Determinants of assemblage variation in New England prehistory: Environment, subsistence economies, site activities, or cultural tradition?

In recent years assumptions and procedures basic to the pre­ historian concerning the definition and interpretation of arti­fact assemblages have been questioned. Debate first centred on the validity of the concept of the archaeological culture as de­ fined by Childe, and its usefulness in distinguishing ‘peoples in prehistory’. It was argued that the distinct associations of arti­facts thought to be the material traces of distinct societies could be interpreted also as reflecting certain patterns of eco­nomic activity, or of behaviour. ...