Heather A. Lapham | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (original) (raw)
Books by Heather A. Lapham
Bears: Archaeological and Ethnohistorical Perspectives in Native Eastern North America, 2020
Although scholars have long recognized the mythic status of bears in Indigenous North American so... more Although scholars have long recognized the mythic status of bears in Indigenous North American societies of the past, this is the first volume to synthesize the vast amount of archaeological and historical research on the topic. Bears charts the special relationship between the American black bear and humans in eastern Native American cultures across thousands of years. These essays draw on zooarchaeological, ethnohistorical, and ethnographic evidence from nearly 300 archaeological sites from Quebec to the Gulf of Mexico. Contributors explore the ways bears have been treated as something akin to another kind of human—in the words of anthropologist Irving Hallowell, “other than human persons”—in Algonquian, Cherokee, Iroquois, Meskwaki, Creek, and many other Native cultures. Case studies focus on bear imagery in Native art and artifacts; the religious and economic significance of bears and bear products such as meat, fat, oil, and pelts; bears in Native worldviews, kinship systems, and cosmologies; and the use of bears as commodities in transatlantic trade. The case studies in Bears demonstrate that bears were not only a source of food, but were also religious, economic, and political icons within Indigenous cultures. This volume convincingly portrays the black bear as one of the most socially significant species in Native eastern North America.
This book investigates the use of deer, deerskins, and nonlocal goods in the period from A.D. 140... more This book investigates the use of deer, deerskins, and nonlocal goods in the period from A.D. 1400 to 1700 to gain a comprehensive understanding of historic-era cultural changes taking place within Native American communities in the southern Appalachian Highlands. In the 1600s, hunting deer to obtain hides for commercial trade evolved into a substantial economic enterprise for many Native Americans in the Middle Atlantic and Southeast. An overseas market demand for animal hides and furs imported from the Americas, combined with the desire of infant New World colonies to find profitable export commodities, provided a new market for processed deerskins as well as new sources of valued nonlocal goods. This new trade in deerskins created a reorganization of the priorities of native hunters that initiated changes in native trade networks, political alliances, gender relations, and cultural belief systems. Through research on faunal remains and mortuary assemblages, Lapham tracks both the products Native Americans produced for colonial trade - deerskins and other furs - as well as those items received in exchange - European and native prestige goods that end up in burial contexts. Zooarchaeological analyses provide insights into subsistence practices, deer-hunting strategies, and deer-hide production activities, while an examination of mortuary practices contributes information on the use of the nonlocal goods acquired through trade in deerskins. This study reveals changes in economic organization and mortuary practices that provide new insights into how participation in the colonial deerskin trade initially altered Native American social relations and political systems.
Newspapers by Heather A. Lapham
As Americans get ready to carve Thanksgiving turkeys, ponder this question: When was this famous ... more As Americans get ready to carve Thanksgiving turkeys, ponder this question: When was this famous fowl first tamed? Archaeologists are not exactly sure, but recent research suggests that humans domesticated the big bird at least 1,500 years ago. The evidence comes from a clutch of intact eggs found in an old fortress in Oaxaca, Mexico...
Articles & Chapters by Heather A. Lapham
In Bears: Archaeological and Ethnohistorical Perspectives in Native Eastern North America, H. A. Lapham and G. A. Waselkov (eds.), pp. 1–15. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, 2020
In Bears: Archaeological and Ethnohistorical Perspectives in Native Eastern North America, H. A. Lapham and G. A. Waselkov (eds.), pp. 160–192. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, 2020
Recent excavations of two domestic residences at theMitla Fortress, dating to the Classic to Earl... more Recent excavations of two domestic residences at theMitla Fortress, dating to the Classic to Early Postclassic period (ca. CE 300–1200), have uncovered the remains of juvenile and adult turkeys (both hens and toms), several whole eggs, and numerous eggshell fragments in domestic refuse and ritual offering contexts. Holistically, this is the clearest and most comprehensive evidence to date for turkey domestication in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca, Mexico. Juvenile turkeys range in age, from recently hatched poults to young juvenile birds. Medullary bone,
which only forms in female birds before and during the egg-laying cycle, indicates the presence of at least one egg-laying hen. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of the eggshell reveals both unhatched and hatched eggs from a range of incubation stages, from unfertilized or newly fertilized eggs to eggs nearing the termination of embryogenesis to hatched poults. We present these new data and explore turkey husbandry, consumption, and use by two residential households at the Mitla Fortress.
Mexicon (2016), Volume 38 (2):46-55. We report on the principal findings from three recent seaso... more Mexicon (2016), Volume 38 (2):46-55.
We report on the principal findings from three recent seasons of archaeological excavation at Lambityeco, Oaxaca, Mexico. New discoveries include a large ballcourt, which was remodeled during its occupational history. Our findings reflect on the Late Classic period founding of Lambityeco and its shifting relation with the region's largest center, Monte Albán.
Beginning with Kathleen Deagan's description of the St. Augustine Pattern, in which domestic rela... more Beginning with Kathleen Deagan's description of the St. Augustine Pattern, in which domestic relations between Spanish men and Native American women contributed to a pattern of mestizaje in Spanish colonies, gender has assumed a central role in archaeological perspectives on colonial encounters. This is especially true for those encounters that accompanied colonialism in the Americas during the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries. Gender relations were essential to the creation of new cultural identities during this time, as indigenous communities encountered immigrant, European settler groups often comprised mostly or entirely of adult men. Yet as significant as gender is for understanding how an encounter unfolded in time and space, it can be a challenge to identify and evaluate the archaeological correlates of such relations through material culture patterns. In this paper, we use the related domains of food and foodways, particularly in the social context of provisioning, to evaluate how gender relations changed during the occupation of Fort San Juan de Joara (1566- 1568), located at the Berry site in western North Carolina. Our research contributes to reappraisals of the St. Augustine Pattern, which posits well-defined roles for Native American women and Spanish men, by likewise situating the agency of Native American men.
Nuestra investigación compara y contrasta prácticas zapotecas de subsistencia basadas en animales... more Nuestra investigación compara y contrasta prácticas zapotecas de subsistencia basadas en animales en siete sitios arqueológicos que datan desde el periodo Arcaico al Posclásico (aprox. 8,700 a.C. a 1,100 d.C.) para explorar cambios y continuidad en el uso de animales a lo largo del tiempo en los valles centrales de Oaxaca. En cada uno de estos asentamientos de tres a cuatro animales principales (venado, perro, conejos y pavo) constituyen la mayoría de la dieta cárnica consumida por el pueblo zapoteca, sin embargo cada colección que examinamos tuvo su propia y única signatura zooarqueológica. Variaciones en la distribución de los restos de animales reflejan diferencias de estatus, así como especializaciones de la unidad doméstica y la comunidad que giran en torno a la “producción” de animales y subproductos de animales. Esto es especialmente evidente durante el periodo Clásico, cuando los resultados de nuestro estudio indican que sitios diferentes habían desarrollado especialidades y preferencias relacionadas con animales. Utilizando datos nuevos y otros ya existentes ganamos una perspectiva diacrónica más amplia acerca de las economías faunísticas en la Oaxaca antigua que informan nuestras discusiones de las especializaciones comunitarias en la obtención de animales en los sitios clásicos y posclásicos de El Palmillo y la fortaleza de Mitla.
Este capítulo examina el aprovechamiento de animales entre los mixteco hablantes prehispánicos en... more Este capítulo examina el aprovechamiento de animales entre los mixteco hablantes prehispánicos en el occidente de Oaxaca, México. No sólo nos enfocamos en animales como importantes recursos dietarios, sino que también discutimos su uso en actividades artesanales en la economía hogareña y en prácticas rituales. Los perros, en particular, son un componente importante en la dieta, basada en animales y la vida religiosa mixteca. Comenzamos por presentar nuevos datos provenientes de investigaciones recientes sobre el sitio Tayata del Formativo Temprano y Medio, un gran centro pre-urbano en la montañosa región de la Mixteca Alta. Las excavaciones de múltiples unidades habitacionales proveen nuevas vistas sobre la economía de los asentamientos tempranos en la sierra. Posteriormente discutimos brevemente sobre los restos animales de un área segregada de edificios públicos y espacios rituales usada brevemente durante el periodo Clásico Temprano. La colección zooarqueológica de Tayata es singular en tanto que es la única colección grande y bien preservada de restos animales que ha sido analizada, hasta la fecha, en la Mixteca. A falta de datos comparativos en la vecindad inmediata de Tayata, nos volvimos a la investigación zooarqueológica previa en el Valle de Oaxaca para ayudarnos a interpretar mejor nuestros hallazgos y a contextualizarlos con patrones regionales más amplios de aprovechamiento de animales.
Our research compares and contrasts Zapotec animal-based subsistence practices at seven archaeolo... more Our research compares and contrasts Zapotec animal-based subsistence practices at seven archaeological sites dating from the Archaic to the Postclassic periods (ca. 8700 BCE to 1100 CE) to explore change and continuity in animal use over time in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca. At each of these settlements, three to four main animals (deer, dog, rabbits, and turkey) constitute the majority of the meat diet consumed by Zapotec peoples, yet each assemblage we examined had its own unique zooarchaeological signature. Variations in the distributions of animal remains reflect status differences as well as household and community specializations that revolved around “producing” animals and animal by-products. This is especially evident during the Classic period when the results of our study indicate that different sites had developed different animal-related specialties and preferences. By utilizing new and existing data we gain a broader diachronic perspective on animal economies in ancient Oaxaca that inform our discussions of community specializations in animal procurement at the Classic and Postclassic sites of El Palmillo and the Mitla Fortress.
This chapter examines animal use among pre-Hispanic Mixtec-speaking peoples in western Oaxaca, Me... more This chapter examines animal use among pre-Hispanic Mixtec-speaking peoples in western Oaxaca, Mexico. We focus on animals not only as important dietary resources but also discuss their use in craft activities, household economies, and ritual practices. Dogs, in particular, are an important component of Mixtec animal-based diet and religious life. We begin by presenting new data from recent investigations at the Early and Middle Formative archaeological site of Tayata, a large pre-urban center in the mountainous Mixteca Alta region. Excavations of several households provide new insights on early village economies in the highlands. We then briefly discuss animal remains from a segregated area of public buildings and ritual spaces used briefly during the Early Classic period. Tayata’s zooarchaeological assemblage is unique in that it is the only large and well-preserved collection of animal remains analyzed to date in the Mixteca. Lacking comparative data in the immediate vicinity of Tayata, we turn to previous zooarchaeological research in the Valley of Oaxaca to help us better interpret our findings and contextualize them within broader, regional patterns of animal use.
Recent excavations at the Kincaid site in southern Illinois uncovered a small domestic dog (Canis... more Recent excavations at the Kincaid site in southern Illinois uncovered a small domestic dog (Canis familiaris) buried in a Baumer phase pit from the Early to Middle Woodland transition (ca. 250 B.C. to A.D. 1). This article describes the skeleton and burial in greater detail, explores the prevalence of dog burials in the study region, and compares the size of the dog with other southeastern canines. The study concludes that dog burials are rare finds on archaeological sites in southern Illinois during the Woodland period as well as earlier and later in time. The Kincaid dog is also unique in its small size, which may explain some of the dental abnormalities observed.
Criteria developed to distinguish between selected postcranial elements of sheep and goats are ev... more Criteria developed to distinguish between selected postcranial elements of sheep and goats are evaluated using modern specimens from the collections of the Field Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of Natural History, and the Museum of Anthropology and the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan. Elements considered are: the distal humerus, proximal and distal radius, distal tibia, distal metapodials, astragalus, calcaneus, and the first and second phalanx. This evaluation includes an assessment of 1385 elements from 49 goat and 84 modern sheep skeletons. It also includes a blind test on elements drawn from 20 specimens taken by six analysts with differing levels of experience. Overall, the criteria evaluated are highly reliable, especially in goats and only slightly less so in sheep. A major exception is the distal tibia, where diagnostic criteria tested proved substantially less reliable than other criteria evaluated here. Strongly positive results were also obtained when the sample was partitioned by sex, domestic status, and age. Results of the blind test show some variability depending on the level of experience of the analyst, underscoring the need for training and access to adequate modern reference collections before attempting to apply these criteria to archaeological assemblages. The results of this assessment stand in stark contrast to those obtained in an earlier assessment of the reliability of criteria used to distinguish between mandibles and mandibular teeth of sheep and goats. In all but a few teeth, dental criteria proved to be much less reliable, especially in goats. They were also significantly less reliable in the identification of both younger and older animals. Unlike dental criteria, there are no biases introduced by variable reliability of postcranial criteria that distort taxon-specific harvest profiles based on long-bones.
Mixtec nobles are depicted in codices and other proto-historic documentation taking part in funer... more Mixtec nobles are depicted in codices and other proto-historic documentation taking part in funerary rites involving cremation. The time depth for this practice was unknown, but excavations at the early village site of Tayata, in the southern state of Oaxaca, Mexico, recovered undisturbed cremation burials in contexts dating from the eleventh century B.C. These are the earliest examples of a burial practice that in later times was reserved for Mixtec kings and Aztec emperors. This article describes the burial contexts and human remains, linking Formative period archaeology with ethnohistorical descriptions of Mixtec mortuary practices. The use of cremation to mark elevated social status among the Mixtec was established by 3,000 years ago, when hereditary differences in rank were first emerging across Mesoamerica.
Bears: Archaeological and Ethnohistorical Perspectives in Native Eastern North America, 2020
Although scholars have long recognized the mythic status of bears in Indigenous North American so... more Although scholars have long recognized the mythic status of bears in Indigenous North American societies of the past, this is the first volume to synthesize the vast amount of archaeological and historical research on the topic. Bears charts the special relationship between the American black bear and humans in eastern Native American cultures across thousands of years. These essays draw on zooarchaeological, ethnohistorical, and ethnographic evidence from nearly 300 archaeological sites from Quebec to the Gulf of Mexico. Contributors explore the ways bears have been treated as something akin to another kind of human—in the words of anthropologist Irving Hallowell, “other than human persons”—in Algonquian, Cherokee, Iroquois, Meskwaki, Creek, and many other Native cultures. Case studies focus on bear imagery in Native art and artifacts; the religious and economic significance of bears and bear products such as meat, fat, oil, and pelts; bears in Native worldviews, kinship systems, and cosmologies; and the use of bears as commodities in transatlantic trade. The case studies in Bears demonstrate that bears were not only a source of food, but were also religious, economic, and political icons within Indigenous cultures. This volume convincingly portrays the black bear as one of the most socially significant species in Native eastern North America.
This book investigates the use of deer, deerskins, and nonlocal goods in the period from A.D. 140... more This book investigates the use of deer, deerskins, and nonlocal goods in the period from A.D. 1400 to 1700 to gain a comprehensive understanding of historic-era cultural changes taking place within Native American communities in the southern Appalachian Highlands. In the 1600s, hunting deer to obtain hides for commercial trade evolved into a substantial economic enterprise for many Native Americans in the Middle Atlantic and Southeast. An overseas market demand for animal hides and furs imported from the Americas, combined with the desire of infant New World colonies to find profitable export commodities, provided a new market for processed deerskins as well as new sources of valued nonlocal goods. This new trade in deerskins created a reorganization of the priorities of native hunters that initiated changes in native trade networks, political alliances, gender relations, and cultural belief systems. Through research on faunal remains and mortuary assemblages, Lapham tracks both the products Native Americans produced for colonial trade - deerskins and other furs - as well as those items received in exchange - European and native prestige goods that end up in burial contexts. Zooarchaeological analyses provide insights into subsistence practices, deer-hunting strategies, and deer-hide production activities, while an examination of mortuary practices contributes information on the use of the nonlocal goods acquired through trade in deerskins. This study reveals changes in economic organization and mortuary practices that provide new insights into how participation in the colonial deerskin trade initially altered Native American social relations and political systems.
As Americans get ready to carve Thanksgiving turkeys, ponder this question: When was this famous ... more As Americans get ready to carve Thanksgiving turkeys, ponder this question: When was this famous fowl first tamed? Archaeologists are not exactly sure, but recent research suggests that humans domesticated the big bird at least 1,500 years ago. The evidence comes from a clutch of intact eggs found in an old fortress in Oaxaca, Mexico...
In Bears: Archaeological and Ethnohistorical Perspectives in Native Eastern North America, H. A. Lapham and G. A. Waselkov (eds.), pp. 1–15. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, 2020
In Bears: Archaeological and Ethnohistorical Perspectives in Native Eastern North America, H. A. Lapham and G. A. Waselkov (eds.), pp. 160–192. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, 2020
Recent excavations of two domestic residences at theMitla Fortress, dating to the Classic to Earl... more Recent excavations of two domestic residences at theMitla Fortress, dating to the Classic to Early Postclassic period (ca. CE 300–1200), have uncovered the remains of juvenile and adult turkeys (both hens and toms), several whole eggs, and numerous eggshell fragments in domestic refuse and ritual offering contexts. Holistically, this is the clearest and most comprehensive evidence to date for turkey domestication in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca, Mexico. Juvenile turkeys range in age, from recently hatched poults to young juvenile birds. Medullary bone,
which only forms in female birds before and during the egg-laying cycle, indicates the presence of at least one egg-laying hen. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of the eggshell reveals both unhatched and hatched eggs from a range of incubation stages, from unfertilized or newly fertilized eggs to eggs nearing the termination of embryogenesis to hatched poults. We present these new data and explore turkey husbandry, consumption, and use by two residential households at the Mitla Fortress.
Mexicon (2016), Volume 38 (2):46-55. We report on the principal findings from three recent seaso... more Mexicon (2016), Volume 38 (2):46-55.
We report on the principal findings from three recent seasons of archaeological excavation at Lambityeco, Oaxaca, Mexico. New discoveries include a large ballcourt, which was remodeled during its occupational history. Our findings reflect on the Late Classic period founding of Lambityeco and its shifting relation with the region's largest center, Monte Albán.
Beginning with Kathleen Deagan's description of the St. Augustine Pattern, in which domestic rela... more Beginning with Kathleen Deagan's description of the St. Augustine Pattern, in which domestic relations between Spanish men and Native American women contributed to a pattern of mestizaje in Spanish colonies, gender has assumed a central role in archaeological perspectives on colonial encounters. This is especially true for those encounters that accompanied colonialism in the Americas during the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries. Gender relations were essential to the creation of new cultural identities during this time, as indigenous communities encountered immigrant, European settler groups often comprised mostly or entirely of adult men. Yet as significant as gender is for understanding how an encounter unfolded in time and space, it can be a challenge to identify and evaluate the archaeological correlates of such relations through material culture patterns. In this paper, we use the related domains of food and foodways, particularly in the social context of provisioning, to evaluate how gender relations changed during the occupation of Fort San Juan de Joara (1566- 1568), located at the Berry site in western North Carolina. Our research contributes to reappraisals of the St. Augustine Pattern, which posits well-defined roles for Native American women and Spanish men, by likewise situating the agency of Native American men.
Nuestra investigación compara y contrasta prácticas zapotecas de subsistencia basadas en animales... more Nuestra investigación compara y contrasta prácticas zapotecas de subsistencia basadas en animales en siete sitios arqueológicos que datan desde el periodo Arcaico al Posclásico (aprox. 8,700 a.C. a 1,100 d.C.) para explorar cambios y continuidad en el uso de animales a lo largo del tiempo en los valles centrales de Oaxaca. En cada uno de estos asentamientos de tres a cuatro animales principales (venado, perro, conejos y pavo) constituyen la mayoría de la dieta cárnica consumida por el pueblo zapoteca, sin embargo cada colección que examinamos tuvo su propia y única signatura zooarqueológica. Variaciones en la distribución de los restos de animales reflejan diferencias de estatus, así como especializaciones de la unidad doméstica y la comunidad que giran en torno a la “producción” de animales y subproductos de animales. Esto es especialmente evidente durante el periodo Clásico, cuando los resultados de nuestro estudio indican que sitios diferentes habían desarrollado especialidades y preferencias relacionadas con animales. Utilizando datos nuevos y otros ya existentes ganamos una perspectiva diacrónica más amplia acerca de las economías faunísticas en la Oaxaca antigua que informan nuestras discusiones de las especializaciones comunitarias en la obtención de animales en los sitios clásicos y posclásicos de El Palmillo y la fortaleza de Mitla.
Este capítulo examina el aprovechamiento de animales entre los mixteco hablantes prehispánicos en... more Este capítulo examina el aprovechamiento de animales entre los mixteco hablantes prehispánicos en el occidente de Oaxaca, México. No sólo nos enfocamos en animales como importantes recursos dietarios, sino que también discutimos su uso en actividades artesanales en la economía hogareña y en prácticas rituales. Los perros, en particular, son un componente importante en la dieta, basada en animales y la vida religiosa mixteca. Comenzamos por presentar nuevos datos provenientes de investigaciones recientes sobre el sitio Tayata del Formativo Temprano y Medio, un gran centro pre-urbano en la montañosa región de la Mixteca Alta. Las excavaciones de múltiples unidades habitacionales proveen nuevas vistas sobre la economía de los asentamientos tempranos en la sierra. Posteriormente discutimos brevemente sobre los restos animales de un área segregada de edificios públicos y espacios rituales usada brevemente durante el periodo Clásico Temprano. La colección zooarqueológica de Tayata es singular en tanto que es la única colección grande y bien preservada de restos animales que ha sido analizada, hasta la fecha, en la Mixteca. A falta de datos comparativos en la vecindad inmediata de Tayata, nos volvimos a la investigación zooarqueológica previa en el Valle de Oaxaca para ayudarnos a interpretar mejor nuestros hallazgos y a contextualizarlos con patrones regionales más amplios de aprovechamiento de animales.
Our research compares and contrasts Zapotec animal-based subsistence practices at seven archaeolo... more Our research compares and contrasts Zapotec animal-based subsistence practices at seven archaeological sites dating from the Archaic to the Postclassic periods (ca. 8700 BCE to 1100 CE) to explore change and continuity in animal use over time in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca. At each of these settlements, three to four main animals (deer, dog, rabbits, and turkey) constitute the majority of the meat diet consumed by Zapotec peoples, yet each assemblage we examined had its own unique zooarchaeological signature. Variations in the distributions of animal remains reflect status differences as well as household and community specializations that revolved around “producing” animals and animal by-products. This is especially evident during the Classic period when the results of our study indicate that different sites had developed different animal-related specialties and preferences. By utilizing new and existing data we gain a broader diachronic perspective on animal economies in ancient Oaxaca that inform our discussions of community specializations in animal procurement at the Classic and Postclassic sites of El Palmillo and the Mitla Fortress.
This chapter examines animal use among pre-Hispanic Mixtec-speaking peoples in western Oaxaca, Me... more This chapter examines animal use among pre-Hispanic Mixtec-speaking peoples in western Oaxaca, Mexico. We focus on animals not only as important dietary resources but also discuss their use in craft activities, household economies, and ritual practices. Dogs, in particular, are an important component of Mixtec animal-based diet and religious life. We begin by presenting new data from recent investigations at the Early and Middle Formative archaeological site of Tayata, a large pre-urban center in the mountainous Mixteca Alta region. Excavations of several households provide new insights on early village economies in the highlands. We then briefly discuss animal remains from a segregated area of public buildings and ritual spaces used briefly during the Early Classic period. Tayata’s zooarchaeological assemblage is unique in that it is the only large and well-preserved collection of animal remains analyzed to date in the Mixteca. Lacking comparative data in the immediate vicinity of Tayata, we turn to previous zooarchaeological research in the Valley of Oaxaca to help us better interpret our findings and contextualize them within broader, regional patterns of animal use.
Recent excavations at the Kincaid site in southern Illinois uncovered a small domestic dog (Canis... more Recent excavations at the Kincaid site in southern Illinois uncovered a small domestic dog (Canis familiaris) buried in a Baumer phase pit from the Early to Middle Woodland transition (ca. 250 B.C. to A.D. 1). This article describes the skeleton and burial in greater detail, explores the prevalence of dog burials in the study region, and compares the size of the dog with other southeastern canines. The study concludes that dog burials are rare finds on archaeological sites in southern Illinois during the Woodland period as well as earlier and later in time. The Kincaid dog is also unique in its small size, which may explain some of the dental abnormalities observed.
Criteria developed to distinguish between selected postcranial elements of sheep and goats are ev... more Criteria developed to distinguish between selected postcranial elements of sheep and goats are evaluated using modern specimens from the collections of the Field Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of Natural History, and the Museum of Anthropology and the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan. Elements considered are: the distal humerus, proximal and distal radius, distal tibia, distal metapodials, astragalus, calcaneus, and the first and second phalanx. This evaluation includes an assessment of 1385 elements from 49 goat and 84 modern sheep skeletons. It also includes a blind test on elements drawn from 20 specimens taken by six analysts with differing levels of experience. Overall, the criteria evaluated are highly reliable, especially in goats and only slightly less so in sheep. A major exception is the distal tibia, where diagnostic criteria tested proved substantially less reliable than other criteria evaluated here. Strongly positive results were also obtained when the sample was partitioned by sex, domestic status, and age. Results of the blind test show some variability depending on the level of experience of the analyst, underscoring the need for training and access to adequate modern reference collections before attempting to apply these criteria to archaeological assemblages. The results of this assessment stand in stark contrast to those obtained in an earlier assessment of the reliability of criteria used to distinguish between mandibles and mandibular teeth of sheep and goats. In all but a few teeth, dental criteria proved to be much less reliable, especially in goats. They were also significantly less reliable in the identification of both younger and older animals. Unlike dental criteria, there are no biases introduced by variable reliability of postcranial criteria that distort taxon-specific harvest profiles based on long-bones.
Mixtec nobles are depicted in codices and other proto-historic documentation taking part in funer... more Mixtec nobles are depicted in codices and other proto-historic documentation taking part in funerary rites involving cremation. The time depth for this practice was unknown, but excavations at the early village site of Tayata, in the southern state of Oaxaca, Mexico, recovered undisturbed cremation burials in contexts dating from the eleventh century B.C. These are the earliest examples of a burial practice that in later times was reserved for Mixtec kings and Aztec emperors. This article describes the burial contexts and human remains, linking Formative period archaeology with ethnohistorical descriptions of Mixtec mortuary practices. The use of cremation to mark elevated social status among the Mixtec was established by 3,000 years ago, when hereditary differences in rank were first emerging across Mesoamerica.
A synthesis of Contact period material culturefrom the upper Potomac Valley is presented. This co... more A synthesis of Contact period material culturefrom the upper Potomac Valley is presented. This compilation of data from sites such as Herriott Farm, Pancake Island, and the Barton site includes artifacts of European manufacture and aboriginal ceramics. Ceramics are predominantly affiliated with Susquehannock cultures dating to the early 1600s. European manufactured trade goods from upper Potomac Valley sites include predominantly items of copper or brass and glass beads. The Susquehannock sequence begins with the Schultz phase and extends into the Washington Boro phase. Utilizing what is known about the age and distribution of key trade items as well as the Susquehannock sequence from south central Pennsylvania, a preliminary chronology for the Susquehannock settlement of the upper Potomac Valley during the early fur trade period is proposed. This chronology should serve to outline the vague historical record pertaining to early contact in the upper Potomac.
Within decades of European settlement in eastern North America, an overseas demand for leather im... more Within decades of European settlement in eastern North America, an overseas demand for leather imported from the Americas led processed deerskins to become one of the most important commodities produced for trade by Native Americans in the greater Mid-Atlantic region. The deerskin trade, which flourished in the ca. A.D. 1600s-1700s, offered Native Americans new opportunities to acquire socially-valued goods which, in turn, provided the means for certain groups to enhance their socioeconomic status by trading processed hides for nonlocal goods that would have been symbols of wealth and prestige within the native community. Comparative analyses of faunal remains from southwest Virginia indicate that several changes occurred within some Native American communities in the early 1600s: deer use and venison consumption increased, deer harvests became more selective, and deer skinning techniques occasionally reflected an attention to detail geared toward preserving maximum hide size. These changes suggest that certain Native American settlements chose to alter deer harvest and processing activities in order to participate in a growing intercultural trade in hides, furs, and nonlocal status goods.
This study uses glass bead data to investigate the Monongahelas' trade relations and intersocieta... more This study uses glass bead data to investigate the Monongahelas' trade relations and intersocietal interactions during the Protohistoric period. Glass beads, acquired initially from European colonists, served as key exchange goods in protohistoric trade networks and frequently accompanied native-made items in barter and reciprocal gift-giving by the early seventeenth century. Monongahela sites lack a glass bead assemblage characteristic of trade in European goods prior to ca. A.D. 1600. This suggests that the Monongahelas ' role as middlemen in the Chesapeake Bay/Ontario whelkshell trade may have been a relatively late development that began only around the turn of the seventeenth century. Glass bead distributions suggest that the Monongahela may have been involved, in some capacity, with the Seneca Iroquois.
The Archaeology of Mesoamerican Animals (edited by Christopher M. Götz and Kitty F. Emery, pp. 153-190), Lockwood Press, Atlanta., 2013
Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences, 2008
Mixtec nobles are depicted in codices and other proto-historic documentation taking part in funer... more Mixtec nobles are depicted in codices and other proto-historic documentation taking part in funerary rites involving cremation. The time depth for this practice was unknown, but excavations at the early village site of Tayata, in the southern state of Oaxaca, Mexico, recovered undisturbed cremation burials in contexts dating from the eleventh century B.C. These are the earliest examples of a burial practice that in later times was reserved for Mixtec kings and Aztec emperors. This article describes the burial contexts and human remains, linking Formative period archaeology with ethnohistorical descriptions of Mixtec mortuary practices. The use of cremation to mark elevated social status among the Mixtec was established by 3,000 years ago, when hereditary differences in rank were first emerging across Mesoamerica.
This book investigates the use of deer, deerskins, and nonlocal goods in the period from A.D. 140... more This book investigates the use of deer, deerskins, and nonlocal goods in the period from A.D. 1400 to 1700 to gain a comprehensive understanding of historic-era cultural changes taking place within Native American communities in the southern Appalachian Highlands. In the 1600s, hunting deer to obtain hides for commercial trade evolved into a substantial economic enterprise for many Native Americans in the Middle Atlantic and Southeast. An overseas market demand for animal hides and furs imported from the Americas, combined with the desire of infant New World colonies to find profitable export commodities, provided a new market for processed deerskins as well as new sources of valued nonlocal goods. This new trade in deerskins created a reorganization of the priorities of native hunters that initiated changes in native trade networks, political alliances, gender relations, and cultural belief systems. Through research on faunal remains and mortuary assemblages, Lapham tracks both the products Native Americans produced for colonial trade - deerskins and other furs - as well as those items received in exchange - European and native prestige goods that end up in burial contexts. Zooarchaeological analyses provide insights into subsistence practices, deer-hunting strategies, and deer-hide production activities, while an examination of mortuary practices contributes information on the use of the nonlocal goods acquired through trade in deerskins. This study reveals changes in economic organization and mortuary practices that provide new insights into how participation in the colonial deerskin trade initially altered Native American social relations and political systems.
Investigation of the glass and stone beads uncovered during Jamestown Rediscovery’s 1994-1997 fie... more Investigation of the glass and stone beads uncovered during Jamestown Rediscovery’s 1994-1997 field seasons identified 28 different varieties and established a material line of evidence on which to base subsequent studies regarding intercultural relations, exchange networks, and global commerce. Historically verified blue beads dominated the assemblage, including dozens of robin’s-egg blue, nueva cadiz-like turquoise, and nueva cadiz-like navy blue examples. The overall assemblage resembled collections from 16th-century Spanish colonial sites more than those from 17th-century English settlements in America. The distinctiveness of Jamestown’s beads might suggest changes in bead production practices and reveal a transformation in European trade kits.
International Journal of Osteoarchaeology
In prehispanic Mesoamerica, bone was a broadly recovered raw material for the fabrication of impl... more In prehispanic Mesoamerica, bone was a broadly recovered raw material for the fabrication of implements and ornaments, used in both ritual and domestic production activities. To date, researchers have employed broad, general descriptions for these tools such as awls, needles, and perforators, but little consistency exists in the terminologies and categories that describe the range of osseous tools. Through excavations at four Classic period sites in the Valley of Oaxaca, we have amassed over 1100 bone tools, ornaments, and other worked pieces. Here we illustrate and define the principal classes of bone implements and the animal species (including human) that were utilized, while offering preliminary thoughts regarding the tasks for which they were used. Specific animal species seemingly were preferred for making certain tools, but local availability also was a factor. Across our Valley of Oaxaca contexts, the variability in tool assemblages points to diversity in household economic activities with implications for how we understand the Classic period economy. In line with previous Mesoamerican research, we surmise that a key use of bone tools was associated with fiber working and weaving.
En la Mesoamérica prehispánica, el hueso fue una materia prima ampliamente usada para la fabricación de herramientas y ornamentos, ambos utilizados tanto en actividades rituales como domésticas. Hasta la fecha, investigadores han utilizado descripciones generales para estas herramientas, como punzones, agujas y perforadores, pero existe poca consistencia en la terminología y las categorías que describen el rango de las herramientas óseas. Gracias a las excavaciones en cuatro sitios del Clásico en el Valle de Oaxaca, hemos recogido más de 1100 herramientas, ornamentos y otros fragmentos trabajados de hueso. En este artículo definimos e ilustramos las clases principales de este tipo de herramientas y las especies animales (incluido el ser humano) que fueron utilizadas para su fabricación; al mismo tiempo proporcionamos algunas ideas preliminares en cuanto a las tareas para las cuales se usaron. Parece que especies específicas fueron preferidas para hacer ciertas herramientas aun cuando la disponibilidad local fue también un factor determinante. A través de los contextos del Valle de Oaxaca, la variabilidad en los conjuntos de herramientas evidencia la diversidad de las actividades económicas en la unidad doméstica, la cual tiene implicaciones en cómo entendemos la economía del periodo Clásico. Acorde con previas investigaciones mesoamericanas, consideramos que hubo un uso clave de las herramientas de hueso asociado al trabajo de fibras y al telar.
Dans la Mésoamérique préhispanique, l’os était une matière première largement employé pour la fabrication d’instruments et d’ornements utilisés à la fois pour les activités rituelles et domestiques. À ce jour, les chercheurs ont utilisé des descriptions générales pour ces outils, comme les poinçons, les aiguilles et les perçoirs, mais il existe peu de cohérence dans les terminologies et les catégories qui décrivent la gamme d’outils en os. Grâce à des fouilles menées dans quatre sites de la période classique dans la vallée d’Oaxaca, nous avons recueilli plus de 1 100 outils, ornements et autres pièces travaillées en os. Ici, nous illustrons et définissons les classes principales d’instruments osseux et les espèces animales (y compris humaine) qui étaient utilisées pour leur fabrication, tout en offrant des idées préliminaires concernant les tâches pour lesquelles elles étaient utilisées. Des espèces animales spécifiques étaient apparemment préférées pour fabriquer certains outils, mais la disponibilité locale était également un facteur déterminant. Dans l’ensemble des contextes de la vallée d’Oaxaca, la variabilité des assemblages osseux révèle la diversité des activités économiques au sein de l’unité domestique, ce qui a des implications sur notre compréhension de l’économie de la période classique. En accord avec des travaux antérieurs en Mésoamérique, nous proposons que l’un des usages clé des outils en os a été lié au travail de la fibre et au tissage.