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Evolutionary Ecology, Elite Feasting, and the Hohokam: A Case Study from a Southern Arizona Platform Mound

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Deanna N. Grimstead  and
Frank E. Bayham
Deanna N. Grimstead
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Emil W. Haury Building, P.O. Box 210030, Tucson, AZ 85721-0030 (dng@email.arizona.edu)
Frank E. Bayham
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, California State University, Chico, Chico, CA 95929-0400 (FBayham@csuchico.edu)
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Abstract

A number of researchers have shown that the abundance, diversity, and size of prey consumed or displayed at a feast can be used by elites to solidify and/or aggrandize their social position. Expectations for archaeological signatures of elite feasting—derived from ethnographic studies, archaeological research, and ecological theory—are used to assess the archaeofaunal record from selected contexts of the Marana platform mound site, located in southern Arizona. The magnitude of work conducted in the region provides a unique opportunity to address the importance of feasting as a mechanism of power consolidation among Hohokam elites. Here, we examine a hypothesized locus of elite feasting among the Classic period Hohokam (ca. A.D. 1250). A relatively high concentration of animal bone derived from a burned room adjacent to the Marana platform mound was first thought to represent debris from elite feasting. Analysis reveals a proportionate taxonomic profile that is similar to the remainder of the community and an overwhelming abundance of small game relative to large prey. Neither situation is consistent with elite feasting expectations. These results argue for a form of feasting among non-elites that likely served to promote intragroup solidarity or political support within the community.

Resumen

Resumen

Un número de investigadores han mostrado que la abundancia, la diversidad y el tamaño de presa son cosas que pueden ser usadas por las élites para solidificar o agrandar su posición social. Aquí examinamos un foco hipotético del festín de elites entre los Hohokam del Período Clásico (ca. 1250 D.C.) en el suroeste norteamericano. Dado la magnitud de trabajo hecho en el área durante los últimos 25 años, existe una oportunidad única para destacar la importancia del festín como un mecanismo para la consolidación de poder entre las élites del Hohokam. Expectativas del festín de élites se derivan de estudios etnográficos, investigaciones arqueológicas y teoría ecológica. Se usan las expectativas para comparar el registro de arqueo-fauna en unos contextos seleccionados del sitio Marana platform mound, que está localizado en el sur de Arizona. Se encontró una concentración relativamente alta de huesos animales en una sala de quema al lado de platform mound. Inicialmente, se presumía que esta concentración era los restos prehistóricos del festín de élites. Análisis revela una semejanza taxonómica proporcionada al resto de la comunidad Hohokam y una abundancia significante de presa chica en relación con la presa grande que no es consistente con las expectativas del festín de élites. Los resultados implican una forma del festín de personas noélites que servía para promover solidaridad entre grupos o como apoyo político dentro de la comunidad.

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 75 , Issue 4 , October 2010 , pp. 841 - 864
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2010

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