Taxonomic identification of archaeofauna relies on techniques and anatomical traits that should be valid, reliable, and usable, but which are rarely tested. Identification protocols (techniques and anatomical traits), particularly those used to distinguish taxa of similar size and morphology, should be rigorously tested to ensure a solid interpretive foundation. Blind testing of a protocol for identifying stylohyoid bones of North American artiodactyls was performed by three analysts who independently employed the protocol to identify 77 anatomically complete specimens of known taxonomic identity, representing 54 individuals and 11 species. Identifications were identical in 89% of cases and in conflict in 3% of cases. The remainder involved differences in resolution; two analysts identified specimens to species, whereas the third identified specimens to more general taxonomic groups. Inter-analyst variability in identification was a result of differences in protocol application. Identifications were consistent with known taxon in 92%–96% of cases. Results indicate that the protocol is valid, reliable, and usable, and it can be applied to archaeological specimens with confidence. Testing of other identification criteria employed by zooarchaeologists is encouraged.

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The story of North American dam building is incomplete without the United States' Caribbean territories because the motivations and consequences of building dams there were different from on the mainland. Between 1910 and 1914, the Puerto Rican Irrigation Service built three large dams in the island's south-east to irrigate canefields owned by North American sugar companies. The water harnessed by the South Coast Irrigation Project (SCIP) doubled sugar yields in its district in the decades following the project's completion, generating huge profits for North American sugar interests. However, the sugar boom did not lead to sustained economic growth on the island and did little to increase the standard of living for many Puerto Rican fieldworkers and their families. The project also brought a bumper crop of unforeseen environmental consequences. North American engineers underestimated the vagaries of Puerto Rico's climate. Droughts and extended dry periods led to water shortages that continually menaced irrigation. Stormy weather created another unanticipated problem for the dams. Hurricanes and heavy rains in the mountains north of the sugar lands contributed to high erosion rates that accelerated sediment accumulation in the reservoirs and reduced their storage capacity. Together, drought and siltation threatened to render the dams obsolete. Hydroelectric turbines, installed as an incidental part of the project, provided affordable electricity that powered groundwater pumps to make up for surface water shortages. Groundwater saved the sugar boom, but sediments continued to build in reservoirs, an enduring legacy of US imperialism that is expensive to mitigate. The SCIP preserved socioeconomic and racial inequalities, but re-engineered the island's hydrosphere, turning the parched south-east into a giant canefield and its rivers into repositories for sediments.

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