Experiments in which recently excavated artifacts were soaked for at least four hours in 40 g/liter aqueous solutions of CalgonTM (sodium [hexa]metaphosphate), then rinsed off in a colander under tap water, show this method to be 1.5 to 6.4 times more thorough than traditional scrubbing while taking only two-thirds the time. This method, particularly effective in cleaning large batches of small or intricately surfaced objects, is a practical cost-saving procedure in both public and private-sector research.

Howell and Kintigh (1996) argue for ascribed leadership at Hawikku based on biological kinship within cemetery areas and nonrandom distribution of higher-diversity burials. Their statistical evidence could be questioned based on principles of two-tailed null hypotheses, the Bonferroni principle, and other aspects. Especially when taking the bioanthropological literature more adequately into account, alternate conclusions somewhat at variance with Howell and Kintigh's concerning biological and social patterning according to gender could be envisioned.

Corruccini questions our identification of kin group-based cemeteries and our inference of an ascriptive component of leadership at Hawikku based on the presumed use of flawed sex determinations, statistical problems, and inattention to potential gender-based differences in morphological similarity. We address each of these topics and present new evidence to support our contention that cemeteries at Hawikku were kin based.