Author: Elizabeth Noll

Editor at University of Michigan Museum of Anthropological Archaeology

The Burials of Cerro Azul, Peru

Joyce Marcus directed excavations at the site of Cerro Azul in Peru’s Cañete Valley. In two previous volumes she reported on (1) a fish storage facility and the architecture, ceramics, and brewery in an elite residential compound, and (2) the inner workings of the coastal economic system.
In the course of her fieldwork, Marcus came across areas where Late Intermediate (AD 1000–1470) burials had been disturbed by illegal looting. She decided to salvage as much information from these looted burials as she could. Among her discoveries were that men at Cerro Azul were often buried with fishing nets, slings, and bolas, while women were frequently buried with belt looms, workbaskets, cotton and woolen yarn, barcoded spindles, and needlecases. This third Cerro Azul volume provides an inventory of all the burial data that Marcus was able to salvage.

Archaeological Investigations in a Northern Albanian Province: Results of the Projekti Arkeologjik i Shkodrës (PASH), Volumes 1 and 2

This hardcover, two-volume set is the result of a five-year excavation and survey project in northern Albania and a multi-year collaboration with the University of Tirana. Volume 1 contains reports on the regional survey and test excavations at three settlements and three tumuli. In Volume 2, the authors describe the artifacts, including chipped stone and pottery from the prehistoric to the post-medieval periods, as well as results of faunal, petrographic, chemical, carpological, and strontium isotope analyses.

These two volumes place northern Albania—and the Shkodër Province in particular—at the forefront of archaeological research in the Balkans.

The Evolution of Settlement Systems in the Region of Vohemar, Northeast Madagascar

In four seasons of intensive archaeological survey in the Vohemar region of Madagascar, researchers found evidence of many settlements dating to different periods: a large port site dating to the fourteenth century (the same era as large cemetery nearby); early estuarine villages of the eighth to tenth centuries; and a rock shelter with microlithic tools.

Killarney Bay: The Archaeology of an Early Middle Woodland Aggregation Site in the Northern Great Lakes

The archaeological site at Killarney Bay, on the northeast side of Georgian Bay in Ontario, Canada, has attracted and mystified archaeologists for decades. The quantities of copper artifacts, exotic cherts, and long-distance trade goods all highlight the importance of the site during its time of occupation. Yet researchers have struggled to date the site or assign it to a particular cultural tradition, since the artifacts and mortuary components do not precisely match those of other sites and assemblages in the Upper Great Lakes. The history of archaeological investigation at Killarney Bay stretches across parts of three centuries and involves field schools from universities in two countries (Laurentian University in Canada and the University of Michigan in the United States). This volume pulls together the results from all prior research at the site and represents the first comprehensive report ever published on the excavations and finds at Killarney Bay. 157 color and b&w photographs and maps and 93 tables.

Tribal Pastoralists in Transition: The Baharvand of Luristan, Iran

Frank Hole and Sekandar Amanolahi-Baharvand

AP 100

In the spring of 1973, the Baharvand tribe from the Luristan province of central western Iran prepared to migrate from their winter pastures to their summer camp in the mountains. Seasonal migration in spring and fall had been their way of life for as long as anyone in the camp could remember. They moved their camp and their animals—sheep, goats, horses, donkeys, and chickens—in order to find green pastures and suitable temperatures. That year, one migrating family in the tribe allowed an outsider to make the trip with them.

Prehistoric Copper Mining in Michigan: The Nineteenth-Century Discovery of “Ancient Diggings” in the Keweenaw Peninsula and Isle Royale

John R. Halsey

AP 99

Explorers in the nineteenth century found many pits and tools along rich copper seams in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula–evidence that prehistoric inhabitants mined copper there for thousands of years. John Halsey, former state archaeologist of Michigan, tells the story of those who discovered the ancient mines in this thorough and engaging tale.

Zapotec Monuments and Political History

Joyce Marcus

M 61

Joyce Marcus, curator of Latin American Archaeology at the University of Michigan Museum of Anthropological Archaeology and Robert L. Carneiro Distinguished University Professor of Social Evolution, excavated in Mexico’s Valley of Oaxaca for decades. Here she draws on her own work and that of other scholars to create an encyclopedic, lavishly illustrated work on the origins and use of Zapotec writing.

Cueva Blanca: Social Change in the Archaic of the Valley of Oaxaca

Kent V. Flannery and Frank Hole

M 60

Archaeologists Flannery and Hole excavated a series of Archaic sites in the Valley of Oaxaca, including Cueva Blanca, as part of a project on the prehistory and human ecology of this region of Mexico. This cave yielded artifacts from the Late Pleistocene through the Early Archaic to the Late Archaic.

The Spiro Ceremonial Center: The Archaeology of Arkansas Valley Caddoan Culture in Eastern Oklahoma

James A. Brown

M 29

In Volume I of this two-volume set, James A. Brown reports on and interprets decades of archaeological investigation at the Spiro Ceremonial Center, a major site along the Arkansas River in eastern Oklahoma. In Volume 2, he describes the archaeological collections in detail, covering burials, ceramics, stone tools, pipes, beads, textiles, ornaments, and animal bone. Foreword by James B. Griffin. Contributions by Alice M. Brues, Lyle W. Konigsberg, Paul W. Parmalee, and David H. Stansbery.

Wari Imperialism in Middle Horizon Peru

Katharina J. Schreiber

AP 87

More than 600 years before the Inka empire ruled the Andean region of South American, during the period known as the Middle Horizon, there were two complex societies: the Tiwanaku and the Wari. In this volume, Katharina J. Schreiber explores the problem of the Middle Horizon through archaeological research in two specific areas: the Carhuarazo Valley and the Jincamocco site. Foreword by Jeffrey R. Parsons.

The Behavioral Ecology of Efe Pygmy Men in the Ituri Forest, Zaire

Robert C. Bailey

AP 86

Robert C. Bailey reports on his observations of sixteen Efe Pygmy men in northeastern Zaire. Bailey lived and worked with the men and their families in the northern Ituri Forest from March 1980 to January 1982—his research was part of a multidisciplinary project called the Ituri Project. Bailey presents data on food production, subsistence behaviors, hunting techniques, relationships between hunters and village dwellers, and other aspects of the Efe society. Foreword by John D. Speth.

Prehistoric Food Production in North America

Richard I. Ford, ed.

AP 75

As Richard I. Ford explains in his preface to this volume, the 1980s saw an “explosive expansion of our knowledge about the variety of cultivated and domesticated plants and their history in aboriginal America.” This collection presents research on prehistoric food production from Ford, Patty Jo Watson, Frances B. King, C. Wesley Cowan, Paul E. Minnis, and others.

The Biological and Social Analyses of a Mississippian Cemetery from Southeast Missouri: The Turner Site, 23BU21A

Thomas K. Black III

AP 68

The Turner site, in southeast Missouri, was a small Mississippian village that was occupied about AD 1300. Along with two nearby sites, Powers Fort and Snodgrass, it is considered to belong to the Powers Phase. In this volume, Black offers a mortuary analysis of burials found at all three sites.

Economic and Social Organization of a Complex Chiefdom: The Halelea District, Kaua’i, Hawaii

Timothy Earle

AP 63

In the early 1970s, Timothy Earle worked with Marshall Sahlins doing archaeological and ethnohistorical research on the Halelea district in Kaua’i, Hawaii. In this volume, Earle reports on his archaeological and historical research on irrigation in this region. He also discusses modern taro agriculture and community organization. Illustrations by Eliza H. Earle.

The Vegetational History of the Oaxaca Valley and Zapotec Plant Knowedge

C. Earle Smith and Ellen Messer

M 10

In Part I of this volume, C. Earle Smith draws on years of survey in the Oaxaca Valley and archaeological discoveries of plant remains in the region to create a portrait of the valley’s original wild vegetation, previous to human settlement. In Part 2, Ellen Messer provides the results of her ethnobotanical study of the Zapotec residents of Mitla, a town in the southern highlands of the Valley of Oaxaca. Over the course of four years, she studied with local residents to learn the names and uses for wild plants and agricultural plants in the area.

For the Director: Research Essays in Honor of James B. Griffin

Charles E. Cleland, ed.

AP 61

In 1975, James B. Griffin retired as director of the University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology. During his three decades as director and professor, he had become one of the leading archaeologists in North America and had tremendous influence over the next generation of archaeological research. To honor the man and his work, nineteen scholars contributed essays to this volume.