Chaco Anasazi - Sociopolitical Evolution in the Prehistoric Southwest

Klappentext In the tenth century AD! a remarkable cultural development took place in the harsh and forbidding San Juan Basin of northwestern New Mexico. From small-scale! simply organized! prehistoric Pueblo societies! a complex and socially differentiated political system emerged that has become known as the Chaco Phenomenon. This study combines information on political evolution with archaeological data to produce a sociopolitically based model of the rise! florescence! and decline of the Chaco Phenomenon. Zusammenfassung Lynne Sebastian examines the transition of the Chaco system from a kinship structured society to a hierarchically organised political structure with institutional roles of leadership. She argues that the increasing political complexity was a consequence of improved rainfall in the region which permitted surplus production! not the harsh conditions as previously thought. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1. Introduction; 2. The Chaco Phenomenon: background and history of research; 3. Sociopolitical complexity and the Chaco system; 4. Routes to sociopolitical power; 5. Previous explanations for the Chaco Phenomenon; 6. Relations of power, labor investment, and the political evolution of the Chaco system; 7. Summary and new directions; Appendix: the computer simulation.

Product details

• Authors: Lynne Sebastian
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 28.08.1996
• EAN: 9780521574686
• ISBN: 978-0-521-57468-6
• No. of pages: 196
• Series: New Studies in Archaeology
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Pre and early history; Non-fiction book > History > Pre and early history, antiquity; Social sciences, law, business > Social sciences (general)