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Cited by 95Pleistocene-Era Hominins and ArchaeologyArchaeological and Geological StudiesArchaeology and ancient environmental studies

Paleoindian Aggregation and Social Context at Bull Brook

Robinson, Brian S., Ort, Jennifer C., Eldridge, William A., Burke, Adrian L., Pelletier, Bertrand G.·2009·American Antiquity
DOI 10.1017/s0002731600048691
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Abstract

Large social aggregations are among the most highly organized events associated with mobile hunter-gatherers. The Bull Brook Paleoindian site in Ipswich, Massachusetts provides the strongest case for large-scale Paleoindian aggregation in North America, with 36 discrete concentrations of artifacts arranged in a large circle. Avocational archaeologists who salvaged the site in the 1950s interpreted it as a single occupation. Professionals first rejected and then revived this hypothesis, but the site remained insufficiently analyzed to evaluate. New research supports the single occupation hypothesis with a fully reconstructed site plan and the first complete analysis of artifact distributions. Clear spatial structure of activities within the ring-shaped site plan provides a window on social contexts that are also visible in smaller Paleoindian settlements. , RésuméLas agregaciones sociales de gran amplitud suelen considerarse como los eventos de mayor organización entre los grupos cazadores recolectores. El sitio paleoindio Bull Brook, situado Ipswich, Massachusetts, Estados Unidos, representa el testimonio más evidente de este tipo de agregación en América del Norte. Bull Brook está constituido por 36 aglomeraciones diferenciadas de artefactos, organizadas de forma circular. Un grupo de arqueólogos amateurs rescataron el sitio durante los años 1950, considerándolo producto de una ocupación única. Inicialmente, los arqueólogos profesionales rechazaron esta hipótesis y, aunque posteriormente la aceptaron, el sitio nunca fue examinado de modo sistemático. Una reciente investigación de Bull Brook apoya la hipótesis de una sola ocupación. Se presenta en este trabajo una nueva cartografía reconstruida del sitio y un primer análisis general de la distribución de los artefactos. Resulta claramente observable la figura circular de la estructura espacial de las actividades. Tal tipo de estructura ofrece una visión de la organización social paleoindia que, asimismo, se puede encontrar en los sitios paleoindios más pequeños.

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Research works printed but not linked: 55

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Related

Authors
Robinson, B. S., Ort, J. C., Eldridge, W. A., Burke, A. L., & Pelletier, B. G.
Affiliations
  • University of Maine (US)
  • Peabody Essex Museum (US)
  • Université de Montréal (CA)
Venue
American Antiquity
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Published
2009-07
Volume
74
Issue
3
Pages
423-447
ISSN
  • 0002-7316 (ISSN-L)
  • 2325-5064
DOI
10.1017/s0002731600048691
OpenAlex
W54689575
Semantic Scholar
c9608ba4f58c23d11c3cdb47ecb76e6d899cc116
Cited by
95
References
89
Citations by year
2025: 1 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 2
FWCI
11.26
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified, 2760 d)
Locations
American Antiquity (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Anthropology › Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology › Archaeological and Geological Studies
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
Keywords
Paleoindian, mobile hunter-gatherers, artifact distribution, social environment, Ipswich, Massachusetts

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