Material Culture Patterns Research Articles

Andrzej Michałowski, Milena Teska, Formation of the younger Pre-Roman Iron Age cultural model in Wielkopolska

The start of the younger Pre-Roman Iron Age was the time of a transformation of the communities residing in this region into a new civilizational quality that was radically different from the quality of the preceding period. In the interior of the continent, a certain “Celt fashion” could be noticed, which was manifested in adaptation of patterns of both material culture and, most likely, elements of Celtic rites. Its course appears to be the key to the understanding of the transformations taking place in Wielkopolska at the turn of the 2nd century B.C. In older literature, the origins of the changes taking place at that time were linked to the transformation of the community of the Pomeranian (Wejcherowo-Krotoszyn) culture as a result of influence of strong Celtic currents that resulted in formation of a new group typical of cultural currents of the younger Pre-Roman Iron Age, namely of the Przeworsk culture. Currently we know that the issue is not quite as simple and unequivocal.

Cultural patterns within and outside of the post-contact Great Plains as revealed by parfleche characteristics: Implications for areal arrangements in artifactual data

For some time it has been recognized that areal arrangements in ethnographic data might help archaeologists understand equivalent arrangements in artifactual data, especially in anthropologically relevant terms. Equally, ethnographic data have shown that material-culture patterns do not necessarily conveniently map discrete “peoples” or ethnolinguistic communities. However, the question still persists as to whether areal patterns in artifactual data represent anthropologically important information, and if so, how. Ethnographically, studies of these issues have tended to adopt two approaches. Some studies have examined areal patterning across broad geographic areas in terms of presences and absences of particular artifacts or suites of artifacts. Alternatively, studies have looked at variation in the stylistic traits of particular artifacts, but over a relatively more discrete geographic range, typically a sub-region defined on the basis of other cultural and/or ecological distinctions. Here, in this study a different approach is taken, whereupon variations in the inter-tribe attributes of a singular artifact class (post-contact-era “parfleches” or decorated rawhide bags) are examined over a wide geographic area (western North America). Multivariate statistical analyses demonstrate that among-tribe variation in parfleche characteristics most strongly conforms to three geographic stylistic regions and, moreover, that these three stylistic regions disregard linguistic affiliations and “culture area” designations. These trait-level patterns conform to documented trade patterns across the study area, explaining why these areal patterns disregard distinctions made on other criteria. Ultimately, the study demonstrates ethnographically the value of contrasting areal patterns based on discrete artifactual distinctions (i.e., presence and absence of particular artifacts) versus broader-scale, but trait-level, patterns in artifacts common across these different areas.

Iberian Neolithic Networks: The Rise and Fall of the Cardial World

Recent approaches have described the evolutionary dynamics of the first Neolithic societies as a cycle of rise and fall. Several authors, using mainly c14 dates as a demographic proxy, identified a general pattern of a boom in population coincident with the arrival of food production economies followed by a rapid decline some centuries afterwards in multiple European regions. Concerning Iberia, we also noted that this phenomenon correlates with an initial development of archaeological entities (i.e., ‘cultures’) over large areas (e.g. the Impresso-Cardial in West Mediterranean), followed by a phase of ‘cultural fragmentation’ by the end of Early Neolithic. These results in a picture of higher cultural diversity as an effect of more limited spread of cultural artifacts. In this work we propose to apply a network approach to the analysis of material culture. In particular, we consider the spatiotemporal patterns of material culture as an emergent effect of interaction processes acting locally. As recent research has pointed out, the spatiotemporal variability of material culture is an emergent phenomena resulting of individual and group interactions whose structure resembles those of spatially-structured complex Networks. Our results suggest that the observed global patterns could be explained by the network dynamics, specially by structural (measured as the Betweenness Centrality) and geographical position of some nodes. The appearance and disappearance of nodes in specific positions correlates with the observed changes in the pattern of material culture distribution throughout the Early Neolithic (c. 7700-6700 cal BP) in East Iberia. In our view, this could be explained by the especial role played by those nodes facilitating or limiting the information flow over the entire network. Network growth and posterior fragmentation seem to be the key drivers behind these dynamics.

Testing Ethnological Theories on Prehistoric Kinship

Although not a new topic, there is a growing trend in ethnology to interpret changing kinship terminology, social organization, and marriage practices deep into prehistory. These efforts are largely guided by phylogenetic, neoevolutionary, and historical particularist theoretical models using 19th to 20th century ethnographically recorded kin terminology. However, the “high-level” theoretical models and their assumptions are untestable without data dating to prehistory. Archeological kinship analysis based on cross-cultural “mid-level” factual correspondence between social organization and patterns in material culture, which is not biased by any given “high-level” theory, can empirically test the ethnological models and assumptions. Archeological case studies on the Chontal Maya and Hohokam illustrate problems in phylogenetic, neoevolutionary, and historical particularist theoretical assumptions. Instead, the results are consistent with contemporary anthropological theory emphasizing practice and agency within historically contingent political economic social contexts.

ANCESTRAL O'ODHAM: AKIMEL O'ODHAM CULTURAL TRADITIONS AND THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD

Archaeologists have long used the prehistoric inhabitants of the Phoenix Basin in south-central Arizona as an example of a failed or collapsed society, and most prehistorians still assert that Hohokam material culture patterns ended at the close of the Classic period (circa A.D. 1150–1450). Although researchers are increasingly recognizing connections between prehistoric and modern indigenous people, little consensus exists regarding the cause or causes of the dramatic alterations in material culture patterns that occurred in the region. Most archaeologists who have studied the changes at the end of the Classic period, however, have not fully considered the implications of previous and subsequent conditions, including similar and seemingly abrupt shifts in cultural practices that occurred both before and after this time. This paper uses Akimel O'Odham (i.e., Pima) cultural knowledge to contextualize the “Hohokam Collapse.” We show that this perspective of culture history explains the relationship between prehistoric and historic populations and answers many of the long-standing questions regarding cultural variation in the Phoenix Basin.

New light on old data: Toward understanding settlement and social organization in Middle Bronze Age Aeolian Islands (Sicily) through quantitative and multivariate analysis

Settlement and social organization in Middle Bronze Age Sicily (ca 1490–1250BCE) have received scant attention compared to that devoted to broader cultural processes during the same period. In spite of some limitations, this work aims at filling the gap building on published evidence from Capo Milazzese settlement (Aeolian Archipelago, north-eastern Sicily), which is taken as case study. On the basis of a preliminary yet necessary study of deposits' formation process, and by means of quantitative and multivariate analyses, this work seeks to pinpoint the activities performed within the settlement, and to understand their material and spatial correlates. For the first time, this work identifies habitations and utilitarian huts highlighting differences in terms of artefacts inventories and floor area. Evidence hinting at huts' functional changes, and at special activities such as pottery production, is located. The material culture patterning brought to the fore by the analysis provides grounds to infer traits of households' socio-economic, architectural, and spatial organization, and to open a window into local processes that may account for the social meaning of food consumption practices, and for the incorporation of foreign pottery into local ceramic inventories.

Materiality, regimes of value, and the politics of craft production, exchange, and consumption: A case of lime plaster at Teotihuacan, Mexico

Political economy has provided a broad framework for the study of power relations in early complex societies, but its top-down approaches have limitations for understanding the simultaneous formation of unequal and equal social relations. Through the conception of power as heterogeneous, contradictory, and multidimensional, this study addresses how inequality and equality are constituted through production, exchange, and consumption of material objects. Recent material culture studies grounded in practice theories highlight material objects as both medium and consequence of social practice and negotiation. Such a conception of material culture leads us to explore consumption as a key theoretical and methodological concept to understand the relationship between material culture patterns and social reproduction and transformation. This study explores how consumer demand is created by examining the process of the creation and transformation of the regimes of value, which allows to address the entanglement of material properties, multiple agencies, and the acts of production, exchange, and consumption. A case study from Teotihuacan documents archaeological evidence of changing distribution, direct evidence of production, and material characterization of lime plaster and demonstrates how changing social relations were embodied by production, exchange, and consumption of lime plaster.

The Politics of Provisioning: Food and Gender at Fort San Juan De Joara, 1566–1568

AbstractBeginning with Kathleen Deagan’s description of the St. Augustine Pattern, in which domestic relations between Spanish men and Native American women contributed to a pattern of mestizaje in Spanish colonies, gender has assumed a central role in archaeological perspectives on colonial encounters. This is especially true for those encounters that accompanied colonialism in the Americas during the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries. Gender relations were essential to the creation of new cultural identities during this time, as indigenous communities encountered immigrant, European settler groups often comprised mostly or entirely of adult men. Yet as significant as gender is for understanding how an encounter unfolded in time and space, it can be a challenge to identify and evaluate the archaeological correlates of such relations through material culture patterns. In this article, we use the related domains of food and foodways, particularly in the social context of provisioning, to evaluate how gender relations changed during the occupation of Fort San Juan de Joara (1566–1568), located at the Berry site in western North Carolina. Our research contributes to reappraisals of the St. Augustine Pattern, which posits well-defined roles for Native American women and Spanish men, by likewise situating the agency of Native American men.

Phenotypic variation of transitional forager-farmers in the Sonoran Desert.

This study examines phenotypic variation and biological distances estimated using morphological traits from three Early Agricultural period (EAP) (2100 BC-AD 50) site-complexes in the Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona and northern Sonora. The hypothesis tested is that EAP forager-farmers were phenotypically homogenous as suggested by patterns in material culture and works to refine inferences regarding gene flow and biological affinity during subsistence transitions. Seven measurements from 62 EAP male and female crania were collected and used to calculate phenotypic variances, biological distances, and FST values with RMET 5.0 software. Analyses were applied to both pooled site-complex samples and to males and females separately. Results show differential variation between site-complex population samples, multiple significant biological distances, and significant FST values for the EAP regional sample that indicate widespread phenotypic heterogeneity rather than homogeneity. Significantly lower than expected variance in the Cienega Creek male sample is inferred to suggest a small closely related population present during the Cienega phase. Greater than expected male variation is attributed to higher frequencies of gene flow in the La Playa and Santa Cruz River site-complex samples. These EAP males are inferred to be more mobile across the Sonoran Desert landscape and representative of multiple biological affinities compared with females. This study provides evidence supporting the canalization of phenotypic variation when associated with human populations becoming increasingly sedentary due to transitioning subsistence practices.

AN EVALUATION OF NEOLITHIC AND EARLY CHALCOLITHIC SITES IN UPPER MEANDER BASIN IN THE CONTEXT OF SETTLEMENT PATTERN AND MATERIAL CULTURE

This article deals with the settlements of the Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic periods on the Upper Menderes Basin located in south-western Anatolia and aims to make extensive evaluations of the material culture and settlement patterns of the region by using the systematic survey data. The survey data about the Upper Menderes Basin reveal that the 17 settlements were settled in the Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic Ages. The evaluations were made depending on the material culture of the settlements concerned and they indicate that the region had an identical culture with the District of Lakes in the Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic Ages. On the other hand, when the site selection and settlement pattern concerned are considered, it is understood that plain and the highland areas were selected as living areas in the early phases of the Late Neolithic Age, whereas the settlements increased in the Late Neolithic-Early Chalcolithic period and the basin was located by rivers and lakes at the plain level.

The interpretation of depositions in pits. Is it time for the pendulum to swing back?

Richard Bradley was critical of the hesitation he saw in British archaeology towards the use of the interpretive category ‘votive deposit’. The artefacts were instead interpreted in practical terms, as lost things or hidden treasures. This was published in 1990 in The passage of arms. Since then, or – as Garrow shows – since the mid-1980s, much has happened. Garrow has reacted against what he calls the hyperinterpretive turn in archaeology, where almost every patterning of material culture is regarded as intentional and symbolic. Instead, or as a complement, he wants to see a more developed discussion about material culture patterning as a result of everyday practices that just happen, without an attached symbolic meaning, but still varied and variable. So, is it time for the pendulum to swing back?

Meaningful but beyond words? Interpreting material culture patterning

Duncan Garrow's article is a thought-provoking review of the concept of structured deposition and I agree with several of the points he makes. Thinking along the same lines, I would like to make a few additional remarks on structured deposition.

Odd deposits and average practice. A critical history of the concept of structured deposition

AbstractThis paper presents a critical history of the concept of ‘structured deposition’. It examines the long-term development of this idea in archaeology, from its origins in the early 1980s through to the present day, looking at how it has been moulded and transformed. On the basis of this historical account, a number of problems are identified with the way that ‘structured deposition’ has generally been conceptualized and applied. It is suggested that the range of deposits described under a single banner as being ‘structured’ is unhelpfully broad, and that archaeologists have been too willing to view material culture patterning as intentionally produced – the result of symbolic or ritual action. It is also argued that the material signatures of ‘everyday’ practice have been undertheorized and all too often ignored. Ultimately, it is suggested that if we are ever to understand fully the archaeological signatures of past practice, it is vital to consider the ‘everyday’ as well as the ‘ritual’ processes which lie behind the patterns we uncover in the ground.

The Material Culture of Inupiat Whaling: An Ethnographic and Ethnohistorical Perspective

Whaling has long been the organizing focus of coastal North Slope Inupiat culture. Many scholars believe that whaling was important in Thule culture prior to the Thule migration. Despite this, abundant evidence for whaling has not been found at many Western Thule sites. I examine the material correlates of current and historic modern Inupiat whaling, primarily in Barrow through interviews with active whaling captains and their wives, as well as historic data. I look at the items that are associated primarily with whaling and where these items are used and stored. Although modern whaling appears on the surface to have changed markedly, it is suggested that the basic activities are relatively similar and therefore the associated patterns of material culture can be of assistance in detecting past whaling. I also briefly describe a locus at the Nuvuk site that appears to have been associated with whaling activities at the very beginning of the modern whaling period.

BODIES, BURIALS AND AGEING: ACCESSING THE TEMPORALITY OF OLD AGE IN PREHISTORIC SOCIETIES

SummaryThere has been little attempt within archaeology to understand the social meanings specifically attached to old age, or the implications of the social construction of old age for the reconstruction of prehistoric social formations. This stems partly from the low social value placed upon the elderly in modern societies, which makes us tend to view them as irrelevant, and partly from the difficulty of accurately ageing the skeletons of older individuals, which can make them appear invisible in the archaeological record.A case study from the Traisental of Lower Austria is used to illustrate how the changing meanings of old age are recoverable from archaeological cemetery assemblages. Analysis of material culture patterning is combined with assessment of different forms of bodily degeneration to identify changes over time in the way that old age was socially recognized and the possibility that different kinds of bodily infirmity had very different social implications.

REGIONALISM AND SOCIAL LANDSCAPE AS INFERRED FROM AN ETHNOARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY OF POTTERY PRODUCTION IN JORDAN

In this paper, an ethnoarchaeological study of pottery from Jordan is used to highlight the importance of the context of production and technique in order to gain a better understanding of the formation of a distinct prehistoric cultural region and its social components. Stylistic differences are delimited by technological characteristics, and understanding the technological process of object-making is vital in searching for and explaining patterns in material culture. Different production units can be responsible for different pottery forms, rather than the pottery being attributed to different cultures. Moreover, the context of production has a substantial effect on the end product, which conflicts with normative interpretations of presence/absence patterns of material culture. Focusing on the social dimension of a region enables identification of the social producers and an understanding of how they can be differentiated, even when they share the same technical structures in producing material culture....

Energy cultures: A framework for understanding energy behaviours

Achieving a ‘step-change’ in energy efficiency behaviours will require enhanced knowledge of behavioural drivers, and translation of this knowledge into successful intervention programmes. The ‘Energy Cultures’ conceptual framework aims to assist in understanding the factors that influence energy consumption behaviour, and to help identify opportunities for behaviour change. Building on a history of attempts to offer multi-disciplinary integrating models of energy behaviour, we take a culture-based approach to behaviour, while drawing also from lifestyles and systems thinking. The framework provides a structure for addressing the problem of multiple interpretations of ‘behaviour’ by suggesting that it is influenced by the interactions between cognitive norms, energy practices and material culture. The Energy Cultures framework is discussed in the context of a New Zealand case study, which demonstrates its development and application. It has already provided a basis for cross-disciplinary collaboration, and for multi-disciplinary research design, and has provided insights into behavioural change in a case study community. As the conceptual basis of a 3-year research project, the framework has further potential to identify clusters of ‘energy cultures’ – similar patterns of norms, practices and/or material culture – to enable the crafting of targeted actions to achieve behaviour change.

Patterns of physical activity and material culture on Gotland, Sweden, during the Middle Neolithic

AbstractLinking MSM (Musculoskeletal Stress Markers) to specific activities is difficult. This problem is explored by combining and comparing patterns of MSM and material culture. Sex‐ and age‐related patterns for MSM and grave goods distributions are analysed and compared from five Pitted Ware (c. 3400–2300 BC) sites on Gotland, Sweden. Possible links between MSM patterns, burial objects, faunal remains and subsistence are explored for a better understanding of some of the irregularities surrounding the Pitted Ware culture hunter‐gatherer complex on Gotland. Fifty‐two muscle and ligament attachments on seven skeletal elements were scored on adult skeletal remains (n = 126) from the five Middle Neolithic Pitted Ware sites at Ajvide, Västerbjers, Visby, Ire and Fridtorp. Noteworthy differences were observed in MSM mean scores between the sexes as well as significantly increased scores with increased age. Distributions for ten selected grave goods categories were also examined for the adult individuals as well as for 50 subadult individuals. The grave goods frequencies showed the opposite pattern from that of MSM: young individuals had higher frequencies of the selected grave goods than the old, and females generally more than males. Burial find distributions also differ at the five sites, as well as faunal refuse proportions, while isotopic data indicate homogeneous subsistence all over the island. Circumstances surrounding the faunal remains in graves and surrounding cultural layers indicate site‐specific utilisation, but also ritual handling of animals. An image of common identity on the island and membership of the local community is visible in the material culture. In addition, individual differences are apparent through MSM patterns and grave goods, but not in direct correlation to activities implied by the artefacts in the grave. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Eventful Archaeology

Unexpected ruptures in material culture patterning present interpretive challenges for archaeological narratives of social change. The concept of the event, as proposed by William Sewell Jr., offers a robust theoretical vocabulary for understanding the sudden appearance of novel patterning. Sewell defines historical events as sequences of happenings or occurrences that transform social structures by creating durable ruptures between material resources and their associated virtual schemas. Thus conceived, events occur in three phases: (1) a sequence of contingent happenings produces (2) ruptures in the articulation of resources and schemas, creating (3) an opportunity for rearticulation within new frames of reference. This perspective has much to recommend it for archaeology because it explicitly and uniquely grounds the concepts of structure, structural change, and agency in materiality. The implications of this approach are apparent in the cases of Iceland's conversion to Christianity (AD 1000-1050), barrow construction during Denmark's Bronze Age (1700-1500 BC), platform construction at Formative Chiripa, Bolivia (450-400 BC), and the planning and layout of Mississippian Cahokia, Illinois (AD 1050-1100).

For equalities are plural: reassessing the social in Europe during the third millennium bc

The impact of evolutionary thought is fundamental to the archaeological perception that the third millennium bc in Europe is a period of highly developed social hierarchy. Following a critique of previous uses of the evolutionary frame of reference to model understandings of the material culture for this period, I suggest an alternative reading on the basis of a polythetic analysis of several categories of data (funerary practices, ceramics, settlement pattern). The two major archaeological complexes involved are characterized by the widespread diffusion of categories of artefacts and associated ideas. The networks therefore established are paralleled by a series of other interaction processes indicated by regionally homogeneous patterns in material culture. In sum, this entire system functions because it draws on a relationship of equality between the involved partners, individuals or communities, rather than social hierarchy.