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Much of what is known regarding Historic period Native American communities is based on studying documents that were written by non-indigenous peoples. However, archaeological excavations in a portion of the Blackwater Village within the Gila River Indian Community provide another perspective on Native American life ways within south-central Arizona during the late 1800s. The latter nineteenth century was a pivotal time for the Akimel O’Odham (i.e., Pima) who have long lived within the Phoenix Basin, and they experienced dramatic changes in their subsistence strategies, settlement patterns, craft production, and other cultural practices during this time. These recent investigations demonstrate that the Akimel O’Odham were not passive recipients of Euroamerican culture, and instead they chose to adopt some aspects of non-native practices while at the same time retaining important traditions. As a result, the Akimel O’Odham have successfully maintained their society in the face of tremendous hardships, and Blackwater Village remains a vibrant settlement to this day.

•Rio Grande lithics and ceramics found in the Phoenix Basin of Arizona.•In aggregate, the evidence suggests a site unit intrusion of Eastern Puebloan people.•The Eastern Puebloan diaspora may have been greater than previously known.•Extensive population relocations occurred during CE 1680 Pueblo Revolt.•These migrations resulted in widespread changes throughout the Southwest.

Why were stone projectile point blade margins serrated in some circumstances and not others? Carefully controlled experiments reported here are used to quantify the effects of this attribute on projectile performance. This research suggests that serration does not substantially alter point performance, and this characteristic may therefore vary independently of function. These results in conjunction with patterning in archeological data suggest that point blade traits including serration served as active symbols of sociocultural group membership in some areas, such as the Phoenix Basin in Southern Arizona.

A dipeptidyl carboxypeptidase activity in the Dunning rat prostate tumor was characterized. This enzyme demonstrated the most prominent properties of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE): that is, it was stimulated by NaCl and Co 2+ and was potently inhibited by captopril. The enzyme solubilized by Triton X-100 had a molecular mass of 110 kDa as determined by gel filtration chromatography. The specific activity of ACE did not change with castration, indicating that ACE activities are not controlled by androgen. The role of ACE in the prostate and its tumors is not understood, but the ability of this enzyme to hydrolyze a number of bioactive peptides suggests that it may function in controlling the molecular forms or activity of regulatory peptides.

ABSTRACTResults of recent investigations at the Goat Hill site (AZ CC: 1: 28 [ASM]), a 35-room masonry pueblo with a central plaza and D-shaped kiva, are summarized. The migration of Kayenta-Tusayan groups during the late thirteenth century is briefly discussed. The argument is presented that the inhabitants of the Goat Hill site were Kayenta-Tusayan immigrants who left northeastern Arizona in the mid-to late thirteenth century and occupied Goat Hill from about A.D. 1275 to 1325. Other topics addressed include methods of dating the site occupation, site demography, implications of the ceramic assemblage, and abandonment of the site.

Several proteolytic enzymes are involved in mediating the regression of the prostate gland following castration. A previous study showed that plasminogen activator activities are elevated only in the ventral lobe by castration in the rat. Since matrix metalloproteases represent a different class of protease that degrade extracellular matrix, this study examined their activities in the lateral, dorsal, and anterior lobes of the rat in response to androgen deprivation. The results indicate that, in contrast to plasminogen activators, metalloprotease activities are increased in the lateral, dorsal, and anterior lobes following orchiectomy. This suggests that differences in regulation of certain proteases by androgens may occur in individual prostatic lobes.