Lithic provenance analyses offer means to reconstruct ancestral social relationships in Subarctic North America. We summarize sourced obsidian data from 462 archaeological sites in the Yukon and Northwest Territories, Canada, and interpret obsidian distribution through the Holocene with particular attention to the volcanic White River Ash East event of A.D. 846-848. We argue that social mechanisms explain overlapping occurrences of exotic and local obsidians and that the volcanic ash fall triggered changes to obsidian exchange patterns. Following the volcanic event, obsidian from British Columbia moved north into the Yukon with higher frequency. Instead of a population replacement, persistent patterns in the distribution of some obsidian source groups suggest that the ash temporarily pushed some Yukon First Nations south where they strengthened networks of exchange that were retained upon their return. The short-term displacement may also have facilitated the movement of bow and arrow technology into the Yukon, which appears concurrent with the volcanic event. The large-scale eruption had the potential to sever connections between a small group of ancestral Dene (Athapaskans) and their homeland, which culminated in a continent-wide migration in the Late Holocene.

Analysis of human remains and a copper band found in the center of a Late Archaic (ca. 5000–3000 cal BP) shell ring demonstrate an exchange network between the Great Lakes and the coastal southeast United States. Similarities in mortuary practices suggest that the movement of objects between these two regions was more direct and unmediated than archaeologists previously assumed based on “down-the-line” models of exchange. These findings challenge prevalent notions that view preagricultural Native American communities as relatively isolated from one another and suggest instead that wide social networks spanned much of North America thousands of years before the advent of domestication.

Environmentally transformative human use of land accelerated with the emergence of agriculture, but the extent, trajectory, and implications of these early changes are not well understood. An empirical global assessment of land use from 10,000 years before the present (yr B.P.) to 1850 CE reveals a planet largely transformed by hunter-gatherers, farmers, and pastoralists by 3000 years ago, considerably earlier than the dates in the land-use reconstructions commonly used by Earth scientists. Synthesis of knowledge contributed by more than 250 archaeologists highlighted gaps in archaeological expertise and data quality, which peaked for 2000 yr B.P. and in traditionally studied and wealthier regions. Archaeological reconstruction of global land-use history illuminates the deep roots of Earth's transformation and challenges the emerging Anthropocene paradigm that large-scale anthropogenic global environmental change is mostly a recent phenomenon.

ABSTRACTWe sampled individual growth rings from three ancient remnant bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) trees from a massive buried deposit at the mouth of the Altamaha River on the Georgia Coast to determine the best technique for radiocarbon (14C) dating pretreatment. The results of our comparison of traditional ABA pretreatment and holocellulose and α-cellulose fractions show no significant differences among the pretreatments (<1 sigma) thereby suggesting that ABA pretreatment will prove sufficient for the development of a high-resolution 14C tree-ring chronology based on these ancient bald cypresses which will indicate whether the U.S. Southeast is subject to a regional radiocarbon offset.

Travis W. Jonesa* http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8237-1726, Robert J. Speakmana, William T. Billeckb & Robert J. Hoardc http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9577-5321a University of Georgiab Smithsonian Institutionc Kansas Historical Society

This preliminary study provides an overview of the Hathaway formation chert of the Champlain Valley, as well as two Native Americans quarries that are located within it. Using geochemical analysis the authors attempt to determine the most likely source ofdebitage recovered at a nearby lithic scatter. The resulting conclusion is examined from a geographic standpoint, and the authors propose the existence of a natural travel corridor connecting two high-resource-yield areas, the lithic scatter, and the known quarry district. This testable hypothesis helps to explain the existence, location, and cultural significance of the lithic scatters in the area, and provides direction for future research.

Between 1985 and 2014, the number of US doctoral graduates in Anthropology increased from about 350 to 530 graduates per year. This rise in doctorates entering the work force along with an overall decrease in the numbers of tenure-track academic positions has resulted in highly competitive academic job market. We estimate that approximately79% of US anthropology doctorates do not obtain tenure-track positions at BA/BS, MA/MS, and PhD institutions in the US. Here, we examine where US anthropology faculty obtained their degrees and where they ultimately end up teaching as tenure-track faculty. Using data derived from the 2014-2015 AnthroGuide and anthropology departmental web pages, we identify and rank PhD programs in terms of numbers of graduates who have obtained tenure-track academic jobs; examine long-term and ongoing trends in the programs producing doctorates for the discipline as a whole, as well as for the subfields of archaeology, bioanthropology, and sociocultural anthropology; and discuss gender inequity in academic anthropology within the US.

The research presented here evaluates the applicability of energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) for characterizing steatite. We present compositional data from an assemblage of 100 steatite beads and pipes deriving from 11 Northern Iroquoian sites in southern Ontario and New York State. Percentages of major elemental constituents and principal components analysis define two compositional groups and various non-steatite artifacts. Our results suggest that EDXRF is an expedient means of characterizing steatite based on major oxides and trace elements. The results support the assertion that individual Iroquoian communities were involved in distinct interaction networks that linked groups in southern Ontario and the St. Lawrence Valley region.

Environmental sampling to detect trace nuclear signatures is key component of international nuclear treaty enforcement. Herein, we explored rapid chemical extraction methods coordinated with measurement systems to provide faster, simpler assay of low level uranium from environmental samples. A key problem with the existing analytical method for processing environmental surface samples is the requirement for complete digestion of sample and sampling material. This is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process that limits laboratory throughput, elevates analytical costs, and increases background levels. Promising extraction methods were competitively evaluated for their potential to quickly and efficiently remove different chemical species of uranium from standard surface sampling material. A preferred combination of carbonate and peroxide solutions is shown to give rapid and complete form of uranyl compound extraction and dissolution. This simplified and accelerated extraction process is demonstrated with standard sampling material to be compatible with standard inductive coupled plasma mass spectrometry methods for uranium isotopic assay as well as rapid screening techniques such as X-ray fluorescence (XRF). Rapid extraction of the entire swipe is shown to allow efficient XRF assay of all collected material for simple, fast, nanogram-level XRF assay of the sample. The new methods have direct application in the support of nuclear safeguards treaty enforcement efforts as well as health and safety monitoring. The general approach described may have applications beyond uranium to other trace analytes of nuclear forensic interest (e.g., rare earth elements and plutonium) as well as heavy metals for environmental and industrial hygiene monitoring.

Over the past 30 years, the number of US doctoral anthropology graduates has increased by about 70%, but there has not been a corresponding increase in the availability of new faculty positions. Consequently, doctoral degree-holding archaeologists face more competition than ever before when applying for faculty positions. Here we examine where US and Canadian anthropological archaeology faculty originate and where they ultimately end up teaching. Using data derived from the 2014–2015 AnthroGuide, we rank doctoral programs whose graduates in archaeology have been most successful in the academic job market; identify long-term and ongoing trends in doctoral programs; and discuss gender division in academic archaeology in the US and Canada. We conclude that success in obtaining a faculty position upon graduation is predicated in large part on where one attends graduate school.

Panama Viejo, founded in 1519 by the Spanish explorer Pedrarias Davila, was the first permanent European settlement on the Pacific Ocean, and became a city, by royal decree, in 1521. Shortly after its creation, the city became an important base for trade with Spain. In 1671, the English pirate Henry Morgan waged an attack on Panama Viejo, which resulted in a fire that destroyed the entire city. A new settlement built a few miles west, called Casco Antiguo or San Felipe, is now the historic district of modern Panama City. The Pb isotopic compositions of the glazes on the surface of sixteenth to seventeenth century majolica pottery sherds from Panama Viejo and Casco Antiguo (both in Panama), and Lima (Peru) were determined via non-destructive laser ablation multi-collector ICP-MS (LA-MC-ICP-MS). The contrast in Pb isotopic compositions in the glazes on ceramics recovered in different locations demonstrate that early majolica pottery production during this period used Pb obtained from the Andes. However, the Pb used in later majolica production in Panama is of Spanish origin. After Panama Viejo was burned to the ground, Panamanian majolica production ended.

This paper presents the results of bulk chemical compositional analyses of ceramic pastes through Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA), which is the most precise method available for this kind of research. The analyses were carried out on 94 fragments of pottery from several archaeological sites in northern Chile's Atacama Desert. We aimed to examine the possible origins of pottery vessels distinguished by Inka and local styles within the process of the Inka State expansion into the territories south of Cusco, known as Collasuyu.On the basis of these analyses, we discuss the idea that the State introduced to the zone pottery with Inka iconographic styles fromthe Lake Titicaca region (more than 500 kmaway). But, more important, the State seems to have encouraged the replication of State pottery standards by local artisans, who consciously or unconsciously maintained certain traditional procedures. This means that skilled local artisans imitated Inka iconographic style but using paste of local origin. These results show the importance of archaeometric analysis of high-prestige fine Inka and local pottery as it sheds light on how the State managed their political strategies, their impact on the prehistoric polities of northern Chile (NCh). (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd.