Kennedy, William J.

Two previously unrecorded sites on Bonaire in the Netherland Antilles are reported in this study. Pictographs on the island were subjected to a form analysis to determine the relationship of the representational elements to the non-representational elements. The results show that the pictographs at Site S1 are primarily non-representational and do not have recurring motifs found at other sites on Bonaire. Those at Site S2 are unlike any others on Bonaire. The rock art from the Lesser Antilles and Venezuela is primarily representational and petroglyphs. Those found in western Cuba, Aruba and Curacao are non-representational with recurring motifs. The Dominican Republic's and eastern Cuba's rock art is representational and, like Curacao, both have pictographs and petroglyphs present.

The artifact record is an indication of a culture's
temporal and psychological boundaries. The design,
manufacture, use and subsequent disposal of artifacts
mirror the norms of the society. This thesis utilizes
these cultural characteristics to delineate the
temporal and cultural location of two Antillean Period
sites on Middle Caicos, British West Indies. The data
consisted of the Antillean Period import ceramics. The
data were analyzed using a Multi-response Permutation
Procedure to assess frequency distribution within each
site. Four hypotheses were tested to determine
cultural homogeneity between the sites. Results
indicated that the sites were occupied seasonally for a
special purpose i.e., salt collection activities.

Discernment of a third socio-political status level in burials of
the Arkansas River valley is the subject of this thesis. In a
hierarchy, such as the Spiro Focus chiefdom of the Arkansas River
valley, effort expended for burial of a socio-political high status
person is proportional to previous importance in the society. Two
higher levels of socio-political status groups, buried with conch
shell and copper artifacts, have previously been reported in the
archaeological literature. It is proposed that there was a third
socio-political high status group buried with imported pottery.

The Rolling Oaks II site is one of a series of habitation
sites in central Broward County, part of the Tequesta Sub-
Area of the Glades Area of South Florida. This report
explores the idea that these sites were more than mere
hunting camps, but were semi-permanent interrelated inland
communities. These sites probably date from the
Late Archaic through tho Glades Periods in an uninterrupted
sequence based on the ceramics and non-ceramic
artifacts recovered.

The purpose of this research project is to determine if any
correlation exists between ecological factors and the
settlement patterns exhibited within Townships 18 and 19
North, Range 93 West, of the Wamsutter Block Area Survey,
Carbon County, Wyoming. The Wamsutter project area, located
in a region known as the Red Desert, lies mostly in the
Great Divide Basin and extends slightly into the Washakie
Basin of south-central Wyoming. The environmental effect on
cultural adaptations may be reflected in the archaeological
remains. Prior to the Wamsutter survey project, this area
was the subject of several surveys by various institutions.
The previous surveys were limited compared with the massive
and intensive undertaking of this project. It is hoped that
through this investigation the utility of the large data
base generated by contract archaeology will be demonstrated.

Due to eustatic changes of sea level, tectonic activity, isostatic and
compactional depression, and erosion, a considerable number of archaeological
land sites are now underwater. East of San Juan, Puerto Rico,
underwater archaeological excavation at Isla Verde site revealed a
coastal settlement inhabited circa A.D. 800 by Arawak Neo-Indians.
Classified in the Ostiones phase by its ceramic ware, the site preceded
the Talno chiefdoms encountered by European explorers at the close of
the fifteenth century. Built near the ocean, in a once secluded area
surrounded by two lagoons and a mangrove belt, Isla Verde site was
characterized by coastal and maritime adaptations such as shellfish
collecting and the hunting of manatees and turtles. Cultivation of
root crops was also part of the subsistence pattern. The site was
submerged as a result of erosion produced by wave patterns diffracted
by offshore reef patches. The archaeological potential and limitations
of the site were evaluated, in conjunction with the recent geologic
history of the area.

The interrelatedness of archaeology, geography, and environment, in conjunction with the utilization of modern technology has become evident. This thesis employs the main principles of Environmental Archaeology while utilizing Geographic Information System technology to analyze the distribution of Paleoindian and Archaic period sites in south Florida. The following research demonstrates populations preferred certain areas to others, and environment played a considerable role in this preference, as indicated by the patterns that arose when site locations were analyzed based on environmental variables. These patterns in site locations were used to determine the most likely and least likely areas of south Florida for finding new archaeological sites. This thesis also provides an evaluation of the varions environmental and archaeological data sets used, concluding that paleoenvironmental reconstruction is a worthwhile goal, greatly enhancing modern environmental data sets used in this study.

The purpose of the proposed investigation is a multi-faceted study providing the opportunity to (a) examine the transverse Glades waterways within Broward County, Florida as trade networks during precolumbian times, (b) critically examine the importance of shark teeth as a commodity in the prehistoric commerce of south Florida, and (c) explore the utility of geographic information systems (GIS) in the resolution of the archaeological questions noted above. As suggested by the above statement, this study will focus on the dynamics involved in the distribution of shark teeth throughout archaeological sites in Broward County noting whether there are noticeable changes in the frequency of their distribution over time, or whether it is relatively constant. The study will attempt to better understand the important role of the southeast Florida transverse Glades waterways in the coast to inland commerce of shark teeth.

Florida is home to five known aboriginal canoe canal complexes, most of which have been destroyed by urban development and the ravages of time. These canals were large undertakings suggesting an organized, chiefdom society and sedentary populations. Two of these complexes, Mud Lake and Snake Bight canals, are located on Cape Sable in South Florida. These canals remain fairly intact and are observable in the field and on high resolution aerial photographs. Digital image enhancement and traditional ground truthing methods add valuable information to the study of Cape Sable's canals. Field work was completed with permission from Everglades National Park, study number EVER-00035, permit number EVER-2001-SCI-0035. Carbon-14 dates indicate that both of the canals were constructed at approximately the same time, during the Glades II and III periods, making the Cape Sable canals contemporaneous with Florida's other aboriginal canals. Information about these enigmatic features aids archaeologists in the quest to understand Florida's earliest inhabitants.

This study seeks to investigate the problem of the cultural boundary between the Kissimmee-Lake Okeechobee and the East Okeechobee culture areas. The problem is addressed here using sites along the geographical region known as the Loxahatchee Scarp, focusing mainly on three sites, Whitebelt I (8PB220), Whitebelt III (8PB222) and JR244 (8MT1327). This study compares ceramic type data using the multivariate statistical analysis of discriminant analysis. The relative frequencies of ceramic types from the test sites are compared to other sites with generally accepted cultural affiliations. The ceramic frequencies are used in order to sort each sites level into several culture areas, those include the Glades, Indian River, Kissimmee-Lake Okeechobee and East Okeechobee culture areas. The results of this study demonstrated the utility of using discriminant analysis in the sorting of levels within sites into appropriate culture areas. The analysis suggests that although ceramics are a key component in determining where that site fits into the vast scheme of known archaeological culture areas, ceramics alone are a poor determinator without considering other factors, such as lithic or shell tools.