Hunter-gatherer subsistence-settlement strategies are discussed in terms of differing organizational components, "mapping-on" and "logistics," and the consequences of each for archaeological intersite variability are discussed. It is further suggested that the differing strategies are responsive to different security problems presented by the environments in which hunter-gatherers live. Therefore, given the beginnings of a theory of adaptation, it is possible to anticipate both differences in settlement-subsistence strategies and patterning in the archaeological record through a more detailed knowledge of the distribution of environmental variables.

The argument is presented here that lithic artifact assemblages can be made to yield considerable information on prehistoric behavior patterns, often despite a lack of associated organic material. To illustrate this point, an example has been taken from the Mesolithic settlement of Bergumermeer in the northern Netherlands, from which only prehistoric ground features, stone, and small bits of carbonized remains have been preserved. Proceeding from a functional use-wear analysis of the collection, a four-stage analytical procedure was instituted, employing ethnographically derived models of seasonality, expected resource exploitation, and hunter-gatherer population parameters. This structure enabled the author to provide estimates of several aspects of the prehistoric behavior of the Mesolithic group, including activities, methods of tool prehension, tool use-life and discard rate, number of animals exploited, population of the settlement, and minimum duration of occupation.

The role of environmental versus sociopolitical factors in establishing the characteristics of Maya settlement in Petén, Guatemala, has been debated, but evaluations have been hampered by a lack of diachronic data. Archaeological surveys and excavation conducted within a larger historical ecology project focused on the twin lake basins of Yaxhá and Sacnab, in northeast Petén, have provided a diachronic perspective on the settlement debate. In this area early settlement decisions appear to reflect topographic or environmental concerns, but the evolution of civic-ceremonial authority in the region caused deviations from this pattern.

Galena artifacts from Middle Woodland Copena burial mounds have been analyzed by means of atomic absorption spectrophotometry in order to determine their trace element compositions. These results are compared to trace element characteristics of galena sources in eastern North America. Analysis to date suggests the Upper Mississippi Valley galena district as the source for these artifacts. Implications concerning Middle Woodland exchange systems are also offered.

Archaeologists have treated American native peoples in a detached and somewhat pejorative fashion. In an attempt to explain this treatment, the development of American archaeology is examined in relation to changing views of native peoples that archaeologists have held. In the nineteenth century, native peoples were regarded as unprogressive savages, a view reflected in the "Mound Builder" myth, which held that the spectacular earthworks which were then the object of considerable antiquarian interest were the work of non-Indians. In the first half of the twentieth century, given a declining interest in the functional interpretation of archaeological data and a loosening of ties with ethnography, there was even less concern with native peoples. The New Archaeology continues to treat native peoples as objects rather than subjects of research. It is suggested that greater concern with Indian and Eskimo history might help to correct this.

Systems of human settlement serve as primary sources of evidence for investigating variability in the evolution of complex societies. In particular, the existence of and nature of cities reveals much about the nature and direction of sociopolitical changes characteristic of prehistoric states. The present study places the analysis of prehistoric urbanism within the context of settlement system analyses and applies this approach to the protohistoric Tarascan state of western Mexico. This first synthesis of our knowledge of major Tarascan settlements evaluates the protohistoric communities at Tzintzuntzan, Ihuatzio, Pátzcuaro, and Erongarícuaro (within the Lake Pátzcuaro Basin) and considers those outside the Tarascan core, especially Zacapu. This study suggests that the Tarascan state did not participate in the Central Mexican urban tradition, and that the historic capital, Tzintzuntzan, may have been unique in its urban status. Rather, the state was characterized by a complex and overlapping network of central places and specialized places. To the extent that this pattern diverges from other prehistoric systems it constitutes one source for understanding the diversity in the protohistoric Mesoamerican world.

An Epiclassic period (ca. A.D. 800-1000) Mexican-influenced archaeological pattern is delineated for the Río Negro and Río Motagua basins, the two principal arteries of highland Guatemala, which flow to the Gulf and Caribbean lowlands. This pattern is argued to have originated along the Mexican-Mayan cultural frontier of the Gulf coast. A subsequent Toltec pattern in these same river basins parallels Chichén Itzá and Mayapán and also can be seen to have originated in the same general Gulf lowlands. Such Mexican/Toltec patterns in archaeology show that ethnohistorical claims by the later Quiche and Cakchiquel peoples for having introduced Toltec cultural forms into the highlands actually predate their stated migratory movement and a threshold of "history" (A.D. 1200s) by centuries.

This paper describes the results of an investigation of internal Nahua lexical diversity and speculates on the possible implications for Mesoamerican culture-history. Data for glottochronological calculations were obtained from 25 different Nahua communilects ranging in location from Sinaloa in western Mexico to El Salvador. The absolute chronology derived from this lexicostatistical technique proved highly sensitive to a number of discontinuities in the Mesoamerican sequence. Nahua linguistic divergences correlated with such significant events as the demise of the "Classic civilizations," Toltec and Aztec expansionist periods, and the Spanish conquest. Although the correlation between absolute and glottochronological years remains theoretically controversial, the results of this and other similar studies indicate a high potential for the practical applications of this technique in holistic anthropological research.

Extinct subspecies of Bison were taken in mass kills with the aid of natural and artificial traps during Paleoindian times. A succession of chipped stone projectile points diagnostic of different cultural complexes was used. Bone projectile points can now be added to the fluted stone points of Folsom weaponry.

This paper questions the historicity of Carib migrations in northeastern South America, especially from the Guianas to the West Indies, on the basis of (1) recent chronological work on the late prehistory of the Lesser Antilles, and (2) a critical reexamination of ethnohistorical data on the Island Caribs (migration myths, linguistic dimorphism, distribution, early European contacts). A new interpretation of the previously elusive Island Carib pottery complex allows for a reevaluation of cultural continuities and affiliations. The question is further approached through a more precise definition of the Island Carib as an ethnic group in relation to other groups in the Guianas.

A permutation test for assessing intrasite patterning of artifact distributions in archaeological space is presented. This test requires none of the usual assumptions about the data; permits either exact locational or counts/grid data in one-, two-, or three-dimensional space; and provides an exact method for testing any hypothesis concerning the nonrandom allocation of artifacts into classes within a site.

Population estimated for the Late Classic period at the Lowland Maya site of Tikal, Guatemala, is reviewed. Linear programming is described and suggested as a method for simulating the agricultural carrying capacity of the sustaining area of the site, thereby inferring its potential population. Archaeological data on the estimated size of the Tikal sustaining area is presented along with modern agricultural production and caloric output figures for maize, root crops, and ramon seeds. These data are used in the computation of a linear program. The results of the computer runs calculating the maximum population supportable by different combinations of milpa, intensive farming, and aboriculture are discussed. These results suggest that a mixed subsistence strategy in which ramon seed aboriculture and intensive root cropping were combined and were supplemented by kitchen gardening, hunting, gathering, and trade might have supported a population as high as 69,705 to 76,699 people within the boundaries of the site of Tikal during the Late Classic period.

Rapidly evolving computer technology can play a significant role in all phases of future archaeological research. Technical trends are summarized, including hardware (data processing and storage), software (languages and data management), and data processing and entry. The utility and benefits of these new techniques are explored in relation to several current archaeological projects.