A framework is established for the application of information-theoretic concepts to the study of archaeological inference, ultimately to provide an estimate of the degree to which archaeologists, or anthropologists in general, can provide legitimate answers to the questions they investigate. Particular information-theoretic measures are applied to the design elements on the ceramics of a southwestern pueblo to show the methodological utility of information theory in helping to reach closer to that limit.

Anthony F. C. Wallace's concepts of cognitive maps and of culture as primarily the organization of diversity are utilized to discuss the significance of a Wisconsin burial mound group, the Hilgen Spring Park site.

Julian Steward's theory of Great Basin cultural ecology and settlement patterns has been subjected to empirical validation. Since the only data available to test this hypothesis are archaeological, it was first necessary to determine the artifactual correlates for the posited ethnographic system. These deductive propositions were determined by the BASIN I computer simulation model. On the basis of data obtained in a regional random sampling project in the Reese Valley of central Nevada, over 75% of the nearly 130 deductive predictions were statistically verified. The rejected propositions probably reflect failure of the computer model rather than shortcomings in Steward's theory. The archaeological manifestation of the Shoshonean pattern is defined as the Reese River Subsistence-Settlement System which operated in the central Great Basin from about 2500 B.C. to historic times.

The growing willingness among archaeologists to draw inferences about cultural behavior is offset by the almost total lack of research that shows how ethnographic and archaeological phenomena are correlated. If ethnologists and archaeologists are to do complementary research on the same problems of cultural process and variation, we must try to explore, systematically and comparatively, how the behavioral and material realms may be correlated. The present paper offers an example of such research. I describe the design and results of a cross-cultural study that suggests an archaeological indicator of matrilocal versus patrilocal residence. Briefly, it appears from 2 separate random samples of ethnographically described societies that matrilocal versus patrilocal residence can be simply and accurately predicted from the living floor area of the average house in the society.

Recent archaeological research in the western Venezuelan llanos has provided very old dates related to maize cultivation. The evidence obtained at Mound I, at the site Hato de la Calzada, indicates that these seasonally flooded savannas were occupied from 920 B.C. to A.D. 500 by the Caño del Oso people who practiced hunting, fishing, and maize farming. Around A.D. 500 manioc cultivation and artificial earthworks were introduced in this area. Both elements were probably obtained from the Arauquinoid people who inhabited the Orinoco riverbanks. The available data regarding the antiquity of manioc, based on agricultural systems in seasonally flooded savannas of South America, suggests that such systems developed in the Amazon Basin.

Sanders (1970) has recently attempted to analyze settlement pattern and demography at the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, on the assumption that an early map called the Maguey plan represents a part of the city. A careful analysis of the physical layout of the community shown on the map, and of several written and pictographic glosses added sometime after the original map was completed, supports the view that the Maguey plan actually shows an island settlement located in a region which had been expropriated by Tenochtitlan following that city's conquest of Azcapotzalco in the early fifteenth century.

M-shaped eccentrics at Teotihuacan and Tula are interpreted as being the trilobal element, a symbol for water and blood. This element, represented in chipped stone, mural art, and low relief carving at both sites, argues for considerable cultural continuity between Teotihuacan and Tula. Not only the symbol, but to some degree its socio-ideological context, must have persisted from Teotihuacan times into the late Toltec period.

Invited by José García Payón of the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia to map the central part of El Tajin and to excavate stratigraphic pits for a ceramic sequence, the authors were able also to make considerable progress toward understanding the settlement pattern of this large site. Based on surface survey, intimate knowledge of the mapped area, and the excavations, it is proposed that El Tajin was a city as well as a religious center, with a large stratified population that included skilled artisans, merchants, priests, and administrators. Judging by sherd cover and stratigraphy, the city occupied at least 5 km2 during its maximum period, probably between A.D. 600-900.

A simple and inexpensive qualitative chemical field method, or spot test, is described for ascertaining the presence of enriched soil phosphate. The spot test is an efficient technique for rapid archaeological site surveying, for elimination of guesswork in establishing trench lines, and for creating phosphate maps depicting type, extent, and relative duration of abandoned settlement features.

An alternative to photomicrography is suggested for photography of specimens in analysis of technology and artifact functions. The photomacrographic system yields superior results up to 40x, at which point photomicrography is preferred. It is suggested that enlarging, movie camera, or specialized macro lenses coupled to view or press cameras, can duplicate results achieved with expensive commercial systems.

Nance intended to demonstrate that certain small, bifacially chipped obsidian artifacts from the California Late horizon were used for cutting purposes, and were therefore not projectile points. However, both categories of edge abrasion noted by Nance, attrition and striation, may also appear on the edges of bifacially flaked artifacts during the process of manufacture. The purpose of abrading a biface edge is to strengthen the edge preparatory to pressure or percussion flaking. Criteria to distinguish edge abrasion during manufacture from abrasion deriving from use are presented.

If an archaeological site is situated near a dependable source of water, a water pump with attached hoses can be utilized to deliver water to screen excavated fill. Screening with water results in the recovery of more and a greater variety of artifacts and non-artifactual materials, and saves time and money. Gasoline-engine powered centrifugal pumps are recommended for most projects.

In a recent paper, Nance has proposed that the serrated "Stockton Points" of central California were used as cutting implements rather than as arrow points. His sample comprised 10 specimens. Functional analyses of 87 additional examples (plus the examination of 2 specimens imbedded in human bone) are reported here and indicate that Nance’s hypothesis is incorrect. We argue the obvious point that very limited artifact samples are inadequate for generalizing on functional use.

The hypothesis presented by Tourtellot and Sabloff regarding ancient Maya exchange systems, although not necessarily incorrect, is found to be based on inaccurate information. The use of such data leads to the formulation of erroneous ideas concerning Maya economic systems in general. This in turn hinders the application of the useful aspects of Tourtellot and Sabloff"s study to problems concerning the structure of ancient Maya society.

Pickersgill has proposed situations in which cultivated plants cannot be used as evidence for contacts between areas, and are evidence against contacts. Alternative hypotheses involving contacts are presented. Pickersgill's examples of “independent” domestications are also questioned.