The Social Construction of Communities: Agency, Structure, and Identity in the Prehispanic Southwest (Archaeology in Society)

The Social Construction of Communities examines formation of ancient communities in the Southwest, focusing especially on the fundamental theoretical concepts of structure, agency, and identity construction. The Social Construction of Communities......Page 2 Contents......Page 6 Acknowledgments......Page 14 1 The Social Production of Communities......Page 16 PART I IDENTITY......Page 34 2 Space, Houses, and Bodies......Page 36 3 Exchanging Identities......Page 56 4 Constructing Community and Transforming Identity at Albert Porter Pueblo......Page 84 PART II AGENCY AND THE INDIVIDUAL......Page 102 5 Agency and Gender in Prehispanic Puebloan Communities......Page 104 6 An Agent-Centered Case Study of the Depopulation of Sand Canyon Pueblo......Page 124 PART III PLACE AND LANDSCAPE......Page 138 7 Action, Place, and Space in the Castle Rock Community......Page 140 8 History, Place, and Social Power in the Galisteo Basin, A.D. 1250–1325......Page 170 PART IV MIGRATION, SETTLEMENT, AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION......Page 184 9 Imagining Communities in the Cibola Past......Page 186 10 Demography, Agricultural Potential, and Identity among Ancient Immigrants......Page 206 PART V SOCIAL THEORY AND SOUTHWESTERN COMMUNITIES......Page 230 11 Structure and Agency in Southwest Archaeology......Page 232 12 The Grounds for Agency in Southwest Archaeology......Page 248 13 Life as Movement......Page 266 Bibliography......Page 278 Index......Page 322 About the Contributors......Page 334 "The Social Construction of Communities draws on the archaeology of the southwestern United States to examine how communities are created through social interaction. The archeological record of the Southwest is unparalleled in many respects, including its precise dating, exceptional preservation, unusually large number of sites, millenia-long occupation, intensive research, detailed environmental reconstructions, and the link between ancestral and modern Pueblo people. Taking advantage of the 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 enhances 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."--BOOK JACKET The Social Construction of Communities draws on archaeological research in the Southwest to examine how communities are created through social interaction. The archaeological record of the Southwest is important for its precise dating, exceptional preservation, large number of sites, and length of occupation—making it most intensively researched archaeological regions in the world. Taking advantage of that rich archaeological record, the contributors to this volume present case studies of the Mesa Verde, Rio Grande, Kayenta, Mogollon, and Hohokam regions. The result is 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. The Social Construction of Communities examines case studies of ancient communities in the prehispanic southwestern United States using modern social theory and focusing especially on the fundamental theoretical concepts of structure, agency, and identity