Date of Completion

8-19-2014

Embargo Period

2-15-2015

Keywords

Terminal Archaic, Susquehanna, social exchange, sub-cultural systems, burial ritual

Major Advisor

Kevin McBride

Associate Advisor

Brian Jones

Associate Advisor

Nicholas Bellantoni

Associate Advisor

Blaire Gagnon

Field of Study

Anthropology

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Open Access

Open Access

Abstract

Broad-tool cultural activities and ritual behaviors, across southern New England, have characteristically been examined as attributes of a mono-cultural system, which expressed little cultural variation throughout the region during the Terminal Archaic Period (3,700–2,700 BP). Much of this stems from discussions dating back to the 1960s and 1970s, which generalized Narrow-Stemmed and Broad-tool cultures to ascertain whether the two existed side-by-side within a multi-cultural neighborhood 3,700 years ago. The idea that smaller, sub-cultural populations may have existed within the broader tradition has been largely ignored or overlooked by archaeologists. Concentrating on Broad-tool socio-economic exchange systems, lithic selection and deposit and the ritual burial of the dead, this research illustrates the existence of Broad-tool sub-cultural systems inhabiting Connecticut during the period.

HCCruz_Abstract_TofC.pdf (316 kB)
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