PREFACE

Table 4.1 Priority General Questions Applicable to all Temporal Periods.Problem Domain Scale of InquirySite/Component Area/Generalization Regional/IntegrativeChronology andCulture HistoryWhen was the site occupied? Which sites are contemporary? When do observable changes in the culturaladaptations occur?Are they associated with environmental change,demographic pressure, or internal/externalcultural developments?SubsistenceStrategiesWhat plant and animal food resources werecollected, processed, and/or consumed by thesite’s inhabitants?What seasonal variation was therein the procurement of foodresources?What were the subsistence resourcestaples?What areas were the foci ofsubsistence activities?What was the relative contribution of hunting,gathering, and cultivation?What strategies were used to buffer againstperiods of low resource availability?How were scheduling conflicts handled?Were different subsistence strategies employedby contemporary groups?How did subsistence strategies change inresponse to environmental fluctuations anddemographic pressure?How did subsistence strategies change with theintroduction of various technological innovations?Settlement System/Mobility StrategiesWhat activities were conducted at the site?What was the probable size and compositionof the resident group?What was the season and duration of theoccupation/activity?What kinds of sites associated witheach temporal period?What is spatial patterning of sitesduring each temporal period?What environmental variablesconditioned site location?What are the boundaries of the settlementsystems?What mobility strategies were employed duringeach temporal period?How and why did those strategies changethrough time?4-58