Both Historical and archaeological sources on the West Indies provide evidence that these islands were once occupied by peoples with a culture markedly different from that of the agricultural, pottery-making Arawak. The archaeological remains of this Archaic mode of life are found on several of the islands in contexts which indicate their separateness from the pottery horizons and imply their greater antiquity. The ethnohistorical sources also attest to the survival of this Archaic tradition into early historic times (Martyr 1912 Vol. 1: 100, 380; Las Casas 1867: 35; 1951 Vol. 2: 240; Velásquez 1869: 424-5; Oviedo 1852 Vol. 1: 90).

The characteristics of this West Indian Archaic tradition, as revealed by archaeology and supplemented by the ethnohistoric accounts, are: absence of agriculture and pottery; seminomadic living in small bands; frequent use of caves for shelter and burial; crude artifacts made of conch shells, flint, and other classes of stone; use of hematite or red ocher; and the absence of cranial deformation as practiced by the agricultural peoples of the Antilles.

For many years a Chalchihuites type of culture has been designated for a number of archaeological sites in the western parts of the states of Durango and Zacatecas, Mexico (Hrdlička 1903; Gamio 1910; Noguera 1930; Mason 1937; Brand 1939). The culture takes its name from the early-studied and partiallytested site of the same name located in northwestern Zacatecas.

Chalchihuites culture has been noted by Mason to extend as far south as the great site of La Quemada, or Chicomostoc as it is also called, some 35 miles southwest of Zacatecas, Zacatecas (Mason 1937). It is prevalent in southern Durango in the vicinity of the city of Durango, and Mason and Brand believe that at Zape, Durango, 150 miles to the north, it had reached its northern limit. At Zape it had become peripheral and attenuated, having lost much of its fine quality. As more information is obtained, it is possible that the culture may be extended to a group of sites in northern Jalisco.

In the first classification of the prehistoric cultures of Minnesota (Wilford 1941), no attempt was made to present a chronological sequence, though some temporal relationships were indicated. Since that time the efforts of archaeologists in all parts of the eastern United States in excavating sites and in reporting the results, in pooling their knowledge at regional conferences, and in constructing and publishing cultural sequences for regions and for the entire area, have crystallized in a framework in which the 3 major cultural groupings, the patterns, have been fitted into a chronological sequence of 4 periods. It is now possible to place the Minnesota cultures in this framework with a fair degree of confidence. Table 6 presents this placement in terms of the categories of the Midwestern Taxonomic System.

Excavations, not yet reported in detail, at sites adequately documented as having been occupied during the 18th century make it possible to outline Creek and Cherokee cultures of this period. A comparison of the outlines indicates similarities and differences which may be of some importance in the archaeology of the area in which the Cherokee and various “Creek” groups were the dominant cultures in the contact and early historic periods, namely, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and North and South Carolina.

This is the second in a series of 3 articles describing recent finds by the writer in northern Honshu, Japan. The first article (AMERICAN ANTIQUITY, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 12- 31) was devoted to an introduction to the series and to the description of sites and materials of the Jomon (Neolithic) period. This article is a description of the protohistoric (Haji period) sites found and explored in Kamikita Gun, Aomori Prefecture, Honshu. These sites are primarily those of small villages, in 3 instances fortified by a ditch or an earthen wall. The outstanding characteristic of all these sites is that the old house pits can still be located by the circular, saucer-like depressions showing on the present surface. In addition to the concentrations of house pits which represent villages, many individual house pits may be found scattered about the region.

Can Flecks of charcoal in soils and hearths be concentrated into a usable sample for radiocarbon dating? It is impracticable to ship large volumes of soil with low carbon content from distant sites, yet dating them may be most important. This question was informally discussed following the Wenner-Gren Conference on African Prehistory held at the University of Chicago in February, 1953, and as a result Robert J. Braidwood proposed that an experimental field laboratory be established that summer at an excavation where water and electricity were available if needed. The Department of Anthropology of the University of Chicago and the Illinois State Museum were sponsoring the excavation of a rock shelter near Modoc, Illinois, and I was invited to conduct experiments there, trying out any technics that I wished. It was hoped that these experiments would result in establishing a simple procedure that could be used in many parts of the world for procuring radiocarbon samples.

The Following 3 papers continue a series of brief articles on this subject appearing from time to time in American Antiquity (Vols. 17, 19). Each paper presents a group of raw data with some brief suggestions for their interpretation. All but one are the result of the study of materials recovered from archaeological sites excavated by the River Basin Surveys program of archaeological salvage in the Missouri Basin. That one (No. 6) dealt with an elk specimen from Michigan. Paper Number 1 was concerned with the analysis of the antelope bone from 2 sites in the Angostura Reservoir, South Dakota. Number 2 dealt with the bison bone from 2 earth-lodge villages sites in the Oahe Reservoir near Pierre, South Dakota. Number 3 compared the use of small and large animals as food in one site in the Garrison Reservoir, North Dakota. Number 4 was a comparison of the treatment of bison bone from 3 earth-lodge villages, 2 in Oahe Reservoir and one in Garrison Reservoir.

The first season's excavations of the University of New Mexico at the site called Pottery Mound, near Los Lunas, New Mexico, have revealed a painted kiva with interesting differences when compared with those heretofore discovered. The excavations were carried on as part of the 1954 Archaeological Field Session of the University of New Mexico. Work was continued at the site for a period of 6 weeks. It is contemplated that excavations will be resumed in the season of 1955.

Pottery Mound is a large site covering approximately 2 acres. It has been known for the last 2 decades to archaeologists and laymen alike as a place prolific in many kinds of pottery. It is this circumstance which has given the place its name.

Excavations of the 1954 season were carried on in the northeast portion of the mound. Also a very extensive refuse pile on the south periphery of the site was trenched for stratigraphical purposes.

Since the analysis by R. F. Heizer and R. K. Beardsley (1943) of 7 fired clay figurines from 3 localities in California, archaeological investigations in the central and northern areas of the state have produced more knowledge of the types and occurrence of this form.

The 25 figurines discussed here include 3 from site 4-Son-299, 4 from site 4-Mrn-168, sites excavated by the University of California Archaeological Survey, and 18 from Gunther Island, site 4-Hum-67, of which 10 are in the private collection of H. H. Stuart of Eureka, California, and the remainder in the State Indian Museum at Sacramento.

The specimens here reported on, which represent more than 3 times the number available for analysis in 1943, provide additional data on design motifs and distribution, and in addition possess much more clearly definable cultural associations than do the original 7 specimens.

A little-known territory is the Four Corners area, where the states of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado join. There are few roads in this area, and it is inhabited chiefly by Navaho Indians, still living in primitive conditions. It was while I was living in this region — maintaining a small school, a very active clinic, a chapel, and a sort of hostel for travelers passing through on horse or in wagon from trading posts or going from one hogan to another — that certain artifacts came to light.

The first points submitted for classification to H. Marie Wormington, of the Denver Museum, included Yuma, Silver Lake, and Pinto Basin types, among others. During the 1951-53 period, a large number of points were sent to Dr. Wormington. Many were points I picked up, but a good percentage came as the result of training Navaho shepherds and certain of my pupils to recognize the Pinto Basin types.