The Death of Owasco—Redux
| Title | The Death of Owasco—Redux | 
|---|---|
| Publication Type | Book Chapter | 
| Year of Publication | 2011 | 
| Authors | J. Hart | 
| Editors | C. Rieth, J. Hart | 
| Keywords | archaeological systmatics, New York, Owasco | 
| Book Title | Current Research in New York State Archaeology: A.D. 700-1300 | 
| Issue Number | 2 | 
| Pagination | 95-108 | 
| Publisher | The University of the State of New York | 
| City | Albany, New York | 
| Abstract | Owasco is a culture-historic taxon originally defined by Arthur C. Parker and later refined by William A. Ritchie in the first half of the twentieth century. This taxon was at the heart of a debate on northern Iroquoian origins in the 1990s and early 2000s. In a 2003 article Brumbach and I announced “The Death of Owasco” based on an analysis of the histories of the traits used to establish the boundary between Owasco culture and the earlier Point Peninsula culture. Here I review the research on these traits since that publication that indicate an even more extended and complex set of independent histories. I reiterate the need for archaeologists to move away from culture-historic taxa as units of analysis, interpretation, and summary. | 
 
    