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It's a Small World after All: Comparative Analyses of Community Organization in Archaeology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Michael J. Kolb  and
James E. Snead
Michael J. Kolb
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115
James E. Snead
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024
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Abstract

Human social systems are constituted at different scales; the local community, while an important organizational unit cross-culturally, has received limited archaeological study. We argue that community-centric studies in archaeology have significant potential in documenting the diversity of small-scale agricultural systems and in promoting comparative study of local societies. Using comparative data from social anthropology, we put forth a definition of community useful for the archaeologist based on three irreducible elements: social reproduction, agricultural production, and self-identification. These elements provide an ideal framework for cross-cultural comparison. We also argue that using a community approach requires certain methodological refinements, such as adopting an appropriate research scale, conducting intensive surface survey, and using analytical strategies such as labor investment and boundary maintenance. We present recently collected data from two prehistoric agricultural communities, Waiohuli in Hawai'i and Tsikwaiye in northern New Mexico, in order to illustrate the strength of this mode of research.

Los sistemas sociales humanos se organizan en diferentes escalas; la comunidad local, a pesar de ser una importante unidad organizativa omnipresente en toda cultura, ha recibido poca atención por parte de los arqueólogos. En este artícula planteanios que los estudios que se concentran en el anâlisis de la comunidad tienen un amplio potencial para documentor la diversidad de sistemas agricolas de pequena escala y promover estudios comparatives de sociedades de carácter local. Al utilizar information comparativa obtenida de la antropologia social, presentames una definition de comunidad, util para el arqueólogo, basada en tres elementos irreductibles; reproduction social, production agricola y auto-identifwación. Estos elementos proveen un marco ideal para realizar comparaciones inter-culturales. También argiiimos que para operar estudios a escala comunitaria se requière de ciertos refinamientos metodológicos, taies como la adoption de una escala apropiada de investigatión, el uso de reconocimientos de superficie intensives, y ia aplicación de estrategias analíticas como el análisis de inversión laboral y mantenimiento de espacios sociales. Presentames informatión recientmente recolectada de dos comunidades agricolas prehistóricas, Waiohuli en Hawai y Tsikwaiye en el norte de Nuevo México para ilustrar la solidez de esta forma de investigatión.

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 62 , Issue 4 , October 1997 , pp. 609 - 628
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1997

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