Kennedy, William J.

This thesis studies a ceramic assemblage recently excavated at Rio Chico (OMJPLP170), a coastal multi-component site situated in Southern Manabi, Ecuador. Stratigraphic excavations provided the data for analysis, which primarily consisted of utilitarian wares that were examined within the archaeological context. Ceramic utilitarian wares were used to reconstruct the cultural sequence at Rio Chico, dating from the Early Formative Period Valdivia Phase to the Integration Period Manteno Phase, and to assess the use of space throughout the occupation. Additionally, ceramic vessel reconstruction provided insights about the types of activities and behavioral patterns of the prehispanic inhabitants of Rio Chico in each cultural phase. A comparative study of Rio Chico (OMJPLP170) and the adjacent site of Salango (OMJPLP140-141) aided in establishing possible cultural correlations between the two sites. As a result, similarities and differences were noted between the prehispanic settlements of both sites throughout their occupation.

The term artifact denotes a framework for conceptualizing
the physio-chemical modification of environmentally occurring
raw materials by human, cultural processes. This thesis
examines the categories of artifact analysis, and integrates
these into a development sequence. This sequence represents
the processes which pattern all artifacts. They can be
summarized as occurring at four stages: (1) selection of
raw materials; (2) construction techniques; (3) artifact use
and function; (4) formation of the archaeological record.
The result of this integration is a heuristic model that
recognizes the unity and complexity of cultural materials,
and provides a base for processual studies. A separate part
of this thesis employs Strombus gigas shell artifacts from
the prehistoric cultures of the Caribbean to indicate the
utility of the artifact development sequence as a theoretical
conceptualization.

This thesis attempts to demonstrate quantitatively that Mississippian populations in the prehistoric North American Southeast utilized deer as a functional domesticate. "Functional domesticate", a term developed specifically for this study, is defined as a subsistence source that is consistently and readily accessed, both spatially and temporally. The concept of "domestication" extends to those economies which do not have animal domesticates but have access to procurement areas where animal resources can be continually and efficently harvested. The hypothesis is validated by using Bruce Smith's faunal model developed in the 1970s. His model in quantified by developing regression equations, indexes, and by creating "a Mississippian faunal use pattern." A literature review shows no previous attempt to use Smith's model to prove quantitatively the "deer as a functional domesticate" hypothesis. More importantly, the hypothesis is established without using analogies to the ethnohistoric/ethnographic literature, providing a useful instrument for studying prehistoric societies.

Many archaeological culture area models have been proposed for southern Florida. The most important reason for the number of alternative models may be a lack of precise means to evaluate them in relation to individual archaeological sites. This thesis addresses these problems using Jupiter Inlet I (8PB34) as an example. The relative frequencies of ceramic types from this site are compared to other sites with generally accepted cultural affiliations. The multivariate statistical technique known as discriminant analysis is used to directly compare comparable components from each site. This analysis reveals that archaeological areas in southern Florida can be determined fairly well based on ceramic data alone. A more objective archaeological area model is proposed for southern Florida. In this model, Jupiter Inlet I is shown to be part of several different archaeological areas over time.

The Cotzumalguapa Nuclear Zone is located on the Pacific slope of Guatemala. A portion of the carved stone monuments associated with this zone exhibits a unique combination of botanical symbols as a concomitant to central portrait figuration. This botanical style, found elsewhere in Mesoamerica, includes leaf, flower, fruit, and complex tabbed speech scroll/vine motifs intertwined with other non-botanical symbols. The resulting style can be interpreted as an "envisioned form" of symbolic communication. This thesis examines, isolates and quantifies the botanical elements, their placement and suggests comparisons with plant species known to facilitate altered state spiritual communication.

This study compiles all known archaeological sites in southern Florida dating from the early historic period (1492-1750) that contain European beads. Beads from four sites, Boynton Multiple Mounds (8PB100), Ortona Burial Mound (8GL35), Philip Mound (8PO446), and Goodnow Mound (8HG6), are classified, as well as quantified to provide valuable information on frequency, style, and observable patterns in the archaeological record. This study examines the function of beads as ornaments intended to display, convey, or communicate culturally coded messages. Beads can be used in an outward, visible display of rank, status, and prestige. Beads will be compared with other items found in archaeological context to examine possible patterns in assemblages, especially as related to the unique set of artifacts associated with "The Glades Cult".

A model establishes the cultural processes by which Yaxchilan became a major Lowland Maya mercantile center. The iconography and inscriptions are first examined to show that the political organization represented an epiphenomenal cultural process in Yaxchilan's florescene. The mercantile model based on known facts, examines many components relevant to the development of Yaxchilan's economic organization, namely, location, topography, climate, transportation systems, the Polanyi Port of Trade model, trade goods and their movement, socioeconomic organization, unprecedented site improvements, Maya trade networks and ideology. Areas for future study are articulated.

Research on Maya centers have focused on monogenic descriptions assuming a uniqueness of design rather than looking at Maya centers as systems encompassing multiple functions as well as an innate strategy of urban design. The analysis of Maya architecture, in particular, has often become a pseudonym for the study of individual structure's chronology rather than an examination of structures using architectural theory and method. Using data from the site of El Pilar, this thesis examines the restricted ways in which Maya urban centers have been architecturally analyzed in the past and will incorporate those methods, into the wider scope of architectural theory to propose a holistic analysis of one center. This analysis places ancient Maya regional centers, such as El Pilar, in a broader comparative context, one that readily enables comparisons between other regional Maya centers as well as the cities of other world cultures.

The existing body of knowledge within the field of experiential education is reviewed in relation to its potential for use in secondary school study tours. Existing techniques and procedures within the field are applied to a specific itinerary for an archaeological study tour of Maya sites in the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. Anthropological and archaeological goals for the tour are suggested and a blend of experiential and pedagogical teaching and assessment strategies are presented for use by travel studies coordinators who would attempt such a tour. A logistical lesson plan is presented for consideration in offering the study tour for academic credit.

Archaeological data on mortuary practices in the Everglades cultural area of southeastern Florida from the Late Archaic (2000 B.C.-500 B.C.) through the Formative period (500 B.C.-A.D. 1750) are synthesized in order to document development of the chiefdom organization known ethnographically for the historic Tequesta Indians. Site and burial data are drawn from published and unpublished documents and analyzed using Binford's (1971) models which predict sociopolitical organization from mortuary evidence for individual status and rank. Results indicate the presence of a non-egalitarian social structure with inherited status in the Late Archaic period followed by a ranked sociopolitical organization in the Glades II-III periods.