Ceremonial architecture of late precontact (A.D. 600-1500) societies of Puerto Rico consists of stone-lined plazas and ball courts (bateys,). Archaeologists use these structures to signify the onset of hierarchical “chiefly” polities and to interpret their regional organization. Problematically, little consideration is given to the costs of their physical construction and the associated organizational implications at local and regional scales. In this paper, we use data gathered through geoarchaeological field investigations to develop labor estimates for the plaza and bateys at the site of Tibes—one of the largest precolumbian ceremonial centers in Puerto Rico. The estimates provide a basis for addressing how these features were constructed at the site and are considered within the broader organizational contexts of incipient polities in the island's south-central region between A.D. 600 and A.D. 1200.

One of the central goals of archaeology is the definition of regional cultural succession. Since at least the 1960s, archaeology has purported to have moved beyond the strictures of Culture History, and yet the constructs of that paradigm (styles, periods, cultures) continue to be used routinely. This work aims to show that by doing so, one is still implicitly subscribing to that theoretical perspective"s assumptions and biases. In the end, this article is intended to be a self-critical assessment of the shortcomings of Caribbean archaeology vis-à-vis issues inherent in that region"s dominant culture-history framework. Moreover, it aims to provide an example for Caribbeanists, and archaeologists working in other regions, of the value of moving beyond the products of, and not just beyond the term, Culture History.

The eastern English Channel, the narrow channel of water separating northern France and southeast England is an area of intense human use of the array of resources concentrated into its relative small area. The vulnerability of living resources and their habitats brought together French and British maritime experts within a common project (called CHARM): to create an atlas of marine resource habitats in the eastern English Channel so as to provide planners and decision-makers with the necessary information to help managing the use of its living and non-living resources. This multidisciplinary and richly illustrated atlas provides abundant information on the legal framework and physical environment; benthic invertebrates, fish and their habitats; fishing activities; and a first attempt at developing a trophic network model (using ECOPATH software) and a marine conservation planning exercise (using MARXAN software, at a spatial resolution of 25 km $^{2})$ . Although most of the data used were collected elsewhere, some were collected especially for the project. Similarly, most of the analyses performed on the data where entirely original for this geographical area. The CHARM atlas has significantly improved the knowledge about the eastern Channel while contributing to the recognition that such holistic or multidisciplinary approaches to exploited marine systems are necessary to efficiently and durably manage their resources use.

Pottery in contexts that predate the entrance of Arawak societies to the Antilles (500 B.C.) by at least one millennium demand a reassessment of the introduction of this technology to the islands. We summarize the available evidence of what we term the Pre-Arawak Pottery horizon and address the social implications of the introduction of such technology to the insular Caribbean, based on the role of pots as tools. We show that this early pottery is more widespread than originally thought, extending from Cuba to Hispanola and perhaps to Puerto Rico and the Lesser Antilles as well. We argue that the paucity of early ceramic contexts discovered thus far could have resulted from the consideration of pottery as intrusive in Pre-Arawak contexts and because of its technological and stylistic overlap with wares associated to the Ostionoid series (A.D. 600-1500) of the Greater Antilles. Based on this evidence, we conclude by suggesting that some of the post-Saladoid manifestations that have been identified in the islands could have resulted from a multifocal development of these pre-Arawak cultures rather than simply from the divergent evolution of Saladoid societies as has been argued thus far.

Mortuary practices rank among the best sources of archaeological data from which to infer social organization, ideology, religious beliefs, and to a certain extent, the political structure of past societies. This essay (1) reviews mortuary practices among prehistoric groups of Puerto Rico, (2) proposes a possible sequence of changes through time, and (3) presents explanations that account for the observed changes. Aside from evident correlation with broad cultural developments, changes in mortuary practices can be understood best in the context of parallel developments in social, political, and economic complexity. We argue that in Puerto Rico a shift in mortuary practices from burying dead relatives in centralized cemeteries to the disposition of the dead in domestic contexts was strongly related to a shift from largely kin-based societies to the ranked organization of cacicazgos (chiefdoms). Particularly, we conclude that the shift in social organization from emphasis on extended descent groups that acted as corporate groups to nuclear households reflects a strategy utilized by the emerging elite to dismantle and reorient previous communal institutions. This shift was accomplished through the monopolization, by the emerging elite, of the tenets surrounding the cult of the ancestors to create a legitimizing ideology.

The estimation of past population levels continues to be an important aspect of archaeological research. Here Antonio Curet offers new formulae for estimating prehistoric populations in lowland South America and the Caribbean using data derived from houses and settlements.

Temporal changes in material culture normally have been used by archaeologists to reconstruct the cultural history of an area or site. In the case of the Caribbean, shifts in artifactual style have been used to trace prehistoric migrations and interactions between different cultural groups. Unfortunately, there have been few attempts to explain these changes in terms of the social structures of these cultures. This paper reviews the archaeological evidence for cultural change in eastern Puerto Rico and proposes a model to explain it. Basically, the model suggests that changes in material culture in Puerto Rican prehistory are related to the development of social complexity. Shifts in decoration and types of artifacts are seen as an attempt by elite groups to have greater control over the symbolism represented in the artifacts in order to acquire and maintain their power. These changes are not abrupt, but gradual, as social organization evolves from simple to more complex chiefdoms.

We examine ceramic and settlement-pattern changes in the Mixtequilla, Veracruz, during the Preclassic and Classic periods with special attention to the periods corresponding to the rise and decline of Teotihuacan. Data for the study derive from full-coverage survey of 40 square kilometers accompanied by systematic surface collections. Collections are analyzed using a suite of multivariate techniques to study changes in pottery that, in turn, provide a basis for the study of shifts in settlement patterns. Local developments and extralocal relationships are discussed with regard to political and economic spheres. Strong continuity through time is indicated for the region, without major disruptions. Teotihuacan influence is manifest more in stylistic domains than in imported items. Although an episode of indirect administration cannot be ruled out, social emulative relationships are more likely than administrative ones. Alternatives to commercial relations are noted.

With systematic surface collections from the Mixtequilla region of Veracruz, Mexico, multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis distinguish two Postclassic complexes and permit examination of their associated settlement patterns. Comparison of pottery types to other assemblages provides cross dating and allows judgments about stylistic affinities. The earlier of the two complexes, assigned to the Middle Postclassic, ca. a.d. 1200–1350, exhibits characteristics of the “Mixteca-Puebla horizon.” The second complex dates to the Late Postclassic, a.d. 1350–1521, when the region was affected by imperial expansion of the Aztec Triple Alliance. Both complexes, but particularly the one from the Middle Postclassic, show marked changes in settlement pattern, material culture, and trade patterns. Changes in trade, stylistic emulation, or major population movement are insufficient to account for the evidence. Instead, political realignment, likely coupled with other factors, is a more promising interpretation.