The Organization of Dissonance in Adena-Hopewell Societies of Eastern North America (original) (raw)
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Archeologists investigating the emergence of large-scale societies in the past have renewed interest in examining the dynamics of cooperation as a means of understanding societal change and organizational variability within human groups over time. Unlike earlier approaches to these issues, which used models designated voluntaristic or managerial, contemporary research articulates more explicitly with frameworks for cooperation and collective action used in other fields, thereby facilitating empirical testing through better definition of the costs, benefits, and social mechanisms associated with success or failure in coordinated group action. Current scholarship is nevertheless bifurcated along lines of epistemology and scale, which is understandable but problematic for forging a broader, more transdisciplinary field of cooperation studies. Here, we point to some areas of potential overlap by reviewing archeological research that places the dynamics of social cooperation and competition in the foreground of the emergence of large-scale societies, which we define as those having larger populations , greater concentrations of political power, and higher degrees of social inequality. We focus on key issues involving the communal-resource management of subsistence and other economic goods, as well as the revenue flows that undergird political institutions. Drawing on archeological cases from across the globe, with greater detail from our area of expertise in Mesoamerica, we offer suggestions for strengthening analytical methods and generating more transdisciplinary research programs that address human societies across scalar and temporal spectra.
2012
This research explores the changing nature of social organization associated with the growth and breakup of large nucleated hunter-gatherer winter settlements in the Mid-Fraser region of southcentral British Columbia, ca. 2000-300 cal. B.P. It uses hierarchy and heterarchy as overarching conceptual frameworks for theorizing and evaluating structures of social and political organization. Regional radiocarbon data were used to examine issues of demography and to evaluate the role of scalar stress in producing social change in these burgeoning communities. In order to explore aspects of economic practice and wealth distribution over time artifacts, fauna, and features from sixteen different housepits from five different village sites near the present-day town of Lillooet, British Columbia were analyzed. Results suggest that the villages formed around 1800 cal. B.P. and attained peak population ca. 1200 cal. B.P. The onset of the Medieval Climatic Anomaly at that time altered resource conditions, resulting in greater reliance on mammalian rather than riverine resources. Increased pressure on these resources led to the incorporation of greater amounts of small bodied mammals after 1000 cal. B.P. Apparent declining numbers of houses within large villages after 1200 cal. B.P. suggest that village abandonment began at this time, with individual families likely settling in dispersed villages. This research would not have been possible, or successful, without the help and support of a number of individuals and institutions. First and foremost, this research was funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation (Dissertation Fieldwork Grant #7788) and the Department of Anthropology, School of Graduate Studies, University of Toronto. I would like to gratefully acknowledge Arnoud Stryd, who kindly suggested I incorporate data he collected in the 1970s into this research. This easily doubled the number of housepits that I could use and contributed to many insights that would otherwise have gone unnoticed in a smaller sample. Stemming from this, I would like the acknowledge the Royal British Columbia Museum, which houses Stryd's collections, and Martina Steffan, and Grant Keddie for facilitating access to the artifacts and field notes. My time in the museum was easily one of the important and illuminating experiences of my graduate career. While I was away from my home institution I was helped and supported by a number of individuals. Primary among these is Dr. Anna Prentiss, who many years ago introduced me to the archaeology of the Plateau and who over the years has helped me in more ways than I can begin to enumerate. She also kindly permitted me to use the Bridge River data. Chuck Harris and the Social Science Research Laboratory at the University of Montana provided office space and much needed technical support. The members of the U of T Lithics Workgroup sat through several sessions of me pontificating on my theories on expedient flake tools (thanks…and sorry). But when it comes to the content herein, several individuals deserve recognition. My friend and colleague Andrew Riddle and my husband Michael Wanzenried have been constant pillars of support and allowed and even encouraged me to talk endlessly about my dissertation, a subject which decidedly does not merit so many hours of discussion. Andrew has repeatedly helped me resolve technical and methodological issues as they arose in the course of this research. Michael has helped me refine many of these ideas and allowed his mapping skills to be ruthlessly exploited in the production of many graphics. My committee members also deserve mention for without them, their keen editorial skills, and their insightful comments this document would not be what it is. Any errors herein are my own. Finally, my family has helped over the years with love, encouragement, and emotional support. I would like to dedicate this achievement to my grandmother, Arlene Harris, who has been the single most vocal advocate for education in my family and who has truly taught me what it means to have more sisu than sense. v
Square Pegs in Round Holes: Organizational Diversity Between Early Moundville and Cahokia
2006
Variation in the political economic organization of Mississippian polities has long been recognized. There have been few studies, however, that have examined these differences in any detail. We offer a comparison between Moundville and Cahokia, two of the largest and most complex Mississippian polities in the greater Southeast. Well-demarcated differences in settlement patterns, community patterns, and craft production reveal important organizational dissimilarities between Moundville and Cahokia during the early Mississippian period. By highlighting these differences we hope to problematize the overuse of societal types as a means of analyzing and comparing Mississippian polities.
Network Histories of Southern Appalachia, AD 600-1600 [DISSERTATION]
This research explores the ways that social networks articulated with major sociopolitical transformations across Southern Appalachia between AD 600 and 1600. This study focuses on the broad, regional connections between members of Southern Appalachian societies and conceptualizes social networks as forms of social capital available to actors mediating shifting political landscapes. To do so, I use a database of over 350,000 ceramic artifacts and 300 radiocarbon dates (68 of which are newly reported here) to 1) evaluate the timing and tempo of sociopolitical change, 2) identify critical historical junctures in sociopolitical timelines, 3) and explore how the structures of regional social networks articulated with these timelines over a 1,000 year period. I argue that while two critical transitions occurred across Southern Appalachia, one at roughly AD 1150 characterized by the hierarchization of political structures, and one at roughly AD 1325 characterized by the collapse of a major socio-religious center, the social networks through which Southern Appalachian societies were constituted remained unaltered. I propose that regional patterns of kinship, exchange, and communality served to mediate critical social transformations that would otherwise have generated significant amounts of social uncertainty.
2016
Chapter 1 : Introduction Mississippi period mound sites in the Southeast and the Arkansas River basin vary in the number, volume, and nature of mounds present (multi-lobed, buried structured, burial, platform), and areal extent. This variability indicates that not all mounds were constructed and utilized in the same way. Instead, it is important to recognize that smaller and larger mound sites were associated with different purposes and meaning (Blitz and Livingood 2004). There is a significant body of literature focused on the large mound centers in the Southeast (e.g., Cahokia, Moundville, Etowah, and Angel) and in the Arkansas River drainage system (e.g., Spiro, Harlan, and Norman). However, less research has been conducted on smaller mound sites in the Arkansas River valley (exceptions include the research conducted at such sites as Goforth-Saindon, Huntsville, and Reed) (Hammerstedt and Savage 2012; Kay and Sabo 2006; Kay, et al. 1989; Vogel 2005). Hammerstedt (2005a) critiqued the application of large mound center models to understand social organization and dynamics of smaller mound sites; therefore, this thesis will help broaden the research on smaller mound sites by interpreting the sociopolitical dynamics that revolved around Brackett (34CK-43), a one-mound site located in the Arkansas River valley. The Brackett Site (34CK-43): A Brief Overview Brackett is located on a high terrace between Baron Fork Creek and the Illinois River (Figures 1.1). A small portion of the site was excavated during the Depression-era by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The field crews excavated the platform mound, a Burial Area, eight structures, and other sections of the site. Since those excavations, Brackett has been discussed in the literature on the Arkansas River Basin, Mound Site Type Attributes Mound-Village Site Access Unrestricted access to residence and participation in rituals Community size Large Primary Residents Multiple families and households comprised of general community members, elites, and leaders Archaeological Correlates Primarily domestic debris, limited fineware pottery and exotic artifacts Structure Types Primarily daily-use, residential buildings Ceremonial Center Site Access Restricted access to residence and ritual participation Community size Small Primary Residents Small, circumscribed number of families, leaders, ritual specialists Archaeological Correlates Table 5.15: Count and description of artifacts found in association with Structures 5 and 6; artifact counts presented in parentheses. Catalog no. Artifact Type Count Description Ceramic 2 Plain/smoothed (2) Ceramic 1 Plain/smoothed (1) Ceramic 2 Plain/smoothed (2) Ceramic 12 Decorated unclassified (3), Plain/smoothed (9) Ceramic 1 Plain/smoothed (1) Ceramic 11 Plain/smoothed (11) Ceramic 1 Utility decorated (ridge pinched) (1) Ceramic 1 Plain/smoothed (1) Ceramic 10 Fine decorated (incised) (1), Burnished undecorated (1), Plain/smoothed (8) Ceramic 1 Plain/smoothed (1) Ceramic 1 Plain/smoothed (1) Ceramic 1 Plain/smoothed (1) Ceramic 2 Utility decorated (applique) (1), Plain/smoothed (1) Ceramic 2 Plain/smoothed (1) Ceramic 1 Plain/smoothed (1)
This volume challenges previous views of social organization focused on elites by offering innovative perspectives on "power from below." Using a variety of archaeological, anthropological, and historical data to question traditional narratives of complexity as inextricably linked to top-down power structures, it exemplifies how commoners have developed strategies to sustain nonhierarchical networks and contest the rise of inequalities. Through case studies from around the world - ranging from Europe to New Guinea, and from Mesoamerica to China - an international team of contributors explores the diverse and dynamic nature of power relations in premodern societies. The theoretical models discussed throughout the volume include a reassessment of key concepts such as heterarchy, collective action, and resistance. Thus, the book adds considerable nuance to our understanding of power in the past and opens new avenues of reflection that can help inform discussions about our collective present and future.