The Social Construction Of Communities: Agency, Structure, And Identity In The Prehispanic Southwest

SocialConstructionPODLITH.qxd 6/3/08 3:42 PM Page 1 “The authors of The Social Construction of Communities raise the right questions as they attempt to break with the ecofunctionalist models of past decades. Southwest archaeologists will find the volume’s substantive, synthetic discussions of recent research to be particularly useful.” —Ruth Van Dyke, Colorado College The Social Construction of Communities draws on the archaeology of the southwestern United States to examine how communities are created through social interaction. The archaeological record of the Southwest is unparalleled in many respects, including its precise dating, exceptional preservation, unusually large number of sites, millennia-long occupation, intensive research, detailed environmental reconstructions, and the link between ancestral and modern Pueblo people. Taking advantage of that rich archaeological record, the contributors present case studies of the Mesa Verde, Rio Grande, Kayenta, Mogollon, and Hohokam regions. Each case study draws on a wide range of archaeological data to tease out the details of social interaction that result in the social construction of communities. Modern social theory is used to examine each case, producing an enhanced understanding of the ancient Southwest, a new appreciation for the ways in which humans construct communities and transform society, and an expanded theoretical discussion of the foundational concepts of modern social theory. Contributors James R. Allison, Jeffrey J. Clark, Michelle Hegmon, J. Brett Hill, Kristin A. Kuckelman, Patrick D. Lyons, Tessie Naranjo, Scott G. Ortman, Timothy R. Pauketat, Elizabeth M. Perry, James M. Potter, Susan C. Ryan, Gregson Schachner, James E. Snead, Mark D. Varien, Thomas D. Yoder Mark D. Varien is director of research at the Crow Canyon Archaeological Research Center and the author of Sedentism and Mobility in a Social Landscape: Mesa Verde and Beyond (1999). James M. Potter is the senior scientist in archaeology at SWCA, Inc., and author of Prehistory in West Prescott, Arizona (2005). For orders and information please contact the publisher AltaMira Press A Division of Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. 1-800-462-6420 • www.altamirapress.com Cover photo: Tse-Ping. Clay sculpture (1991) by Roxanne Swentzell. From the permanent collection of the Heard Museum, Phoenix, Arizona. Photograph by Craig Smith. Used with permission of the Heard Museum and Roxanne Swentzell. THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF COMMUNITIES “This volume is an admirable combination of social theory and substantive results that redefines how archaeologists look at past communities. Although the case studies are from the American Southwest, they have broad applicability to many archaeological regions and should serve as important sources for agency-oriented approaches in archaeology.” —Barbara J. Mills, University of Arizona VARIEN AND POTTER Archaeology | Native American Studies Archaeology in Society Series Editors: Ian Hodder and Robert W. Preucel THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF COMMUNITIES AGENCY, STRUCTURE, AND IDENTITY IN THE PREHISPANIC SOUTHWEST ISBN-13: 978-0-7591-1008-3 ISBN-10: 0-7591-1008-5 EDITED BY MARK D. VARIEN AND JAMES M. POTTER The Social Construction of Communities ARCHAEOLOGY IN SOCIETY SERIES SERIES EDITORS Ian Hodder, Stanford University Robert W. Preucel, University of Pennsylvania In recent decades, archaeology has expanded beyond a narrow focus on economics and environmental adaptation to address issues of ideology, power, and meaning. These t