This article explores forensic anthropological and bioarchaeological publishing patterns in the American Anthropologist (n.s.). Early contributions by Harris Hawthorne Wilder on both subjects are considered in detail, including previously unrecognized discussions of taphonomic variables. Articles on forensic anthropology in the American Anthropologist appear only during the first four decades of publication. While relatively well represented in early issues, bioarchaeological articles decrease in number over time. Comparative data from six other journals suggest that their presence has had a profound effect on the American Anthropologist. The impact of the "new" physical anthropology on publishing patterns in bioarchaeology is also assessed. [

The issue of time remains a crucial one in Lower Illinois Valley archaeology, and key problems remain unresolved. In this paper, new radiocarbon assays and published dates are used to test hypotheses concerning intra-site bluff top mound chronologies, timing and structure of valley settlement, and the emergence of regional symbolic communities during the Middle Woodland period (ca. 50 cal B.C.-cal A.D. 400). We show that within sites Middle Woodland mounds were constructed first on prominent, distal bluff ridges and subsequently in less-visible spaces, though additional dates are needed to fully understand intra-site chronology. Our analyses generally support previous studies suggesting a north-to-south settlement trajectory of the valley, though habitation site dates indicate a more complicated pattern of regional occupation that has yet to be fully explicated. In addition, floodplain regional symbolic communities also emerged along a north-to-south pattern, though not as rapidly as bluff crest mounds. Importantly, results indicate future areas of research necessary to elucidate regional chronology, resettlement of the valley, and community interactions.

Archaeologists from the Center for American Archeology (CAA) in Kampsville, Illinois, are engaged in a program to test the potential for ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistance tomography (ERT) to effectively document the internal structure of a variety of Middle (ca.2200–1550 B.P.) and Late Woodland (ca.1550–950 B.P.) mounds in the Lower Illinois River Valley (LIV). This project, embedded within ongoing CAA regional research efforts and the Arizona State University Kampsville Field School, demonstrates that both GPR and ERT permit the identification and measurement of significant internal mound structures. Key structural elements can be confidently identified in the geophysical data from the five test mounds, and excavation results can be conclusively linked with results of excavation in mounds that have been tested. This study opens the way for the development of a set of procedures for a regional research initiative in the LIV to understand structural variation between Middle and Late Woodland mounds using ground-based remote sensing methods as a primary source of data and thus minimizing invasive and destructive investigation techniques.

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