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Economic Organization and Settlement Hierarchies Ceramic Production and Exchange Among the Hohokam
Karen Harry
ISBN: 0-89789-911-3
ISBN-13: 978-0-89789-911-6
280 pages
Praeger Publishers
Publication: 10/30/2003
List Price: $79.95 (UK Sterling Price: £55.95)
Discount Price: $39.98 Sale Price for U.S. Customers Only. Save 50%. Ends 12/31/2009.
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects:
Description: The economic organization of two Hohokam communities, Marana and Los Robles, is studied here by examining the production and distribution of ceramics. The author looks at the degree of integration or interaction among residents of a single community, the relationship of community inhabitants with people living outside the community, and the significance of site hierarchies and differentially distributed artifacts. The study demonstrates that the economic organization of middle-range societies cannot be adquately interpreted using neo-evolutionary models, which assume a direct correlation between political organization, social complexity, and the organization of craft production and distribution.

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
About the Author: KAREN HARRY is Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Ethnic Studies at the University of Nevada.
LCC Class: 979
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