The Cannon Reservoir Human Ecology Project
The Cannon Reservoir Human Ecology Project

Author: Michael J. O'Brien

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2014-05-10

Total Pages: 454

ISBN-13: 1483269752

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The Cannon Reservoir Human Ecology Project: An Archaeological Study of Cultural Adaptations in the Southern Prairie Peninsula provides an overview of the Cannon Reservoir Human Ecology Project, formed in May 1977 as an interdisciplinary, regional archaeology program to investigate human adaptations on the southern fringes of the mid-continental Prairie Peninsula. The research centered on the area of northeastern Missouri in and around the site of the proposed Clarence Cannon Dam and Reservoir. The book demonstrates how objectives and goals have been integrated with various methods and techniques to generate and analyze a vast amount of data in a regional archaeological project. Comprised of 18 chapters, this book first defines the objectives and goals of the project, describes the project area, and discusses the research design. A brief history of archaeological work in the region is also presented. The next section assesses the environment and implications for human settlement in the area, citing various physical and cultural changes that occurred during the Holocene and presenting developmental models of prehistoric and historical settlement systems. Subsequent chapters explore the chronology of the project area; analysis of lithic artifacts and vertebrate and archaeobotanical remains; prehistoric community patterns; and prehistoric and historic settlement patterns. This monograph will appeal to students, specialists, and researchers in the fields of archaeology and anthropology.

The Prehistory of Missouri
The Prehistory of Missouri

Author: Michael John O'Brien

Publisher: University of Missouri Press

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 462

ISBN-13: 9780826211316

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The Prehistory of Missouri is a fascinating examination of the objects that were made, used, and discarded or lost by Missouri's prehistoric inhabitants over a period of more than eleven thousand years. Missouri's numerous vegetation zones and its diverse topography encompassed extreme variations, forcing prehistoric populations to seek a wide range of adaptations to the natural environment. As a result, Missouri's archaeological record is highly complex, and it has not been fully understood despite the vast amount of fieldwork that has been conducted within the state's borders. In this groundbreaking account, Michael J. O'Brien and W. Raymond Wood explore the array of artifacts that have been found in Missouri, pinpointing minute variations in form. They have documented the ranges in age and distribution of the individual forms, explaining why certain forms persisted while others quickly disappeared. Organized by chronological periods such as Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippian, the book provides a comprehensive survey of what is currently known about Missouri's prehistoric peoples, often revealing how they made their living in an ever-changing world. The authors have applied rigorous standards of archaeological inquiry. Their main objective--demonstrating that the archaeological record of Missouri can be explained in scientific terms--is accomplished. With more than 235 line drawings and photographs, including 23 color photos, The Prehistory of Missouri will appeal to anyone interested in archaeology, particularly in the artifacts and the dates of their manufacture, as well as those interested in the dichotomy between interpretation and explanation. Intended for the amateur as well as the professional archaeologist, this book is sure to be the new standard reference on Missouri's prehistory, fulfilling current needs that extend beyond those met by Carl Chapman's earlier classic, The Archaeology of Missouri.

The Historical Ecology Handbook
The Historical Ecology Handbook

Author: Dave Egan

Publisher: Island Press

Published: 2005-08-12

Total Pages: 488

ISBN-13: 1597260339

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A fundamental aspect of the work of ecosystem restoration is to rediscover the past and bring it into the present-to determine what needs to be restored, why it was lost, and how best to make it live again. This handbook makes essential connections between past and future ecosystems, bringing together leading experts to offer a much-needed introduction to the field of historical ecology and its practical application by on-the-ground restorationists. - from publisher description.

Late Woodland Societies
Late Woodland Societies

Author: Thomas E. Emerson

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 2000-01-01

Total Pages: 772

ISBN-13: 9780803218215

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Archaeologists across the Midwest have pooled their data and perspectives to produce this indispensable volume on the Native cultures of the Late Woodland period (approximately A.D. 300?1000). Sandwiched between the well-known Hopewellian and Mississippian eras of monumental mound construction, theøLate Woodland period has received insufficient attention from archaeologists, who have frequently characterized it as consisting of relatively drab artifact assemblages. The close connections between this period and subsequent Mississippian and Fort Ancient societies, however, make it especially valuable for cross-cultural researchers. Understanding the cultural processes at work during the Late Woodland period will yield important clues about the long-term forces that stimulate and enhance social inequality. Late Woodland Societies is notable for its comprehensive geographic coverage; exhaustive presentation and discussion of sites, artifacts, and prehistoric cultural practices; and critical summaries of interpretive perspectives and trends in scholarship. The vast amount of information and theory brought together, examined, and synthesized by the contributors produces a detailed, coherent, and systematic picture of Late Woodland lifestyles across the Midwest. The Late Woodland can now be seen as a dynamic time in its own right and instrumental to the emergence of complex late prehistoric cultures across the Midwest and Southeast.

Archaic Hunters and Gatherers in the American Midwest
Archaic Hunters and Gatherers in the American Midwest

Author: James L Phillips

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-09-16

Total Pages: 480

ISBN-13: 1315433516

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This volume reports on a series of multidisciplinary projects involving the Archaic period of the American Midwest. A period of innovation and technical achievement, the articles focus on changes in environmental, social, and economic factors operating in this period, and the adaptation of the hunter gatherer peoples living at this time.

Soils in Archaeological Research
Soils in Archaeological Research

Author: Vance T. Holliday

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2004-08-19

Total Pages: 538

ISBN-13: 0199882088

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Soils, invaluable indicators of the nature and history of the physical and human landscape, have strongly influenced the cultural record left to archaeologists. Not only are they primary reservoirs for artifacts, they often encase entire sites. And soil-forming processes in themselves are an important component of site formation, influencing which artifacts, features, and environmental indicators (floral, faunal, and geological) will be destroyed and to what extent and which will be preserved and how well. In this book, Holliday will address each of these issues in terms of fundamentals as well as in field case histories from all over the world. The focus will be on principles of soil geomorphology , soil stratigraphy, and soil chemistry and their applications in archaeological research.

Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory
Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory

Author: Michael B Schiffer

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2014-06-30

Total Pages: 456

ISBN-13: 1483214818

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Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory, Volume 4 presents the progressive explorations in methods and theory in archeology. This book discusses the increasing application of surface collection in cultural resource management. Organized into eight chapters, this volume begins with an overview of the fundamental aspects of archeoastronomy and explains what kinds of testable hypotheses that archeoastronomy generates. This text then examines the general implications for the study of cultural complexity. Other chapters consider the use of surface artifacts by archeologists to locate sites, establish regional culture histories, and to know where to excavate within sites. This book discusses as well the interpretative interfaces between archeology on the one hand, and ethnohistory and ethnology on the other, that is based on a theoretical stance advocating a fundamental holistic approach to anthropology. The final chapter deals with understanding the ecology of ancient organisms. This book is a valuable resource for archeologists and anthropologists.