The Social Dynamics of Pottery Style in the Early Puebloan Southwest by Michelle Hegmon

Abstract

748 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE vices: more precise control of firing, and knowledge of complemen­ tary clay and paint combinations for white wares; the complex tech­ nological process and limited distribution of the lead resources required for making glaze ware vessels; or the unusual dexterity and skill needed to produce large polychrome vessels. But what forces motivated the production of increasingly special­ ized pottery in the absence ofelite political control or market forces? Increased territoriality, economic marginalization, and the growth of communal ritual activities are proposed, and it seems likely these factors are causally interconnected to differing degrees. With this in mind, the volume supplies plenty of detailed analyses and well-writ­ ten discussion central to furthering our understanding of these pro­ cesses. Jane Peterson Dr. Peterson is a visiting assistant professor of anthropology at Marquette Univer­ sity. The Social Dynamics ofPottery Style in the Early Puebloan Southwest. By Michelle Hegmon. Tucson, Ariz.: University of Arizona Press, 1995. Pp. xx+272; figures, tables, bibliography. $22.95 (paper). Michelle Hegmon’s goal in this work is to understand style and the use of style by both groups and individuals in the northern Southwest in the 9th century A.D. The assumptions under which she pursues this goal are: 1) that style is complex and multidimensional and 2) that material culture is not merelya by-product or a reflection of social relations but is actively manipulated and “meaningfully constituted” in a variety of ways. Thus she explores the concept of style as it is used in archaeology. This discussion is both elegant and comprehensive. Therefore, Hegmon’s book is ofinterest and consti­ tutes a significant contribution on at least two levels: first, in her theoretical discussion of style, which she defines, in a general sense, as “a way of doing that involves choice”; second, in her exploration of the social relations in two areas of the northern Southwest (Black Mesa in northern Arizona and the Dolores River in southwestern Colorado). Hegmon’s discussion ofstyle will interest not only the archaeologi­ cal community but scholars of modern material culture. The breadth of its appeal is due largely to her view of style on multiple levels and to her ability to synthesize an extremely large, and often contentious, theoretical debate into a workable perspective. This synthesis requires that she weave together the best features of a vari­ ety of perspectives from the more traditional ones associated with processual archaeology to the more recent, postmodern contextual approach. The result is a view of style that pulls together contextspecific interpretations of meaning and stylistic manipulation into TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 749 a more general model of the role of style in certain types of social context. Further, she argues that the role played by style can be ex­ amined analytically by looking at the nature ofthe structure (or rules of organization) and the choice of design elements used. Hegmon then uses this general model to understand the chang­ ing uses of style in the northern Southwest. The 9th century was a very dynamic period in this region, one in which sedentism and horticulture came to dominate, resulting in the redrawing of social boundaries and redefinition of social relations. However, these re­ definitions occurred in very different ways in the two areas Hegmon examines. On Black Mesa, villages were relatively small and highly dispersed. Conversely, on the Dolores River, villages were very large and densely packed. Corresponding to these differences in settlement pattern are dif­ ferences in ceramic style. In particular, sites in the Black Mesa area have more painted pottery than do sites in the Dolores area. Addi­ tionally, the design structure is much more rigid on Black Mesa and the design attributes are less varied (i.e., there is greater heterogene­ ity in both aspects of style in the Dolores assemblage). Also, the level of stylistic diversity increased through time in the Dolores area while it remained relatively stable at Black Mesa. Hegmon concludes from this pattern that style played a very different role in the two areas. She interprets the greater degree of stylistic variability at both the structural and the design-element level in the Dolores area as an indication of...