252 A merican Anthropologist [69, 19671

closely related subjects such as Pleistocene stratig- raphy and the study of ancient soils and pollens. A number of the papers, such as those on the Indus Valley civilization and on the Iron Age, provide ex- tremely useful factual summaries of the present state of knowledge on these subjects. B. K. Thapar’s “Neolithic Problem in India” goes further than this with a short but lucid discussion of the regional dif- ferences and probable origins of Indian Neolithic cultures. The paper “Mesolithic Phase in the Pre- history of India” also puts together and discusses a great deal of interesting material, but by constantly drawing upon north European models, both for ter- minology and a t the level of general interpretation, it fails to get the Indian picture into focus. All the more welcome therefore is the independent, objec- tive approach of Vihnu Mittre and R. V. Joshi in the paper “Some Problems Concerning Pleistocene Stratigraphy of India with Remarks on Pollen Stratigraphy.” They insist that the Indian Stone Age should be studied on the basis of internal evi- dence and that prehistorians should “guard against the approach which is largely based upon fitting facts discovered elsewhere into the stratigraphy of India”-this is l i e a breath of fresh air. They go on to outline how this might be done in the primarily tropical environment of India by means of extensive study of sea levels and river deposits, together with pollen stratigraphy, as a means of working out past climatic changes. One sincerely hopes they will be able to carry through their plans. This volume will be of value to anyone who wants to keep abreast of recent developments in any branch of Indian prehis- tory.

The second volume under review is an account of the excavation of a Neolithic site in South India. The excavation was a small one (more extensive excava- tions have since heen carried out there), but it was well planned and executed, and the finds are rich. The site is one of a large group that constitute the southern Neolithic culture of India, and the findings confirm and enlarge the existing picture of the cul- ture as a whole. The inclusion of three radiocarbon dates as a postscript adds greatly to the interest of the whole monograph; they show that the occupa- tion deposits excavated correspond to the upper Neolithic and the immediately subsequent period recorded previously a t other sites in the region. For the first time the excavators were able to uncover complete Neolithic house floors. These show that the houses, which were built on terraces on the hillside, were circular, with the roofs supported upon wooden posts and the walls of wattle and daub above stone footings. This has since been confirmed by excava- tions at other Neolithic sites of the same group. This is a thoroughly competent excavation report, on which the authors are to be congratulated.

The Aniateirr Archaeologist’s Handbook. MAURICE ROBBINS with MARY B. IRVING. New York:

Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1966. xiv, 273 p11 , appendices, bibliography, glossary, index. $0.05

Reviewed by D,wm SANGI+.P, iValiono1 Jfuseiwi 01 Canada

Robbins and Irving have made a significant con- tribution to the literature designed to guide the amateur and beginning archeologist. From the intro- duction on, throughout the handhook, the authors stress the importance of the associations of the arti- facts and the need for meticulous excavation and observation. Following the introductory statements is a series of chapters sketching the glacial sequence and North American prehistory, the discovery and recording of archeological sites, :I discussion of some of the artifact classes likely to be encountered, and some advice on organization and preparation of an excavation. The concluding chapters are more tech- nical: a discussion of soils and their formation, de- tails of site excavation, equipment required, record- ing of data, dating of sites, and care and restoration of specimens. A final chapter outlines the procedure for producing a final report on an excavation. There are five appendices listing sites open to the public, amateur archeological societies, museums and col- lections, universities offering instruction in arche- ology, and some antiquity laws. The volume ends with a glossary of commonly used terms and an ex- tensive bibliography, some of it annotated.

Professional archeologists may not all agree with some of the authors’ prehistory, especially the table on p. 24, which indicates Early Mississippian start- ing at A.D. 1 and Hohokani and Mogollon being “destroyed by nomadic tribes in 14th century.” Ad- vice such as “most test excavation is a waste of timc and effort” (p. 113) is consonant with the philosophy of total site excavation. The volume is evidently written primarily for the northeastern amateur archeologist, and nearly all illustrations of technique are drawn from the senior author’s quite consider- able experience in this geographical area.

A serious oversight in this handbook is the almost complete divorce of the amateur and the profes- sional. There are certain types of sites (burial mounds, especially) that Robbins suggests amateurs avoid, but there is little discussion of the amateur’s role in the discipline of archeology generally and of some of the possible ways in which joint cooperation between serious and dedicated amateur groups and professional archeologists can be rewarding to all in- volved.

The .4 tnaleur Archaeologist’s Ilandbook has much solid and worthwhile advice to offer the nonprofes- sional excavator. The constant admonitions to dig for associations and not merely for specimens, the emphasis on meticulous excavations and recording and on the moral responsibility to report one’s find- ings, are clearly stated and appreciated. Robbins’ and Irving’s writing style is clear, and the illustra- tions and charts informative. Amateur archeologists

Book Reviews 25.3

could make significant contributions to North Amer- ican prehistory by following many of Kobbins’ sug- gestions and by studying selected items from the ex- tensive bibliography.

-4 rchaeologicd Survey Annird Report, Volunie 7, 1965. DONALD S. MILLER, ed. Los Angeles: University of California, Department of Anthro- pology, 1965. xviii, 410 pp., appendix, bibliog- raphies, biography of authors, figures, maps, plates, tables. $4.00 (paper).

Reviewed by HAL EBERHART, California Slate College at Los Arzgeles

With this issue of the Report, the UCLA Archaeo- logical Survey continues the service of presenting in a single volume not only a summary of its year’s ac- tivities but a number of contributed papers as well. The current volume, with format slightly changed from previous years, may be divided into three parts. In the preliminary pages, Survey Director James R. Sackett reviews recent accomplishments of the Survey. Among these are 51 field projects carried out from January 1, 1963 to October 31, 1965 in- volving a total of 5,179 man-days. The files of the Survey as of the latter date contained records of 6,728 sites, mostly in California.

The second portion of the volume contains six articles that deal in some way with the Chumash. Freddie Curtis challenges conclusions presented by one of her co-authors (Roger C. Owen) in a site re- port published in the preceding volume of this series. Principally, she attacks Owen’s contention that the Glen Annie Canyon Site near Santa Barbara, dated by radiocarbon a t 6380 (+120) to 7270 (f120) B.P., was a camp visited only temporarily by its nomadic Milling Stone Horizon occupants. Curtis argues that the environment and technology of the period were adequate to support a small, permanent village here and, by implication, a t certain other favorably situated coastal Milling Stone Horizon stations. M. A. Glassow presents a very full report of a late cave site situated about 15 miles from the ocean near the eastern border of Chumash territory. Fish remains from the site are discussed in an ap- pendix by W. I. Follett. William M. Harrison re- ports on the excavation of the historic component of a stratified site near Santa Barbara and descrihes most of the artifacts found therein. He breaks the Historic Period into Mission (1782-ca. 1840) and Pre-Mission (1542-1782) phases. Richard V. Hum- phrey presents a note narrating the rediscovery and excavation of the Christian cemetery a t La Purisima Mission in Lompoc. Only a portion of the graveyard was dug, disclosing badly disintegrZted remains and few artifacts. Lawrence Dawson and James Deetz discuss Chumash basketry and describe and illus- trate nearly half of the approximately 200 Chumash baskets known to exist. Louise Gardner gives us a short ethnography of the 40 descendants of Santa

Ynez Chumash who now live on Santa Ynez Ke- servation. The picture drawn is of life there in the 1960’s and discloses a culture that is basically non- Indian but that contains a few survivals, particularly in religious practices.

The final section includes six articles on a variety of topics. Frank E. Rackerby briefly discusses an archeological survey along a portion of the Chow- chilla River in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Emma Lou Davis, Delbert True, and Gene Sterud provide notes on a Parker Red-on-buff ceramic jar found in San Bernardino County and attributed to the Mohave and on a California desert trail shrine composed of rocks decorated with scratched lines. Robert Sussman describes methods for sexing, aging, and estimating stature in human skeletal remains and illustrates his techniques with analysis of mate- rials from a Los Angeles County site. Marcia Bright provides a reference list of 186 radiocarbon dates relevant to California archeology. No discussion of their significance is presented. Joseph W. Michels describes events leading to establishment of the Obsidian Hydration Dating Laboratory a t UCLA, cites the laboratory’s research objectives, and sum- marizes, in a general way, the work done to date. The final article in the volume is a nontechnical survey of the sound systems of Cahuilla, Cupefio, Dieguefio, and Luiseiio by William Bright. I t is de- signed to aid the field worker in noting down native words.

Several changes have been made in this number of the series. The volumes will henceforth be issued a t the end of the calendar year rather than a t the end of the fiscal year. An attempt has been made to place illustrations as closely as possible to their text ref- erences. Illustrations are of good quality but are, for the most part, without captions, and scales usually do not appear with pictures of artifacts but are grouped on the very last page of the article in which the figures are included. Typographical and/or grammatical errors are frequent, and in some in- stances are so serious as to obscure meaning. Two plates were omitted inadvertently from Glassow’s report. The Survey’s Chief Archeologist Joseph L. Chartkoff informs me that these and an errata will be distributed to all subscribers in the near future.

The Archeology of Eagle Cove. RICHARD E. Ross. (Papers of the Texas Archeological Salvage Proj- ect, No. 7.) Austin: [The University of Texas] 1965. vii, 163 pp., 2 appendices, 34 figures, refer- ences cited, 17 tables. $1.50 (paper).

Reviewed by DAVID A. BAERREIS, University of Wisconsin

Eagle Cave is a large stratified shelter located in the Amistad Reservoir area, scheduled to be formed when a dam is constructed across the Rio Grande about 12 miles upstream from Del Rio, Texas. Ex- cavations in a small but deep portion of the deposit