Ancient Households of the Americas : Conceptualizing What Households Do

In Ancient Households of the Americas archaeologists investigate the fundamental role of household production in ancient, colonial, and contemporary households. Several different cultures-Iroquois, Coosa, Anasazi, Hohokam, San Agustín, Wankarani, Formative Gulf Coast Mexico, and Formative, Classic, Colonial, and contemporary Maya-are analyzed through the lens of household archaeology in concrete, data-driven case studies. The text is divided into three sections: Section I examines the spatial and social organization and context of household production; Section II looks at the role and results of households as primary producers; and Section III investigates the role of, and interplay among, households in their greater political and socioeconomic communities. In the past few decades, household archaeology has made substantial contributions to our understanding and explanation of the past through the documentation of the household as a social unit-whether small or large, rural or urban, commoner or elite. These case studies from a broad swath of the Americas make Ancient Households of the Americas extremely valuable for continuing the comparative interdisciplinary study of households. The Household As Analytical Unit : Case Studies From The Americas / John G. Douglass And Nancy Gonlin -- Occupation Span And The Organization Of Residential Activities : A Cross-cultural Model And Case Study From The Mesa Verde Region / Mark D. Varien -- Production And Consumption In The Countryside : A Case Study From The Late Classic Maya Rural Commoner Households At Copán, Honduras / Nancy Gonlin -- Iroquoian Households : A Mohawk Longhouse At Otstungo, New York / Dean R. Snow -- Activity Areas And Households In The Late Mississippian Southeast United States : Who Did What Where? / Ramie A. Gougeon -- The Social Evolution Of Potters' Households In Ticul, Yucatán, Mexico, 1965-1997 / Dean E. Arnold -- Pots And Agriculture : Anasazi Rural Household Production, Long House Valley, Northern Arizona / John G. Douglass And Robert A. Heckman -- Hohokam Household Organization, Sedentism, And Irrigation In The Sonoran Desert, Arizona / Richard Ciolek-torrello -- Understanding Households On Their Own Terms : Investigations On Household Sizes, Production, And Longevity At K'axob, Belize / H. Hope Henderson -- Late Classic Period Terrace Agriculture In The Lowland Maya Area : Modeling The Organization Of Terrace Agricultural Activity / L. Theodore Neff -- Fluctuating Community Organization : Formation And Dissolution Of Multifamily Corporate Groups At La Joya, Veracruz, Mexico / Valerie J. Mccormack -- Relationships Among Households In The Prehispanic Community Of Mesitas In San Agustín, Colombia / Víctor González Fernández -- Interhousehold Versus Intracommunity Comparisons : Incipient Socioeconomic Complexity At Jachakala, Bolivia / Christine Beaule -- Arrobas, Fanegas, And Mantas : Identifying Continuity And Change In Early Colonial Maya Household Production / Darcy Lynn Wiewall. Edited By John G. Douglass And Nancy Gonlin. Based On Papers Presented At A Session Of The 66th Annual Meeting Of The Society For American Archaeology Held In New Orleans In 2001. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Contents......Page 8 Figures......Page 10 Tables......Page 14 Preface......Page 16 Acknowledgments......Page 18 1. The Household as Analytical Unit......Page 22 Section 1. Household Production Organization......Page 65 2. Occupation Span and the Organization of Residential Activities......Page 68 3. Production and Consumption in the Countryside......Page 100 4. Iroquoian Households......Page 138 5. Activity Areas and Households in the Late Mississippian Southeast United States......Page 162 6. The Social Evolution of Potters’ Households in Ticul, Yucatán, Mexico, 1965–1997......Page 184 7. Pots and Agriculture......Page 210 Section 2. Households as Primary Producers......Page 240 8. Hohokam Household Organization, Sedentism, and Irrigation in the Sonoran Desert, Arizona......Page 242 9. Understanding Households on Their Own Terms......Page 290 10. Late Classic Period Terrace Agriculture in the Lowland Maya Area......Page 320 Section 3. Inter- and Intrahousehold Organization of Production......Page 344 11. Fluctuating Community Organization......Page 346 12. Relationships among Households in the Prehispanic Community of Mesitas in San Agustín, Colombia......Page 374 13. Interhousehold versus Intracommunity Comparisons......Page 402 14. Arrobas, Fanegas, and Mantas......Page 428 Contributors......Page 458 Index......Page 460 In Ancient Households of the Americas archaeologistsinvestigate the fundamental role of household production inancient, colonial, and contemporary households.

Several different cultures-Iroquois, Coosa, Anasazi, Hohokam,San Agustín, Wankarani, Formative Gulf Coast Mexico, and Formative,Classic, Colonial, and contemporary Maya-are analyzed through thelens of household archaeology in concrete, data-driven casestudies. The text is divided into three sections: Section Iexamines the spatial and social organization and context ofhousehold production; Section II looks at the role and results ofhouseholds as primary producers; and Section III investigates therole of, and interplay among, households in their greater politicaland socioeconomic communities.

In the past few decades, household archaeology has madesubstantial contributions to our understanding and explanation ofthe past through the documentation of the household as a socialunit-whether small or large, rural or urban, commoner or elite.These case studies from a broad swath of the Americas makeAncient Households of the Americas extremely valuable forcontinuing the comparative interdisciplinary study ofhouseholds.

Several different cultures - Iroquois, Coosa, Anasazi, Hohokam, San Agustín, Wankarani, Formative Gulf Coast Mexico, and Formative, Classic, Colonial, and contemporary Maya - are analyzed through the lens of household archaeology in concrete, data-driven case studies. "This excellent book should be heavily used by anyone with an interest in household archaeology." -North American Archaeologist "There are a number of excellent studies that scholars interested in household archaeology will find highly useful." -Journal of Anthropological Research "This collection underscores the importance of household archaeology to the study of social dynamics." -Choice "This volume is an impressive one. . . . In an era in which household archaeology has become essential to archaeological praxis, this volume is indeed essential reading." -Cambridge Archaeological Journal