Bamforth, Douglas

Research

research overview

I work on the archaeology of the North American Great Plains, emphasizing the very early (Paleoindian) and recent (Plains village) occupations. Much of my work focuses on the interactions between ancient humans and their environments, and on technology. From 2005 to 2015, I ran a field program in northwestern Nebraska, focused on Ceramic Period (particularly Plains Village) sites along the Pine Ridge near Chadron. I am now working on a larger field program focused on Plains Village sites dated to the 13th and 14th centuries in northeastern Nebraska. These sites appear to mark a major social change on the Central Plains leading to the modern Pawnee and Arikara nations.

keywords

Great Plains, Paleoindian, Plains Village, stone tools, human ecology

Publications

selected publications

book
- The Archaeology of the North American Great Plains 2021
- Archaeological Perspectives on Warfare on the Great Plains 2018
- The Allen Site: A Paleoindian Camp in Southwestern Nebraska. Ed. Bamforth, Douglas. 2007
- Ecology and Human Organization on the Great Plains 1988
chapter
- Where Are the Activity Areas? An Example at the Allen Site. 217-237. 2022
- DIVERSITY, ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE, AND EXTERNAL CONNECTION: THE PLAINS ARCHAIC, 6900 BC TO 600 BC. 102-151. 2021
- MOUNDS, POTS, PIPES, AND BISON: THE PLAINS WOODLAND PERIOD, 600 BC TO AD 950. 152-194. 2021
- ONE PROMISE KEPT: THE COLONIAL ERA, AD 1500 TO THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. 341-385. 2021
- PALEOINDIAN HUNTERS (AND GATHERERS): 10,800 TO 6900 BC. 69-101. 2021
journal article
- On the (Non-)Scalability of Target Media for Evaluating the Performance of Ancient Projectile Weapons. Open Archaeology. 2023
- Thirteenth and fourteenth century ceramic decoration and social groups in the central great Plains. Plains anthropologist. 3-37. 2023
- Mortars, maize, and Central Plains tradition farmers. Plains anthropologist. 348-372. 2021
- Bayesian analysis of the chronology of the Lynch site (25BD1) and comparisons to the Central Plains Tradition and Central Plains Oneota. Plains anthropologist. 217-241. 2021
- Chipped Stone Technological Organization: Central Place Foraging and Exchange on the Northern Great Plains.. American Antiquity. 210-211. 2021

editor of

book
- The Allen Site: A Paleoindian Camp in Southwestern Nebraska 2007
chapter
- What do we know about warfare on the Great Plains. 1-36. 2018
journal article
- Introduction: Archaeological approaches to lithic production skill and craft learning. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory. 1-27. 2008

Teaching

courses taught

ANTH 2200 - The Archaeology of Human History
Primary Instructor - Fall 2018 / Spring 2020 / Summer 2020 / Fall 2020 / Fall 2021 / Spring 2023 / Spring 2024 / Summer 2024
Where do we come from? This course provides a brief introduction to the practice of archaeology and then emphasizes the evidence for major events/transitions in human history over the last 2.5 million years. Required for ANTH majors.
ANTH 4020 - Explorations in Anthropology
Primary Instructor - Spring 2022 / Fall 2023
Special topics in cultural and physical anthropology, as well as archaeology. Check with the department for semester offerings. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours. Same as ANTH 5020.
ANTH 4270 - Plains Archaeology
Primary Instructor - Spring 2018 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2023 / Fall 2024
Archaeological evidence for Native American ways of life on the North American Great Plains from the initial peopling of the region into the 19th century. Recommended prerequisite: ANTH 2200. Same as ANTH 5270.
ANTH 4340 - Archaeological Method and Theory
Primary Instructor - Fall 2022
Surveys archaeological theories and methods within the context of the history of archaeology. Includes archaeological approaches to data recovery, analysis, and interpretation as well as an overview of cultural resources management and ethical issues in contemporary archaeology. Recommended prerequisites: ANTH 2200 and students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).
ANTH 4350 - Archaeological Field and Laboratory Research
Primary Instructor - Summer 2019 / Summer 2022 / Summer 2023
Students participate in archaeological field research or conduct laboratory analysis of archaeological materials and data. Students work with faculty on archaeological research projects with a field or lab focus, depending on the project undertaken. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours. Recommended prerequisites: ANTH 2200 and students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors). Same as ANTH 5350.

ANTH 4380 - Lithic Analysis and Replication
Primary Instructor - Spring 2022
Uses diversity of approaches to the analysis of ancient stone tools, including fracture mechanics, lithic technology, materials, heat treatment and functional analysis. Percussion and pressure-flaking experiments are performed. Recommended prerequisite: ANTH 2200. Same as ANTH 5380.

ANTH 4390 - Research Methods in Archaeology I
Primary Instructor - Summer 2019
Method and theory of archaeology, emphasizing the interpretation of materials and data and the relationship of archaeology to other disciplines. Recommended prerequisite: ANTH 2200. Instructor consent required. Same as ANTH 5390.

ANTH 5020 - Explorations in Anthropology
Primary Instructor - Spring 2022
Special topics in cultural and physical anthropology, as well as archaeology. Check with the department for semester offerings. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours. Same as ANTH 4020.

ANTH 5270 - Plains Archaeology
Primary Instructor - Spring 2018 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2023
Archaeological evidence for Native American ways of life on the North American Great Plains from the initial peopling of the region into the 19th century. Same as ANTH 4270.

ANTH 5380 - Lithic Analysis and Replication
Primary Instructor - Spring 2022
Uses diversity of approaches to the analysis of ancient stone tools, including fracture mechanics, lithic technology, materials, heat treatment and functional analysis. Percussion and pressure-flaking experiments are performed. Same as ANTH 4380.

ANTH 5455 - Epistemology in Archaeology
Primary Instructor - Spring 2021 / Spring 2024
Examines the logic of scientific inference in general and important issues in inference in archaeology specifically. It focuses on the fundamental problem of arguing from evidence based on the things people left behind to the lives those people led, the fundamental problem in archaeology. We examine general topics to start, including analytic bias, constructing and borrowing theory, and the development of archaeological interpretation over time, using recent and older literature. We then turn to analysis of published case studies and finish with cases from specific research topics the students are working on. Previously offered as a special topics course.

ANTH 7030 - Seminar: Archaeology
Primary Instructor - Spring 2019
Intensive examination of selected theoretical or methodological topics in archaeology. Topics vary with current research emphasis. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours.

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Background

education and training

Ph.D., University of California-Santa Barbara 1986
M.A., University of California-Santa Barbara 1981
B.A., University of Pennsylvania 1978

Other Profiles

ORCID iD

http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3362-7873

VIVO

Positions

Research Areas