Shifts In Settlement Patterns Research Articles

The Foundation of Monte Albán, Intensification, and Growth: Coactive Processes and Joint Production

Most early sedentary villages (c. 1500–500 BCE) in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, were situated on or near well-watered land. Around 500 BCE, a new hilltop center, Monte Albán, was established at the nexus of the valley's three arms, where agriculture was far riskier due to unreliable rainfall and a dearth of permanent water sources. During the era of its establishment, not only was Monte Albán larger than any earlier community in the region, but many other settlers moved into the rural area around Monte Albán. This marked shift in settlement patterns in the Valley of Oaxaca and the underlying processes associated with the foundation of Monte Albán have long been debated. How can we account for the immigration of people, some likely from beyond the region itself, to an area where they faced greater risks of crop failure? One perspective, reliant on uniform models of premodern states as despotic, viewed the process from a basically top-down lens; leaders coerced subalterns to move near the capital to provide sustenance for the new center. Yet more recent research has found that governance at Monte Albán was generally more collective than autocratic, and productive activities were centered in domestic units and not managed from above. Based on these new empirical foundations, we reassess earlier settlement and land use studies for the Valley of Oaxaca and view this critical transition as initiated through coactive processes in which new institutions were formed and new relations forged. Shifts in defense, ritual, domestic organization, craft production, and exchange all coincided with this episode of growth fostered by joint production, which intensified agrarian yields through increased domestic labor investments.

Molecular evidence for human population change associated with climate events in the Maya lowlands

The analysis of faecal stanols in lake sediment cores offers a novel opportunity to reconstruct human population change, assuming that variability in faecal stanol concentration is a reliable proxy for relative human populations. The ancient lowland Maya of Mesoamerica represents an important ancient society whose demographic dynamics in many locations remain uncertain. We apply the faecal stanol proxy to a sediment core retrieved from a lake adjacent to the archaeological site of Itzan, an ancient population centre in the southwestern Maya lowlands. The sedimentary faecal stanol record from Laguna Itzan implies substantial centennial- and millennial-scale changes in local human populations from 3300 cal years BP to the present. Variability in faecal stanol concentrations is broadly consistent with archaeological evidence for regional societal change across the Maya lowlands, but also implies an earlier presence of humans at this site than is currently indicated in the Itzan archaeological record. We find evidence for high-frequency variability in coprostanol concentrations during the Maya Preclassic period, which we infer represents centennial-scale shifts in settlement patterns associated with changes in agricultural and land use patterns. Given Preclassic-period faecal peak stanol concentrations, we observe lower-than-expected Classic-period faecal peak stanol concentrations, and these may partly be a result of either use of human waste for fertiliser or reduced soil erosion or both. Three periods of inferred population decline are associated with palaeoclimate evidence for a drying climate, specifically during the Terminal Classic (1220-1050 cal yr BP) and the Protoclassic 2 (1860-1670 cal yr BP), as well as the less well-studied drought between 3330 and 2900 cal yr BP during the Early to Middle Preclassic periods. An additional decline and hiatus in coprostanol input coincides with a period of anomalously wet climate in the Late Preclassic. These linkages suggest that climatic change and variability could have played a role in demographic change at multiple points in the evolution of Maya civilisation. Our work shows that faecal stanols are valuable proxies for past human population dynamics, and their relation to climatic change, in Mesoamerica.

2500-year cultural sequence in the Massim region of eastern Papua New Guinea reflects adaptive strategies to small islands and changing climate regimes since Lapita settlement

Islands present significant technological and ecological challenges for long-term human settlement, with archaeological investigations of islands globally able to shed light on the adaptive plasticity of cultural groups to changing climatic regimes. The Massim islands of eastern New Guinea significantly reduced in size throughout the Holocene (⩽11.7 kya), providing a unique opportunity to investigate the long-term adaptive capabilities of humans to changing island ecosystems. Here, we report a 2500-2300 year cultural sequence on Nimowa Island in the Louisiade Archipelago of the Massim region which began with the arrival of a late Lapita population during initial beachfront development. Sediment analyses indicate earlier settlement on the island would not have been possible as the coastline was unstable until near-modern sea levels were reached. The island was abandoned from 1290 to 530 cal. BP during a period of unusually dry conditions (‘Medieval Climate Anomaly’) and probable freshwater shortages. Re-settlement coincided with wetter climatic conditions (‘Little Ice Age’), associated with the establishment of large villages, the earliest expression of local pottery traditions and the onset of large-scale regional exchange networks. Import of non-local obsidian reflects two pulses of interaction followed by periods of increased isolation. With the absence of high-quality lithic resources, shell, coral and bone were used as a locally available alternative for tool production. Increased cyclone frequency from ~500 cal. BP greatly increased beach volume in the island and coastal New Guinea, which facilitated the movement of populations onto smaller islands. A late prehistoric shift in settlement patterns had a profound impact on regional social dynamics.

Obligation or Innovation: Can the EU Floods Directive Be Seen as a Tipping Point Towards More Resilient Flood Risk Management? A Case Study from Vorarlberg, Austria

Environmental change is subject to discussion among scientists, practitioners, and policymakers. As increasing threats to both environment and society are on the agenda, alternative management approaches are gaining importance. This paper focuses on the influence of policy changes on flood risk management. There is evidence that shifts in settlement patterns and population growth might influence the dynamics of flood damage and loss. There is increased pressure to intensify land use, but also to keep free spaces for hazard mitigation and adaptation. In this paper, we focus on new regulative and management approaches associated with the implementation of the European (EU) Floods Directive in Austria. The concept of tipping points, which are defined as turning points for system change, has been applied. Based on semi-structured interviews we evaluate whether or not the implementation of the EU Floods Directive has triggered a system change in flood risk management. Our results show that triggers for change are past flood events and a general need for action rather than the implementation of the directive itself. Changes related to the EU Floods Directive are likely to happen in the long-term; however, these cannot yet be determined. The main challenges are associated with transparency and communication between policymakers and the affected society. So far, the requirements of the first policy cycle of the directive have been fulfilled. The second policy cycle will show further outcomes and potential needs.

Changing Crafts in the Spaces Between States: Formal, Functional, and Decorative Transformations in Fifteenth-Century CE Ceramics at Kirikongo, Burkina Faso (West Africa)

The fifteenth century CE in central West Africa saw the rise and/or expansion of states and empires, major shifts in settlement patterns, and growth of new trading connections between the forest and Sahel. However, very little is known about how these events affected areas not incorporated into states, such as western Burkina Faso, which was likely home to diverse noncentralized societies. Previous archaeological work at the site of Kirikongo, in the Mouhoun Bend, Burkina Faso, examined the histories of these communities from ca. 100 to 1400 CE. This paper introduces the fifteenth-century (Red IV) ceramics from Kirikongo, exploring their form, function, and decoration and assessing their presence at other sites in the region. Based on these distributions, many communities in the Mouhoun Bend decreased in size or were abandoned during Red IV. During Red IV, potters also adopted new ceramic forms and decorations. These may be associated with new economic activities and with increasing entanglements with Mande and/or Dogon communities.

Modelling distribution of archaeological settlement evidence based on heterogeneous spatial and temporal data

We analyse variations in prehistoric agricultural settlement behaviour both in space and time to detect main turning points and shifts in settlement patterns in Bohemia, western Czech Republic. We propose a theoretical framework to address our research question and a new evidence density estimation (EDE) method combining and extending existing approaches to produce probabilistic maps and temporal frequency distribution (TFD) curves. This method takes into account heterogeneous spatial and temporal accuracy of archaeological data, and it models settlement structure where respective sites have a specific area and a given interval of duration. We determined minimal sampling densities of archaeological data enabling the method to predict prehistoric settlement at a statistically significant level. The EDE method is universally applicable for all datasets with sampling densities of more than 0.05 archaeological actions per km2 for chrono-typologically dated evidence and 0.035 actions per km2 for radiocarbon or similar dates. The results show that changes in spatial extent, density and clustering of settlement activities occur repeatedly throughout the whole agricultural prehistory and shed new light on settlement behaviour of past populations.

Micro-blade production on hyaline quartz during the Late Neolithic of northern Greece (5400–4600 cal. B.C.): Examples from Dikili Tash and Promachonas-Topolniča

The socio-economic processes during the Late Neolithic in northern Greece have been given little attention compared to earlier phases of this period. However, several studies suggest interesting phenomena such as shifts in settlement patterns and ceramic production, possibly entailing processes of intense group interactions and increasing territorialization. However, these processes have only been addressed through the lens of pottery production, thus only looking at a limited aspect of the economic evolution of these groups. Acknowledging the potential of technological analysis to shed light on such socio-economic processes, this paper focuses on a lesser known type of material, rock-crystal. The study presents recent archaeological and experimental results on knapped rock-crystal taking place during the Late Neolithic in northern Greece. This study emphasizes the need for a new methodological framework to address this type of raw material, while providing a new approach to lithic production and consumption on Neolithic sites. This analysis is a preliminary step towards a reconsideration of the issues associated with the identification of pressure knapping techniques both on rock crystal, and other types of raw material. The presence of technical pieces, flakes, debris and cores within these assemblages questioned the possibility of a “local” pressure debitage in a regional and chronological context where the products of a pressure blade manufacture are generally considered imported and almost exclusively present, on consumer sites, in the form of finished products (unretouched and/or retouched blades).

Contextualizing Early Urbanization: Settlement Cores, Early States and Agro-pastoral Strategies in the Fertile Crescent During the Fourth and Third Millennia BC

This paper employs data from selected sample survey areas in the northern Fertile Crescent to demonstrate how initial urbanization developed along several pathways. The first, during the Late Chalcolithic period, was within a dense pattern of rural settlement. There followed a profound shift in settlement pattern that resulted in the formation of large walled or ramparted sites (‘citadel cities’) associated with a more dynamic phase of urbanization exemplified by short cycles of growth and collapse. By the later third millennium BC, the distribution of larger centres had expanded to include the drier agro-pastoral zone of northern and central Syria, termed here the ‘zone of uncertainty’. This configuration, in turn, formed the context for Middle Bronze Age settlement, and the pattern of political rivalries and alliances that typified the second millennium BC. Evidence is marshalled from archaeological surveys and landscape analyses to examine these multiple paths to urbanization from the perspectives of (a) staple production within major agricultural lowlands; (b) the shift towards higher risk animal husbandry within climatically marginal regions; (c) changes in local and inter-regional networks (connectivity); and (d) ties and rights to the land. Textile production forms the core of the proposed model, which emphasizes how the demand for wool and associated pasture lands opened up new landscapes for agro-pastoral production and settlement. The resultant landscapes of settlement are then compared with the picture in the southern Levant where a more restricted zone of uncertainty may have limited the opportunities for agro-pastoral production.

Dental health, diet, and social transformations in the Bronze Age: Comparative analysis of pastoral populations in northern Kazakhstan

Comparative analyses of human health and diet are often undertaken for consecutive periods of time which exhibit different social formations or material culture. The aim of this research was to test the link between social transformations and corollary shifts in health or diet. Therefore, oral health and dietary intake were examined in successive Bronze Age periods in central Eurasia with very different patterns of settlement and scales of interaction. Researchers have posited that these periods are evidence of an economic shift from agro-pastoral to pastoral patterns of subsistence. Populations from two sites in northern Kazakhstan (52°10′N, 64°32′E; 52°32′N, 62°23′E) were investigated in terms of dental caries, calculus, abscesses, ante-mortem tooth loss and periodontal disease. The results of this study indicate that the types of dental pathological conditions present stayed relatively uniform over time, suggesting similarities in dietary intake for populations at the sites of Bestamak (2032–1639 cal BC) and Lisakovsk (1860–1680 cal BC). The dietary intake of these communities is indicative of a noncariogenic diet with a high protein content and lack of carbohydrates. These findings conform to general patterns for pastoral societies and are consistent with stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic data. While they types of pathological conditions were similar, the severity of these lesions decreased in the later period. Comparatively more pronounced frequencies of pathological conditions during the earlier period are attributed to multiple etiologies including different patterns of consumption, dental cleaning behaviors, or stress. While the archaeological record indicates broad shifts in settlement patterns, demography, and mortuary rituals from the Middle to Late Bronze Ages, there was only a slight shift in dental health.

The Palaeolithic occupation of southern Alentejo: the Sado River Drainage Survey

The Sado River Drainage Survey project (2004-2008) was designed to fill a significant gap in our knowledge of the prehistory of Portugal. Southern Alentejo constitutes nearly one third of the total land mass of continental Portugal, but has received comparatively little attention from Palaeolithic archaeologists. Practically nothing was known about the prehistory of the Sado River basin, which includes the southern Alentejo plain, before now. The results of the Sado River Drainage Survey (SRDS) indicate that the Sado River basin was likely occupied at low population densities during the Middle Palaeolithic. There is some evidence for a Lower Palaeolithic presence but little or no evidence of an Upper Palaeolithic occupation. The emerging pattern suggests either an occupational hiatus or a major shift in settlement pattern towards the end of the Middle Palaeolithic. Possible explanations for this pattern, including aridification driven by climate change, are explored here.

Impact of the alluvial style on the geoarcheology of stream valleys

The extensive archeological record within river valleys provides an environment long favored for study by the archeologic community. This record of human occupation varies with the alluvial style of the river, resulting in each river valley having a unique archeological record controlled by three factors; location of occupation sites, preservation of those sites, and recognition of the sites. If problems of site preservation and recognition in a river valley can be recognized and addressed, a better insight into settlement patterns and complex human–environment interactions can result. This study represents a synthesis of extensive published and secondary data sets pertaining to archaeology and alluvial geomorphology of the lower Missouri, Red, and Mississippi Rivers, to examine the relationship of prehistoric site distribution with fluvial geomorphology. The archeologic data are from published literature and government agencies. The geomorphic data are from a variety of published and unpublished investigations, including maps of alluvial geomorphology, digital elevation models, aerial photographs, and topographic maps. The data were input into spreadsheets and a GIS for qualitative and quantitative analysis. Prehistoric human occupation of the narrow Missouri valley floor is limited, with only 0.061 recorded sites/km 2. Additional sites are likely buried by thick vertical accretion sediment on the limited prehistoric portions of the floodplain and within alluvial/colluvial fans along the valley margin. Non-random preservation patterns, such as the absence of sites from the youngest cultural period, are attributed to shifts in settlement patterns. In comparison to the lower Missouri River valley, prehistoric occupation of the lower Red and Mississippi rivers was much more extensive and the density of occupation was 0.274 sites/km 2 and 0.277 sites/km 2 respectively. Significant differences do exist in the age of sites and their relationship to different floodplain depositional environments. Many sites along the active meander belt of the Red River were likely lost due to high rates of channel migration. Nevertheless, intense occupation of Paleo-Indian through Caddoan groups assures that many significant sites have been preserved. The wide valley and high rates of sedimentation suggest that many sites are likely buried, particularly along natural levees flanking an older meander belt. Recorded sites are also present along streams that incise the terrace, along the terrace margin, and along small channels that cross the backswamp. The spatial and temporal site distribution along the lower Mississippi valley is distinct in comparison with the Red River because the Mississippi valley is wider, the terraces are younger and less dissected, and the floodplain has more relief and is not broadly inundated by floodwater with relatively low sediment concentrations. Most of the significant Archaic through Mississippian period floodplain sites are located along the surfaces of abandoned Mississippi and distributary meander belts which aggraded above the adjacent backswamp and have rarely been influenced by flood sedimentation since abandonment. Abundant Paleo-Indian through Mississippian period sites are also widely distributed across undissected terraces. Only a few significant Mississippian sites are present along the active meander belt and in the backswamp where flooding was common. In comparison with the Red River, the archaeological record of the floodplain is less likely to be influenced by burial or erosion due to the Mississippi River having lower rates of overbank sedimentation and channel migration, respectively. The variable alluvial styles of the lower Missouri River, lower Red River, and the lower Mississippi River valleys presented varying opportunities and constraints to occupation and sustained settlement, and resulted in widely varying archaeological patterns that are partly dependent upon the alluvial geomorphology.

Exchange patterns, boundary formation, and sociopolitical change in Late Bronze Age Southern Caucasia: preliminary results from a pottery provenance study in northwestern Armenia

In the South Caucasus—roughly the territory of today's Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan—the transition from the Middle Bronze Age (MBA) to the Late Bronze Age (LBA) is equated with fundamental shifts in settlement patterns, subsistence economy, and political strategies. During the mid-2nd millennium BC, nomadic pastoral societies that had dominated the region began to settle down and construct stone fortresses along the foothills of the Lesser Caucasus; these fortifications largely replaced the expansive and often opulently adorned kurgan burials as the most prominent expression of political dominance on the landscape. After a decade of intensive archaeological study at various fortifications, very little remains known about the political and economic relationships among fortresses on a regional scale that might improve our understanding of the roots of these sociopolitical transformations. In this paper, we highlight the results of a recent neutron activation analysis (NAA) of ceramics from elite and non-elite contexts at a selection of LBA fortresses on the Tsaghkahovit Plain in northwestern Armenia, and offer some preliminary interpretations about political and economic organization and boundary formation. Most strikingly, the NAA data suggest that the fortresses on the Tsaghkahovit Plain appear to have isolated themselves economically from surrounding valleys, perhaps in an attempt to forge boundaries and legitimating ideologies attendant to new political formations that were quite distinct from their nomadic predecessors in the MBA.

Stratigraphic and geochronological context of human habitation along the Galana River, Kenya

AbstractGeoarchaeological investigations along the Galana River, eastern Kenya, document a pattern of channel aggradation and then degradation from the Middle to Late Holocene. Archaeological occupations at six sites in fluvial terraces along a ˜100 km stretch of the Galana River in Tsavo East National Park correspond with fluvial aggradation beginning ca. 6000 years ago. Artifact analyses indicate that the inhabitants of these sites utilized ceramics and stone tools similar to Pastoral Neolithic traditions detected at other penecontemporaneous archaeological sites in East Africa and possessed domesticated cattle from ca. 3700 years ago. The site occupations that occur during this period have dense artifact concentrations of predominantly locally procured items. The Galana River incised after ca. 900 years ago and there is a noticeable paucity of archaeological material, reflecting more peripatetic lifestyles. This shift in settlement pattern may reflect a decrease in reliance on riverine food sources during the Late Holocene, with diminished riparian environments associated with channel incision. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

THE OBSIDIAN TRADE TO THE TUXTLAS REGION AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PREHISTORY OF SOUTHERN VERACRUZ, MEXICO

Evidence from the Tuxtla Mountains in southern Veracruz suggests that Teotihuacan established a base at Matacapan, the region's top-ranking center, sometime during the Early Classic period. This development in Tuxtlas's prehistory was associated with the founding of Matacapan, a major shift in settlement pattern, and the presence of substantial amounts of Fine Buff, a lower fired variant of Fine Orange that resembles Copa ware, a common Middle Classic-period ceramic service ware at Teotihuacan. Teotihuacan's influence at Matacapan, as monitored ratios of candelero- and tripod support to rim sherds, increased markedly in the succeeding early Middle Classic period but declined in the late Middle Classic and early Late Classic periods. At the same time, Teotihuacan's influence extended well into the countryside, where it was present not only at other large sites, but also at small villages and hamlets. These developments were associated with changes in the amount and kind of obsidian traded to the Tuxtlas. The total volume of obsidian traded to the Tuxtlas in the Middle and Late Classic periods was huge: from 7.5 to 19.6 metric tons per year. Matacapan had preferred status as far as the consumption of green obsidian was concerned, and in general, pre-Hispanic settlements in the Tuxtlas consumed more of this material than neighboring areas such as La Mixtequilla and the Hueyapan region. When Teotihuacan declined in importance and its influence throughout Mesoamerica waned, a much smaller amount of obsidian—in particular, material from Pachuca—was traded to the Tuxtlas. This is precisely what we would expect if the Central Mexican city was no longer the conveyor of obsidian over long distances, and some other center—perhaps Cantona or El Tajin—replaced Teotihuacan as the primary distributor of obsidian to southern Veracruz.

STONES, BONES, AND CROWDED PLAZAS: Evidence for Terminal Classic Maya warfare at Colha, Belize

This study provides a synthetic review of the Terminal Classic collapse of the Maya site of Colha, Belize, based on new data drawn from recent lithic and osteological studies and previously reported information. The well-known Colha skull pit has figured prominently in previous hypotheses of the site's collapse, which focus on either warfare or ritual termination. In this review, these two hypotheses are reexamined using data from: (1) shifts in settlement patterns; (2) transitions in lithic production; and (3) the death en masse of at least 55 individuals coincident with the site's abandonment. Based on the evidence presented here, we argue that warfare precipitated Colha's collapse. In light of Colha's role as a secondary site that functioned primarily as a lithic-production locality, the Terminal Classic destruction of the site illustrates the significance of material motivations in Maya warfare and accents the diversity of collapse processes in the Maya Lowlands.

The Development of the Classic-Period Mixtequilla in South-Central Veracruz, Mexico

AbstractWe examine ceramic and settlement-pattern changes in the Mixtequilla, Veracruz, during the Preclassic and Classic periods with special attention to the periods corresponding to the rise and decline of Teotihuacan. Data for the study derive from full-coverage survey of 40 square kilometers accompanied by systematic surface collections. Collections are analyzed using a suite of multivariate techniques to study changes in pottery that, in turn, provide a basis for the study of shifts in settlement patterns. Local developments and extralocal relationships are discussed with regard to political and economic spheres. Strong continuity through time is indicated for the region, without major disruptions. Teotihuacan influence is manifest more in stylistic domains than in imported items. Although an episode of indirect administration cannot be ruled out, social emulative relationships are more likely than administrative ones. Alternatives to commercial relations are noted.

Merenptah's Israel and Recent Theories of Israelite Origins

Several recent theories of Israelite origins link the emergence of Israel with the spread of settlement into the central hill country at the begin ning of the Iron Age. In particular, a number of theories share the assumption that this shift in settlement patterns marks the beginning of the process which led to the existence of the entity Israel. However, when the available controls are utilized to date the beginning of settle ment in the central highlands, it is clear that this began some decades after the reference to Israel on Merenptah's famous stela. Unless the stela refers to another entity with the same name (a gratuitous assumption), the above theories are in need of fundamental revision. Merenptah's reference actually implies that Israel had been part of the political scene for some time by the end of the 13th century BCE. The Iron I settlements in the highlands mark the sedentarization, not the emergence, of Israel.

Small-scale transport of early Neolithic pottery in the west Mediterranean

The early Neolithic of the west Mediterranean The archaeological complex known as the early Neolithic in the west Mediterranean represents the arrival of Neolithic traits in western Europe. Dating to around 5000 BC (Evin 1987), this complex is marked by the appearance of pottery, ground stone tools, and transvcrse projectile points. It continues for about a millennium until middle Neolithic villages, such as Villeneuve-Toulousane, begin to appear. The early Neolithic is characterized by a transitional agricultural subsistence economy. At Aude Valley cave sites, domesticated sheep first appear in aceramic Mesolithic layers with typical Tardenoisian tool assemblages and fauna (Geddes 1983). Examination of these sheep remains show that this strain originated in the Near East (Geddes 1985). Early Neolithic deposits (as defined by the presence of ceramics) are found at many of the same Mesolithic sites and contain similar lithic assemblages as well as a continuation of mixed hunted and domesticated fauna. The presumably novel open-air coastal sites of this period, such as Leucate-Corrège (Guilaine et al. 1984), also appear to represent a mixed economy. Since there is no sudden apparent shift in settlement pattern or economy associated with the early Neolithic, this period appears to be best characterized as a time of gradual transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture.

Stable Carbon Isotopic Evidence for Maize Agriculture in Southeast Missouri and Northeast Arkansas

Analysis of bone collagen extracted from human skeletal remains from archaeological sites dating from the Archaic period through Euro-American settlement provides evidence for the introduction of maize into regional subsistence patterns. Stable carbon isotope ratios of samples from both the eastern Ozarks and the Mississippi River alluvial valley indicate that human populations living prior to ca. A.D. 1000 consumed little or no C4 plant material. In populations dating after ca. A.D. 1000, stable carbon isotope ratios indicate that maize represented a significant part of the human diet throughout the region. The change in dietary patterns coincides with a shift in settlement patterns from dispersed hamlets and small villages to civic-ceremonial centers with associated villages, hamlets, and farmsteads. This isotopic evidence indicates that Emergent Mississippian diets did not include substantial quantities of maize or other C4 plant material.

Architecture and Community Variability within the Antelope Creek Phase of the Texas Panhandle

This study is concerned with examining the causes underlying cultural variation. The rationale for examining cultural variation is to elucidate the adaptive relationship of the cultural system within its natural and social environmental contexts. Changes in the environment will engender fundamental modifications of the entire cultural system, which in preindustrial semi-sedentary cultures will be manifested by alterations in architectural, community and settlement patterns, along with other tangible aspects of the cultural system. The study focuses on delineating cultural variability of the Antelope Creek phase, a late prehistoric village manifestation on the Southern High Plains of North America. Architectural remains from 28 extensively excavated sites from an 80 kilometer segment of the Canadian River are used to delineate the range of household and community patterns within the settlement system. Artifactual, mortuary, chronometric and physical environmental information are used in conjunction with the architectural data to examine functional, social, temporal and spatial factors potentially contributing to the household and community variability. IV Many community trends not reconciled by these factors are comprehensible when the natural and social context of the larger region is considered. The present environmental conditions are marginal for dependable maize production, and paleoenvironmental reconstructions indicate that xeric conditions were intensifying throughout the duration of the manifestation. The presence of springs issuing fossil water from the Ogallala aquifer during the on-set of drought conditions underlies the development of the Antelope Creek cultural system. Intensification of drought conditions adversely affected the economic base. In an attempt to alleviate the resulting population stress, a series of "buffering mechanisms" were implemented in a futile attempt to maintain the Plains Village pattern. A break down in social cohesion, shifts in settlement patterns towards lateral tributaries, expansion of trade networks with adjacent groups, and the development of raiding behavior were unsuccessfully employed to retain the Antelope Creek cultural system. Ultimately these measures proved to be inadequate, and by the sixteenth century, other major alterations in settlement and subsistence patterns were required, which radically changed the cultural system. Ultimately these measures proved to be inadequate, and by the sixteenth century, other major alterations in settlement and subsistence patterns were required, which radically changed the cultural system.