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Ancient Starch Research Robin Torrence and Huw Barton (eds). Walnut Creek: Left Coast Press, 2006. 256 pp., 157 illustrations, $69.95 (hardcover).

Immunological or blood protein analysis is a method for extracting and identifying ancient animal proteins preserved within microfractures of stone tools or other artifacts. Cross-over immunoelectrophoresis (CIEP) has been applied successfully in the analysis and interpretation of protein residues on archaeological materials for more than 25 years. Here, we report the results of CIEP on a sample of 11 Early Archaic hafted hifaces and one Clovis hafted biface recovered from the Fort Bragg military installation in the North Carolina Sandhills. Four of the 12 artifacts produced positive reactions to available antigens. These reactions include Galliformes (i.e., quail, grouse, or other gallinaceous fowl) on a large Clovis hafted biface, cat on a Hardaway Side-Notched hafted biface, deer and rabbit from a Big Sandy/Rowan hafted biface, and, perhaps most notably, bovine from a Hardaway-Dalton hafted biface. The identification of bovine (presumably B. bison) on a Hardaway-Dalton is particularly interesting given its context from site 3 1HK118 (Sicily), a large lithic scatter that has produced numerous Paleoindian and Early Archaic tools and sits along the spine of the major watershed divide of Fort Bragg. While additional immunological analyses are needed to verify this finding, the implications of bison hunting may be significant for understanding Early Archaic settlement. Likewise, the association of gallinaceous fowl with Clovis highlights the findings of other immunological studies and suggests that a broad range of animal species was targeted by Clovis hunters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]