John Whittaker | Grinnell College (original) (raw)
Papers by John Whittaker
Journal of the Iowa Archaeological Society, 2024
Hazing and other combative rituals of initiation and socialization were ubiquitous in American ed... more Hazing and other combative rituals of initiation and socialization were ubiquitous in American educational institutions in the last century and continue to exist. They were contentious in their time and remain so, with supporters arguing that they promote “spirit,” community, and (mostly manly) virtues of courage and strength, and detractors considering them undignified and damaging. Although studied by historians and sociologists, they rarely leave much archaeological evidence. Like most colleges in the early twentieth century, Grinnell College in Iowa had a public “Class Scrap” between sophomores and incoming freshmen. It was much publicized and debated in the town and student papers, and in 1913, an unusual peace was declared, symbolized by a campus monument that was vandalized and buried the next year. In 2017 we excavated the “Peace Rock” and examined the circumstances of class rivalry and hijinks in its time.
Children in the Prehistoric Puebloan Southwest, K.A. Kamp, ed., pp. 14-40. University of Utah Press, 2002
We analyzed pictorial representations of children's life in prehistoric pueblos as presented in p... more We analyzed pictorial representations of children's life in prehistoric pueblos as presented in popular and scholarly works. Children are shown in much smaller proportions than they would really have been present in prehistoric populations. When shown, they often reflect modern Western Euro-American norms: happy nuclear family, play and learning as central to their lives rather than work or subsistence. The past is shown unemotionally: images of stress, hunger, death, sorrow, and violence involving children are very rare, contrary to their lived experiences.
Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology, 1999
Prepared threshing floors, used with flint-toothed threshing sledges drawn by animals, were a com... more Prepared threshing floors, used with flint-toothed threshing sledges drawn by animals, were a common feature of traditional Mediterranean agriculture. Archaeological examples of threshing floors are known from at least the first millennium BC in Greece. Although they are widespread, common, durable, and economically and socially important, few archaeologists have attempted to interpret or even describe them. The ethnoarchaeological information necessary to understand threshing floors and realize their interpretive potential is also sparse and scattered. Examples of threshing floors from Cyprus, and ethno graphic information about Cypriot threshing, reveal both variation and common features which reflect functional, social and economic contexts.
Le Traitement des Récoltes: Un Regard sur la Diversité du Néolithique au Présent. XXIII Rencontres Internationales D’Archéologie et D’Histoire D’Antibes. P. C. Anderson, L. S. Cummings, T. K. Schippers, and B. Simonel eds., pp. 375-387. Editions APDCA, Antibes, France., 2003
Prepared threshing floors, used with flint-toothed threshing sledges drawn by animals, were commo... more Prepared threshing floors, used with flint-toothed threshing sledges drawn by animals, were common in traditional Mediterranean agriculture. In Cyprus, sledges (dhoukani) and floors (alonia) were in use until the 1950s. Artifacts and the memory of farmers allow us to examine technology, social organization, meaning, and variation in some Cypriot farming practices. In turn, these provide insights into ancient agriculture and its material remains. The focus here is on 2 aspects: manufacture of sledges by specialist flint workers, and the floors themselves, which are common but neglected features throughout Mediterranean archaeology.
The Atlatl, 37(1) , 2024
Penetration study of bison carcasses, continued. Considerations of point and haft design for effi... more Penetration study of bison carcasses, continued. Considerations of point and haft design for efficient penetration and resistance to breakage.
Lithic Technology, 1996
ABSTRACT The Cypriot threshing sledge supported one of the last flintknapplng Industries around t... more ABSTRACT
The Cypriot threshing sledge supported one of
the last flintknapplng Industries around the
Mediteranean. Interviews with a former
athkiajas (knapper) and others depict a simple,
efficient, and highly specialized knapping technol-
ogy, which was part of a complex of traditional
agricultural practices. Within this industry can be
seen temporal, regional, and individual variation,
which is now difficult to document. The knapping
and other crafts involved were also performed at
several levels of specialization.
Near Eastern Archaeology, 2000
Threshing sledges with stone teeth were made obsolete by machines in Cyprus around 1950, but in 1... more Threshing sledges with stone teeth were made obsolete by machines in Cyprus around 1950, but in 1995 we interviewed old farmers in the Paphos district of southern Cyprus, recorded sledges (dhouknia) and threshing floors (alonia) and talked to the last surviving knapper.
Journal of the Iowa Archaeological Society, 1985
Draining a small artificial lake exposed land surface under water since 1952. Our 1982 survey of ... more Draining a small artificial lake exposed land surface under water since 1952. Our 1982 survey of the small drainage basin recorded small prehistoric sites. These would have been largely invisible until exposed by erosion of the topsoil covering them. They represent light use of the drainage from Archaic times into the late prehistoric period.
Ethnoarchaeology, Jan 2, 2017
Ethnoarchaeology, Sep 12, 2014
Ethnoarchaeology, Jul 2, 2016
Muzzleblasts, 2022
Basic gunflint history and types, tips for obtaining and making, for reenactors and modern shoote... more Basic gunflint history and types, tips for obtaining and making, for reenactors and modern shooters and historians.
La Vie des Idées: Aux origines du genre, 2022
Women certainly hunted in prehistoric and ethnographic societies, but current interest in "Woman ... more Women certainly hunted in prehistoric and ethnographic societies, but current interest in "Woman the Hunter" and claims that they likely hunted equally with men are not based on strong evidence and more likely reflect modern Western concern with gender equity.
La Vie des Idées: Aux origines du genre, 2022
Women certainly hunted in prehistoric and ethnographic societies, but current interest in "Woman ... more Women certainly hunted in prehistoric and ethnographic societies, but current interest in "Woman the Hunter" and claims that they likely hunted equally with men are not based on strong evidence and more likely reflect modern Western concern with gender equity.
Ethnoarchaeology, 2019
Editorial: Archaeologists all need background in other fields, especially cultural anthropology. ... more Editorial: Archaeologists all need background in other fields, especially cultural anthropology. Experimental and Ethno Archaeologies contribute to broader understandings of all anthropological enterprises,
The Atlatl, 2023
Further experiments on projectile point penetration in bison carcass.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, Oct 1, 2018
World Archaeology, Oct 19, 2016
Journal of the Iowa Archaeological Society, 2024
Hazing and other combative rituals of initiation and socialization were ubiquitous in American ed... more Hazing and other combative rituals of initiation and socialization were ubiquitous in American educational institutions in the last century and continue to exist. They were contentious in their time and remain so, with supporters arguing that they promote “spirit,” community, and (mostly manly) virtues of courage and strength, and detractors considering them undignified and damaging. Although studied by historians and sociologists, they rarely leave much archaeological evidence. Like most colleges in the early twentieth century, Grinnell College in Iowa had a public “Class Scrap” between sophomores and incoming freshmen. It was much publicized and debated in the town and student papers, and in 1913, an unusual peace was declared, symbolized by a campus monument that was vandalized and buried the next year. In 2017 we excavated the “Peace Rock” and examined the circumstances of class rivalry and hijinks in its time.
Children in the Prehistoric Puebloan Southwest, K.A. Kamp, ed., pp. 14-40. University of Utah Press, 2002
We analyzed pictorial representations of children's life in prehistoric pueblos as presented in p... more We analyzed pictorial representations of children's life in prehistoric pueblos as presented in popular and scholarly works. Children are shown in much smaller proportions than they would really have been present in prehistoric populations. When shown, they often reflect modern Western Euro-American norms: happy nuclear family, play and learning as central to their lives rather than work or subsistence. The past is shown unemotionally: images of stress, hunger, death, sorrow, and violence involving children are very rare, contrary to their lived experiences.
Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology, 1999
Prepared threshing floors, used with flint-toothed threshing sledges drawn by animals, were a com... more Prepared threshing floors, used with flint-toothed threshing sledges drawn by animals, were a common feature of traditional Mediterranean agriculture. Archaeological examples of threshing floors are known from at least the first millennium BC in Greece. Although they are widespread, common, durable, and economically and socially important, few archaeologists have attempted to interpret or even describe them. The ethnoarchaeological information necessary to understand threshing floors and realize their interpretive potential is also sparse and scattered. Examples of threshing floors from Cyprus, and ethno graphic information about Cypriot threshing, reveal both variation and common features which reflect functional, social and economic contexts.
Le Traitement des Récoltes: Un Regard sur la Diversité du Néolithique au Présent. XXIII Rencontres Internationales D’Archéologie et D’Histoire D’Antibes. P. C. Anderson, L. S. Cummings, T. K. Schippers, and B. Simonel eds., pp. 375-387. Editions APDCA, Antibes, France., 2003
Prepared threshing floors, used with flint-toothed threshing sledges drawn by animals, were commo... more Prepared threshing floors, used with flint-toothed threshing sledges drawn by animals, were common in traditional Mediterranean agriculture. In Cyprus, sledges (dhoukani) and floors (alonia) were in use until the 1950s. Artifacts and the memory of farmers allow us to examine technology, social organization, meaning, and variation in some Cypriot farming practices. In turn, these provide insights into ancient agriculture and its material remains. The focus here is on 2 aspects: manufacture of sledges by specialist flint workers, and the floors themselves, which are common but neglected features throughout Mediterranean archaeology.
The Atlatl, 37(1) , 2024
Penetration study of bison carcasses, continued. Considerations of point and haft design for effi... more Penetration study of bison carcasses, continued. Considerations of point and haft design for efficient penetration and resistance to breakage.
Lithic Technology, 1996
ABSTRACT The Cypriot threshing sledge supported one of the last flintknapplng Industries around t... more ABSTRACT
The Cypriot threshing sledge supported one of
the last flintknapplng Industries around the
Mediteranean. Interviews with a former
athkiajas (knapper) and others depict a simple,
efficient, and highly specialized knapping technol-
ogy, which was part of a complex of traditional
agricultural practices. Within this industry can be
seen temporal, regional, and individual variation,
which is now difficult to document. The knapping
and other crafts involved were also performed at
several levels of specialization.
Near Eastern Archaeology, 2000
Threshing sledges with stone teeth were made obsolete by machines in Cyprus around 1950, but in 1... more Threshing sledges with stone teeth were made obsolete by machines in Cyprus around 1950, but in 1995 we interviewed old farmers in the Paphos district of southern Cyprus, recorded sledges (dhouknia) and threshing floors (alonia) and talked to the last surviving knapper.
Journal of the Iowa Archaeological Society, 1985
Draining a small artificial lake exposed land surface under water since 1952. Our 1982 survey of ... more Draining a small artificial lake exposed land surface under water since 1952. Our 1982 survey of the small drainage basin recorded small prehistoric sites. These would have been largely invisible until exposed by erosion of the topsoil covering them. They represent light use of the drainage from Archaic times into the late prehistoric period.
Ethnoarchaeology, Jan 2, 2017
Ethnoarchaeology, Sep 12, 2014
Ethnoarchaeology, Jul 2, 2016
Muzzleblasts, 2022
Basic gunflint history and types, tips for obtaining and making, for reenactors and modern shoote... more Basic gunflint history and types, tips for obtaining and making, for reenactors and modern shooters and historians.
La Vie des Idées: Aux origines du genre, 2022
Women certainly hunted in prehistoric and ethnographic societies, but current interest in "Woman ... more Women certainly hunted in prehistoric and ethnographic societies, but current interest in "Woman the Hunter" and claims that they likely hunted equally with men are not based on strong evidence and more likely reflect modern Western concern with gender equity.
La Vie des Idées: Aux origines du genre, 2022
Women certainly hunted in prehistoric and ethnographic societies, but current interest in "Woman ... more Women certainly hunted in prehistoric and ethnographic societies, but current interest in "Woman the Hunter" and claims that they likely hunted equally with men are not based on strong evidence and more likely reflect modern Western concern with gender equity.
Ethnoarchaeology, 2019
Editorial: Archaeologists all need background in other fields, especially cultural anthropology. ... more Editorial: Archaeologists all need background in other fields, especially cultural anthropology. Experimental and Ethno Archaeologies contribute to broader understandings of all anthropological enterprises,
The Atlatl, 2023
Further experiments on projectile point penetration in bison carcass.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, Oct 1, 2018
World Archaeology, Oct 19, 2016
American Antiquity, 2002
Useful text reflecting trends in archaeol of the time, including a reluctance to consider movemen... more Useful text reflecting trends in archaeol of the time, including a reluctance to consider movements of people and continental connections.
American Antiquity, 1992
Comments on 'post-structural' and other theoretical archaeology of the time, and the social posit... more Comments on 'post-structural' and other theoretical archaeology of the time, and the social position of archaeology
Lithic Technology, 2020
Review of a superb publication of a cache of extraordinary Maya eccentric flints from Copan
Folklife
Bronner's massive book explores the use of tradition in modern folk behavior, explaining some of ... more Bronner's massive book explores the use of tradition in modern folk behavior, explaining some of the varied uses of the term, and defending the idea of tradition as an important means of understanding modern life. Examples discussed include traditional architecture among Amish and Jewish communities, crafts, sororities, football, children's lore, storytelling, and the internet.
Reviews of G Frison, Rancher Archaeologist, and J. Tilburg et al, Rock Art at Little Lake, An Anc... more Reviews of G Frison, Rancher Archaeologist, and J. Tilburg et al, Rock Art at Little Lake, An Ancient Crossroads in the California Desert
In Slings and Slingstones, the Yorks have done good service by surveying the information on a " f... more In Slings and Slingstones, the Yorks have done good service by surveying the information on a " forgotten " weapon system. Slings have been sorely neglected by archaeologists, but are widespread ethnographically and prehistorically, highly effective and culturally important. The Yorks survey Oceania and the Americas, especially North America and focus archaeologically on sling stones: " Sling missiles warrant the same depth of study as projectile points. " Yes, but this work is lacking info on how a sling works and experimental insights.
Fine book filled with useful information about the specifics of recent Denésuliné (Athabaskan) su... more Fine book filled with useful information about the specifics of recent Denésuliné (Athabaskan) subsistence caribou hunting, and many insights into ancient hunting.
Journal of the Iowa Archaeological Society vol 60, 2013 Stanford and Bradley lay out their schola... more Journal of the Iowa Archaeological Society vol 60, 2013
Stanford and Bradley lay out their scholarly case for the Solutrean origins of Clovis, but there are still many reasons to remain skeptical.
World Atlatl Association webpage, 2023
Basic info with photos on how to use an atlatl, stages of a normal throw. For World Atlatl Associ... more Basic info with photos on how to use an atlatl, stages of a normal throw.
For World Atlatl Association webpage, 2023
Grund (2017) suggests that atlatls are easier to learn and use than bows, and thus allow more mem... more Grund (2017) suggests that atlatls are easier to learn and use than bows, and thus allow more members of a population to use them. Atlatls are seen as " exacerbating " social differentiation, while bows are "equalizing." No one familiar with both weapons would agree that atlatls are easier to use than bows, and neither her data from modern competition scores nor ethnographic information supports the suggestion . In fact, other data shows the opposite, and her social conclusions must be rejected.
You have probably been in the field too long when...
Early Agricultural Remnants and Technical Heritage (EARTH): 8,000 Years of Resilience and Innovation, 2014
This volume is the outcome of collaborative European research among archaeologists, archaeobotani... more This volume is the outcome of collaborative European research among archaeologists, archaeobotanists, ethnographers, historians and agronomists, and frequently uses experiments in archaeology. It aims to establish new common ground for integrating different approaches and for viewing agriculture from the standpoint of the human actors involved. Each chapter provides an interdisciplinary overview of the skills used and the social context of the pursuit of agriculture, highlighting examples of tools, technologies and processes from land clearance to cereal processing and food preparation. This is the second of three volumes in the EARTH monograph series, The dynamics of non-industrial agriculture: 8,000 years of resilience and innovation , which shows the great variety of agricultural practices in human terms, in their social, political, cultural and legal contexts.