Skip to main content

Academic Press

Maya Subsistence
Studies in Memory of Dennis E. Puleston
1st Edition
Kent V. Flannery
English
Maya Subsistence: Studies in Memory of Dennis E. Puleston presents studies on the history and development of Maya subsistence in honor of Maya archaeologist Dennis E. Puleston (1940-1978). The discussions are organized around four themes: ecological models for early Maya adaptations; archaeological investigations of Pre-classic and classic Maya subsistence; contributions of geography and soil science to an understanding of ancient Maya subsistence; and Maya subsistence in the post-classic, colonial, and modern eras. Comprised of 15 chapters, this book begins with an analysis of Puleston's career and a review of the history of inquiry into Maya subsistence. Maya subsistence from the earliest Pre-classic period up to the present day is then examined, with emphasis on agriculture, hunting, wild plant collecting, animal husbandry, and trade. In particular, cultural development in the Valley of Guatemala from 1500 B.C. to the Spanish Conquest is discussed, along with the resources of the tropical lowlands and actual prehistoric cornfields miraculously preserved by volcanic ashfall in El Salvador. The book also presents evidence for Maya soil and water conservation over the entire area from Yucatan to Chiapas and central Guatemala, and looks at the traditional role of women and animals in lowland Maya economy. This monograph will be of interest to archaeologists and anthropologists.
Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory
1st Edition
Volume 7
English
Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory, Volume 7 is a collection of papers that deals with the study of gender, discovering new sites, and using remote sensing. Some papers describe the prestate societies in the Americas, intrasite archaeological records organization, and geomagnetic dating methods. One paper explains that an explicit framework for the archaeological study of gender should be formulated alongside the existing explicit theory of human social action. Organization of gender behaviors is connected to task differentiation, material culture, cultural solidarity, integration, extradomestic trade. Another paper notes that the extent of social differentiation seems to depend less on the number of people in a society than on its organizational divisions. It emphasizes that the total population and maximal community-size can also determine the number of administrative levels. One paper discusses the approaches and techniques in dealing with the problems of discovering unseen sites, name, their visibility and obtrusiveness. The individual archaeologists can apply remote sensing applications to pursue a cultural resource management or in a certain explanatory archaeological situation. Another paper explains how to obtain accuracy in dating objects and cultural events using geomagnetic methods. The collection is suitable for professional or amateur archaeologists, sociologists, anthropologist, and scientist involved in the analysis of artifacts.
Phytolyth Analysis
An Archaeological and Geological Perspective
1st Edition
Dolores R. Piperno
English
This is a methodological guide to the use of plant opal phytolith analysis in paleoenvironmental and paleoecological reconstruction. It is the first book-length treatment of this promising technique, which has undergone rapid development within the past few years and is now beginning to be used with considerable success by paleobotanists who serve the archaeological and paleontological research communities. It will be mandatory reading for all paleobotanists, paleoecologists, and archaeological scientists.
Analysis of Qualitative Data
New Developments
1st Edition
Volume 2
Shelby J. Haberman
English
Analysis of Qualitative Data, Volume 2: New Developments focuses on the variety of models used in the analysis of qualitative data. The book first elaborates on multinomial response models and incomplete tables. Discussions focus on models for incomplete tables with ordered categories, incomplete two-way tables and migration, multinomial response models for one or more continuous independent variables, and multinomial response models for two-way tables. The book also reviews symmetrical tables and adjustment of data, including the adjustment of marginal totals using unsaturated models, symmetry models for multi-way tables, and distance models. The publication ponders on latent-class models, as well as models with several latent variables, iterative proportional fitting and latent-class models, maximum likelihood equations for the traditional latent-class model, and the scoring algorithm. The manuscript is a vital reference for researchers interested in the models used in the analysis of qualitative data.
Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory
1st Edition
Volume 10
English
Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory, Volume 10 focuses on the progress of methodologies, approaches, techniques, and principles employed in archaeological method and theory. The selection first elaborates on the formation of ethnographic collections, colonization of islands by humans, and shellfish gathering and Shell midden archaeology. Discussions focus on archaeological excavation and interpretation of Shell middens, shellfish gathering in practice and theory, island geometrical properties relevant to colonization, archaeological applications of biogeographical principles, and principles of museum collecting. The text then takes a look at the formation processes of archaeobotanical record and archaeofaunas and butchery studies, including identification of taphonomic agents, a taphonomic approach to the analysis of butchering, approaches to understanding differential preservation, cultural transformations of the archaeobotanical record, and environmental transformation processes. The book examines bioarchaeological interpretations of subsistence economy and behavior from human skeletal remains, as well as activity patterns in the archaeological past, changing directions in bioarchaeology, and health and disease in the archaeological past. The selection is a valuable reference for archaeologists and researchers interested in archaeological method and theory.
The Politics of Informal Justice
Volume 2: Comparative Studies
1st Edition
Richard L. Abel
English
The Politics of Informal Justice, Volume 2 demonstrates the existence of examples of informal justice in every society, practicing a wide range of political ideology. The book situates contemporary experiments with informal justice in a broad comparative and historical perspective. It identifies the characteristics and common elements of informal justice in four settings: in precapitalist societies and contemporary Third World nations; under liberal capitalism, social democracy, and fascism; and in socialist revolutions and established socialist regimes. The text will be of interest to political scientists, sociologists, historians, and those concerned in the study of legal systems.
Transfer of Learning
Contemporary Research and Applications
1st Edition
Stephen M. Cormier + 1 more
English
Since the mid-1970s, scientific and educational research has left a gap in the field of basic and applied research on transfer of learning. This book fills the gap with state-of-the-art information on recent research in the field, emphasizing methodological paradigms and interpretive concepts based on contemporary cognitive/informatio... processing approaches to the study of human behavior. Issues discussed include how transfer is measured, how its direction and magnitude are determined, how training for transfer differs from training for acquisition, and whether different principles of transfer apply to motor, cognitive, and meta-cognitive processes.
Learning and Study Strategies
Issues in Assessment, Instruction, and Evaluation
1st Edition
English
This volume reflects current research on the cognitive strategies of autonomous learning. Topics such as metacognition, attribution theory, self-efficacy, direct instruction, attention, and problem solving are discussed by leading researchers in learning and study strategies. The contributors to this volume acknowledge and address the concerns of educators at the primary, secondary, and postsecondary school levels. The blend of theory and practice is an important feature of this volume.
Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory
1st Edition
Volume 6
English
Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory, Volume 6 is a collection of papers dealing with the study of man's ancestors in antiquity. One paper compares archaeology in Europe and in North America where turn-of-the-century archaeologists, both professionals and amateurs, have contributed to the development of the science. Their contribution has led to an institutional sense of delineating professionals and amateurs in archaeological science and, more substantially, in matters of defining stone tools, cultural occupations, and cultural change. Another paper discusses large-scale stylistic trait distribution in broad terms related to archaeology, sociology, and geography. A model of cultural evolution simplifies anthropological concept of cultural complexity into inequality and heterogeneity, which are measurable variables to test hypotheses of cultural evolution. One paper cites the case of the Maya as subsistence and complex societies to show the diversity of Maya agriculture and other subsistence subsystems. One paper notes that the concepts and theory which archaeologists are using tend to be more sophisticated than their ability to provide samples of observations for testing. The collection is suitable for professional or amateur archaeologists, anthropologist, sociologists, and researchers interested in pre-historical times and cultures.
Modern Material Culture
The Archaeology of Us
1st Edition
Richard A. Gould + 1 more
English
Modern Material Culture: The Archaeology of Us presents the relationships between human behavior and materials to contemporary societies. This book discusses the various aspects of material behavior in contemporary human societies. Organized into three parts encompassing 21 chapters, this book begins with an overview of the theory and teaching of the material culture approach. This text then presents ethnographic case studies that posit various general statements about human behavior in relation to materials as varied as herbs, coins, fences, graffiti, and domestic architecture. Other chapters consider a variety of topics ranging from mortuary practices and beliefs to the reuse and recycling of goods in the U.S. This book discusses as well the experimental approaches to material culture studies. The final chapter deals with the artifacts of aboriginal Australian settlements. This book is a valuable resource for archeologists, anthropologists, and readers who are interested in human behavior in relation to materials.

Browse by Publisher