Todd L. VanPool

Cultural traits as units of analysis

Cultural traits have long been used in anthropology as units of transmission that ostensibly reflect behavioural characteristics of the individuals or groups exhibiting the traits. After they are transmitted, cultural traits serve as units of replication in that they can be modified as part of an individuals cultural repertoire through processes such as recombination, loss or partial alteration within an individuals mind. Cultural traits are analogous to genes in that organisms replicate them, but they are also replicators in their own right. No one has ever seen a unit of transmission, either behavioural or genetic, although we can observe the effects of transmission. Fortunately, such units are manifest in artefacts, features and other components of the archaeological record, and they serve as proxies for studying the transmission (and modification) of cultural traits, provided there is analytical clarity over how to define and measure the units that underlie this inheritance process.

METRIC DATA IN ARCHAEOLOGY: A STUDY OF INTRA-ANALYST AND INTER-ANALYST VARIATION

Metric data are regularly presented, analyzed, and compared. Despite acknowledgment that metric data can vary both when collected by one observer and when collected by multiple observers, few studies of these sources of variation in archaeological metric data have been undertaken. Intra-observer and inter-observer measurement errors are examined across four dimensions of 23 modern bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) astragali and five dimensions of 30 specimens of stone projectile point representing 4 culture-historical (temporal) types. Statistical and graphical analyses indicate that measuring dimensions of the same specimens multiple times facilitates determination of dimensions that can be readily and reliably measured and serves to screen data for data recording errors and for dimensions that may be subject to high levels of intra-observer and inter-observer variation.

Specialized ground stone production in the Casas Grandes region of northern Chihuahua, Mexico

Previous research has identified specialized production of prestige goods during the Medio period (A.D. 1200-1450) in the Casas Grandes region of northwestern Mexico and the American Southwest. We evaluate the organization of production of two functionally equivalent types of trough metates from Paquimé, Chihuahua, Mexico, using the standardization hypothesis, i.e., the premise that products produced by specialists have less variation than those manufactured by less-specialized producers. We find that the morphology of one of the metate types (Type 1A metates) is statistically more standardized than the other (Type 1B metates). We then compare the Paquimé metates to those manufactured by generalized producers from the Mimbres Valley region of New Mexico. We find that Mimbres through-trough metates and the Type 1B metates from Paquimé have a similar degree of morphological variation, but that the Type 1A Paquimé metates are morphologically more standardized, indicating that specialists produced them. We conclude that specialized production in the Casas Grandes region was not limited to prestige goods but was instead a fundamental organizing principle of the Medio period economic system, reflecting the presence of a well-established social hierarchy and exchange system.

THE SURVIVAL OF ARCHAIC TECHNOLOGY IN AN AGRICULTURAL WORLD: HOW THE ATLATL AND DART ENDURED IN THE NORTH AMERICAN SOUTHWEST

Abstract Southwestern archaeologists typically believe that the bow and arrow were introduced into the North American Southwest around AD 500, spread in popularity, and completely replaced the atlatl and dart by AD 800. This empirical pattern is inconsistent with the prehistory of the culture areas around the Southwest, in which the atlatl and dart continued to be used long after the bow and arrow were introduced, sometimes even into the Historic period. I examine two cases in the North American Southwest where I find evidence of the use of atlatls and darts after the supposed AD 800 date of their replacement. Based on these data, I argue that the atlatl and dart were used later than they are commonly believed to have been, and that the details regarding when they stopped being used remain open empirical questions. Abstract La mayoría de los arqueólogos en el suroeste de Norteamérica suponen que el arco fue introducido a la región ca. 500 D.C., que se popularizó rapidamente, y que reemplazó al atlatl antes de 800 D.C. Esta suponencia no es consistente con la evidencia prehistórica en varios partes del suroeste de N.A., donde el atlatl continuó en uso bastante después de la introducción del arco y en algunos casos hasta el período histórico. Basado en dos áreas donde hay evidencia del uso del atlatl después del 800 D.C., el reemplazamiento del atlatl por el arco es un proceso todavía no adecuamente fechado.

Gender in Middle Range Societies: A Case Study in Casas Grandes Iconography

Gender analyses have provided useful insights into the social organization of the people anthropologists study. Here we demonstrate how Casas Grandes gender roles influenced other aspects of Casas Grandes worldview and social life. Medio period (A.D. 1200–1450) iconography depicts differences between males and females. Gender roles were not only defined by their proximity to males and females but to birds and serpents. Furthermore, Casas Grandes cosmology was based on gender complementarity that combined the productive, reproductive, and ritual activities of men and women within a single system. The development of social differentiation was tied to this system, indicating that gender complementarity and the accumulation of productive and ritual power into a limited group of women and men may have been an important factor in the development of social hierarchies in many Middle Range societies.

Sociopolitical Complexity and the Bow and Arrow in the American Southwest

The evolution of sociopolitical complexity, including heightened relations of cooperation and competition among large nonkin groups, has long been a central focus of anthropological research. Anthropologists suggest any number of variables that affect the waxing and waning of complexity and define the precise trajectories that groups take, including population density, subsistence strategies, warfare, the distribution of resources, and trade relationships. Changes in weaponry, here the introduction of the bow and arrow, can have profound implications for population aggregation and density, subsistence and settlement strategies, and access to resources, trade, and warfare. Bingham and Souza provide a general conceptual model for the relationship between complexity and the bow and arrow, arguing that this compound weapon system, whereby smaller projectiles travel at higher speed and are capable of hitting targets more accurately and at greater distances than hand‐thrown darts, fundamentally favors the formation of larger groups because it allows for cost‐effective means of dealing with conflicts of interest through social coercion, thereby dramatically transforming kin‐based social relations. Here we consider the impacts the introduction of the bow and arrow had on sociopolitical complexity in the North American Southwest.

Flaked Stone and Social Interaction in the Casas Grandes Region, Chihuahua, Mexico

This analysis usesflaked stone artifacts to gain insight into the social and economic structure of the Casas Grandes region, northern Chihuahua, Mexico. It begins by considering the intrasite variation in flaked stone reduction at Galeana, a large site near the modern town of Galeana. The analysis of debitage and cores from Galeana indicates that the assemblage is primarily the product of hard hammer, generalized reduction of locally available materials. Differences within the assemblage indicate the presence of spatially distinct reduction areas, with initial core reduction occurring in open areas, and then continuing in room blocks. We then compare the Galeana assemblage with the flaked stone assemblage from the site of Paquime" (Casas Grandes), Chihuahua. The analysis indicates that the reduction technique employed at both sites is similar, but that the PaquEme" assemblage is characterized by a greater proportion of cryptocrystaline silicates and obsidian than the Galeana assemblage. Furthermore, much of the raw material from Paquime" does not appear to be locally available. We conclude that the prehistoric inhabitants of Paquime" had greater access to cryptocrystaline silicates and obsidian acquired through trade than did the inhabitants of Galeana. This evidence indicates that the economic pattern evident at Paquime" did not extend to Galeana and supports the idea that Paquimes economic and political influence over other Casas Grandes sites was limited beyond a 30-km radius.

The many manipulations of morty mouse : Children's stories and the parental encouragement of altruism

Most analyses of childrens stories share the assumption that stories are told to children to influence their behavior. This paper explores how the analysis of stories can provide insight into social strategies used by people interacting within their cultural context. To demonstrate the potential of this approach, we created multiple versions of an original childrens story to explore attitudes of college students toward the form of social interaction known as reciprocal altruism. Some versions portrayed the protagonist of the story as following a tit-for-tat strategy, while in other versions the protagonist was altruistic toward all the other characters regardless of their past behavior. Subjects read one of the versions and rated it in terms of how likely they would be to read it to a child of the appropriate age. The highest rated version involved the protagonist being altruistic even to characters that had cheated in the past. We discuss this finding and suggest future applications of this methodology.

Social Interaction, Social Status, and the Organization of Medio Period Craft Production as Evidenced in Ground Stone Artifacts from 76 Draw

ABSTRACT The analysis of ground stone artifacts is a productive avenue for gaining useful information regarding the past societies of the North American Southwest. Here we present the results of the analysis of 255 ground stone items recovered from 76 Draw, a Medio period (AD 1200 to 1450) settlement in New Mexico. We find that locally available stone was used to make a variety of utilitarian items. We then compare the assemblage to previously reported ground stone assemblages from Paquimé (the economic and political center of the Medio period world) and nearby sites in northern Chihuahua, Mexico. We find that our assemblage is very similar to those from the smaller Medio period settlements but quite distinct when compared to Paquimé’s assemblage. Paquimé’s ground stone reflects an emphasis on non-utilitarian ornaments, religiously significant items such as effigies, and distinct utilitarian items such as well-formed metates produced by specialists. In contrast, the 76 Draw and other assemblages reflect an emphasis on utilitarian items produced at the household level. From this, we conclude that the social differentiation evident at Paquimé and reflected in its ground stone assemblage did not extend across the entire Casas Grandes region, even though utilitarian ground stone tools reflect the same technological system.

DRESSING THE PERSON: CLOTHING AND IDENTITY IN THE CASAS GRANDES WORLD

Casas Grandes Medio–period (A.D. 1200–1450) human effigies are unique in the North American Southwest in that they depict primary and secondary sexual traits, making determination of sex and gender roles possible. Here, we build on previous discussions by considering the importance of depictions of clothing (e.g., belts and sashes), personal adornments (e.g., necklaces and bracelets), facial decorations, and other aspects of dress. We find that Medio-period symbolism for males and females was based on gender complementary that combined the productive, reproductive, and ritual activities of men and women within a single symbolic and ritual system. Some clothing styles are found on both males and females (e.g., arm bands), but there are also sex-based differences. Women wear low horizontal belts across their hips, whereas men primarily wear sandals and elaborate headbands. Aspects of dress also appear to be continued from previous cultures such as the Classic Mimbres (A.D. 1000–1150) and continued into historic northern Mexican and southwestern groups (e.g., headgear and some sandal types). Ultimately, we find that males have more elaborate dress and are associated with a specific set of ritually important symbols. Females are associated with cloud/fertility symbolism, sternal decorations, and birds. La cultura de Paquimé (Casas Grandes) floreció durante el periodo medio (1200--1450 d.C.). Sus artesanos fabricaron efigies humanas únicas en el Suroeste norteamericano. Estas figuras presentan rasgos sexuales primarios y secundarios, facilitando la determinación del sexo y de los papeles de género. Con base en debates anteriores, en este trabajo consideramos la importancia de las descripciones de las prendas de ropa (por ejemplo, cinturones y fajas), adornos personales (por ejemplo, collares y pulseras), decoraciones faciales y otros aspectos del vestuario. Observamos que el simbolismo del periodo medio estuvo basado en la complementariedad de género que combinaba actividades productivas, reproductivas y rituales de mujeres y varones dentro de un solo sistema simbólico y ritual. Algunos estilos de ropa se encuentran en mujeres y varones (por ejemplo, brazaletes de brazo), pero también hay diferencias basadas en el sexo. Las mujeres usan correas horizontales en las caderas, mientras que los varones usan principalmente sandalias y cintas para el cabello. Algunos aspectos del vestuario también parecen ser una continuación de culturas anteriores, como los mimbres del periodo clásico (1000–1150 d.C.), y persistieron hasta el periodo histórico en el norte de México y el suroeste de Norteamérica (por ejemplo, las cintas de cabello y algunos tipos de sandalias). Por ultimo, observamos que los varones usan vestidos más elaborados y están asociados a un conjunto específico de símbolos ritualmente importantes. Las mujeres están asociadas a simbolismo de nubes y fertilidad, decoraciones esternales y aves.