to my house and raid my personal yucca plant. There are five good yucca plants in the parking lot across from the Tanner building!

Ceramics were next. I really learned a lot from a book called Ceramic Technology by Owen S. Rye. There were class periods when I was only hours ahead of the students. I was at a loss as to what we were going to make for this unit, but with the help of Jim Allison, we processed some of his clay samples from the Animas La Plata region into tiles. We then fired the tiles to see if the clays turned similar colors.

Lithics proved to be the most challenging to teach. This is mainly due to the fact that teaching one or two people to flintknap is much easier than teaching seven at a time. Dr. Clark and I split the class of 14 into two groups of seven with mixed results.

I saw a lot of great projects. Here are some of them:

Lengths of cordage made of many different plant types

a pump drill

a small basket made in the style of California indians. Acorns were leeched and processed into flour mush which was eaten from this basket.

a small limestone stela carved with mayan glyphs

an atlatl and dart

a processed elk-hide pouch

a set of Oldowan tools

a pair of woven yucca sandals

Those are some of the projects I was most impressed with. I was happy with the quality and effort expended.

That's about it for the SIR. If you have any questions, let me know. I'm sure I left things out, and it may not be exactly what you all had in mind, but here it is.

Quote of the Day

I qoute Beck and Jones 1997

"Since their first discovery there has been much speculation concerning the function of these items. Wardle (1913), in the first published reference to crescents, suggested that they may have been used as surgical instruments. Clewlow (1968) notes that "unless we imagine a vast pre-Columbian medical center on the shores of the Black Rock Desert post-Lahonton lakes, it is difficult to accept crescents as surgical instruments."

You guys might not appreciate it, but it made me laugh out loud. Maybe its the sleep deprivation. Merry Christmas.

Craig's Semester in Review

Craig forgot how to get onto FoF, so he sent me his Semester in Review via email.

Hey guys,

My semester pretty much consisted of 4 key activities.

1. Watching wrestling. It's been kind of a bummer since Batista got the belt, but what are you gonna do?

2. X-Box. My roomate and I finally went in on an X-Box together, I'll kick your trash at Halo anywhere, anytime, anyplace.

3. MXC. Can't get enough Spike TV.

4. Making concrete. Enough said.

Smell you later,

Craig

SIR delayed

You may have noticed that my SIR is incomplete and listed as a draft. I will finish it tomorrow. When I was writing it, I had to respond to a call from a girl in my ward who had "tried" to commit suicide by cutting her wrists. Her home teachers weren't around, neither was the bishop. So the 1st counselor and I went over to see what the deal was. It was an interesting night. I'll finish it up soon.

Joel's review of my term paper

"Thanks for sending me the paper. I found it very well written with only a few typos, etc. It is nice that you found support for our interpretations of the site occupation. A concern I have is how you are treating functionally different structures. What I recall (without checking) is that the storage structures had very different fill content than the pit houses. It almost seemed that people avoided dumping in the granaries. There could be several reasons for that but I wondered how storage vs pit houses plotted."

It is nice? WTH? I realize that the chronometric data from FFR did indicate that most of the site was probably occupied at the same time, but, by Joel's own admission, these data were pretty problematic for a number of reasons. I have generated an independent corroboration of his results, and he tells me that "it is nice"?

I realize that the paper isn't some sort of mind blowing research, but to me, the mound phenomenon is the most important research topic in Fremont archaeology. These aggregates represent a total change in trajectory for the Fremont. If not everyone is convinced that the occupations were large (and according to Jim Allison, they aren't), then we have a real problem.

This is my biggest critique of BYU's graduate program. The grad students are treated as idiots who aren't capable of contributing. As long as they're treated as such, they really won't contribute anything other than maybe a crappy thesis. Some (looking at Yoder here) are able to rise above the oppression, but I thought my ideas weren't good for a long time. Turns out they were good, and I was just being dismissed because of my position.

For those of you still suffering, let me tell you that there's a whole other world out there. There's a place where prominent researchers treat you like a junior peer, and not like some member of their scout troop. There's a place where you are encouraged to publish your work, a place where you can learn and be respected.

Don't let the man get you down.

El Che Vive!

Anyway, I'd like to get some feedback on the paper sometime. Maybe Joel is right, but I don't think he is...

Mike's Semester in OU Review

Hello all: It seems we have all survived our most recent semester. I never thought people here at OU were serious when they said 6 credit hours was a full load, but I'm a believer now. 35 hours of work a week also adds to the load, but I digress.

I took Cultural Theory (which is a required course for all graduate students - classic 4 field approach) and Political Dynamics of Small-Scale Societies. The first was taught by a recent Berkley graduate (just hired on here at OU). Let me tell you, she fit the mold, but was very conducive to other modes of thought. The Political Dynamics class was a great immersion into theory behind the development of complex societies and a good spring-board into my dissertation. My final paper will eventually turn into my dissertation proposal which deals with Mesoamerican symbolism on pottery produced in the Southwest and how it served as tool for rising elites ("aggrandizers," if you will) to create political legitimacy. The theory behind foreign symbolism for legitimacy is a little weak and undeveloped, but hopefully I will be able to address this issue.

Cultural Theory:
This is a classic anthropological theory graduate class, like the two required at BYU, but combined. It was extremely informative. Just to give props out to faculty at BYU, we're on par when it comes to other institutions. And don’t worry, archaeology students here hate cultural theory just as much as any other archaeologist (except for my twisted self). We basically covered the development of anthropological theory from the late 1800s until about the end of the 1970s. It was a good overview, although it was a bit weak on the post-modernist side. We delved into a couple of ethnographies and trudged through British social anthropological history as well. Glad it's over. Below is the reference to my favorite reading for the semester. In this lecture, Weber really hits the nail on the head when it comes to being a good professor of anthropology (or science).

Weber, Max
1946 Science as a Vocation. In Max Weber: Essays in sociology, translated and edited by H. H. Gerth and C. Mills Wright. Oxford University Press.

Political Dynamics in Small-Scale Societies:
This was an awesome class taught by a visiting professor who just graduated from UCLA. His dissertation was on the obsidian (or “obsdidian”) workshops adjacent to the Temple of the Moon at Teotihuacan. He reminded me of Ian Robertson. He even knew Ian! Good guy who could relate to what we are doing as grad students. Anyway, this guy really knows his political development theory. We read a couple of Clark articles (appropriately) and a few others that were really great (which I've listed below).

DeMarrais, Elizabeth, Luis Jaime Castillo, and Timothy Earle
1996 Ideology, Materialization, and Power Strategies. Current Anthropology 37:1:15-31.

Bayman, James M.
2002 Hohokam Craft Economies and the Materialization of Power. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 9:1:69-95.

Wilk, Richard
2004 Miss Universe, the Olmec and the Valley of Oaxaca. Journal of Social Archaeology 4:1:81-98.
(This article is a great effort by a soco to explore the transmission of information and style across cultural boundaries. He used modern-day fashion and beauty pageants as an analogy for Olmec style appearing in the Valley of Oaxaca. Extremely entertaining.)

Other activities:
I've just been working on keeping food on my family's table by working part-time for the department as a GA at the Museum of Natural History. I also have a part-time job leasing apartments (great way to get paid to study). In addition, I have a few publications in the works. One is the New World Archaeological Foundation publication of my thesis, and another is one I'm trying to get out into a peer-reviewed journal (a condensed version of thesis research). Also, I’ve submitted a paper for the SAAs, co-written with one of Chris’s classmates at ASU, but it is still pending acceptance. I also have a film in the works, just trying to find funding to do it. Looking to do a Kekchi-English dictionary with a friend at SUNY Albany and the list goes on. If we all only had double the time and double the funding.

Am I a whore?

I guess it's time for me to come clean. I've been secretly working on a Book of Mormon archaeology project. That's right, me, the biggest critic of non-John Clark apologists, is working on a BOM archaeology project.

Essentially, what I've done is read through the BOM and flag any and all references to cultural things. I have every mention of political structure, material culture, subsistence, etc marked in a copy of the Book of Mormon. I'd like to publish a concordance with some limited ethnographic commentary. I am currently looking for a publisher, and if anyone bites, I'll turn my list into a book.

As Juan has constantly pointed out, people don't actually know what the BOM says about this stuff. This would let the BOM stand on its own with both critics and apologists, and I think it would be an invaluable reference tool.

I would appreciate some feedback when you're through being stunned. Juan doesn't know about this, and I'd appreciate it if neither he nor Joel find out about it yet. Thanks.

Watkins Semester in Review - Fall 2005

Finals sucked, and on to the good stuff...

I took three classes this semester, Academic Inquiry (essentially method and theory), Intrasite Research Strategies, and Hohokam Archaeology. Ill also report on my work in Hohokam contract archaeology.

Academic Inquiry
This course was a real disappointment. It was co-taught by Michelle Hegmon and a SoCo guy. Michelle lived up to her work and all my expectations, but the course itself really blew. The newly formed "School of Human Evolution and Social Change" (formerly the Department of Anthropology) is attempting to be more integrative, and the class had first year archaeology, SoCo, physical anthropology, and museum anthropology students in it. What's that? There are people out there with MA's in Museum Anthropology? That's right, you poor suckers might as well use those Museum certificates from Marti to wipe your butts with, casue it isn't going to amount to jack squat.

I really have nothing to recommend from this course. We read some Trigger ("Sociocultural Evolution"), not his best stuff, rehashed Giddens (got it better from Juan Clark), and read a few interesting things on primate social behavior, if you're into that sort of thing. Turns out some animals differentially pass on behavior non-biologically. On some level, I realize that this is probably important, but I just can't bring myself to care.

Whiten, A., V. Horner, and S. Marshall-Pescini
2003 Cultural Panthropology. Evolutionary Anthropology 12(2):92-105.

Whiten, A., J. Goodall, W.C. McGrew, T. Nishida, V. Reynolds, Y. Sugiyama, C.E.G. Tutin, R.W. Wrangham, and C. Boesch
1999 Cultures in Chimpanzees. Nature 399:682-685.

Ultimately, I walked away from this class with the realization that Anthropology is extremely diverse, and that we have much less in common with each other than everybody thinks. Most physical anthropologists don't even understand culture, let alone investigate it. SoCo's never shut up about being ethnocentric (one girl almost broke down into tears in disbelief when we talked about functionalism in archaeology). And museum people are just a bunch of artifact babysitters. Depressing really. Really, really, depressing.

Intrasite Research Strategies
What can I say about this course? It was easily the most difficult, most rewarding, all-around best class that I have ever been a part of. Keith Kintigh is a statistical genius, far surpassing his reputation. In this course, we studied a variety of quantitative spatial techniques aimed at the analysis of a single site. The critical article, which I recommend to everyone, is a summary piece by Keith.

Kintigh, Keith
1990 Intrasite Spatial Analysis: A Commentary on Major Methods. In Mathematics and Information Science in Archaeology: A Flexible Framework, edited by Albertus Voorrips. Studies in Modern Archaeology 3: 165-200. HOLOS-Verlag, Bonn.

It's pretty hard to get, but I have pdf copies I can email to the interested. Even if you're not quantitative, Keith makes this stuff understandable. I wrote a term paper trying to figure out whether there was a large simultaneous, or small repeated occupation of FFR by examining trash deposits instead of chronometric data. Looks like was a large occupation of FFR (suck it Sammons-Lohse!). Some of you have the paper, if others are interested I can email it along.

Hohokam Archaeology
The Hohokam are way cooler than I ever thought. There were several readings of interest but I'm not sure what to recommend. I have them all as pdfs if people would like them. So many really important research questions remain unanswered. Did people live on the platform mounds? If so, were they managerial elites or lineage heads? What drove the Pre-Classic - Classic transition? Burial changes from Cremation to Inhumation, public architecture from Ball Courts to Platform Mounds, and many others. How were the irrigation systems managed? How were households organized? Hohokam archaeology is surprisingly wide open, not as open as the Fremont granted, but there's a lot of work to do. Pueblo Shemblo!

Work
I've been working at the ASU equivalent of OPA, except here I'm either the project director or assistant project director depending on the size of the project. I've never seen so many whole pots in all my life! Phoenix is developing at an amazing rate, and state and federal law require every burial be dug by an archaeologist. Considering the Salt River Basin Hohokam lived in permanent Villages with defined cemeteries, there is a bottomless pit of archaeology waiting to be done.

Pretty much a good year overall. I'm looking forward to hearing from everyone else and buying Holly some Hashemite for Christmas. She could spread it on her bathtub hoagie this Christmas...

A Tribute...

What's for lunch raghead?

Revel in this "oil-free" spread!

Sand in my sandwich...

Mr. Yoder's Semester in Review

Ok, all papers and projects are out of the way and only one final left. Time for......drumrole.........THE SEMESTER IN REVIEW!

I took three classes this semester. Environmental Archaeology, Historic Preservation, and Ethnoarchaeology.

Environmental Arch: Sadly this was a class which included senior undergraduates so it was taught at a pretty basic level. Much of the reading came from two books that I don’t particularly recommend. Although I did read an article that I really liked which I’ve already posted about, but in case you missed it:
Reinhard, Karl J.1992 Parasitology as an Interpretive Tool in Archaeology American Antiquity 57(2):231-245.
(This is a really informative article that also is a well spring of ideas. Plus it’s easy to read. Bonus!)

Historic Preservation: Basically a CRM class. We read all the laws, regulations, etc. Essentially Jim’s A's class at BYU. Didn’t gain any fascinating new insights. Besides the fact that there is a big curation problem and we need the YAR (Yoder Archaeological Repository) now more than ever. This has prompted me to begin an article. Basically I want to know how many theses and dissertations are written using brand new material and how many are being written using collections. I think I’ll send out a questionair to a bunch of universities and ask about how many of their students in the last five years completed a thesis or dissertation using new research and how many using archaeological collections already dug up. I think universities should encourage grad students to focus more on the collections so that we can get this huge backlog of stuff reported on. Yeah for Cady doing PVAP!

Ethnoarchaeology: This was a good class in that it opened my eyes to the potential of ethnoarchaeology for really getting at issues that can be difficult to see in the archaeological record. Unfortunatley, ethnoarch is mostly useful if you are working with recent cultures. Although by using the general comparative approach it can be used in deep time as well. A couple of good articles about ethnoarch in general are:

Gould, Richard A., and Patty J. Watson
1982 A Dialogue on the Meaning and Use of Analogy in Ethnoarchaeological Reasoning. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 1:355-381.

Wobst, H. Martin
1978 The Archaeo-Ethnology of Hunter-Gatherers, or the Tyranny of the Ethnographic Record in Archaeology. American Antiquity 43:303-309.
(Wobst takes his argument to far in my view, but it is a good warning)

Wylie, Alison.
1985 The Reaction Against Analogy. Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory 8:63-111.
(Although this Wylie article SUCKS to read, it is the seminal paper on the use of analogy. Be warned…very boring, long, and theory laden. But she makes good points, if you can find them)

As to ethnoarchaeology in actual use, these are some well done articles:

Frink, Lisa
1996 Social Identity and the Yup’ik Eskimo Village Tunnel System in Precolonial and Colonial Western Coastal Alaska. In Integrating the Diversity of 21st Century Anthropology: The Life and Intellectual Legacies of Susan Kent. Edited by W. Ashmore, M. Dobres, S. Nelson, and A. Rosen. Archaeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association, University of California Press, Berkely.

Weedman, Kathryn
2005 Gender and Stone-Tools: An Ethnographic Study of the Konso and Gamo Hideworkers of Southern Ethiopia. In Gender and Hide Production, Lisa Frink and Kathryn Weedman eds., pp.175-196. AltaMira Press, Walnut Creek.

Frink, Lisa, Brian W. Hoffman, and Robert D. Shaw
2003 A Comparative Ethnoarchaeological Study of Ulu Knife use in Western Alaska. Current Anthropology 44(1):116-121.

The instructor for this class, Lisa Frink, kind of ambushed me in that although this was an ethnoarchaeology class, it was equally about gender. Almost all of our readings had something to do with gender. Which although it bugged me at first, did raise some good questions in my mind. One of which is…Are there any articles focusing on gender, or discussing gender for that matter, for the Fremont? I couldn’t think of any. Yet in other areas people are looking for and finding gender with as much information as we have. I may one day look for gender among the Fremont, but right now I’ve got to finish some other projects I have going.
In this class I wrote a paper on the Mojave Sink area of the Mojave Desert in California. I’ve sent it off to the two Big Boys in the field to see if they think its article worthy. It’s content in sum: Trying to determine cultural affiliation of sites in some areas can be very difficult if not impossible because of similarities of material culture, fluid cultural boundaries, and limited ethnographic information. This is true in the late prehistory of the Mojave Sink and is even more so for the Paleo and Archaic time periods. I say we need to look for more cultural diversity in the early time periods and outline a couple of ways we could do so.

So there you have it, the Semester in review for Mr. Yoder. It was busy, but good. For any interested my thesis will hopefully be up on the BYU website soon, as I’ve turned it in and should graduate this semester….at last. My rabbitskin article is also out and in print in the wonderful publication the Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology. I have yet to see it, but I’ve been told by those who have it looks good. Yeah. And Jason Bright says that my CRM article is supposed to be out in the next issue of Utah Archaeology, but who knows when that will be. So if you are desperate to know how much money you are likely to make in the world of CRM, or are interested in a number of other CRM related issues, just let me know and I’ll email you a copy.

Keep’en it real in Lost Wages (which by the way gets old REAL fast so don’t say this to people who live in Las Vegas, because I’ve only been here for 6 months and am already sick of people saying, “So, you live in Lost Wages...hahaha”, or “I went on vacation to Lost Wages last year…hahahaha” Yes, you are so funny.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas and the whatnot (Seewhat I did with the colors there...ahhhh...very creative)

Checking in

Things have been a little quiet here at FoF the last week or so. I figure that this is due to finals, which is why I haven't been posting.

I guess I just wanted to say good luck on finals, and I'm looking forward to everyones semester in review, and that Veronica Mars is probably the best show on TV right now, and that the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan can suck it.

Fremont Ceramic Production areas

What about this...

Say I plotted all of the known Fremont residential sites by UTMs, and classified them by the dominant ceramic series (i.e., Paragonah=Snake Valley, Five Finger Ridge=Sevier, etc). Then, I would do a k-means cluster analysis of the sites.

I would then overlay the two maps, one with the clusters and one with the dominant ceramic type.

What exactly would it mean if the sites clustered by ceramic type? I think that this would be meaningful, but I'm not exactly sure how. Your input would be appreciated...

Yoffee against optimal foraging.

This post is partly in response to the "semester review" knowledge exchange.

In 501, we've been reading Myths of the Archaic State, by Norman Yoffee.

Yoffee talks about a lot of interesting things, and I will post a better summary once the semester is over. While reading last night, I saw a tidbit about optimal foraging. I'm preaching to the choir, but here it is:

"Rhys Jones (1978) studied a situation in which prehistoric Tasmaninas stopped eating fish after many hundreds of years in which fish were an important part of their diet. Whereas this decision makes no sense to some archaeologists, it shows for others that choices made by hunter-gatherers cannot be reduced to optimal strategies for exploiting the environment" (Yoffee 2005:162).

Sounds pretty good to me.

Techno-ethnography?

http://www.technologyreview.com//wtr_15900,1,p1.html?trk=nl

A New Feature -- The Semester in Review

I'd like to see a new feature here at FOF, the "semster in review".

Basically, those of us still taking or teaching classes would post a brief synopsis of each class, and then review it. Was it useful? Did you learn anything cool? Here is some stuff the rest of us should check out? Etc.

Good idea? If you're not in class you can put up some projects or research you've been working on too.

Southwest Symposium

Do all of you vets of the SW seminar remember Jim talking about the Southwest Symposium?

Apparently Jim is going, and openly invited any interested parties. Since presenting at this symposium is by invitaion only, we would be going as spectators, but it still sounds like it could be fun. There are some interesting topics for discussion.

Take a look:

http://www.antrocom.it/file/Southwest0106.pdf

On a side note, he threw a jab in the direction of the GBAC and other conferences, mentioning that the Southwest Symposium is much more polished and professional due to the "invitation only" nature of the forum.

OPA Website

I wanted to let everyone know that the new and improved OPA website is now available for your viewing enjoyment. Just point your browser to http://opa.byu.edu and feast on the eye candy that abounds. Some of the site is still under construction but the majority of the site is functioning.

Great Basin points can't win

I glanced at Hockett's AA article last night and noticed that the proj points had been mislabeled again. If the Smithsonian can't get it right we shouldn't expect AA to I guess...

Bombs in Jordan

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9979747/

Looks like you won't be getting back to dig for a while Holly...

Palm Trees and Island Shores

Well I'm afraid I'll be incommunicato for the next week and a half. Why you ask? Because my friends, I'll be laying on the beachs of Hawaii from Nov 10th through the 18th. Yes...as you all know I am independently wealth, money by the bucket loads. So I thought I would just hop over to the islands for a little break. Ok, the independently wealth part is untrue but the rest is. Sally's family has always gone to Hawaii for Christmas instead of giving presents, but since the kids are all grown up and have families, they don't take everyone anymore. Instead they try to take one of the families each year. So this year its our turn. All we have to pay for is food. I inform you all of this because I will be away from the internet during this time and will not be able to respond to the intellectually stimulating conversations going on. But didn't want you to think it was because I was a slacker like Holly. Aloha.

$400

I feel a little guilty, but I scored $400 bucks from graduate studies to attend the RMAC in Park City. In my application, I implied that my research would help shape economies in developing nations.

Anyone else score? And yes, I am going to hell...

Great Basin Foraging in American Antiquity

After school today, I came home to find everyone's favorite academic journal in my mailbox.

I've yet to read them, but there are TWO articles on Great Basin subsistence strategies in the Archaic and Holocene. One by some people from Far Western Anthropological Research Group, CA and one by Bryan Hocket from the Elko BLM. They look interesting.

When/if we have time to read them, they should provide good discussion fodder.

Unless of course, we aren't finished with the Green Hoagie motif....

Haiku Holly

Deutscher femme fatale…
Green hoagies in her bathtub?
Only time will tell…

Welcome Molly

FOF is proud to welcome Molly Hall as our newest member. Long may you post, and long may the Stars and Stripes wave, o'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave...

Technoarchaeology in Action

Having seen that my posts have been far and few between (few being the key word) I thought I'd give a summary of some "Technoarchaeology" in action and add another post to my name. The field is alive and well as coined by Mike and Scott so long ago. My work the past few months has actually been consumed by it. These are a few of the innovating avenues my company is taking in an effort to get archaeology up to speed with the rest of the technological savvy world.

All data collected from surveys, monitoring, etc. related to the Las Vegas office are captured and stored electronically. Each crew member on survey is given a pocket pc. For those unaware, I don't think there are any, but Pocket PC’s are palm pilot size but windows based. All IMACS, field notes, maps and etc. are recorded on these. The process for digitizing everything begins with us (meaning me, in this case) in the office. First, I create an Access database based on State site form requirements, research design, etc. and next I design Visual Basic programs for pocket pc’s.

The Access database is the key to whole process. The database not only stores and organizes all information collected in the field, but feeds data into any query or report imaginable. Our database prints out IMACS forms, as well as feeds into SPSS (our stats program).

The Visual Basic programs capture data that we would normally record on an IMACS form while in the field. Data such as flake size, vegetation, landforms, etc. These VB (Visual Basic) programs ensure accuracy and consistency. They are “dummy” friendly and require little, if any, actual user input. The program consists of a handful of forms. These forms contain combo and list boxes that are populated by items that we would expect the user to record. For example, the drop down box for a combo box labeled “Site Type” lets a user select “Lithic Scatter, Quarry, Habitation, Camp, Rock Shelter, Agave Pits, Rock Art.” Thus, all the field crew must do is point and click! Sites are recorded in minutes. The VB program saves the information that a user selects into comma-delimitated text file. The files are automatically saved with a date stamp, ensuring that all data is organized by day and section surveyed. At the end of each field day the files are attached to an email and sent to me in the office. All I have to do is back the files up on the serve and import them into the Access database. Quick and painless; we waste no time transferring data from paper to electronic form.

This is still in the works but we are writing a program that allows site sketches and artifact sketches to be recorded on the handhelds and saved in a format able to be imported into Pathfinder office and/or Arc View as a shape file to be added to concurrently collected GPS coverage.

This same process can be replicated by anyone having knowledge of Access and a little code writing experience. Code is difficult to learn at first but after a few months of editing code on previous programs I’ve actually been able to write my own without too much difficulty. Starting next Monday we begin a project in Arizona. My boss let me go on this one and gave me the responsibility of designing and writing the VB programs solo. I have a little left to finish before Friday but when the guys show up to leave for survey, all we have to give them is a laptop, a few pocket pc’s, a GPS receiver, and they’re ready to go!!

Its refreshing to know that some companies like this are pursuing more efficient and consistent means of recording sites. As we all venture off to various places, it’ll be exciting to hear how other companies/institutions are embracing the new field of Technoarchaeology!

What makes a Fremont - a thesis excerpt

In a sense, seeking a definition of the Fremont is a moot point. The dominant theoretical perspective claims it is impossible, and the dissident minority insists that doing so isn’t useful. What the two factions do seem to agree on is the need for a rough definition of the Fremont as an archaeological culture, a “constantly recurring assemblage of artefacts which are assumed to be representative of a particular set of activities carried out at a particular time and place” (Darvill 2002:109). Madsen (1989:67) proposes that the term “Fremont” should be applied as an “umbrella” to include a diversity of human behavior. Four relatively distinct artifact classes are identified as the material manifestations of this behavior: one-rod-and-bundle basketry, the “Fremont” hock-style moccasin, distinctive trapezoidal anthropomorphic figures in rock art and clay figurines, and distinctive grayware pottery. The umbrella concept is declared “useful” by Janetski and Talbot (2000a:7), particularly in its rejection of bounded models of regional variation. To Madsen’s list of common physical objects they add architecture and socio-economic emphases.

With a macroscalar approach, general material patterns among the Formative people north of the Colorado River can be delineated. The Fremont were fairly sedentary pithouse dwellers (Talbot 2000a, 2000b) for whom maize was a major food source, though an assortment of wild food resources were also exploited (for a summary of Fremont subsistence see Janetski and Newman 2000). A distinctive style of basketry, moccasin, pottery, and art distinguish the Fremont from their neighbors (Adavasio 1986; and Madsen 1989). These fairly egalitarian people, with four known exceptions, also buried their dead without preserved objects (Madsen and Lindsay 1977; Roberts 1991; Janetski and Talbot 2000a).

The people that shared these archaeologically observable characteristics may have recognized a variety of group affiliations among themselves. They may have shared a common language, but they just as likely could have spoken a variety of distinct languages or dialects. Some may have not even recognized an affiliation between their own kin group and other prehistoric farmers with the characteristics listed above. Regardless of how Fremont groups organized themselves socially and politically, the material culture traits shared across the Fremont area are meaningful, indicating some sort of commonality. The nature and meaning of this commonality are beyond the scope of this research, and I recognize that this is a difficult subject to address with archaeological evidence. I argue, however, that the subject is an important one that demands further investigation. Rather than seeing the Fremont material culture complex as some sort of indicator of a pan-Fremont identity, I interpret these shared characteristics as the material manifestation of participation in an agricultural-based regional system north of the Colorado River (Janetski and Talbot 2000a) that archaeologists have identified as “Fremont.”

Fremont mortuary practices - where the H are they?

Cady and I were talking today about Fremont mortuary practices. After digging for 4 years in Escalante, we didn't find one Fremont burial. Does that strike anyone else as strange? Similarly, in the 10 years of digging that UCLA did in the Parowan Valley, they found maybe 10-15 burials, of which only a few were "formal" internments. We really don't find too many burials at all do we? Were there even any found in all of Clear Creek?

What if the Fremont were burying most of their people outside of the residential sites, you know, maybe just out in the woods or something. Here's how it could be tested.

1. Compile a database of known Fremont burials, Yoder style. I bet there are less than 200 known, it wouldn't be that hard to do. The most important field would be "burial context" (i.e., house floor, midden, etc).

2. Calculate a per capita ratio of people buried in village contexts / number of residential structures.

3. Do the same calculation for some contemporary PII sites. Include some big pueblos as well as some unit pueblos.

4. Compare the two figures.

Essentially, we'd have a rough idea of how many Fremont and Anasazi folks were buried within their settlement per household. The Anasazi numbers are going to be through the roof when compared to the Fremont. We think that per household, there were far fewer individuals buried within the village, and that they had to be buried somewhere else. Ideas??

Do YOU want to become a Friend of the Fremont?

If you've been lurking, waiting, yearning to join us in our friendship with and investigation of the Fremont, here is your opportunity to join. Post a comment on this thread about why you'd like to join us, and we'll consider adding you to the team. We'll need your email address, which you could forward to an existing member (if you don't want it on the internet) or just leave it in your comment. Please keep in mind that if you're deemed a non-participant, you'll be booted! We welcome contributors, and kick out the loads! Holly is pretty much almost kicked out, so let her be a lesson to the rest of you.

Aaron's Blog

Hey, this is actually a quick note for Aaron. I tried to post a comment on your blog, but am not a "team member", so I wasn't allowed to post. Maybe you could take that filter off. I promise I won't SPAM you. For those who have not visited, it is quite a thrill. Aaron has posted some sharp ideas that may cut you to the core. No puns intended...just really bad humor.

http://www.toolreplication.blogspot.com/

Peace in the Middle West

My First Hohokam Paper

Here in the Phoenix Basin, there exists a "sacred" map of the prehistoric Hohokam settlements made by Omar Turney in the 1920s. This map is almost always taken at face value, even though some of Turney's informants were known to be full of it.

I have decided to evaluate the plots of these sites by plotting the map over ALL of the CRM projects undertaken in the Valley. I will code each site for the presence/absence of buried features and tag all of the confirmed canal locations to see which plots are correct and which ones may be dubious. Most of this information is contained in the City of Phoenix archaeological database. I have a meeting with the City of Phoenix archaeologist next week to discuss the research.

KIVA here I come!

James Adovasio and pre Clovis

Last night James Adovasio came and gave a guest lecture on the current changing views of Clovis and info on pre-Clovis groups. It was pretty darn good. He talked about some of the reasons that Clovis has always been seen as a big game hunting culture and how excavations in the past 20 years have really been changing this view. It's looking, he says, more and more like Clovis subsistence and settelment was much more like the Archaic than anyone wanted to recognize. Then he went on and talked about his Meadowcroft Rockshelter excavations and the old dates he got out of there (in addition to Clovis dates he had some as early as 14,000). Finally he wrapped up discussing some current sites with dates ranging from 20,000BP on up into the Archaic. He says the the archaeologists working on these sites have been really careful and he believes the dates. It was really interesting. I'm pretty sure North Creek Shelter is going back at least into the 20,000's! Adovasio got his degree from the good ole University of Utah. We went out to dinner with him before the lecture and he talked a little about Jennings. And let me say this, although he was the man, the more I hear about him the more I'm glad I wasn't around the same time he was. Sounds like a tough dude. Anyway, so there's your dose of daily Paleo info. (Paleo info, cool...say it again Paallleeeoooo iinnnnffffoooo)

Praise for blogs and praise to the man..(Chris)

Joseph still deserves praise, but Chris deserves a little for being so ahead of the game...

This afternoon I was sitting in the department waiting for some copies to finish and picked up "The Chronicle of Higher Education"(one of those throw-away rags that sits on the table so that people can read through it).

Interestingly enough, I found an article inside called "The Blogoshpere as a Carnival of Ideas".
In which the author, Henry Farrell (a professor of political science) discusses the validity of blogs in the academic world.

I include some excerpts, but if you want the whole article, let me know. I'll be happy to copy it and send it off to anyone interested.

This is a summary of some of the things he said:

Farrell begins by mentioning the general fear that many academics (especially those in the job market or non-tenured ones) have of blogging due to their fear of discipline for expressing controversial or original views.

Farrel argues that blogs serve several purposes, he says:

"Academic bloggers differ in their goals. Some are blogging to get personal or professional grievances off their chests or, to propose non-academic interests. Others, perhaps the majority, see blogging as an extension of their academic personas. Their Blogs allow them not only to express personal views but also to debate ideas, swap views about their disciplines, and connect to a wider public. For these academics, blogging isn't a hobby; it's an integral part of their scholarly identity. They may very well be the wave of the future."

Farrell provides some statistics for poly-sci and law majors at George Washington University. He said that 130 law professors have active blogs and that those who don't read blogs or maintain blogs of their own are cutting themselves out of important discussions.

He suggests that blogs have been slow to enter areas like the social sciences but believes that they will enter and expand soon.

Farrell believes that blogs can be exciting and free forums of discussion and idea sharing without the nasty grant proposals, project approvals, and publishing reviews which often slow the flow of ideas. Blogs provide a nice area of conversation around and between articles and monographs.

Blogging also provides a flexibility and freedom that publishing does not allow. Farrell considers the vast amount of time it takes to publish in a peer-reviewed journal, stating that years can pass by between a first draft and a publication....(cough...Spotten Cave..cough). He also considers the fact that years may go by while other academics are publishing reactions to a publication. In the blogosphere, these publications and reactions can take minutes.

In addition to rapid results, blogs provide new academics or blossoming students a chance to make their voices and opinions heard. Blogging provides students, academics and amateurs semi-equal footing to enter into a forum to discuss ideas. Farrell says, "This openness may be discomfiting to those who are attached to established rankings and rituals-but it also means that blogosphereic conversations, when they're good, have a vigor and a liveliness that most academic discussion lacks."

Farrell concludes that blogs allow academics to reconnect with the public. Blogging makes intelectualism more democratic, and an academic (with some good ideas and some self-promotion) can enter into public debate quickly. He also notes that while blogging will not replace publishing anytime soon, it provides an excellent environment for the exchange of ideas.


Sorry this is so long, but the article was very well written and seems to be in keeping with the main intent of this blog. I think Chris has done an excellent thing here by creating such a forum, the type that is garnering praise from a nationwide academic newspaper (throw-away or not).
I think that FoF, provides us all with an excellent opportunity to not only keep in touch with one another, but to also kick around ideas about our archaeological pursuits.

So, well done Chris.

If any of you would like a copy, send me an e-mail, and I'll send one off.

Three Corners Conference

So Saturday was the first ever “Three Corners Archaeological Conference” (look, I'm using colored text like Cady) held here at UNLV. A great number of papers were presented, by a good mix of academia and contract archaeologists. Since Karen Harry kind of arranged the thing, and I’m her GA, I was roped into providing a little technical assistance during the session she presented in. BYU was well represented by Jim Allison, who presented some C14 data he’s currently working on. Rich Talbot and the Sand Hollow Project was mentioned by at least one of the CRM folks. In fact, a large project that they did was heavily based off of the Sand Hollow work. They gave high praise to BYU and the thoroughness of the work done. I wanted to say, “Damn straight. That’s Rich K. Talbot your talking about” but refrained. A special treat for all was the comments of two discussants at the end of the conference: Margaret Lyneis and Claude Warren, both big wigs in their own right. After the conference I got to hang out and talk with both of them and Allison, as Lyneis and Warren had some questions about Allison’s work. Throughout the conference I was trying to think of ways I could somehow get a Fremont paper in the next one of these they hold. I remember reading somewhere that some Fremont looking petroglphys have been found as far south as the Las Vegas Valley…......Let the Northern Periphery Rise Throughout The Land!

Classroom in the Desert is gone...

Those of us who frequently check byu.edu noticed that for weeks, a Mark Philbrick (sp?) photo graced the homepage. There was also a link to the "mentoring story" with the photo of Dr.J teaching a Maren(last name?) how to dig, etc.

The photo was a nice one. It showed Mr. Craig Freeman and Mrs. Erika Holje measuring a rock art panel.

Sadly, the photo has now been changed to pimp the library. It was a good few weeks for archaeological awareness though...I think.

Cannon revised?

I stayed up late into the night reading the Capitol Reef Report, and it prompted me to propose a revision to the Friends of the Fremont cannon.

Fremont Farmers : The Pearl of Great Price (It's short, but full of important, foundational doctrine)

Clear Creek Canyon: The New Testament (Like the Bible, deals with the Fremont of the east. Excavated in recent times)

Capitol Reef: The Book of Mormon (Recounts the western Fremont)

Forthcoming PVAP monographs: The Old Testament (Excavated in antiquity. Stuff is important but often unclear. Also eastern Fremont)

The Doctrine and Covenants: Everything else.

The Legend of Ian Robertson

The following is an excerpt from an email I just sent to Ian.

I'm taking Keith's Intrasite Research Strategies class this semester, and because I was new and hadn't taken the pre-requisite class several of my fellow students were curious as to where I had learned my statistics. I explained that I had taken a class from you while you were visiting at BYU.

A reverent hush fell over the assembled students as they stared at me with mouths gaping. After an extended silence, one brave soul finally ventured to speak.

"Did he he ever talk about it?"

I'm afraid I wasn't quite sure what "it" was.

"You know, the Bayesian?"

Were they talking about your work at Teotihuacan?

"Of course that Bayesian!" was their disgusted reply.

Apparently, Ian is a legend in his own time, at least among the current crop of ASU grad students.

Cheers, sweet cheers...

The Dave Madsen Commemorative Pin

So I'm listening to X96 this morning and they are promoting a new commemorative pin from Hard Rock Cafe, SLC. Every Friday, X96 invites this guy named Dave to help them with their show. Dave is a little slow and has a speech impediment (it's great for radio). They found out about him becuae he sells flowers and other things to make money, and he has hit up x96 DJs to by his flowers.

Hard Rock Cafe, SLC found out about Dave and have decided to make a commemorative pin in his honor. All proceeds go towards helping him out.

As I mentioned in the subject heading, this guy's last name is Madsen. This is not a pitch to buy a pin for some guy none of us know, this is a chance to own something with the name of everyone's favorite Great Basin Archaeologist on it. Imagine--showing up to the GBAC or some other conference with a stack of these pins...The University of Utards would snatch them up and I bet we could put Simms down for 5 or 6...

Spammers posting nasty comments...

Hey Guys,
It seems that some spammers have been posting comments to messages that have contained some pretty bad content. We can't specifically block them from posting comments, but as administrators, Chris and I can make it to where only members of this blog can post comments. If everybody agrees, we can set it up that way. Let us know what you think and we'll keep deleting the junk people post until then.

A little Thal on the way...

Recently, I talked to Sean Thal and he mentioned that he and Erika are going to have a baby. I told him that this is information he should post on this site. His exact words to me were "You guys still do that? I haven't been on that site for months"

Yes, Sean we still post on this site.

Anyway, I told him to post the good news on this site. That was two weeks ago. So, I'm doing it for him.

I've walked the narrow strip of land...

Thought all you Book of Mormon Tour enthusiasts may want to know about this conference. Notice the last line in the story...

http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/56774

You think John Clark is going to miss this one?

Peace in the Midwest.

From Snail Suckers to Rabbit Chasers

Yesterday in 501 Clark referred to the Fremont as "Rabbit Chasers".

I think that we should all realize the significance of this statement, due to previous monikers for the Fremont such as "Snail Suckers".

Everything's coming up Fremont!

A Report for Chris

Chris I was hesitant to post a report of my defensis because I was so sorely disappointed in people who I used to consider my friends. USED TO! I am happy to report that the defense went well. Dr. J, Clark, and Rich all seemed pretty pleased with how it went except for a few minor things. Their main suggestion is that I expand some of my ideas into publishable articles. So that's cool. I am also happy to report that Cady showed up to support her friend, i.e. me (from now on Cady I will refer to you as Cady and not Katie, because you have earned it). It saddens me to say that Mr. Woods, Mr. Newbold, and the Crapster (yes, that means you Mrs. Raymond, or Rainmon, or what the freak ever)bent to the pressures of THE MAN (in this case Jim Allison)and deserted their friend in his time of need. They were more interested in calculating some mindless statistic that they will probably never use then supporting a collegue. They'll probably have a good laugh over a pint at their next "Concert Goers of Interpol" club meeting (Commonly referred to as CGI). Well who needs um. I've got Dave Madsen(left), Joel Janetski(center), and Rich Talbot(right)all semi-agreeing on one project. Plus I have one friend at ASU, one in Okalahoma somewhere, and ONE at BYU. Good day sir. I said good day!

What the Crapster, Yodester??

Whaa??? Monday? 11:00am?? Well, I have a very important quantitative methods class with a Jim Allison at that same time. What am I to do? True, the Fremont are no match for the Nabataeans, but I may consider going just the same. That is, if you will bring some dang good cookies or something.

What are you even talking about anyway?

Thesis-schmeesis is what I say.

Conferences and Katrina

Hello Fremont Fellows:
I hope everybody's classes are going well. I am being crushed with readings in my "Culture core" class and have a class on political dynamics taught by a Mesoamericanist. They are pretty interesting, but it has been a while since I've been in class and since these classes are 3 hours a piece, back to back, that makes for 6 hours on Monday nights of keeping my eyelids open and a long run-on sentence. But, I've met a number of southwest students all doing interesting research and have spent a beautiful evening in the house of Paul Minnis and Pat Gilman recently. They have a dog named Kidder.
Chris, are you planning to go to any of the SW conferences that are coming up? (Safford or Southwest Conference in Las Cruces NM) They seem to be pretty standard, although the SW conference is an invited-only conference and only occurs every 2 years. Let me know if you plan to go.
Katrina, why did you do that to so many people. That was so wrong.
Just a note to all those still in Utah, take a look at the mountains for me, take a sip of the Provo river, and give Clark a hug today. Be thankful you are there. Peace in the Midwest!

Mr. Yoder is alive but not so well.....109!

Of course I vist the site...well I haven't up until today. But that was because I haven't even been on the internet until the last day or two. It's freaking HOT MAN! Todays forecast: 109! Do you understand?! 109! I'm not cut out for this stuff. I walk around campus and I'm sweating like a mule in a Mexican police office while a a guy named Juan puts on a big white rubber glove. Yeah, its that hot.

We got all moved in in the last week and I've checked out campus a bit. Besides it being hot, I have an office in a brand new building, which is nice. And the campus in general has a lot of goodies for graduate students, lounges, computer labs, discounts, etc. So that's cool. I met with my professors this week to see what responsibilities I'll have. I'm the GA for two professors. One's a soco but the other is Karen Harry (apparently a minor ceramic goddess or something). You know those ceramists. Next semester I get switched over to being a GA for my advisor, Barbra Roth.

So my thesis defense is schedualed for Sept 19th at 11:00am if anyone is interested. It should be fun to watch me get crucified by Clark. Who knows. So Chris, what did your committee have to say to you? Going to be going to the publishers soon? Ya done good by the way. Well, I'm way to dry, need to get back outside so I can work up a sweat again. Oh, did you guys hear about the dates for the pithouse at North Creek? 9000BP! Sweet. I hear a dissertation calling.....

Back to school

Today is the day--BYU has officially opened for business.

Our class selection was sort of limited and Holly totally copied my schedule.
We are taking 501 (Clark's death march), 502 (stats), and 512 (CRM).

Cady is TA-ing for Glenna, I am TA-ing/teaching for Clark, and Holly is TA-ing for Johnson (I think)(If I'm wrong Hol, let me know).

Sherri is working for Geo-Marine Inc. and getting married, Scott is doing stuff for OPA/Dr.J, and has a baby on the way.

Chris is working for Rio Salado and Dave Abbot, Mike is working with Minnis, and Emily is at the U of U.

So, that leaves Mr. Yoder, Sean (and that Holje girl), and Craig...what are you doing?

Let us know(If you even visit this site anymore).

A Backstreet Boys video recommended for Craig

Here, then click "Just Want You to Know".

Introduction to the Hohokam

So I dug three burials today. Imagine that... I'd post some pictures but the local tribes don't allow photographs. I've been working at Los Canopas, a long term platform mound Hohokam community. There are about 20 people working at the site, and I'm apparently assistant project director. I'll be directing the dig Monday, as the director is going to be out of town.

The city of Phoenix and the state of Arizona have an antiquities law that requires the mitigation of ALL human remains on both private and public land. If you find a cluster of Hohokam pithouses, you've also found a cemetery, making for a ton of contract work.

We're trying to get all of the human remains out of the site, so we're monitoring backhoes until they hit a grave, where we stop them and start digging. There are about 20 exposed burials, maybe 40 more that have already been dug, and a lot of trenches yet to dig. Most of the burials are cremations, pretty much just pots full of ash and bone. The inhumations are nutty, it's like freakin' CSI in there the bones are so preserved.

We went on a survey the other day and I was getting mocked for finding groundstone and lithics. ME, finding groundstone and lithics in a world of ceramics?! I guess you can take the boy out of the basin, but not the basin out of the boy...

Haiku for Holly

Sweet Nabatean...

Irishman and red sweater

You're gay? What the crap?

A Haiku for Chris

Proletariat
Fighting hard for the Fremont

I miss the finger

Minnis is Mindful of the Fremont

Well, I had a great meeting with Paul Minnis yesterday about possible dissertation topics. It was fruitful and comforting. At one point he mentioned how working at Casas Grandes can be difficult because many Southwest archaeologists tend to not pay attention to what goes on in this region. Wow, seems very similar to our Fremont predicament. Well, there is something about periphery studies that warrants attention and we're not the only ones who think so. Just thought I'd add my two cents and say that Minnis commiserates. Take care, all.

Roaches held the key to our happiness

Well, the trip to Oklahoma was an experience. After breaking down twice in the mountains of Colorado, we finally arrived at the house we were going to rent at 10:30 p.m. last Wednesday night. It was a great little brick home with hardwood floors. Amie was really excited to get inside and set up our air mattresses so we could get to sleep, but we were greeted with hundreds of roaches who had a plan to keep us from moving in. This place was filthy and we were forced to sleep at the Norman Holiday Inn. The next day, we had an exterminator come out to assess and treat the house before we moved everything in. To our surprise, the exterminator said that the place was totally infested and that it would take up to 3 months to control the situation. That same night, after we moved into a different apartment, I went to take pictures of the madness so we could hold the landlady liable for paying back our deposit and first month's rent. A rat ran between my legs on this visit and the roaches were having the party of their lives. We also discovered a rotten rodent lying in one of the cupboards in the kitchen. Needless to say, I was disturbed by this first experience, but not turned off to the area. I will start working with an artifact collection from a site in Eastern Oklahoma in August and I am frantically looking for a second job that will supplement our income. Everything is going quite well now and after 2 visits to Texas already, it's like being home again. I am excited to see you all at some conference in the near future. Aaron, you and I have an abstract to write and hopefully we can all save some money to go to the SAA's in Puerto Rico. It may be a long shot for most of us, but what the hey. At least I can count on you guys being in Austin, Texas in 2007. Ok. Take care all and thanks for the support with the OPA video.

Officially Off the Market

Hi everyone! I just thought I'd share some good news. Russ proposed to me Thursday night!! I was returning from a business trip and he and Morgan suprised me at the airport with a bright yellow hummer limo, rose petals, a dozen roses, etc... Cady has all the details or you can email me. I have a picture of the ring as well. The official date is Oct. 8!!! Yeah!!

A Fond Farewell

After completing the masterful film, OPA: Episode One, Mr. Mike Searcy has left us for the Sooner State. We wish you well in your academic pursuits, and hope that you didn't leave with a bad taste in your mouth due to some ignorant and inaccurate reviews of your film.

Paquime awaits!

Homosexual Marriage

I've written a brief archaeological argument against homosexual marriage. Please take a look and tell me what you think.

Hello all. Brad, Eric, Dr. J., and myself are now officially back from good ole North Creek Shelter. Here are my thoughts in Haiku.

Cliff wall cold early
Cliff wall hot in afternoon
Flys and gnats constant

Oh North Creek Shelter
What old items do you hold
Ahh yes, Bovine dung

Actually it was pretty cool. Found a nice Fremont fire ring up high, an archaic pithouse, and a core and a tool down in the old school levels (10,000 yrs +). Come on down to my office and have a look at the tools if your interested. Good to be back.

David

New Department Chair

Any guesses?

On the way to Blanding, Jim Allison told me that we have a new Department Chair (he said that he was unaware of any "gag order" on the announcement so I'm posting it).

Dandy Don? no.

"little red riding sweater? no.

the Hawk? sadly, no.

Juan Clark? If only....

According to Jim, it is none other than David P. Crandall.

“I felt a great disturbance in the Force. As if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror, then suddenly were silenced. I fear something terrible has happened" Obi-Wan

Okay, so it's not that extreme, but it is worrisome. Hopefully, the transistion will be smooth and college support for archaeology/OPA will not fade any further than it already has.

From the mouth of JCJ...

By now, most of you at OPA have heard the story but I feel that it needs to be immortalized on this blog.

This past week, Mike and I were down at North Creek inhaling the desicated fecal matter of many an animal. On Tuesday evening, Mike was talking about Chris' idea concerning the Northern Periphery Papers. I don't have direct quotes for most of the conversation, but it went something like this (Mike, feel free to revise):

Mike: Dr.J, Chris and I have been talking and we think that it would be a good idea to write some papers on the...(looks at Aaron) what's it called?

Aaron: The Northern Periphery

Mike: Right, The Northern Periphery

Dr. J: Well, (direct quote) "That's a good name for it-I think Kidder and those guys may have had it right"

Stunned silence (if there had been crickets present they would have been chirping)

Dr.J: Actually, when National Geographic interviewed me, they asked me about that idea...

(he never really told us what he told NG)(but he mentioned something about various professors at U of U who don't buy into it)

So there you have it, despite the broken nature of this conversation and my report of it...(it was sketchy enough when we had it, let alone 3 days later...I think that a significant bridge has been crossed. As Cal would say...."Whoa-o-o-o-o- boy!"

Chapter 1 - Introduction June 16, 2005

I've posted Chapter 1 as well as the references if anyone is interested.

Werebaby T-shirts are here!

The wait is over. Olmec Werebaby t-shirts have arrived thanks to the diligence and coordination of our very own beloved Emily Wise. Thanks Emily. Just e-mail me if you are wanting to buy. Supplies are limited, so act NOW! Peace in the Middle West. My e-mail address is mikesearcy@gmail.com.

Fremont defined

The chapter isn't ready yet, but I just finished my definition of the Fremont. It's over on the thesis blog. What does everyone think?

http://fremontthesis.blogspot.com

A new blog

Rather than clog up our beloved Fremontfarmers with overly long thesis chapters, I've created a new blog that will contain only thesis stuff. I'll add a new post here when it's updated, and we can comment on it in that post if you like.

http://fremontthesis.blogspot.com/

Britany Noble and Range Creek

Got a phone call for B. Noble yesterday. She was quite excited, mentioning that she is going to the U of U's field school at Range Creek. Hopefully she can come out of this behavioral ecology experience with some sense intact.

Northern Periphery Revisited Update

Cady and I spoke to Rich the other day about the symposium idea, and he suggested that instead of random papers on the Fremont from a Southwestern perspective, we actually come up with some sort of comprehensive program and then dole out the papers. In other words, we'd need a paper on contrasting Fremont/Southwest settlement patterns, subsistence, social organization, trade, and whatever else we could think of. The end result would be statements on how the Fremont are like and unlike the rest of the Southwest. This would be much harder, but would also be really Bad A. The resulting occasional paper, in concert with the Clear Creek series and Fremont Farmers, would be revolutionary.

In the comments section, I've listed several topics that could be addressed and some possible participants outside of the Fremont Farmers. Please weigh in with additional ideas. The symposium would be open to all members of Fremont Farmers of course, in addition to other interested parties.

The Much Anticipated Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Introduction

The Fremont, a formative Great Basin/Colorado Plateau culture, are perceived as simple, tribal people who settled in sparse outposts consisting of handfuls of pithouses, presumably the residences of related nuclear families (Sammons-Lohse 1981). This pattern of settlement does not apply in the well-watered valleys of the Wasatch Front (Janetski and Talbot 2000b), where early European settlers observed the remains of sprawling Fremont communities (Janetski 1997). The Fremont, particularly those living in large sedentary populations along the Wasatch Front, probably enjoyed a degree of social and economic complexity that was higher than that currently granted them by researchers without offices in Brigham Young University’s Allen Hall. Fremont studies over the last 30 years have been principally focused on subsistence – what people ate and how they obtained it. With a few notable exceptions (Janetski 2002; Janetski and Talbot 2000b; Wilde and Soper 1999; Hockett 1998; Sammons-Lohse 1981; Gunnerson 1969), questions of social organization and exchange have been largely ignored.

I propose an analysis of Fremont ceramic production and exchange. Lyneis (1994) has suggested that the Parowan Valley (Figure 1) was a production center for Snake Valley ceramics, which are arguably the finest produced in the Fremont area (Madsen 1977). I will focus this research on one of these types, Snake Valley Black-on-gray. Possible raw material sources and sherd samples from the Parowan Valley and sherds from three other large Fremont settlements (Baker Village, Mukwitch Village, and South Temple) will be analyzed to determine whether the Parowan Valley was one of a few or perhaps the sole production center for Snake Valley Black-on-gray pottery. The results of this analysis will then be used first to determine the manner in which the pottery was produced and second, to where and with whom it was exchanged. I anticipate that the Parowan Valley will prove to be the production center for Snake Valley Black-on-gray, and that production was organized generally on the level of van der Leeuw’s (1984) Household Industry (as suggested by Schuster 1996) or more particularly as Costin’s (1991) Community Specialization. In addition, I will examine and comment on the distribution of this ceramic type.


My research asks how Fremont ceramic production and exchange were organized during Late Formative (ca. A.D. 900-1350, for a discussion of Fremont chronology see Janetski et al. 2000). Prior to any useful discussion of intergroup trade, Brown et al. (1990:251) identify three aspects of exchange that require systematic research, “First, the raw materials of traded objects need to be accurately sourced to develop a pattern of exchange relations (Plog 1977). Second, the relative value of objects has to be identified, and third, the objects have to be distinguished by context of manufacture, use, and consumption.” I have formulated specific research questions within this framework, which follow a summary of Fremont culture history and a discussion of past research.

Fremont Culture History

The Fremont horticultural strategy gradually evolved from Archaic roots at “a differential rate depending on localized environmental and cultural factors” (Talbot et al. 1998:34). In a review of data from central Utah, Janetski (1993) describes this pattern of gradual trait accumulation by the indigenous population, identifying increasing permanence and formality in residential architecture and storage features as well as the arrival of corn (DATE), bow and arrows (DATE), and ceramics (DATE). Talbot et al. (1998) designate this period of transition from 2000-1450 B.P. as the Early Fremont, noting that few sites have thus far been successfully dated to the period. Many questions about this early pattern, including settlement patterns, remain unanswered for want of data.

During the Middle Fremont (1450-900 B.P.), Talbot et al. (1998) note a uniformity of residential architecture (shallow, circular pithouses) and the development of the “typical” suite of Fremont artifact types. These include physiographically bounded ceramics, the Utah-type metate, and distinct beads, awls, needles, figurines, and stone balls. Carryovers from previous periods include Rose Spring, Eastgate, and Elko series projectile points, moccasins, and one-rod-and-bundle basketry. The typical settlement pattern consisted of nuclear household inhabitation of “rancherias” (Jennings 1978), where diverse resources were exploited. Increased dependence on horticulture probably also characterized portions of the Fremont during this period. This is particularly evident along the Wasatch Front, where population increases and aggregation begins about 1050 B.P. Additional important Middle Fremont changes include the population of the Uinta Basin and increasing Anasazi influence.

The Late Fremont period (900-600 B.P) “represents the culmination of Fremont development” (Talbot et al 1998:35). Populations continued to rise, particularly in the “central core area” (Talbot and Wilde 1989), defined as the Great Basin-Colorado Plateau transition zone from Willard Mound (Judd 1926; Steward 1933) in the north to Summit, UT in the south. Major Fremont settlements are also founded in the west from Upper Meadow Valley to the northern end of the Snake Valley, and in the east from Paradox Valley to Yampa Canyon. Architectural changes included increasingly deep and quadrilateral pithouses, on-site rectangular adobe storage structures, and large jacal adobe buildings. Corrugated pottery was developed, and painted pottery becomes increasingly more common. Projectile points types also diversified. The Formative period began to decline between 800-750 B.P. when the settlement (and probably subsistence) strategy rapidly shifted resulting in the abandonment of some areas and, with the exception of the Bull Creek area (Jennings and Sammons-Lohse 1981), population reduction in the others. By 600 B.P. all Fremont sites had been permanently abandoned.

A Brief History of Fremont Research

Janetski and Talbot (2000a) have provided an excellent summary of the last 100 years of work in the Fremont area, portions of which I highlight here (see also Janetski 1997). Antiquarians and the earliest generations of archaeologists observed similarities between material remains now called Fremont and the Puebloans of the greater Southwest. Edward Palmer (1876, cited in Fowler and Matley 1868:23) was the first to go on record with this observation, noting the Puebloan characteristics of the pottery he discovered near present-day Payson, UT. Neil Judd (1926) confirmed a Southwestern affiliation, which was accepted by Kidder (1924a, 1924b), then Don of American archaeology, and corroborated by Steward (1933, 1936). Kidder coined the term “Northern Peripheral Area” to describe the prehistoric farmers of the Utah area. The Northern Periphery soon became divided into two regions – Morss (1931) designating the Colorado Plateau farmers of the east Fremont after his work along the Fremont River and Judd (1926) labeling the western Great Basin farmers Puebloan.

In the 1950s, Jack Rudy (1953) initiated the backlash against the Northern Periphery designation, arguing that such a label marginalized Utah cultures and obscured their unique characteristics. Despite Steward’s (1955) defense of the Northern Periphery, Jesse D. Jennings and other major players in Utah Archaeology supported Rudy, arguing for the abandonment of the term Puebloan and the adoption of “Sevier Fremont” for western farmers and the preservation of Fremont for the eastern manifestation (Jennings et al. 1956:103). Though Jennings acknowledged some Southwestern influence on the Fremont/Sevier Fremont, he continued to maintain that these were merely diffused traits and that the archaeology of the region should adopt a geographic perspective.

Under the guidance and/or influence of Jennings, the next generation of archaeologists matured and began to pursue a more refined definition of the Fremont including questions of regional patterning of material culture. Marwitt (1970) and Ambler (1966a, 1966b) revisited Steward’s (1933) observations of diversity positing models of Fremont regional variation. This focus on geographic variability was relatively short lived, quickly fading in the 1970s as subsistence studies rose with the work of David Madsen. Based on the University of Utah’s work in the Parowan Valley, Michael Berry (1972b, 1974) first proposed a subsistence model characterizing the Fremont as settled farmers practicing a lifeway similar to the Anasazi. Armed with data primarily from Backhoe Village in the Sevier Valley, Madsen (1979, 1980, 1982; Madsen and Lindsay 1979) responded vigorously arguing that the sedentism observed in the Fremont area could have been based on wild resource exploitation.

As processualism came into full bloom, Madsen (1982) developed a series of continuum models of Fremont subsistence with maize eating settled farmers at one extreme, and highly mobile foragers at the other. Material culture was without variation along the continuum, and the determining factor was available resources. Simms (1986, 1990) continued the paradigm of Fremont variability with his concept of adaptive diversity, arguing against attempts to set boundaries on behavior in favor of studies on the level of individual decision-makers. Janetski and Talbot (2000a:6) conclude their discussion of Fremont research with this summary and state of current Fremont research; “Notions of Fremont variation have evolved significantly over the past 75 years. From bounded area models based on artifact lists, the scenario has moved to accommodating complex strategy mosaics within regions. Not only does ‘Fremont’ remain undefined, to make definitions a goal is counter productive.”

Three Turning Points

Three events have had particular influence on the shape of current Fremont studies. The first was Jennings’ rejection of a Southwestern paradigm for Fremont studies. While Rudy (1953) was the first to appear in print refuting the Northern Periphery, it was Jennings who would hold the ear of future generations of archaeologists. Many a graduate student has been significantly molded by a faculty member, but Jennings seems to have been particularly close to the scholars in his charge. Longtime friend, former student, and colleague C. Melvin Aikens (1994:xii) notes that all Jennings students were engendered with “that certain blend of striving, nervous anticipation (for some verging on fear) and, ultimately, respectful affection for their mentor.” Though he was sometimes (and still is) referred to with some trepidation as “The Dark Lord” (of J.R.R. Tolkien fame), Aikens (1997) also notes Jennings unremitting availability to his students,

Unlike the latter-day professor who typically schedules but a few office hours each week for student conversation and consultation, Jennings was always there, and his door was always open. A student could depend on finding him interested and ready to act directly on the concern of the moment.

Given the great degree of this influence, is it not surprising that almost none of Jennings students ever questioned his Southwest pronouncement (for an exception see Berry 1972a, 1972b, and 1974).

After Jesse D. Jennings, the next most prominent figure in Fremont archaeology is probably David B. Madsen. Madsen had entered the University of Utah? graduate program in YEAR? armed with an undergraduate degree in BOTANY?. After graduation, Madsen quickly ascended to the position of Utah State Archaeologist beginning a substantial research program from what Janetski and Talbot (2000) call an “economic perspective.” I disagree with this designation as Madsen was fixated on subsistence, only one of many facets of economics. The weight Madsen placed on subsistence is perhaps best typified in his first major foray into the subject, the Backhoe Village report (Madsen and Lindsay 1977). At Backhoe (Figure ?), Madsen discovered evidence of abundant wild resource exploitation by the Fremont. Though Jennings had rejected the Northern Periphery 20 years earlier, the Fremont were still generally thought of as sedentary farmers largely dependent on maize agriculture. Madsen’s newly gathered pollen and macrobotanical data from Backhoe and other sites flew in the face of this long held construction of the Fremont, leading Madsen (1979) to define the Fremont as maize dependent agriculturalists on the Colorado Plateau, and the remaining groups in the eastern Great Basin as the more wild resource dependent Sevier.

It is curious that Madsen became such an influential character in Fremont archaeology. Jennings directly molded several generations of archaeologists in his academic position at the University of Utah. As state archaeologist, Madsen had little direction interaction with students. Like Jennings, he did initiate an intensive research program and published prolifically. Madsen’s influence came with these publications, and as a strong State Archaeologist he set the tone for archaeological research in Utah. Madsen was also helped by the blossoming of the New Archaeology during the 1980s, which cultivated fertile ground for his sowing of concepts which were processual slightly before their time.

In concert with Madsen’s subsistence emphasis, the University of Utah Department of Anthropology began to develop a potent post-Jennings research paradigm of their own, the origin of which can probably be traced back to the arrival of James F. O’Connell in 1978. Jennings certainly continued to wield considerable influence in the Department until his retirement in 1986, and it was after this time Utah became increasingly concerned with hunter-gatherer archaeology, a trend mirrored by contemporary processual developments in American archaeology. Under O’Connell and others, the University of Utah Department of Anthropology (2005) became a program specializing in “genetics, behavioral ecology, demography, hunter-gatherers, and evolutionary approaches to human behavior.” The formation of this emphasis is the third turning point in Fremont Archaeology. After the departure of Jennings, the major university studying the Fremont began to be staffed by researchers trained in the larger Great Basin hunter-gather tradition who were primarily concerned with the biological perspective of human behavioral ecology (Hawkes et al. 1997; Broughton and O’Connell 1999).

The current state of Fremont archaeology was largely shaped by the preceding three events – Jennings’ rejection of the Northern Periphery, Madsen’s emphasis on subsistence, and the University of Utah emphasizing hunter gatherers and behavioral ecology following Jennings’ retirement. By and large today, the Fremont are studied as part of the Great Basin, with primary emphasis on subsistence, by researchers trained as or by hunter-gatherer archaeologists. In stark contrast to the majority of contemporary Fremont studies are the Clear Creek Archaeological Project (Talbot et al 1998, 1999, 2000; Baker and Billat 1999; Janetski et al. 2000) and other research by Brigham Young University (BYU) personnel (most notably Talbot 1996; Janetski 2002; Wilde and Soper 1999; and Baker et al. 2004).
The Clear Creek Archaeological Project

For those of us who have resisted the University of Utah’s hunter-gatherer hegemony in favor of a Fremont affiliation with the Southwest, the Clear Creek Archaeological Project has been more than a turning point, and is more akin to a revolution. Other researchers have largely ignored the work in Clear Creek. BYU’s involvement in the project began in the early 1980s with the awarding of a contract to the Office of Public Archaeology (OPA) to assist in mitigating the construction of Interstate 70 through Clear Creek Canyon. What began as a simple excavation of a small, open habitation site soon grew into the full-scale mitigation of large portions of the canyon, including the near complete excavation of Five Finger Ridge, one of the largest Fremont sites ever studied in detail.

The Clear Creek Archaeological Project sought to “recast the Fremont tradition as an aspect of the larger Southwestern farming pattern that bulged northward crossing the Colorado and Virgin Rivers, endured for several centuries and then pulled back” (Janetski and Talbot 2000a:7). They did so not by abandoning the work of Madsen and others, but by expanding on it. Subsistence is an important, nay essential question in any archaeological analysis, but a myriad of other questions deserves equal consideration. In approaching the Fremont from a Southwestern perspective, the writers of the Clear Creek reports didn’t seek to ignore the diversity in the Fremont known since Steward’s (1955) time, but instead argued for multiple scales of analysis, asking questions about individual variation and large-scale patterning.

I share this bias in my research. By cutting Fremont studies off from the Southwest, researchers have alienated themselves from one of the richest bodies of theory in archaeology. I approach the problem of Fremont pottery production and exchange with a preconceived notion that the Fremont are a part of the Southwest culture area, and have attempted to utilize a range of applicable theory developed in the Southwest and elsewhere.

Hail the Conquering Heroes

A few hours ago I picked up Rich, Lane, Eric and Brad. They all had beards and were pretty exhausted. Rich estimated that with layovers included, they probably had been traveling for 22 hours. They seemed happy to be back and it sounds like things went well.


Anyway, according to Lane, Rich will be in Tomorrow (the 19th), according to Rich They will be in on Friday or Monday.

Welcome back!

Oh, and I guess Holly says "Hello"

Northern Periphery Revisited

Mike Searcy has suggested that in five years we organize a symposium at the Great Basin Anthropological Conference entitled "Northern Periphery Revisited" pushing a return of Southwest perspectives to the Fremont.

Start getting your papers ready!

English Class

Well, I was at a ward function that Janalyn was helping with the other day, and I ended up in the nursery with Maya. She was crying quite a bit when we left her there, and I wasn't too keen on hanging with the ward anyway.

Two sisters were in there helping with everybody's kids. We got to talking about school and stuff and I said I was an archaeologist. They of course wanted to know if I had been on any exotic digs. I told them that I almost applied to go to Guatemala once and that the Department is currently digging in Jordan, where portions of Indiana Jones had been filmed. They asked which culture had built the thing in the canyon wall and I informed them that it had been the Nabateans.

It was then that one of the girls says, "Hey! There was this girl in my English class last semester that went on and on about the Nabateans. Do you know her? Her name is..."

Pause with me for a moment and reflect on who this may be...

Yup, you guessed it.

A New Job!!!

Well my days as a banker are officially over!!!! I thought I'd share with everyone some great news. Today I was hired as an entry-level archaeologist for Geo-Marine Inc. It is a large consulting firm with an office in Las Vegas that just happens to be about ten minutes from my house. My responsiblities are similar to what I was doing for Dr.J; preparing and compiling data for publications, computer graphics, maps, curating artifacts, etc. The staff archaeologist who interviewed me was blown away with all of my computer experience and knowledge of design programs (Thank you Scott!!). He actually offered me the job before I even arrived for the interview based on the information from my resume. He was also impressed with my field experience. Apart from the office work I will have to opportunity to gain experience in the field at Nellis Air Force base and will also have some administrative responsibilities. The pay is great as well as the hours! I don't think I've stopped smiling since I was hired. I quit the bank about ten minutes after I got the job.

I also wanted to say, as we all already know, that the experiences we are given at BYU are like none other. I don't think I could thank Dr. J, Rich, and Lane enough. They really do give us all an extra edge in the job market. This company had been interviewing for a few weeks and I was basically hired even before the interview due to the experience I had as an undergrad. So hats off to our hard working professionals!!!!

COPROPHAGY (or Second Harvest)

As someone who has dabbled in many things, including crap, I happen to have a couple references on coprophagy, the second harvest, you eating your own crap (or someone elses, but that would just be gross).

D.H. Thomas (ed)
1985 The Archaeology of Hidden Cave, Nevada. American Musuem of Natural History
Anthropological Papers 61(1). American Museum of Natural History, New York.
(pages380-382)

R. F. Heizer
1967 Analysis of Human Coprolites from A Dry Nevada Cave. University of California
Archaeological Survey Reports 70. (p.1-20)

The idea is you pick out seeds (either wet or dry the feces first and winnow it) from you feces and then consume them again. Mostly it is based on ethnographic stuff about some group down in Baja that PURPORTEDLY practiced this. Most people think this is a load of crap (hahahaha) as it is dangerous health wise (uhhh duh) and the amount of calories you would get probably isn't even worth the amount you would spend processing the stuff. But there you have it.

Thesis Outline

Here it is! What does everyone think?

Parowan Pottery and Fremont Complexity:
Late Formative Social Organization and Exchange

Thesis Outline

Chapter 1: Introduction
Statement of Problem
- James Brown
Prior to any useful discussion of intergroup trade, Brown et al. (1990:251)identify three aspects of exchange that require systematic research, “First, the raw materials of traded objects need to be accurately sourced to develop a pattern of exchange relations (Plog 1977). Second, the relative value of objects has to be identified, and third, the objects have to be distinguished by context of manufacture, use, and consumption.”
- Research Questions
1. Where was Snake Valley Black-on-gray produced?
2. What is the relative value of Snake Valley Black-on-gray?
3. How was Snake Valley Black-on-gray
a. Manufactured?
b. Used?
c. Consumed?
4. What is the Distribution of Snake Valley Black-on-gray?
5. Does this research allow for evaluation of
a. Janetski’s trade model?
b. Schuster’s Baker thesis?
c. Reed (2005) Production Model?
Fremont Culture History (literature review)
- What we all mostly agree on
1. Chronology – introduction of cultigens, ceramics, etc.
2. etc?
Previous Research (A tale of Two Fremont)
- Utah v. BYU (i.e. Great Basin v. Southwest)
- Definitional problems, what is Fremont?
Sites Sampled (Include Setting and Summary)
Figure: Map of Fremont Area showing relevant sites
- Parowan Valley
- Baker Village
- Mukwitch Village (Sevier Valley)
- South Temple (Salt Lake Valley)
- Five Finger Ridge

Chapter 2: Chemical Assay
Theory
Method
- ICP-MS (original data)
1. Analytical method
2. Collection of samples
3. Sample preparation
- INNA (Reed data)
1. Analytical method
2. Collection of samples
3. Sample preparation
- XRF (BYU Geology data)
1. Analytical method
2. Collection of samples
3. Sample preparation
- Statistical package (i.e. the identification of compositional groups)
Through the use of Weigand et al’s (1977) "provenance postulate," the location of sources or source zones may be inferred by comparing the unknown groups to knowns (source raw materials). See Bishop et al (1982), Steponaitis et al (1996), Baxter (1992), Glascock (1992), and Neff (1992, 1994, 2002). SYSTAT 10.0 is the software package that will be used to complete the analysis.
Data
- Sampling
- Focus on compositional groups, raw data to be reported in Appendix B
- Many figures
- Any spatial, temporal, or stylistic patterning?

Chapter 3: Distribution of Pottery
Theory
- Renfrew stuff? Got to be something better
Method
- Sampling
1. Just SVB/G? or also SVG and SVC?
2. Limit to published excavated sites, structural sites?
- Reconciliation of sherd counts
1. No. of Snake Valley Black-on-gray per structure
2. No. of Snake Valley Black-on-gray per total no. of sherds
Data
- Spatial distribution
Much of this to be expressed in a map, update of R. Madsen (1977)
1. North (Down the line?)
2. South (Direct procurement?)
3. East (Down the line? Ivie Creek?)
4. West (Direct Procurement?)
- Context of distribution (scattered evenly, hoarded, etc)

Chapter 4: Results and Analysis
Research Questions
1. Where was Snake Valley Black-on-gray produced?
2. What is the relative value of Snake Valley Black-on-gray?
3. How was Snake Valley Black-on-gray
a. Manufactured?
b. Used?
c. Consumed?
4. What is the Distribution of Snake Valley Black-on-gray?
5. Does this research allow for evaluation of
a. Janetski’s trade model?
b. Schuster’s Baker thesis?
c. Reed (2005) production model?

Chapter 5: Conclusion
- Summary
- Directions for Further Research
1. More samples, build a database
2. “Classic” Snake Valley question
3. Resolve definitional problem
4. More…

References:

Appendix A: Sherd Illustrations

Appendix B: Raw Chemical Data