North American Archaeology: West Coast, Great Basin, Southwest, and Great Plains

Vocabulary flashcards covering the cultures, terminology, and key archaeological sites of the West Coast, Great Basin, Southwest, and Great Plains.

West Coast Hunter-Fisher-Gatherer Complexity

Societies that relied on hunting, fishing, and gathering but developed social ranking, large permanent villages, food storage, and leadership.

Acorns

Major food source in California.

Adze

Woodworking tool used to shape planks and canoes.

Altithermal

Warm, dry climatic period during the Holocene.

Augustine Pattern

Late California cultural pattern associated with bow-and-arrow technology and social complexity.

Berkeley Pattern

Earlier California adaptation emphasizing hunting and gathering.

Chumash

Complex maritime society of coastal southern California.

Feasting

Large ceremonial meals that helped display status and build alliances.

Food Surplus

Extra stored food beyond immediate needs.

Labret

Decorative lip ornament.

Petroglyph

Design carved into rock.

Pictograph

Design painted on rock.

Pit House

Dwelling built partially underground.

Plank House

Large wooden house common on Northwest Coast.

Potlatch

Ceremonial gift-giving feast demonstrating wealth and status.

Ranked Society

Society with inherited social positions.

Tomol

Chumash plank canoe.

Totem Pole

Carved pole displaying clan ancestry and symbolism.

Weir

Structure used to trap fish.

Windmiller

Early California archaeological culture.

Channel Islands

Homeland of many Chumash communities.

Ozette

Well-preserved Makah village in Washington.

Keatley Creek

Large prehistoric village in British Columbia.

Hoko River Site

Site providing evidence of maritime adaptation.

Santa Barbara Channel

Important Chumash maritime region.

Anthropomorph

Human-like figure in rock art.

Zoomorph

Animal-like figure in rock art.

Coprolite

Preserved feces studied for diet.

Desert Archaic

Mobile hunter-gatherer adaptation of the Great Basin.

Ethnographic Analogy

Using living cultures to help interpret archaeological evidence.

Evolutionary Ecology

Applying evolutionary theory to human behavior and adaptation.

Fremont

Culture that combined farming and foraging in Utah.

Representational Art

Art depicting recognizable objects.

Danger Cave

Key Great Basin archaeological site.

Hidden Cave

Preserved storage materials and artifacts in the Great Basin.

Lovelock Cave

Famous Great Basin site known for textile preservation and coprolites.

Gatecliff Cave

Great Basin site with a long sequence of occupation.

Carson Sink

Important wetland area in Nevada.

Ancestral Pueblo

Ancestors of modern Pueblo peoples.

Hohokam

Irrigation farmers of southern Arizona.

Mogollon

Southwestern culture known for Mimbres pottery.

Mimbres

Famous black-on-white ceramics associated with the Mogollon culture.

Patayan

Culture of western Arizona and southeastern California.

Casas Grandes (Paquimé)

Major center in northern Mexico.

Chaco Phenomenon

Regional system centered on Chaco Canyon.

Ball Court

Hohokam ceremonial structure.

Bonito Phase

Peak period of Chaco society.

Chaco Roads

Extensive transportation and ceremonial network.

DEM (Digital Elevation Model)

Computer terrain model used in archaeology.

Domestication

Human-controlled breeding of plants/animals.

Earth Oven

Underground cooking pit.

Exotic Objects

Nonlocal trade items.

Great House

Massive Chaco masonry building.

Hierarchy

Ranked leadership structure.

Heterarchy

Shared or overlapping power system.

Hinterland

Area surrounding a cultural center.

Irrigation Agriculture

Farming using artificial water systems.

Kiva

Circular ceremonial room used for ceremonial and community activities.

Great Kiva

Larger community ceremonial structure.

Labor Mobilization

Organizing workers for large projects.

Least-Cost Path Analysis

GIS technique for studying travel routes.

Maize

Corn, derived from wild teosinte.

Matrilocal Intermarriage

Practice where couples reside with wife's family.

Neolithic Demographic Transition

Population growth resulting from agriculture.

Obsidian

Volcanic glass used for tools.

Platform Mound

Elevated ceremonial structure.

Pueblo

Multi-room stone or adobe community.

Redistribution

Collection and redistribution of resources.

Residential Sedentism

Permanent settlement.

Seasonal Mobility

Moving according to resource availability.

Sipapu

Symbolic opening representing emergence in Pueblo belief.

Storage Pit

Food-storage feature.

Teosinte

Wild ancestor of maize.

Pueblo Bonito

Largest Chaco Great House.

Mesa Verde

Southwestern site famous for cliff dwellings.

Snaketown

Major Hohokam settlement.

Shabik’eschee Village

Early Chaco settlement.

Plains Archaic

Hunter-gatherer adaptation after Paleoindian period.

Plains Woodland Tradition

Plains tradition characterized by increased pottery use, horticulture, and village life.

Plains Village Tradition

Plains tradition defined by permanent farming villages.

Middle Missouri Tradition

Village farming culture along the Missouri River.

Coalescent Tradition

Tradition marked by population aggregation and village growth before European contact.

Great Bend Aspect

Archaeological manifestation in Kansas tied to Wichita ancestors.

Council Circle

Circular feature used for community gatherings.

McKean Complex

Plains Archaic cultural complex.

Bison Jump

Cliff used to drive bison to their deaths as a communal hunting strategy.

Hot-Rock Cooking

Cooking with heated stones.

Bison bison

Scientific name for the American bison.

Kansas City Hopewell

Plains expression of the Hopewell interaction sphere.

Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump

Famous communal bison hunting site.

Olsen-Chubbock

Large bison kill site.

Big Horn Medicine Wheel

Ceremonial stone structure on the Plains.