This hypothesis-oriented research paper will be your chance to apply what you have learned this
semester to a question related to hunter-gatherers within an evolutionary framework. You will write
your paper in scientific format. Note that there are many differences between scientific papers and the
typical “term paper” for, say, an English class. Your paper should be double-spaced, with 1-inch margins,
12-point font, and numbered pages. The paper must have the following components in this order:
1. Title page. This page gives the title, your name, and your affiliation (Boise State University). Your title
should be descriptive of your paper, but not too long. These are the only things that should appear on
this page.
2. Abstract. This is a self-contained paragraph that encapsulates the entire study: goals, methods,
results, and conclusions. It is normally no more than one double-spaced page and is separated from the
Introduction. While the abstract appears first, it is invariably best to write it last.
3. Introduction. This section provides a brief background to the question/problem and takes the reader
by the hand to what will be done in the paper and why it is important. This section should include a
discussion of other previously conducted research that is relevant to your study. It is not the place for an
exhaustive literature review, but should situate your work in the context of what is already known and
indicate why your study was conducted. Be sure to include the question you are trying to answer, your
hypothesis that you will be testing, and why it is important. Introductions typically end with a paragraph
more or less as follows: “To test the hypothesis that…, I analyzed x data from x location.” (Note: The
introduction may be followed by a separate more detailed theoretical exposition, if needed.)
4. Materials and Methods. Describe the ethnographic studies or archaeological sites that provided your
data, including pertinent background information such as the environmental setting, cultural
background, and in the case of archaeological data, recovery methods and any dating issues, etc.
Specific taxonomic identification issues are also included in this section. Then describe the nature of the
kinds of data you gathered and how they articulate with the research question. Maps indicating the
location of the site or sites are standard in this section, if relevant.
5. Results. What happened? In this section the data are presented, summarized, and synthesized. Note
that this is NOT the place to interpret the data or draw conclusions, this section solely represents a
presentation of the data. A table including the collected data (e.g., resource return rates), is standard
and usually is presented first. What are the patterns in the data and how are they relevant to the
research questions? Graphs or other figures illustrating key trends in the data are also presented here.
You may not have had a course in statistics, but if you have, this is the place to use what you learned, or
you can consult with me for help with statistics. (Note: There may want to use several subheadings
within the general Results section.)
6. Discussion and Conclusion. You may choose to have separate discussion and conclusion sections, or
you may combine them. This section (or the discussion, if separate) begins with a concise wrap-up of the
salient results and whether or not they support the hypothesis outlined in the introduction. Start with
the simplest, most sound conclusions from the analysis. Do not begin by harping on things like small
sample size or limited scope. Be positive and sell the major impact this work has for our knowledge of
the topic that was studied. A good closing paragraph states the strengths of your study, but also
identifies additional lines of evidence that would provide stronger tests of the hypothesis.This hypothesis-oriented research paper will be your chance to apply what you have learned this
semester to a question related to hunter-gatherers within an evolutionary framework. You will write
your paper in scientific format. Note that there are many differences between scientific papers and the
typical “term paper” for, say, an English class. Your paper should be double-spaced, with 1-inch margins,
12-point font, and numbered pages. The paper must have the following components in this order:
1. Title page. This page gives the title, your name, and your affiliation (Boise State University). Your title
should be descriptive of your paper, but not too long. These are the only things that should appear on
this page.
2. Abstract. This is a self-contained paragraph that encapsulates the entire study: goals, methods,
results, and conclusions. It is normally no more than one double-spaced page and is separated from the
Introduction. While the abstract appears first, it is invariably best to write it last.
3. Introduction. This section provides a brief background to the question/problem and takes the reader
by the hand to what will be done in the paper and why it is important. This section should include a
discussion of other previously conducted research that is relevant to your study. It is not the place for an
exhaustive literature review, but should situate your work in the context of what is already known and
indicate why your study was conducted. Be sure to include the question you are trying to answer, your
hypothesis that you will be testing, and why it is important. Introductions typically end with a paragraph
more or less as follows: “To test the hypothesis that…, I analyzed x data from x location.” (Note: The
introduction may be followed by a separate more detailed theoretical exposition, if needed.)
4. Materials and Methods. Describe the ethnographic studies or archaeological sites that provided your
data, including pertinent background information such as the environmental setting, cultural
background, and in the case of archaeological data, recovery methods and any dating issues, etc.
Specific taxonomic identification issues are also included in this section. Then describe the nature of the
kinds of data you gathered and how they articulate with the research question. Maps indicating the
location of the site or sites are standard in this section, if relevant.
5. Results. What happened? In this section the data are presented, summarized, and synthesized. Note
that this is NOT the place to interpret the data or draw conclusions, this section solely represents a
presentation of the data. A table including the collected data (e.g., resource return rates), is standard
and usually is presented first. What are the patterns in the data and how are they relevant to the
research questions? Graphs or other figures illustrating key trends in the data are also presented here.
You may not have had a course in statistics, but if you have, this is the place to use what you learned, or
you can consult with me for help with statistics. (Note: There may want to use several subheadings
within the general Results section.)
6. Discussion and Conclusion. You may choose to have separate discussion and conclusion sections, or
you may combine them. This section (or the discussion, if separate) begins with a concise wrap-up of the
salient results and whether or not they support the hypothesis outlined in the introduction. Start with
the simplest, most sound conclusions from the analysis. Do not begin by harping on things like small
sample size or limited scope. Be positive and sell the major impact this work has for our knowledge of
the topic that was studied. A good closing paragraph states the strengths of your study, but also
identifies additional lines of evidence that would provide stronger tests of the hypothesis.This hypothesis-oriented research paper will be your chance to apply what you have learned this
semester to a question related to hunter-gatherers within an evolutionary framework. You will write
your paper in scientific format. Note that there are many differences between scientific papers and the
typical “term paper” for, say, an English class. Your paper should be double-spaced, with 1-inch margins,
12-point font, and numbered pages. The paper must have the following components in this order:
1. Title page. This page gives the title, your name, and your affiliation (Boise State University). Your title
should be descriptive of your paper, but not too long. These are the only things that should appear on
this page.
2. Abstract. This is a self-contained paragraph that encapsulates the entire study: goals, methods,
results, and conclusions. It is normally no more than one double-spaced page and is separated from the
Introduction. While the abstract appears first, it is invariably best to write it last.
3. Introduction. This section provides a brief background to the question/problem and takes the reader
by the hand to what will be done in the paper and why it is important. This section should include a
discussion of other previously conducted research that is relevant to your study. It is not the place for an
exhaustive literature review, but should situate your work in the context of what is already known and
indicate why your study was conducted. Be sure to include the question you are trying to answer, your
hypothesis that you will be testing, and why it is important. Introductions typically end with a paragraph
more or less as follows: “To test the hypothesis that…, I analyzed x data from x location.” (Note: The
introduction may be followed by a separate more detailed theoretical exposition, if needed.)
4. Materials and Methods. Describe the ethnographic studies or archaeological sites that provided your
data, including pertinent background information such as the environmental setting, cultural
background, and in the case of archaeological data, recovery methods and any dating issues, etc.
Specific taxonomic identification issues are also included in this section. Then describe the nature of the
kinds of data you gathered and how they articulate with the research question. Maps indicating the
location of the site or sites are standard in this section, if relevant.
5. Results. What happened? In this section the data are presented, summarized, and synthesized. Note
that this is NOT the place to interpret the data or draw conclusions, this section solely represents a
presentation of the data. A table including the collected data (e.g., resource return rates), is standard
and usually is presented first. What are the patterns in the data and how are they relevant to the
research questions? Graphs or other figures illustrating key trends in the data are also presented here.
You may not have had a course in statistics, but if you have, this is the place to use what you learned, or
you can consult with me for help with statistics. (Note: There may want to use several subheadings
within the general Results section.)
6. Discussion and Conclusion. You may choose to have separate discussion and conclusion sections, or
you may combine them. This section (or the discussion, if separate) begins with a concise wrap-up of the
salient results and whether or not they support the hypothesis outlined in the introduction. Start with
the simplest, most sound conclusions from the analysis. Do not begin by harping on things like small
sample size or limited scope. Be positive and sell the major impact this work has for our knowledge of
the topic that was studied. A good closing paragraph states the strengths of your study, but also
identifies additional lines of evidence that would provide stronger tests of the hypothesis.This hypothesis-oriented research paper will be your chance to apply what you have learned this
semester to a question related to hunter-gatherers within an evolutionary framework. You will write
your paper in scientific format. Note that there are many differences between scientific papers and the
typical “term paper” for, say, an English class. Your paper should be double-spaced, with 1-inch margins,
12-point font, and numbered pages. The paper must have the following components in this order:
1. Title page. This page gives the title, your name, and your affiliation (Boise State University). Your title
should be descriptive of your paper, but not too long. These are the only things that should appear on
this page.
2. Abstract. This is a self-contained paragraph that encapsulates the entire study: goals, methods,
results, and conclusions. It is normally no more than one double-spaced page and is separated from the
Introduction. While the abstract appears first, it is invariably best to write it last.
3. Introduction. This section provides a brief background to the question/problem and takes the reader
by the hand to what will be done in the paper and why it is important. This section should include a
discussion of other previously conducted research that is relevant to your study. It is not the place for an
exhaustive literature review, but should situate your work in the context of what is already known and
indicate why your study was conducted. Be sure to include the question you are trying to answer, your
hypothesis that you will be testing, and why it is important. Introductions typically end with a paragraph
more or less as follows: “To test the hypothesis that…, I analyzed x data from x location.” (Note: The
introduction may be followed by a separate more detailed theoretical exposition, if needed.)
4. Materials and Methods. Describe the ethnographic studies or archaeological sites that provided your
data, including pertinent background information such as the environmental setting, cultural
background, and in the case of archaeological data, recovery methods and any dating issues, etc.
Specific taxonomic identification issues are also included in this section. Then describe the nature of the
kinds of data you gathered and how they articulate with the research question. Maps indicating the
location of the site or sites are standard in this section, if relevant.
5. Results. What happened? In this section the data are presented, summarized, and synthesized. Note
that this is NOT the place to interpret the data or draw conclusions, this section solely represents a
presentation of the data. A table including the collected data (e.g., resource return rates), is standard
and usually is presented first. What are the patterns in the data and how are they relevant to the
research questions? Graphs or other figures illustrating key trends in the data are also presented here.
You may not have had a course in statistics, but if you have, this is the place to use what you learned, or
you can consult with me for help with statistics. (Note: There may want to use several subheadings
within the general Results section.)
6. Discussion and Conclusion. You may choose to have separate discussion and conclusion sections, or
you may combine them. This section (or the discussion, if separate) begins with a concise wrap-up of the
salient results and whether or not they support the hypothesis outlined in the introduction. Start with
the simplest, most sound conclusions from the analysis. Do not begin by harping on things like small
sample size or limited scope. Be positive and sell the major impact this work has for our knowledge of
the topic that was studied. A good closing paragraph states the strengths of your study, but also
identifies additional lines of evidence that would provide stronger tests of the hypothesis.
7. Acknowledgments. This includes a set of “Thanks You”s for people who helped you in the course of
your study (and, in a real journal article, this would be where you note your funding sources).
8. References. All papers cited in the text, figures, or tables must be referenced, and no paper should be
referenced that is not cited in the paper. Failure to adhere to this indicates careless preparation! Note
the way references are cited in the AAA style guide and follow their examples precisely. References in
the text should be by name and date: (Bayham 1979). A References Cited section should be included
directly after the main text. References should be listed alphabetically by last name of the first author.
9. Figures. Figures are not interspersed throughout the paper but are included at the end. The “Figure
Captions” page comes after the references and includes all figure captions typed on the same page. See
the example below. Figure captions should be self-explanatory, meaning that the reader should be able
to decipher the figure without reading the text. Graphs should be computer generated. Each figure
(graphs, maps, photographs, etc.) should then be placed following the figure captions page on its own
page in the order in which it appears in the text. Indicate the figure number at the top of each page, but
do not include the captions.
Figure Captions
Figure 1. Map of the San Francisco Bay indicating location of the Patterson Shellmound.
Figure 2. The distribution of the lagomorph index by stratum at Sudden Shelter.
Figure 3. The relationship between the artiodactyl index and the numbers of identified specimens at the
Evans Mound.
10. Tables. Tables come after the figures, and similar to figures, each table is placed on its own page.
However, instead of a list, the (self-explanatory) captions are placed above each respective table. Tables
should also be computer generated and should not include gridlines. Make sure that the table is neatly 7. Acknowledgments. This includes a set of “Thanks You”s for people who helped you in the course of
your study (and, in a real journal article, this would be where you note your funding sources).
8. References. All papers cited in the text, figures, or tables must be referenced, and no paper should be
referenced that is not cited in the paper. Failure to adhere to this indicates careless preparation! Note
the way references are cited in the AAA style guide and follow their examples precisely. References in
the text should be by name and date: (Bayham 1979). A References Cited section should be included
directly after the main text. References should be listed alphabetically by last name of the first author.
9. Figures. Figures are not interspersed throughout the paper but are included at the end. The “Figure
Captions” page comes after the references and includes all figure captions typed on the same page. See
the example below. Figure captions should be self-explanatory, meaning that the reader should be able
to decipher the figure without reading the text. Graphs should be computer generated. Each figure
(graphs, maps, photographs, etc.) should then be placed following the figure captions page on its own
page in the order in which it appears in the text. Indicate the figure number at the top of each page, but
do not include the captions.
Figure Captions
Figure 1. Map of the San Francisco Bay indicating location of the Patterson Shellmound.
Figure 2. The distribution of the lagomorph index by stratum at Sudden Shelter.
Figure 3. The relationship between the artiodactyl index and the numbers of identified specimens at the
Evans Mound.
10. Tables. Tables come after the figures, and similar to figures, each table is placed on its own page.
However, instead of a list, the (self-explanatory) captions are placed above each respective table. Tables
should also be computer generated and should not include gridlines. Make sure that the table is neatly 7. Acknowledgments. This includes a set of “Thanks You”s for people who helped you in the course of
your study (and, in a real journal article, this would be where you note your funding sources).
8. References. All papers cited in the text, figures, or tables must be referenced, and no paper should be
referenced that is not cited in the paper. Failure to adhere to this indicates careless preparation! Note
the way references are cited in the AAA style guide and follow their examples precisely. References in
the text should be by name and date: (Bayham 1979). A References Cited section should be included
directly after the main text. References should be listed alphabetically by last name of the first author.
9. Figures. Figures are not interspersed throughout the paper but are included at the end. The “Figure
Captions” page comes after the references and includes all figure captions typed on the same page. See
the example below. Figure captions should be self-explanatory, meaning that the reader should be able
to decipher the figure without reading the text. Graphs should be computer generated. Each figure
(graphs, maps, photographs, etc.) should then be placed following the figure captions page on its own
page in the order in which it appears in the text. Indicate the figure number at the top of each page, but
do not include the captions.
Figure Captions
Figure 1. Map of the San Francisco Bay indicating location of the Patterson Shellmound.
Figure 2. The distribution of the lagomorph index by stratum at Sudden Shelter.
Figure 3. The relationship between the artiodactyl index and the numbers of identified specimens at the
Evans Mound.
10. Tables. Tables come after the figures, and similar to figures, each table is placed on its own page.
However, instead of a list, the (self-explanatory) captions are placed above each respective table. Tables
should also be computer generated and should not include gridlines. Make sure that the table is neatly 7. Acknowledgments. This includes a set of “Thanks You”s for people who helped you in the course of
your study (and, in a real journal article, this would be where you note your funding sources).
8. References. All papers cited in the text, figures, or tables must be referenced, and no paper should be
referenced that is not cited in the paper. Failure to adhere to this indicates careless preparation! Note
the way references are cited in the AAA style guide and follow their examples precisely. References in
the text should be by name and date: (Bayham 1979). A References Cited section should be included
directly after the main text. References should be listed alphabetically by last name of the first author.
9. Figures. Figures are not interspersed throughout the paper but are included at the end. The “Figure
Captions” page comes after the references and includes all figure captions typed on the same page. See
the example below. Figure captions should be self-explanatory, meaning that the reader should be able
to decipher the figure without reading the text. Graphs should be computer generated. Each figure
(graphs, maps, photographs, etc.) should then be placed following the figure captions page on its own
page in the order in which it appears in the text. Indicate the figure number at the top of each page, but
do not include the captions.
Figure Captions
Figure 1. Map of the San Francisco Bay indicating location of the Patterson Shellmound.
Figure 2. The distribution of the lagomorph index by stratum at Sudden Shelter.
Figure 3. The relationship between the artiodactyl index and the numbers of identified specimens at the
Evans Mound.
10. Tables. Tables come after the figures, and similar to figures, each table is placed on its own page.
However, instead of a list, the (self-explanatory) captions are placed above each respective table. Tables
should also be computer generated and should not include gridlines. Make sure that the table is neatly organized and that the meaning is clear to the reader.organized and that the meaning is clear to the reader.organized and that the meaning is clear to the reader.organized and that the meaning is clear to the reader.