Marking Places in the Southern Black Hills: A Preliminary Analysis

The purpose of this study is to (1) assess what situational factors are associated with a prehistorically occupied site that make it amenable to contemporary marking or the target of firearm discharge; and (2) to ascertain how the morphology and technique used in recent markings varies with these settings. This study is therefore not focused on interpreting use of prehistoric sites in the recent past but rather to initiate an effort to categorize variation in observations about contemporary activities and to derive testable predictions about future behavior at these places. Also, results of 2 this study permit questions to be posed that, although more broad in scope, lend themselves to potential empirical research.