Social Archaeology

Jiangzhai: Social and Economic Organization of a Middle Neolithic Chinese Village

by Christian Peterson

Peterson, Christian E., and Gideon Shelach. 2012. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 31:265–301.

The Early Yangshao period (5000–4000 BC) village of Jiangzhai is the most completely excavated and reported of any... more The Early Yangshao period (5000–4000 BC) village of Jiangzhai is the most completely excavated and reported of any early agricultural community in the middle reaches of northern China’s Yellow River Valley. This comprehensive dataset can better our understanding of early agricultural village societies and complex society development, especially the emergence of economic inequality. Analyses of Jiangzhai’s architectural remains and their arrangement; estimates of household population, storage capacity, and animal consumption; and analyses of household artifact assemblages are used to reconstruct the social and economic organization of this important Neolithic settlement. Our analyses suggest that differences in economic organization at the household level are responsible for patterns of intra-settlement economic differentiation previously attributed to higher-order ‘‘corporate’’ institutions. Rather than a segmental society composed of redundant homologous units, Jiangzhai displays substantial variability among residential sectors and constituent households in terms of activity emphases and surplus accumulation. Substantial intrasite variation in socioeconomic organization has previously been thought characteristic only of more complex Late Neolithic societies in the middle Yellow River Valley region.

A 12,000-year-old Shaman burial from the southern Levant (Israel)

by Natalie Munro

Grosman, L, N.D. Munro and A. Belfer-Cohen. 2008. A 12,000 year old burial from the southern Levant (Israel): a case for early shamanism. Proceedings of the Natinal Academy of Sciences. 105(46): 17665-17669

Socioeconomic Stratification in an Israelite City: Hazor VI as a Test Case, Levant XXXI (1999): 179-190

by Avraham Faust

Copyrights: Levant (Maney Publishing);
for online versions of the journal, see: www.maney.co.uk/journals/peq and
www.ingentaconnect.com/content/maney/peq

This article attempts to determine the degree of socioeconomic stratification in Stratum VI of Hazor, based mainly on... more This article attempts to determine the degree of socioeconomic stratification in Stratum VI of Hazor, based mainly on an analysis of dwellings uncovered at the site. The analysis of the structures consists of four elements which are examined in relation to each of the architectural units: 1) the area of each of the houses; 2) the quality of construction; 3) the use of common walls; 4) the location of each dwelling within the site. The combination of these components is examined in order to determine the degree of wealth and power enjoyed by the owners of the different dwellings, and it seems that the analysis shows the existence of two distinct population strata: the senior and wealthy functionaries on the one hand, and the poor on the other, and possible the existence of a (lower-) middle class.

The Israelite Village: Cultural Conservatism and Technological Innovation, Tel Aviv 32 (2005): 204-219.

by Avraham Faust

(Maney Publishing);
for online versions of the journal, see: www.maney.co.uk/journals/peq and
www.ingentaconnect.com/content/maney/peq

The dynamics of innovation and change had received a great deal of attention over the years. Many studies have... more The dynamics of innovation and change had received a great deal of attention over the years. Many studies have examined the causes and mechanisms of cultural change, as well as its consequences. Innovation, in particular, had received much attention. Using the Israelite Iron Age village as a test-case, the present paper analyzes these dynamics in a traditional society, and examines the apparent tension between conservatism and innovation within the context of Iron Age Israel.

Differences in Family Structure Between Cities and Villages in Iron Age II, Tel Aviv, 26 (1999): 233-252

by Avraham Faust

(Maney Publishing);
for online versions of the journal, see: www.maney.co.uk/journals/peq and
www.ingentaconnect.com/content/maney/peq

Social change, Social resistance. A long-term approach to the processes of transformation of social landscapes in the NW Iberian Peninsula

by Cesar Parcero-Oubiña

Draft. Co-authored with Felipe Criado-Boado. To be published in María Cruz Berrocal, Leonardo García Sanjuán and Antonio Gilman (eds.). The Prehistory of Iberia: Debating Early Social Stratification and the State. Routledge. 2012.

As the title suggests, this contribution refers to social change in the long term. However, it does not deal directly... more As the title suggests, this contribution refers to social change in the long term. However, it does not deal directly with “early social stratification and the State”, but with a prior question. We are interested in understanding how and why the conditions emerge and are established that make social complexity a viable pathway at some point. Two notions taken from the work of P. Clastres are used as theoretical guidelines: those of the undivided and the divided society. The contribution begins with some theoretical considerations about the notions of change, resistance and social division. A case study, the NW Iberian Peninsula between ca. 4500 BC and the Roman conquest, is used to build a narrative to account for which factors can deploy and extend division within a social body, or extend the indivision. The interpretive model offered for that period and area is based on tension between processes of division and resistance. It tells a long story marked by recurrent backward and forward leaps, and cyclic series, where mechanisms developed to alleviate division can also favor the expansion of social coercion and exploitation.

The Canaanite Village: Social Structure of Middle Bronze Age Rural Communities, Levant 37: 105-125.

by Avraham Faust

Copyrights: Levant (Maney Publishing);
for online versions of the journal, see: www.maney.co.uk/journals/peq and
www.ingentaconnect.com/content/maney/peq

The rural sites of the Middle Bronze Age have not received much scholarly attention. A number of sites were excavated... more The rural sites of the Middle Bronze Age have not received much scholarly attention. A number of sites were excavated over the years, however, and the accumulating data allows a discussion of Middle Bronze Age rural communities. An analysis of the archaeological evidence indicates that the villages can be divided into two main groups. An in-depth examination of the archaeological data, in light of ethnographic and historical data, suggests that these villages should be interpreted as belonging to the following types: A few villages, exhibiting a surprisingly high standard of living, should be viewed as ‘independent’ villages. Other villages were ‘owned’ by a person/family or by an institution. The latter is divided into two subtypes depending on whether the landlord was present or absent. In the first, poor dwellings were the norm, but one can identify an outstanding structure, greatly surpassing the rest, that hosted the landlord. The second type is characterized by poor standards of living throughout the site, as all the surpluses were sent outside and left the village.

Monumentality and the rise of religious authority in precontact Hawaii.

by Michael Kolb

1994. Monumentality and the rise of religious authority in precontact Hawaii. Current Anthropology 35(5):521-547.

Skull Typology of Byzantine Dogs from the Theodosius Harbour at Yenikapı, Istanbul

by Canan Cakirlar

This study presents the results of craniometric analysis of 500 Byzantine Era dog skulls from the ancient site of the... more This study presents the results of craniometric analysis of 500 Byzantine Era dog skulls from the ancient site of the Theodosius Harbour in Istanbul (modern Yenikapı neighbourhood). To determine the typology of the skulls, up to 36 craniometric measurements were taken on each specimen. Fourteen indices and ratios were calculated from the measurements. Results show that the majority (97%) of the Byzantine dogs from the Yenikapı excavations were of mesocephalic type. Only 15 of the analysed skulls (3%) were of the dolichocephalic type. Only one dog skeleton has been recovered in situ during the excavations; analysis indicates that this individual belonged to a mesocephalic type dog. Brachycephalic dog skulls were absent in the samples studied from Byzantine Yenikapı. The results give important insight in continuities and discontinuities in dog-breeding traditions from the Roman to the Byzantine Eras, and between the West and the East during Medieval times.

Entre Motocicletas y Fusiles: Las Arqueologías Radicales Anglosajona e Latinoamericana

by Randall McGuire

McGuire, Randall H. y Rodrigo Navarrete
1999 Entre Motocicletas y Fusiles: Las Arqueologías Radicales Anglosajona e Latinoamericana. Boletín de Antropología Americana. 34:89-110. 

Call for abstracts/Imperialism and Identities - news

by Marko Jankovic

The Socio-Political Development of the Late Neolithic Settlement of Okoliste/Bosnia-Hercegowina: Devolution by Transhumance?

by Johannes Müller

N. Müller-Scheeßel/R. Hofmann/J. Müller/K. Rassmann, The Socio-Political Development of the Late Neolithic Settlement of Okoliste/Bosnia-Hercegowina: Devolution by Transhumance? In: Kiel Graduate School "Human Development in Landscapes", Workshop and Session Organizers (Hrsg.), Landscapes and Human Development: The Contribution of European Archaeology. Proceedings of the International Workshop "Socio-Environmental Dynamics over the last 12,000 Years: The Creation of Landscapes (1st–4th April 2009)". Universitätsforschungen zur prähistorischen Archäologie 191 (Bonn 2010) 181-191.

Zur sozialen Organisation einer spätneolithischen Gesellschaft in Südosteuropa (5200-4400 v.Chr.)

by Johannes Müller

J. Müller/R. Hofmann/N. Müller-SCHeesseL/K. Rassmann, Zur sozialen Organisation einer spätneolithischen Gesellschaft in Südosteuropa (5200-4400 v.Chr.). In: S. Hansen/J. Müller (Hrsg.), Sozialarchäologische Perspektiven: Gesellschaftlicher Wandel 5000-1500 v. Chr. zwischen Atlantik und Kaukasus (Tagung Kiel 2007). Archäologie in Eurasien 24 (Mainz 2011) 81-106.

Fragmentación vs. integración comunal

by Felix Acuto

El Período Tardío del Noroeste Argentino ha sido caracterizado como una época de creciente complejidad, desigualdad... more El Período Tardío del Noroeste Argentino ha sido caracterizado como una época de creciente complejidad, desigualdad social y estratificación político-económica institucionalizadas. El objetivo de este artículo es discutir críticamente esta interpretación y la evidencia empleada para apoyarla. Sostengo que si abandonamos las perspectivas externas y a “vuelo de pájaro” al analizar los poblados de esta época y si nos enfocamos en las experiencias subjetivas e intersubjetivas, las prácticas y las relaciones sociales que se desarrollaban diariamente en estos lugares, entonces alcanzaremos una visión distinta de las sociedades tardías, las cuales, argumento, desarrollaron una vida social más cercana a la integración comunal que a la estratificación y segregación.

Northwestern Argentina Late Pre-Hispanic Period has been generally characterized as a time of increasing complexity, institutionalized social inequality and political-economic stratification. This article’s goal is to critically discuss this interpretation and the evidence employed to support it. I claim that if we abandon external and “bird’s-eye view” perspectives when analyzing late-period sites and if we focus on the subjective and intersubjective experiences, practices, and social relations that past people daily developed in this places, then we will be able to reach a different understanding of late-period societies, which, I argue, developed a social life that was closer to communal integration than stratification and segregation.

Le Chasséen méridional dans le Sud-Ouest de la France : signature d'un groupe humain ou diffusion d'un modèle culturel ? The Chassey culture in SW France: signature of a human group or diffusion of a cultural model?

by Karim Gernigon

2005
paper from the conference "Territoires, Déplacements, Mobilité, Echanges pendant la Préhistoire", held in Toulouse in 2001

The correlation between material culture and peoples of the past leaded in seeing in the ceramic sets of the... more The correlation between material culture and peoples of the past leaded in seeing in the ceramic sets of the Neolithic, the tracks of ethnic groups. The distribution of artefacts and their evolution were regarded as a result of migrations. The Southern Chassey culture is thus generally considered, more or less explicitly and because of the high similarity of the ceramic sets which are attributed to him, as an ethnic group, which main achievement was the complete adoption of farming and herding ways of life in the South of France and, in particular, in the Mediterranean coastal regions. The comparison of lithic and ceramic series, coming from the Western margins of the Massif Central and allotted to this culture, shows, on the contrary, that they return a contradictory and not easily interpretable cultural image, if following a traditional historico-cultural scheme.

Espacios de poder en La Huerta, Quebrada de Humahuaca

by Ivan Leibowicz

Leibowicz, Ivan
2007. Espacios de poder en La Huerta, Quebrada de Humahuaca. Estudios Atacameños, Arqueología y Antropología Surandinas 34: 51-70. San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. ISSN 0716-0925

La construcción y resignificación de espacios fue una estrategia
del Imperio Inca en la conquista de todo su... more La construcción y resignificación de espacios fue una estrategia
del Imperio Inca en la conquista de todo su territorio.
Aquí se aborda esta problemática en el sitio La Huerta en la
quebrada de Humahuaca (Jujuy, Argentina), para entender
cómo el poder imperial impuso una nueva espacialidad sobre
las poblaciones conquistadas, reestructurando y resignificando
el paisaje socialmente construido, y cómo la imposición
de esta espacialidad ideológicamente constituida produjo y
reprodujo las relaciones de dominación y poder promovidas
por el Imperio. Para ello, humanizaremos este paisaje pensándolo
con gente dentro de él, analizando el modo en que
los sujetos se conducían en ese espacio tridimensional, lo
experimentaban y percibían.

Daggers, knowledge & power

by Jan Apel

Gender relations and social organisation in the predynastic and early dynastic periods

by Sonia Zakrzewski

Sepolture atipiche durante il Bronzo finale e la seconda età del Ferro in Veneto

by Massimo Saracino

in Padusa, 2009: 65-72

Atypical burials of Final Bronze and 2nd Iron age in Veneto

The finding in the central part of the Iron... more Atypical burials of Final Bronze and 2nd Iron age in Veneto

The finding in the central part of the Iron age settlement of Oppeano (20 km south-east from Verona, North-eastern Italy) of a male prone deposition in a dumping pit dated to second half of vi century B.C., has permitted to provide an interesting socio-anthropological explanation also in the light of similar finds in other sites in Veneto between Final Bronze and second Iron Age. These clearly differ from Oppeano for their finding context and burial conditions while similarities are possible with graves in the necropolis of the same period. This practice could be related to the violation of a law established by an aristocratic hierarchy identifying themselves in an early archaic state.

Jana Esther Fries/Julia K. Koch, Geschlechterdämmerung in der Urgeschichte?

by Julia Katharina Koch

In:  ROSA. Zeitschrift für Geschlechterforschung 35, 2007, 32–34.