Brown, Clifford T.

The Miami Circle (8DA12) is a site in downtown Miami, Florida with a unique prehistoric feature. The feature is made up of small post holes which reflect a larger patterned arrangement that resembles a circle, most probably the remnants of a prehistoric structure. The Miami Circle was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002 and declared a National Historic Landmark on January 16, 2009. The site has been linked to the Tequesta Indians.
This project utilized chi-square 𝑥2 test of independence statistical analytical methods using data obtained from the Miami Circle site and neighboring sites to determine the logical boundaries of the prehistoric village called Tequesta. Chi-square testing will determine if there is a statistically significant difference between the sites based on calculations of expected and observed frequency for sets of recovered artifacts.

In archaeology, size distributions of lithic debitage can convey information about reduction stage and possibly other aspects of reduction trajectories and activities. Previous investigations have used inadequately robust methods to identify and characterize fractal power law size distributions in experimental and archaeological debitage assemblages. In this study, weights and maximum dimensions of individual, experimentally reproduced “preferential” Levallois debitage specimens were recorded by core and preparation-exploitation stage. Rigorous statistical methods were used to assess distribution conformities to power law (fractal), lognormal and exponential models. Results show that Levallois debitage size distributions are complex and do not fit any simple model closely; however, MLE derived power law parameters coarsely but effectively describe most data, while exponential distributions characterize the extreme right tails. Moreover, distributions tend to form a “characteristic shape” when graphed, which persists across cores and stages. These findings may aid in identifying and evaluating Levallois materials in the archaeological record.

The Hutchinson site, a Late Archaic/Early Woodland habitation site first excavated in 2017, produced over a hundred bone tools. This research analyzes the assemblage using morphological, typological, spatial, and statistical methods. By understanding tool manufacture and use at Hutchinson, this analysis illuminates the poorly documented prehistory of the South Florida interior and prehistoric technological adaptation in the absence of lithic material.

The evaluation of archaeological sites is an essential, routine, and commonplace part of archaeological practice. Evaluation is usually a preliminary step carried out prior to a decision about preservation, destruction, or more intensive investigation. In most cases, archaeologists sample sites when conducting evaluations, often to reduce the cost of the research, but also to minimize the adverse effects to sites that may be significant.
The literature on sampling in archaeology, with a few noteworthy exceptions, does not address critical issues concerning how much to sample to achieve a valid and reliable evaluation of a site, or, alternatively, how much material must be recovered for that same purpose. This thesis studies the spatial and numerical distributions of ceramic material recovered from three prehistoric archaeological sites that have undergone several phases of intensive testing to understand the variables that influence effective sample sizes for evaluation.

Estimating the sex of unknown human skeletal remains is important to the fields
of forensic anthropology, bioarchaeology, and other specialties. I studied sexual
dimorphism on the first and second ribs to estimate sex from skeletal remains. I
employed two approaches. I used geometric morphometrics to analyze landmark and
semilandmark coordinate points to examine the overall shape of the ribs. I also examined
the sternal end of the ribs for size using the superior-inferior height (SIH) and anteriorposterior
breadth (APB) in a binary logistic regression (BLR) model. Differences in male
and female first and second ribs are undetectable when landmark coordinate points are
used to capture shape variability, but significant differences in the shape of the ribs,
however, are detected through the use of semilandmark coordinate points.
Using semilandmark points to estimate sex presented an accuracy rate of 80.7%
from the first rib, and 72.9% from the second rib. The use of the sternal end presents
consistent results in its ability to estimate sex with an accuracy rate of 84.2%. The BLR model reveals significant differences between males and females than the geometric
morphometric approach; it is more applicable for discerning sexual dimorphism of
unknown individuals. This study reveals that while geometric morphometrics provides a
powerful approach to assessing morphological differences, it is not always better than
simpler methods, in this case, simple measurements analyzed through BLR.

This thesis examines the fabrication and provenance of 2,871 obsidian artifacts collected from twelve prehispanic archaeological sites in four physiographic zones throughout the Department of Chinandega, the northwesternmost department of Nicaragua. This research represents the first systematic study of obsidian artifacts in the region and focuses on two aspects of the obsidian artifacts. First, I present a macroscopic technical analysis of artifacts collected from twelve sites in the Department. The second part of the thesis presents a collaborative geochemical provenance study of obsidian procurement across these sites. Results indicate that most prehispanic sites participated in multiple sets of long-distance trade networks centered on obsidian as early as the Late Preclassic, up until the Late Postclassic, exploiting trade from four obsidian sources to the north. Analyses show that populations in the Department primarily, though not exclusively, utilized a core-flake industry that was worked on-site with material from the Güinope source in Honduras. A limited number of prismatic blades and a few other formal tools sourced from two additional further sources (La Esperanza in Honduras and Ixtepeque in Guatemala) appear almost exclusively as imported finished products more recently in the archaeological sequence. Additionally, the archaeological sites situated in the eastern coastal plains of the Department contained the largest variety of source material, followed by the sites of the northern foothills, a single site in the Nicaraguan depression, and lastly a single site in the Maribios volcanic front. Although ceramic analyses from the collection are partially complete and developing, this region is best understood as a cultural mosaic connected to the Mesoamerican populations in the north.

The present study identifies settlement patterns of the Manteño culture within the cloud forest of
southern Manabí by surveying, recording and analyzing the stone architecture found within the drainage
basin of the Las Tusas River, Ecuador. The statistical methods used were: Triangulated Irregular Networks
or TIN (for topography interpretations), K-means (to determine natural groups for structures based on their
dimensions, shape, and wall thickness), Ripley’s K (to determine spatial nature of these groups) and Kernel
Density (to visualize their spatial organization). The cloud forest ecotone of southern Manabí was an
anthropogenic landscape during the late Integration period. The alluvial valleys of the upper Rio Blanco
drainage basin do not represent a hinterland or a periphery occupation but a series of Manteño nucleated
settlements raised on terraces and interconnected by strings of linear settlements and dispersed settlements
throughout the rugged terrain of this landscape.

Debitage from the reduction of Spondylus valves into pieces useful for craft
production was recovered at the site of Rio Chico, Manabi Province, Ecuador, from
multiple occupations that represent different cultural periods of Coastal Ecuador.
The material is analyzed and interpreted from a production context and defines
basic production characteristics for each cultural period represented. Changes in these
characteristics seen within the sequence are highlighted and then compared against
changes found in the regional exchange system defined by Martin (2000). The results
indicate that the greatest level of variability and the least processing intensity occurred
within the youngest occupation (later Mantefio) and the greatest amount of change
through time occurred between the earlier and later Mantefio period. It also suggests that
the local production processes did not change in response to changes in the regional
exchange system. Instead, responses to changes in the regional trade context could have
involved geographic expansion of the Spondylus habitat they exploited by initiating, or
expanding an already existing, trade route with Mesoamerica.

A sample of 97 human skeletal remains from Ireland were examined to
investigate the etiology of spina bifida, a form of neural tube defect. It is unclear whether
the disease results from environmental or genetic causes. Collections of human remains
from three sites dated to nineteenth century were studied in an attempt to identify the
period during which the prehistoric rates of spina bifida rose to modern levels. In these
collections, nineteenth century spina bifida rates were higher than either prehistoric or
modern rates. Thus, nineteenth century Ireland experienced peak rates of spina bifida.
Nutrition in modern day Ireland has vastly improved, and the frequency of spina bifida
has decreased; however, the amount of neural tube defects has not diminished to rates
found in the United States or even England. Inquiry into Ireland's connection with spina
bifida will increase understanding of the persistence of high rates in modern times.

Recently a new strategy for age-at-death estimation has been developed. In Stephanie Calce’s 2012 article, ‘A New Method to Estimate Adult Age-at-death Using the Acetabulum,’ she redesigns the previous attempts made by Rissech et al. (2006). Her technique simplifies Rissech et al. seven traits by condensing them into three easily identifiable traits. The aim of this paper is to determine that Calce’s original intent to create a more user-friendly and comprehensible scoring method was successful. My focus is to reveal if Calce’s technique is effective between different populations or whether interpopulation variation renders it an unstable approach to age estimation. I tested Calce’s forensic method of aging human skeleton’s on a random sample of skeletons of known age from the Hamann-Todd collection. In the test, Calce’s method proved to work well. As it is simpler than previously proposed methods, investigators should consider adopting it under appropriate circumstances.