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One focus of recent research on early agriculture (Late Archaic period—2000 B.C.–A.D. 150) in the southern Southwest of the United States and northwestern Mexico has been the debate surrounding the impact of these early farmers on their landscapes. In at least two places, the Tucson Basin in southern Arizona and northern Chihuahua in northwest Mexico, agriculture was relatively intensive, while in others such as the San Simon Basin in southeastern Arizona, it apparently was not. Using an historical ecology perspective, we examine the likely impact of early agriculture using faunal and projectile point data from the Tucson Basin, northern Chihuahua, and the San Simon Basin. Our analysis suggests that these early farmers had less impact on their landscapes than expected.

This chapter presents an analysis of the topography and architecture of pre-Classical city walls in an effort to answer questions regarding the manner of constructing the walls, the evolution of city wall architecture at a certain time period, the distinction between Early Iron Age and Archaic city walls, and the nature of settlements within these city walls as influenced by their topography and architecture. It begins with an investigation about Early Iron Age fortification walls which are usually located in coastal areas, followed by 7th-century walls, middle Archaic city walls, late Archaic city walls. It is necessary to recognize the difference between the Early Iron Age and Archaic city walls in order to thoroughly examine the architectural distinctions and formulate a conclusive generalization about these city walls.

The Norte Chico region witnessed an early florescence of mound construction at more than 30 Late Archaic (3000 to 1800 B.C.) sites in an area of only 1800 sq km. Each of these sites has from 1 to 7 mounds ranging from 3000 to 100,000 cu m in volume. In looking at the emergence of this complex cultural system, a critical question is how and why these mounds were constructed over many generations. This chapter will examine evidence for the scale of labor involved in mound construction and for (or against) centralized organization of labor.

This chapter discusses how stone monuments at selected Late Archaic (3000–1800 B.C.) and Early Horizon (1200–200 B.C.) sites on the north central coast of Peru provide insights into social transformation processes across collective and autocratic societies. The monuments under analysis are upright stone slabs (huancas) found at a number of Late Archaic sites in the Norte Chico region, as well as the row of towers at Chankillo dated to the late Early Horizon in the Casma Valley. Christie and Piscitelli argue that these upright stone monuments demarcated places and spaces in which people coordinated collective actions representing varying trajectories of social change. The political and ritual landscapes constructed at the Norte Chico and Chankillo sites were decidedly inward-oriented, concerned with establishing community centers and creating order. The sheer scale of the settings and the related coordination of ritual use there suggest emerging elites and corporate hierarchies. Following the trajectory of an expansionist state on the other hand, the Inca political landscape looks outward from long-existing centers. Comparative study of stone monuments and their associated ideologies, along with the study of place-making, can help illuminate social changes in the Andes over time.

This chapter examines how ceremonial shell vessels, which were a part of everyday life in the Late Archaic, relate to later ceramic technology. The authors trace how Late Archaic cooking vessels moved through the lives of the inhabitants of the St. Johns, from their production to their ultimate deposition. These so-called itineraries follow the wanderings of vessels and persons as they came together in various social contexts. The authors found that vessels were implicated in the daily happenings of many persons, as they afforded the opportunity both to transform substances into consumed foods and to interact with others. Yet they were also central to the commemorative or ceremonial lives of past persons as well, since the vessels both contained and sustained memories and meanings.

Traditionally, evidence for domestic dwellings dating to the Late Archaic Period, here defined as between 6000 and 2650 B.P., has been rare and ephemeral. With the advent of CRM archaeology, however, the inventory of known structures in Ohio and surrounding regions has expanded considerably over the last 30 years. To date, several forms have been documented including circular, oval, C-shaped, and rectangular patterns. At certain sites, evidence points to use of only one form; whereas at other sites simultaneous use of more than one structural type is indicated. Although our knowledge of this early architecture has grown, no attempts have been made to synthesize available data in Ohio or along segments of the Ohio River (e.g., northern Kentucky, northwestern West Virginia). This chapter provides a complete inventory of all Late Archaic structures in the region and highlights possible chronological and regional trends in form, construction methods, and size.

Chapter 5 discusses the Late Archaic (ca. 3420–1830 cal BC/5370–3780 cal BP) in the Norte Chico, a section of the Peruvian coast north of Lima, Peru. The Late Archaic was the first period of widespread monumental centers on the Peruvian coast and the Norte Chico was the first center of florescence. At these sites, domesticated plants provided the carbohydrates in the Norte Chico diet, while fish and probably mollusks provided the animal protein. The authors focus on the emergence of ideological and economic power in the Late Archaic Norte Chico.

At the Barnes Site (40DV307) along the Cumberland River, two discrete shell-bearing deposits dating to the Late Archaic and Middle Woodland periods (approximately 3500 and 1800 cal BP respectively) are separated by a thick Early Woodland–period shell-free stratum dated between 2900 and 2000 cal BP. Alternating shell-bearing and shell-free deposits at sites elsewhere in the southern Ohio Valley have often been viewed as indicative of long-term changes in subsistence practices and traditions or large-scale environmental fluctuations affecting resource abundance. At Barnes, however, chronological, geoarchaeology, and paleoethnobotany data from shell-bearing strata recovered in 2010 and 2012 suggest that the two shell-bearing deposits mark the locations of shellfish processing at or near the river’s edge when the river channel was physically closer to the current site location. Particle-size data indicate that when the shell-free deposit accumulated, the site was situated in a low-energy depositional zone, suggesting that the river channel had shifted further to the west during that period of time.

In this chapter, we discuss the origin and trajectory of Orange pottery in northeast Florida, one of the earliest potteries in the United States, by comparing the assemblages at two Late Archaic period shell rings on the northeast Florida coast, Rollins Shell Ring (8DU7510) and Guana Shell Ring (8SJ2554).1 The sites are just 25 miles (40 kilometers) apart, and they occupy similar environments: extensive estuaries west of the rings and beach resources nearby to the east (figure 9.1). However, the two sites are in distinct river drainages. Rollins is north of the St. Johns River in the Nassau River drainage and Guana is south of the St. Johns in the Guana River drainage. Hypothetically, the distinct drainage areas may have defined the geographic boundaries for the communities that built the rings, which we interpret as venues for feasting and other ceremonial activities

This chapter explores the concept embedded in historical ecology that humans are part of what we often define as nature and not apart from it. Four observations are considered: first, small-scale societies transform their world; second, these transformations have been ongoing since the dawn of humanity; third, micro-analyses are required to reconstruct histories of local events; and fourth, historical environmental changes are the product of both intentional and unintentional activities. The histories of the Late Archaic Jaketown and Poverty Point sites are used as examples. Finally, the policy implications of these conclusions are considered. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors may not have had the tools that allowed them to see the effects of their actions on the physical world, but modern society cannot claim such ignorance.