The extensive use of native copper by historic Copper Inuit has been felt to be a fairly recent development, inspired in one way or another by indirect European contact. This conclusion seems to be based on the comparison of ethnographic historic collections and archaeological prehistoric ones. However, an examination of archaeological collections dating from the historic period suggests that copper and other metals are much less frequent in archaeological samples than in functioning, ethnographically-described assemblages. The difference appears to be due to curation, which in turn is a product of the high value and durability of metal. Archaeological collections from the prehistoric Thule culture in the area show a frequency of copper tools that is actually higher than the frequency of all metals at late nineteenth-century sites. This study illustrates some of the difficulties inherent in uncritical use of ethnographic data to solve archaeological problems.

The New York Iroquois were horticulturists characterized by a relatively low population density, perhaps not unlike other early farming populations. Using ethnohistorical information, I suggest factors that negatively affected both critical resources and Iroquois fertility. The relation of Iroquois warfare to population density is also explored.

The Early Central California assemblage was described on the basis of four sites in the delta region of California's central valley. The original reports interpret the sites as residential villages with associated cemeteries. In this discussion I argue that the evidence for residential occupation is very weak and that the sites are specialized mortuary mounds. The implications for California archaeology are discussed.

I examine the problems and potentials of correlating diachronic archaeological and ethnohistorical data through the case of the Aztec (Triple Alliance) conquest of western Morelos, Mexico. To date, nearly all of our knowledge of the Triple Alliance empire is derived from ethnohistorical sources with little contribution from archaeological data. Two methodological problems account for this disparity. First, current archaeological chronologies for Postclassic central Mexico are not precise enough to document the structure and growth of this relatively short-lived empire. Second, the issue of diachronic correlation of archaeological data with the native historical record has not been approached with a consistent methodology. I address these problems, demonstrating that Postclassic chronologies can be refined when the appropriate methods (in this case, nontypological ceramic analysis and quantitative seriation) are applied. The resulting chronological sequence for western Morelos is correlated with the diachronic native historical record for the area. Because of these procedures, the archaeological record can for the first time make a significant contribution to the study of the Triple Alliance empire.

Radiocarbon dates can provide an effective overview of regional trends in non-complex societies when treated in a quantitative manner. In spite of intervening biases, numbers of radiocarbon dates should reflect the patterns of occupation across time. Using the date record of preceramic Perú, I illustrate very different radiocarbon trends for highland and coastal zones. These suggest exponential growth, equilibrium, and altitude shift for the occupations of coastal, puna, and highland valley regions. Biases caused by variation in temporal and geographic investigation, and the effects of sea-level rise are considered, but I argue that general occupational patterns overshadow distortions of the date record.

Ethnoarchaeological research has shown that the assumptions formerly guiding the investigation of hunter-gatherer site structure are invalid, at least as general rules. Further research is now required to identify the determinants of site structure and assess their effect. Here I describe those aspects of Alyawara behavior that shape site structure at residential base camps. I then compare certain features of the Alyawara case with those of the !Kung and the Nunamiut. I tentatively infer that most of the variability in site structure in these cases is a function of differences in the degree of reliance on food storage, seasonal variation in weather, household population size, and the length of time activity areas are in use. Predator pressure and the relative importance of interhousehold food sharing may also be involved. The apparent importance of food storage suggests that variation in site structure may parallel Binford's (1980) forager-collector continuum. Further research is required to determine if this is so, and whether other aspects of behavior also affect site structure. These observations have important implications for the conduct of archaeological research, especially for the spatial scales at which analyses of site structure are undertaken, and for the sizes of refuse items considered in such analyses.

The Early Central California assemblage was described on the basis of four sites in the delta region of California's central valley. The original reports interpret the sites as residential villages with associated cemeteries. In this discussion I argue that the evidence for residential occupation is very weak and that the sites are specialized mortuary mounds. The implications for California archaeology are discussed.

In Bordes's typology for the Lower and Middle Paleolithic, he defines four major classes of side scrapers: single, double, convergent, and transverse forms. Data from three Middle Paleolithic assemblages, one from Iran and two from France, suggest that these scraper classes may be interpreted as representing stages in reduction of flake blanks through continued reuse and remodification.

Twenty years ago excavation began on Marmes Rockshelter at the mouth of the Palouse River in southeastern Washington. Radiocarbon determinations from cave and adjacent floodplain sediments indicated an established pattern of human use by 10,800 B.P. However, a scarcity of dates between 6000 and 1300 B.P. suggested that either these strata were undated or the cave was unused. Examination of all Marmes radiocarbon ages showed agreement between shell and charcoal dates, but also some sediment mixing. Recent radiocarbon dating of charcoal, shell, and bone verifies previous determinations and supplies data between 6000 and 1300 B.P.

Determination of whether a particular age profile derived from a sample of prehistoric bones represents catastrophic or attritional mortality depends largely on the frequencies of age classes. Analyses of mortality profiles derived from samples of cervids (Odocoileus hemionus and Cervus elaphus) that died catastrophically in the Mount St. Helens blast zone indicate that a minimum sample of 30 individuals is required for a reliable inference of mortality pattern when a newborn individual of the taxon of concern has an average life expectancy of about three years. This conclusion is corroborated by drawing 16 random samples of various sizes from two paleontological faunas, each consisting of one taxon, one with a life expectancy similar to and the other with a life expectancy different from the Mount St. Helens cervids. Pre-eruption survivorship of the Mount St. Helens cervids was controlled by an estimated 20% annual harvest rate. Comparison of simulated survivorship in nonhunted cervid populations with archaeologically documented survivorship may provide insights to effects of prehistoric hunting on animal populations.

Environmental data are often compiled for archaeological sites; however, the natural distributions of environmental variables are seldom investigated. A study of Ceramic Period coastal settlements in the Boothbay region of Maine used a simulated site distribution of random locations to obtain an unbiased representation of the available physical environment. The site locational data were then compared to the random locational data to test specific hypotheses. Examples show the importance of non-site environmental data in evaluating cultural hypotheses.

The chipped stone industry of Cihuatan and Santa Maria, Postclassic sites of north-central El Salvador, is discussed briefly in terms of behavioral/technological typology. The industry was based almost exclusively on obsidian and emphasized specialized production of prismatic blades. Source determinations by X-ray fluorescence and neutron activation analysis of 20 obsidian specimens from Cihuatan indicate that at least three highland Guatemalan sources supplied obsidian to the site. Twelve specimens are attributed to the Ixtepeque source, seven to El Chayal, and one to San Martín Jilotepeque. The multiple-source procurement pattern is interpreted as a hedge against the fragility of Postclassic sociopolitical alliances and shifting exchange networks.

New data from two sites in the municipality of San Blas, Nayarit, indicate that the practice of pecking petroglyphs in West Mexico is older than it has been possible to establish in previous studies. Petroglyphs at the La Coba site appear firmly dated to the Los Cocos phase (A.D. 200-600), and petroglyphs at the El Conchal site seem attributable to the Early Ixtlan phase (300 B.C.-A.D. 200) occupation. Hypotheses are offered regarding stylistic evolution of the pecked designs and their interpretation.