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Economic Organization and Settlement Hierarchies Ceramic Production and Exchange Among the Hohokam
Karen Harry
Book Code: H911
ISBN: 0-89789-911-3
ISBN-13: 978-0-89789-911-6
280 pages, photos
Praeger Publishers
Publication: 10/30/2003
List Price: $79.95 (UK Sterling Price: £44.95)
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects:
Description: Although much has been written about the economic organization of prehistoric settlement hierarchies, nearly all studies have based their conclusions on indirect evidence, such as settlement patterns and artifact distributions. In this study, economic organization is evaluated directly. Using compositional data obtained from the chemical and mineralogical analysis of decorated ceramics from the Hohokam communities of Marana and Los Robles, three issues are examined: (1) the degree of integration of interaction between residents of a single community; (2) the relationship of community inhabitants with people living outside the community; and (3) the significance of site hierarchies and differentially distributed artifacts. Through the investigation of these issues several contributions are made to the understanding of hierarchically organized settlement communities. Perhaps most importantly, the study demonstrates that differential distributions of artifacts need not indicate elite-controlled production and distribution. In addition, the importance of using direct evidence for modeling prehistoric economic organization is illustrated, rather than relying on indirect measures such as settlement patterns. This study will be of interest to anyone studying prehistoric settlement hierarchies, the organization of craft production and distribution in middle-range societies, and ceramic production and exchange. The author's conclusions add to a growing body of data indicating that middle-range societies cannot be easily categorized as either "egalitarian" or "complex," as neo-evolutionary models would suggest. Instead, this study demonstrates that substantial variability can exist in the way that such societies are economically, socially, and politically organized, and that historical perspective must be incorporated into the interpretation of prehistoric communities if we are to understand why they were organized the way that they were.
Table of Contents:
  • Introduction
  • Research Setting
  • Modeling the Economic Organization of Multi-Site Communities
  • Mineralogical Analyses
  • Chemical Analyses
  • Patterns of Ceramic Production, Distribution, and Consumption in the Study Region
  • Understanding Settlement Communities
  • Appendix 1: Petrographic and Qualitative Analyses by J. Heidke and M. Wiley
  • Appendix 2: Blind Tests of the Methods Used to Make Petrographic Assignments
  • Appendix 3: Addendum to Petrographic and Qualitative Analyses by J. Heidke et al.
  • Appendix 4: Chemical Analysis Methods
  • Appendix 5: Mahalanobis Probabilities of Group Membership for Sherds
  • References Cited
  • Index
LC Card Number: 2002070867
LCC Class: E99
Dewey Class: 979
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