- Social Science (Anthropology)
Negaunee Integrative Research Center
Science & Education
The Field Museum
1400 South Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60605-2496
USA
Curatorial Ranges: Mesoamerica, Central American, and East Asian Anthropology and Archaeology, Western North American Archaeology
Gary Feinman
Field Museum, Anthropology/Integrative Research Center, Faculty Member
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University of Illinois at Chicago, Anthropology, Faculty MemberNorthwestern University, Anthropology, Department Member, and 2 more add
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Ceramic Analysis (Archaeology), Economic archaeology, Archaeological Method & Theory, Craft production (Archaeology), Economic Anthropology, Ancient economies (Archaeology), and 122 moreAnthropology, Chinese archaeology, Comparative Civilizations (Archaeology), Mesoamerican Archaeology, Rise of Civilization (Archaeology), Settlement Patterns, Social Inequality (Anthropology), Chiefdoms (Archaeology), Household Archaeology, Archaeology and History, Survey (Archaeological Method & Theory), Archaeology of States, Empires, Urbanism, Human-Environment Relations, Oaxaca (Archaeology), Ancient Trade & Commerce (Archaeology), Social Stratification, State Formation, Ancient Civilization (Archaeology), Inequality (Economics), Archaeological Science, Environmental Archaeology, Museum, Collective Action, Prehistoric Archaeology, Landscape Archaeology, Obsidian, Social Networks, Economic Sociology, Economic History, History, Human Ecology, Political Economy, Museum Studies, Resilience, Development of complex societies, History of Archaeology, Archaeometry, Spatial Analysis, Cultural Evolution, Ceramics (Archaeology), Social Evolution, Bioarchaeology, Evolution of cooperation (Evolutionary Biology), Funerary Archaeology, Archaeology of Architecture, Archaeology of Ritual, Archaeology of Religion, Ancient History, Comparative History, Pottery (Archaeology), Prehistoric Settlement, Maya Archaeology, Teotihuacan, Aztecs, History of Economic Thought, Political Anthropology, Anthropology of the State, Ecological Anthropology, Political Ecology (Anthropology), Social Inequality, World-Systems Analysis, Archaeological Theory, Theoretical Archaeology, portable XRF (PXRF) in Archaeology and Museum Science, Archaeological survey, Settlement archaeology, Ancient Technology (Archaeology), Ancient Networks, Obsidian Sourcing, Early China, Indian Ocean World, Mesoamerican Writing, Ancient Warfare, Mesoamerica, Cooperation, Early State Formation, The archaeology of state formation, Ancient economy, Markets, Mesoamerican Ballgame, Arqueología, Mesoamerican Religion, Political Ecology, Archaeology of ethnicity, Neolithic Archaeology, Sociology Of Markets, Globalization, Complex Systems, Ancient markets, Social Network Analysis (SNA), Archaeology, Classic Maya (Archaeology), Spindle Whorls, Social Complexity, Societal Collapse, Spatial analysis (Archaeology), Complexity Theory, Complexity, Complex Networks, Death and Burial (Archaeology), Urbanism (Archaeology), Andean Archaeology, Ancient economic history, Wealth inequality, Income inequality, Movement of obsidian, Governance, Comparative Politics, Social Complexity (Archaeology), Political Sociology, Political Science, Fiscal Sociology, Fiscal History, Comparative archaeology, Craft Specialization, Southeastern Archaeology (Archaeology in North America), Southwestern Archaeology, South American Archaeology, Archaeology Of China, and Renewable Energy edit
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Education:Ph.D., Anthropology, City University of New York-Graduate Center, 1980. B.A., Anthropology, University of M... moreEducation:Ph.D., Anthropology, City University of New York-Graduate Center, 1980. B.A., Anthropology, University of Michigan, 1972. Research, Academic, Editorial Positions:MacArthur Curator of Mesoamerican, Central American, and East Asian Anthropology, The Field MuseumAdjunct Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois-Chicago Adjunct Professor, Department of Anthropology, Northwestern UniversityJoint Faculty, Archaeology Center, Shandong University, ChinaCASE Senior Scholar, Oriental Institute, University of ChicagoCoeditor, Journal of Archaeological ResearchChief Editor, Frontiers in Human Dynamics, Institutions and Collective ActionEditorial Board, Human EcologyAdvisory Editor, Cross-Cultural ResearchConsejo de Asesores, Arqueología MexicanaEditorial Board,: Academia Environmental Sciences and SustainabilitySeries Co-editor, Fundamental Issues in Archaeology, SpringerSeries Co-editor, Foundations of Archaeology, Eliot Werner PublicationsSeries Co-editor, Principles of Archaeology, Eliot Werner PublicationsI co-direct two international archaeological projects. My principal research area is Mesoamerica, where Linda Nicholas and I led four seasons of excavations (following excavations at Ejutla, El Palmillo, and the Mitla Fortress). At the most overarching level, this research, mostly focused on domestic contexts, has been designed to examine the Classic period economy in the Valley of Oaxaca, the functioning and eventual collapse of the Classic period polity centered at Monte Albán, and the reorganization of the region in the subsequent Postclassic period. Specifically, we are interested in how people made a living and were organized at nucleated settlements, such as Lambityeco, the Mitla Fortress, and El Palmillo, all situated in semi-desert environments. This household archaeology research fits into a career-long effort to contribute to our understanding of the prehispanic Mesoamerican economic and political organization through a multiscalar focus on highland Oaxaca. At Lambityeco, we also investigated civic-ceremonial contexts.For the last 20 years, I also have been involved in a systematic, full-coverage settlement pattern survey in coastal Shandong Province, China. Here, Linda Nicholas and I, for much of the project, collaborated with Dr. Anne Underhill, and scholars from Shandong University and the Rizhao Museum. But we are now teaming principally with colleagues from Shandong University (mainly Dr. Fang Hui and his students) and the Jiaozhou Museum, Jiaonan Museum, and Qingdao Institute of Archaeology. This study is focused on the rise of hierarchical polities in the region, the eventual incorporation of this area into empires centered to the west of Shandong, and the documentation of settlement and demographic change in this coastal setting over millennia. We also aim to illustrate through our findings the key role that a systematic regional perspective can have for our understanding of the past, and how this approach can be useful for documenting China’s significant history. In Chicago, I am collaborating on several ongoing investigations that are focused on Field Museum collections. In conjunction with my colleagues, Dr. Dean Arnold and Dr. Ryan Williams, and others, one project is studying the production of Maya Blue pigment. Another collaborative effort, with Dr. Mark Golitko and others, is sourcing the obsidian from J. Eric Thompson's excavations at the San José site (Belize). With Mark, Linda Nicholas, and other colleagues from the U.S. and Mexico, we expanded this study to the sourcing of archaeological obsidian samples from the Valley of Oaxaca and pan-Mesoamerican patterns of exchange.I am curator of the Field Museum's permanent Ancient Americas exhibition, which highlights the peoples in the Western Hemisphere prior to the late 15th century. I am a co-curator (with Dr. Deborah Bekken and Dr. Lisa Niziolek) of the permanent Cyrus Tang Hall of China that explores the History and Culture of China. I also have collaborated on numerous temporary exhibitions, including the current traveling exhibition, Death: Life's Greatest Mystery.The focal threads that link my research include ancient economies, human political and economic networks and coalitions through history, human-environmental interactions over time and space, inequality and its underpinnings, and comparative/cross-cultural approaches that endeavor to account for societal diversity, parallels, and change. edit
In Ancient Mesoamerican Population History: Urbanism, Social Complexity, and Change, edited by Adrian S. Z. Chase, Arlen F. Chase, and Diane Z. Chase, pp. 309–335. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.
Research Interests:
In Pomp, Circumstance, and the Performance of Politics: Acting Politically Ccorrect Iin the Ancient World, edited by Kathryn R. Morgan, pp. 15–47. Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures of the University of Chicago ISAC Seminars •... more
In Pomp, Circumstance, and the Performance of Politics: Acting Politically Ccorrect Iin the Ancient World, edited by Kathryn R. Morgan, pp. 15–47. Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures of the University of Chicago
ISAC Seminars • Number 16, 2024.
ISAC Seminars • Number 16, 2024.
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Anthropologists have persistently diminished the importance of the market and marketplace exchange in premodern, preindustrial times. This strident anti-marketmentality, derived largely fromthe writings of Karl Polanyi, underpins an... more
Anthropologists have persistently diminished the importance of the market
and marketplace exchange in premodern, preindustrial times. This strident
anti-marketmentality, derived largely fromthe writings of Karl Polanyi, underpins
an ideological and politicized argument that neither sets useful guideposts
to advance anthropological research, nor does it yield the necessary insights
or empirically valid foundations to comprehend the deep historical origins
of modern economies or polities. In fact, by envisioning the past that is
categorically caged from the modern, the school of thought crystalized through
Polanyi’s perspectives circumvents the role of diachronic processes that are at
the heart of a truly historical social science. Although it is not our principal
aim to relitigate the vast literature pertaining to the rise and fall of Polanyian
thought, our approach expands on prior arguments about his project both by
highlighting critical perspectives on capitalism that long predated Polanyian
thought and by identifying a veritable bounty of new evidence and theory
concerning premodern and contemporary marketplace economies that enable
us to transcend these now-entrenched claims. The scheme we present that
distinguishes between open and competitive marketplaces, on the one hand,
and the capitalist impulse, on the other, we believe, adds depth and breadth to
the analysis of price-making markets and their divergent social and economic
outcomes across time and space.
KEYWORDS
anti-market mentality, economic anthropology, capitalist impulse, marketplace
economies, K. Polanyi, markets
and marketplace exchange in premodern, preindustrial times. This strident
anti-marketmentality, derived largely fromthe writings of Karl Polanyi, underpins
an ideological and politicized argument that neither sets useful guideposts
to advance anthropological research, nor does it yield the necessary insights
or empirically valid foundations to comprehend the deep historical origins
of modern economies or polities. In fact, by envisioning the past that is
categorically caged from the modern, the school of thought crystalized through
Polanyi’s perspectives circumvents the role of diachronic processes that are at
the heart of a truly historical social science. Although it is not our principal
aim to relitigate the vast literature pertaining to the rise and fall of Polanyian
thought, our approach expands on prior arguments about his project both by
highlighting critical perspectives on capitalism that long predated Polanyian
thought and by identifying a veritable bounty of new evidence and theory
concerning premodern and contemporary marketplace economies that enable
us to transcend these now-entrenched claims. The scheme we present that
distinguishes between open and competitive marketplaces, on the one hand,
and the capitalist impulse, on the other, we believe, adds depth and breadth to
the analysis of price-making markets and their divergent social and economic
outcomes across time and space.
KEYWORDS
anti-market mentality, economic anthropology, capitalist impulse, marketplace
economies, K. Polanyi, markets
Research Interests:
History, Ancient History, Economic History, Economic Sociology, Archaeology, and 12 moreEconomics, Anthropology, Political Economy, Economic Anthropology, Markets, Ancient economies (Archaeology), Capitalism, Karl Polanyi, Economic archaeology, Ancient Trade & Commerce (Archaeology), Ancient economy, and Marketplace
During his long, prolific career, Henri J. M. Claessen was a major contributor to the comparative study of political organizational change. Starting with The Early State (1978), edited with Peter Skalník, Claessen's writings served to... more
During his long, prolific career, Henri J. M. Claessen was a major contributor to the comparative study of political organizational change. Starting with The Early State (1978), edited with Peter Skalník, Claessen's writings served to broaden and enrich evolutionary approaches in anthropology by recognizing key axes of diversity in political forms and variation in temporal sequences. Furthermore, he recognized that studies of long-term political change required multiscalar concepts that included analytical lenses larger in size than single polities. Claessen drew on his encyclopedic knowledge of ethnographic and historical cases in challenging and expanding the mid-twentieth century approaches to social evolution. With his passing, now is an appropriate time to build on the theoretical advances that Claessen forged, most specifically by taking fuller account of what archaeological research has discovered during the years coincident with his academic career. Grounded in these findings, further steps toward a comparative framing aimed at understanding diversity and change in human political organization and cooperation are advanced.
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Review of eight books
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In archaeology, along with a large sector of other social sciences, comparative approaches to long-term political change over the last two centuries have been underpinned by two big ideas, classification and evolution, which often have... more
In archaeology, along with a large sector of other social sciences, comparative approaches to long-term political change over the last two centuries have been underpinned by two big ideas, classification and evolution, which often have been manifest as cultural history and progress. Despite comparative archaeology’s agenda to explain change, the conceptual core of these frames was grounded in the building of stepped sequences of transformation with expectations drawn from synchronic empirical snapshots in time. Nevertheless, especially over the last 70 years, archaeology has seen the generation and analysis of unprecedented volumes of data collected along multiple dimensions and a range of spatial scales. Compilation and comparison of these
data reveal significant diversity along various dimensions, which have begun to create dissonance with key tenets, assumptions, and even the aims of extant, long-held approaches. Expanded conceptual framing with a shift toward a focus on explaining variation and change is necessary.
data reveal significant diversity along various dimensions, which have begun to create dissonance with key tenets, assumptions, and even the aims of extant, long-held approaches. Expanded conceptual framing with a shift toward a focus on explaining variation and change is necessary.
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Mesoamerica was the most urbanised landscape of the precolonial Western Hemisphere, and urban dwellers there shared many cultural commonalities. They also varied significantly regarding what social institutions they emphasised, what forms... more
Mesoamerica was the most urbanised landscape of the precolonial Western Hemisphere, and urban dwellers there shared many cultural commonalities. They also varied significantly regarding what social institutions they emphasised, what forms of urban infrastructure they created, their fiscal financing and systems of governance, as well as how they managed ecological resources and risk. In this paper, we provide a comparative analysis of Mesoamerican cities using a database of archaeological indices of Indigenous urban characteristics. We report positive correlations between the longevity of cities in our sample and more collective institutions of governance, higher population densities, and more shared and equitably distributed forms of urban infrastructure. The study draws on Indigenous knowledge and practices to assist the target-based approach of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and New Urban Agenda and provides insights into how certain urban institutions and infrastructure can foster greater resilience and equity in the face of ecological and cultural-historical perturbations.
Research Interests:
Mesoamerica and Urbanismo
Urban adaptation to climate change is a global challenge requiring a broad response that can be informed by how urban societies in the past responded to environmental shocks. Yet, interdisciplinary efforts to leverage insights from the... more
Urban adaptation to climate change is a global challenge requiring a broad response that can be informed by how urban societies in the past responded to environmental shocks. Yet, interdisciplinary efforts to leverage insights from the urban past have been stymied by disciplinary silos and entrenched misconceptions regarding the nature and diversity of premodern human settlements and institutions, especially in the case of prehispanic Mesoamerica. Long recognized as a distinct cultural region, prehispanic Mesoamerica was the setting for one of the world's original urbanization episodes despite the impediments to communication and resource extraction due to the lack of beasts of burden and wheeled transport, and the limited and relatively late use of metal implements. Our knowledge of prehispanic urbanism in Mesoamerica has been significantly enhanced over the past two decades due to significant advances in excavating, analyzing, and contextualizing archaeological materials. We now understand that Mesoamerican urbanism was as much a story about resilience and adaptation to environmental change as it was about collapse. Here we call for a dialogue among Mesoamerican urban archaeologists, sustainability scientists, and researchers interested in urban adaptation to climate change through a synthetic perspective on the organizational diversity of urbanism. Such a dialogue, seeking insights into what facilitates and hinders urban adaptation to environmental change, can be animated by shifting the long-held emphasis on failure and collapse to a more empirically grounded account of resilience and the factors that fostered adaptation and sustainability.
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In Ancient Foodways: Integrative Approaches to Understanding Subsistence and Society, edited by C. Margaret Scarry, Dale L. Hutchinson, and Benjamin S. Arbuckle, pp. 131–151. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.
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In Landscape Archaeology in the Near East. Approaches, Methods, and Case Studies, edited by Bülent Arikan and Linda Olsvig-Whittaker, pp. 47–56. Archaeopress Publishing, Oxford.
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During the last millennium BCE, central places were founded across many regions of western (non-Maya) Mesoamerica. These early central places differed in environmental location, size, layout, and the nature of their public spaces and... more
During the last millennium BCE, central places were founded across many regions of western (non-Maya) Mesoamerica. These early central places differed in environmental location, size, layout, and the nature of their public spaces and monumental architecture. We compare a subset of these regional centers and find marked differences in their sustainability-defined as the duration of time that they remained central places in their respective regions. Early infrastructural investments, high degrees of economic interdependence and collaboration between domestic units, and collective forms of governance are found to be key factors in such sustainability.
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For more than 150 years, global perspectives on the mobile to sedentary transition have been framed by deeply entrenched categorical assumptions that have effectively blinded archaeologists to the fundamental importance of interpersonal... more
For more than 150 years, global perspectives on the mobile to sedentary transition have been framed by deeply entrenched categorical assumptions that have effectively blinded archaeologists to the fundamental importance of interpersonal relationships. Combining multi-disciplinary studies of living groups with recent archaeological findings, we formulate a model that identifies regularities and divergences in the social interactions and institutions of small-scale, variably settled communities. We then confirm the model’s diachronic validity for a sample of archaeological cases that followed alternative pathways to greater residential permanence. When interactive densities surpassed critical demographic thresholds and fissioning did not occur, diverse interpersonal realignments ensued. Much of the variability evident across cases stemmed from the characteristics of key resources. When resources were heritable, but not monopolizable, new institutional arrangements and social adjustments tended to be collectively organized, but when they were both, the new organizational arrangements tended to be more inequitable with greater power differentials.
Research Interests:
Economic History, Archaeology, Anthropology, Leadership, Political Anthropology, and 14 morePolitical Science, Social Interaction, Governance, Collective Action, Neolithic Archaeology, Political Organization, Archaeological Theory, Cooperation, Archaeological Method and Theory, Institutions, Anthropological Archaeology, Sedentism, Scalar Stress, and Anthropological Theory
Obsidian was a vital Mesoamerican trade good throughout the prehispanic sequence. Here, drawing on an archive of more than 500,000 pieces of sourced obsidian with prehispanic contexts, we map and describe marked shifts in Mesoamerican... more
Obsidian was a vital Mesoamerican trade good throughout the prehispanic sequence. Here, drawing on an archive of more than 500,000 pieces of sourced obsidian with prehispanic contexts, we map and describe marked shifts in Mesoamerican exchange networks over 3000 years. Variation in the spatial and temporal patterns of obsidian procurement illustrate the diachronic dynamism of these networks, key transitions in the east-to-west movement of goods across time, and changes in modes of transfer.
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Obsidian was a valued good throughout the prehispanic sequence in Oaxaca (Mexico). Yet, there is no obsidian source in the entire state of Oaxaca, and all archaeological obsidian recovered in the centrally situated Valley of Oaxaca was... more
Obsidian was a valued good throughout the prehispanic sequence in Oaxaca (Mexico). Yet, there is no obsidian source in the entire state of Oaxaca, and all archaeological obsidian recovered in the centrally situated Valley of Oaxaca was procured from locations that were at least 200km away. We draw on a large corpus of more than 20,000 sourced pieces of obsidian from prehispanic sites in Oaxaca to document dramatic shifts in networks of exchange over time. Obsidian was traded into Oaxaca, arriving at different entry points, through multiple routes that often were simultaneously active. Our findings do not support a model of centralized
control or redistribution by urban Monte Albán or any other settlement. Obsidian assemblages in Oaxaca were affected by extraregional,
geopolitical processes that impacted broader networks of exchange.
control or redistribution by urban Monte Albán or any other settlement. Obsidian assemblages in Oaxaca were affected by extraregional,
geopolitical processes that impacted broader networks of exchange.
Research Interests:
TABLE OF CONTENTS 04 Editorial: Origins, Foundations, Sustainability and Trip Lines of Good Governance: Archaeological and Historical Considerations Richard E. Blanton, Gary M. Feinman, Stephen A. Kowalewski and Lane F. Fargher 09... more
TABLE OF CONTENTS
04 Editorial: Origins, Foundations, Sustainability and Trip Lines of Good
Governance: Archaeological and Historical Considerations
Richard E. Blanton, Gary M. Feinman, Stephen A. Kowalewski and
Lane F. Fargher
09 Governance Strategies in Precolonial Central Mexico
David M. Carballo
22 Premodern Confederacies: Balancing Strategic Collective Action and
Local Autonomy
Jennifer Birch
35 “Let Us All Enjoy the Fish”: Alternative Pathways and Contingent Histories
of Collective Action and Governance Among Maritime Societies of the
Western Peninsular Coast of Florida, USA, 100–1600 CE
Thomas J. Pluckhahn, Kendal Jackson and Jaime A. Rogers
50 The Foundation of Monte Albán, Intensification, and Growth: Coactive
Processes and Joint Production
Linda M. Nicholas and Gary M. Feinman
69 Political Cohesion and Fiscal Systems in the Roman Republic
James Tan
79 Keystone Institutions of Democratic Governance Across Indigenous
North America
Jacob Holland-Lulewicz, Victor D. Thompson, Jennifer Birch and
Colin Grier
92 A Civil Body Politick: Governance, Community, and Accountability in
Early New England
Gleb V. Aleksandrov
102 Complexity, Cooperation, and Public Goods: Quality of Place at
Nixtun-Ch’ich’, Petén, Guatemala
Timothy W. Pugh, Prudence M. Rice, Evelyn M. Chan Nieto and
Jemima Georges
117 Collective Action, Good Government, and Democracy in Tlaxcallan,
Mexico: An Analysis Based on Demokratia
Lane F. Fargher, Richard E. Blanton and Verenice Y. Heredia Espinoza
132 The Collapse of a Collective Society: Teuchitlán in the Tequila Region of
Jalisco, Mexico
Verenice Y. Heredia Espinoza
150 Of Revenue Without Rulers: Public Goods in the Egalitarian Cities of the
Indus Civilization
Adam S. Green
169 Mixed Governance Principles in the Gulf Lowlands of Mesoamerica
Barbara L. Stark and Wesley D. Stoner
183 Reversals of Fortune: Shared Governance, “Democracy,” and Reiterated
Problem-solving
T. L. Thurston
04 Editorial: Origins, Foundations, Sustainability and Trip Lines of Good
Governance: Archaeological and Historical Considerations
Richard E. Blanton, Gary M. Feinman, Stephen A. Kowalewski and
Lane F. Fargher
09 Governance Strategies in Precolonial Central Mexico
David M. Carballo
22 Premodern Confederacies: Balancing Strategic Collective Action and
Local Autonomy
Jennifer Birch
35 “Let Us All Enjoy the Fish”: Alternative Pathways and Contingent Histories
of Collective Action and Governance Among Maritime Societies of the
Western Peninsular Coast of Florida, USA, 100–1600 CE
Thomas J. Pluckhahn, Kendal Jackson and Jaime A. Rogers
50 The Foundation of Monte Albán, Intensification, and Growth: Coactive
Processes and Joint Production
Linda M. Nicholas and Gary M. Feinman
69 Political Cohesion and Fiscal Systems in the Roman Republic
James Tan
79 Keystone Institutions of Democratic Governance Across Indigenous
North America
Jacob Holland-Lulewicz, Victor D. Thompson, Jennifer Birch and
Colin Grier
92 A Civil Body Politick: Governance, Community, and Accountability in
Early New England
Gleb V. Aleksandrov
102 Complexity, Cooperation, and Public Goods: Quality of Place at
Nixtun-Ch’ich’, Petén, Guatemala
Timothy W. Pugh, Prudence M. Rice, Evelyn M. Chan Nieto and
Jemima Georges
117 Collective Action, Good Government, and Democracy in Tlaxcallan,
Mexico: An Analysis Based on Demokratia
Lane F. Fargher, Richard E. Blanton and Verenice Y. Heredia Espinoza
132 The Collapse of a Collective Society: Teuchitlán in the Tequila Region of
Jalisco, Mexico
Verenice Y. Heredia Espinoza
150 Of Revenue Without Rulers: Public Goods in the Egalitarian Cities of the
Indus Civilization
Adam S. Green
169 Mixed Governance Principles in the Gulf Lowlands of Mesoamerica
Barbara L. Stark and Wesley D. Stoner
183 Reversals of Fortune: Shared Governance, “Democracy,” and Reiterated
Problem-solving
T. L. Thurston
Research Interests:
History, Economic History, Archaeology, Anthropology, Comparative Politics, and 13 morePolitical Economy, Political Science, Governance, Archaeological Method & Theory, Collective Action, Political Institutions, Modernity, Democracy, Social Evolution, Comparative Historical Analysis, Cooperation, Good Governance, and Comparative Political Science
Mesoamerica was the most urbanized landscape of the precolonial Western Hemisphere, and urban dwellers there shared many cultural commonalities. They also varied significantly regarding what social institutions they emphasized, what forms... more
Mesoamerica was the most urbanized landscape of the precolonial Western Hemisphere, and urban dwellers there shared many cultural commonalities. They also varied significantly regarding what social institutions they emphasized, what forms of urban infrastructure they created, their fiscal financing and systems of governance, as well as how they managed ecological resources and risk. In this paper, we provide a comparative analysis of Mesoamerican cities using a database of archaeological indices of Indigenous urban characteristics. We report positive correlations between the longevity of cities in our sample and more collective institutions of governance, higher population densities, and more shared and equitably distributed forms of urban infrastructure. The study draws on Indigenous knowledge and practices to assist the target-based approach of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and New Urban Agenda and provides insights into how certain urban institutions and infrastructure can foster greater resilience and equity in the face of ecological and cultural-historical perturbations.
Research Interests:
During the Holocene, the scale and complexity of human societies increased markedly. Generations of scholars have proposed different theories explaining this expansion, which range from broadly functionalist explanations, focusing on the... more
During the Holocene, the scale and complexity of human societies increased markedly. Generations of scholars have proposed different theories explaining this expansion, which range from broadly functionalist explanations, focusing on the provision of public goods, to conflict theories, emphasizing the role of class struggle or warfare. To quantitatively test these theories, we develop a general dynamical model based on the theoretical framework of cultural macroevolution. Using this model and Seshat: Global History Databank, we test 17 potential predictor variables proxying mechanisms suggested by major theories of sociopolitical complexity (and >100,000 combinations of these predictors). The best-supported model indicates a strong causal role played by a combination of increasing agricultural productivity and invention/adoption of military technologies (most notably, iron weapons and cavalry in the first millennium BCE).
Research Interests:
Complex Systems Science, World Systems Analysis, Political Anthropology, War Studies, Evolution of Morality, and 15 moreEvolution of Religion, World History, Complexity, Cultural Evolution, Mathematical Modeling, Cultural Complexity, Complex Adaptive Systems, Historical Ecology, Evolution and Human Behavior, Cliometrics, Comparative Historical Analysis, Social Complexity, Warfare in the Ancient World, Social Conflict, and Cliodynamics
Research Interests:
Complex Systems Science, Political Anthropology, War Studies, Evolution of Morality, Evolution of Religion, and 15 moreWorld History, Science, Complexity, Cultural Evolution, Mathematical Modeling, Cultural Complexity, Complex Adaptive Systems, Historical Ecology, Evolution and Human Behavior, Cliometrics, Comparative Historical Analysis, Social Complexity, Warfare in the Ancient World, Social Conflict, and Cliodynamics
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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... more
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.
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Writing has often been put forth as one indicator of civilization. This correspondence dovetails with the even broader cross-species expectation that the degrees of social complexity and levels of computational communication should... more
Writing has often been put forth as one indicator of civilization. This correspondence dovetails with the even broader cross-species expectation that the degrees of social complexity and levels of computational communication should closely correlate. Although in a general sense across human cooperative arrangements, a basic relationship between these variables undoubtedly exists, more detailed and fine-grained analyses indicate important axes of variability. Here, our focus is on prehispanic Mesoamerica and the means of computation and communication employed over more than three millennia (ca. 1500 BCE-1520 CE). We take a multiscalar and diachronic analytical frame, in which we look at 30 central places, six macroregions, and Mesoamerica as whole. By unraveling elements of "social complexity", and decoupling computation from communication, we illustrate that institutional differences in governance had a marked effect on the specific modes and technologies through which prehispanic Mesoamerican peoples communicated across time and space. Demographic and spatial scale, though relevant, do not alone determine time/space diversity in media of computational communication. This article is part of the theme issue "Evolution of Collective Computational Abilities of (Pre)Historic Societies".
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Natural History, December 2020–January 2021, pp. 12–15.
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Research Interests:
Social Change, Human Evolution, World Systems Analysis, War Studies, Global Social Change, and 15 moreWorld History, Cross-Cultural Studies, Complexity, Global History, Social Evolution, Cliometrics, World systems in the ancient and pre-capitalist worlds, Warfare, Social Complexity, Technological change, World-Systems Analysis, Evolution of sociality, World-Systems Theory, Cliodynamics, and World System
In Power from Below in Premodern Societies: The Dynamics of Political Complexity in the Archaeological Record, edited by T. L. Thurston and Manuel Fernandez-Götz, pp. 220–246. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2021).
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In Contextualizing Ancient Technology: From Archaeological Case Studies Towards a Social Theory of Ancient Innovation Processes, edited by Florian Klimscha, Svend Hansen, and Jürgen Renn, pp. 87–103. Berlin Studies of the Ancient World... more
In Contextualizing Ancient Technology: From Archaeological Case Studies Towards a Social Theory of Ancient Innovation Processes, edited by Florian Klimscha, Svend Hansen, and Jürgen Renn, pp. 87–103. Berlin Studies of the Ancient World 73, Edition Topoi, Berlin, 2021.
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Leadership, the Funding of Power, and Sustainability in the Prehispanic Mesoamerican World (Gary M. Feinman 2021) in Consumption, Status, and Sustainability: Ecological and Anthropological Perspectives, edited by Paul Roscoe and Cindy Isenhour, pp. 114–143. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.more
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Research Interests:
We demonstrate that good government, similar to modern liberal democracies, emerged apart from Western history or influence. This finding is counter to the conventional understanding that democratic state building is an expression of... more
We demonstrate that good government, similar to modern liberal democracies, emerged apart from Western history or influence. This finding is counter to the conventional understanding that democratic state building is an expression of Western-inspired modernity. Yet, we argue, irrespective of cultural context or time period, good government policies and practices will be instituted when revenues that underpin governance are jointly produced, as predicted by collective action theory. We also find that good government will be relatively weakly expressed when private wealth plays an uninhibited role in political agency and when leaders have direct, discretionary control over fiscal economy. These research findings, derived from an extensive comparative study of past societies, provide theoretical support for scholars who argue that contemporary democracies are threatened by economic and political forces that undercut the fiscal
Research Interests:
History, Economic Sociology, Archaeology, Anthropology, Political Economy, and 14 moreGovernment, Trust, Political Anthropology, Political Science, Economic Anthropology, Collective Action, Archaeology of States, Societal Collapse, Good Governance, Democracy and Good Governance, Bureaucracy, Taxes, New Fiscal History, and The archaeology of ancient states and empires
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
We have found that collective action theory, as developed by Margaret Levi and others, provides a new direction for the study of growth and decline of premodern states. By following this lead, we challenge the traditional consensus that... more
We have found that collective action theory, as developed by Margaret Levi and others, provides a new direction for the study of growth and decline of premodern states. By
following this lead, we challenge the traditional consensus that despotic rule and relations characterized most premodern states, demonstrating instead a state-building process in which fiscal economies of joint production fostered the implementation of good government such as accountable leadership and public goods. In this paper we focus attention on causes and consequences of state decline, highlighting the decline pattern found in societieswhere there had been good government. Our comparative investigation reveals that while regimes providing good government policies and practices were highly regarded by citizens and brought benefits to them, they were not always enduring over time and regime decline was frequently followed by serious demographic and economic consequences. While causes of decline were varied, we describe and comment on four well-documented examples in which primary causality can be traced to a principal leadership that inexplicably abandoned core principles of state-building that were foundational to these polities, while also ignoring their expected roles as effective leaders and moral exemplars.
following this lead, we challenge the traditional consensus that despotic rule and relations characterized most premodern states, demonstrating instead a state-building process in which fiscal economies of joint production fostered the implementation of good government such as accountable leadership and public goods. In this paper we focus attention on causes and consequences of state decline, highlighting the decline pattern found in societieswhere there had been good government. Our comparative investigation reveals that while regimes providing good government policies and practices were highly regarded by citizens and brought benefits to them, they were not always enduring over time and regime decline was frequently followed by serious demographic and economic consequences. While causes of decline were varied, we describe and comment on four well-documented examples in which primary causality can be traced to a principal leadership that inexplicably abandoned core principles of state-building that were foundational to these polities, while also ignoring their expected roles as effective leaders and moral exemplars.
Research Interests:
North American archaeologists must reconsider their implicit adherence to the culture history paradigm. The long-standing role of this approach to situate archaeological remains in space and time is far outweighed by the negative impacts... more
North American archaeologists must reconsider their implicit adherence to the culture history paradigm. The long-standing role of this approach to situate archaeological remains in space and time is far outweighed by the negative impacts of its underlying assumptions about the correspondence of biological and cultural groups, intragroup uniformity, discrete spatial boundaries, primordialism, and sequential change. These discredited assumptions divert attention from variability, privilege certain research questions and interpretations, hinder dialogue with other disciplines, and facilitate the misuse of archaeology for political purposes. We recommend alternative perspectives that recognize the importance of space-time context, accommodate the complexity of new suites of archaeological data, and are more consistent with what we now know about past and present social relations.
Research Interests:
History, Social Change, Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Anthropology, and 8 moreHistory of Anthropology, Identity (Culture), Archaeological Method & Theory, Social Network Analysis (SNA), Archaeological Theory, History of Archaeology, Archaeological Method and Theory, and Ethnicity and National Identity
Coordinated with excavations at two prehispanic sites in the eastern arm of the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, we documented a diversity of economically useful plants at both localities. Many plants that abound at El Palmillo and the Mitla... more
Coordinated with excavations at two prehispanic sites in the eastern arm of the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, we documented a diversity of economically useful plants at both localities. Many plants that abound at El Palmillo and the Mitla Fortress are used locally as food, medicine, and in ritual activities. These hilltop settlements were abandoned during the prehispanic era and never resettled, leaving relict floral communities that were once tended by their prehispanic inhabitants. A comparison of plant
communities at El Palmillo, the Mitla Fortress, and other locales in the Valley of Oaxaca illustrates the higher incidence of xerophytic plants in the drier eastern (Tlacolula) arm of the valley, with the greatest abundance in archaeological contexts. These findings affirm the importance of a broad array of succulents (especially Agave spp.), yucca, and cacti for the region’s inhabitants, thereby helping account for the dense prehispanic populations that resided there.
communities at El Palmillo, the Mitla Fortress, and other locales in the Valley of Oaxaca illustrates the higher incidence of xerophytic plants in the drier eastern (Tlacolula) arm of the valley, with the greatest abundance in archaeological contexts. These findings affirm the importance of a broad array of succulents (especially Agave spp.), yucca, and cacti for the region’s inhabitants, thereby helping account for the dense prehispanic populations that resided there.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
In Poverty and Inequality in Ancient Civilizations, edited by Richard Bussman and Tobias Helms, pp. 107–117. Verlag Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH, Bonn, 2020.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Fired-clay figurines and whistles are common, yet diverse, components of ceramic assemblages at Classic period sites in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. Drawing on a large assemblage of figurines from four excavated sites in this region,... more
Fired-clay figurines and whistles are common, yet diverse,
components of ceramic assemblages at Classic period
sites in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. Drawing on a large
assemblage of figurines from four excavated sites in this region,
we group these representational ceramic objects into
eight broad categories to facilitate the examination of spatial
and contextual differences in the distributions and uses of
figurines. Most prior interpretations of Mesoamerican fired clay
figurines have stressed their roles in household ritual.
Indeed, we found that most figurines were produced and
utilized in domestic contexts, but other classes of figurines,
especially certain whistles, were heavily used in public rituals
enacted in association with civic-ceremonial structures.
components of ceramic assemblages at Classic period
sites in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. Drawing on a large
assemblage of figurines from four excavated sites in this region,
we group these representational ceramic objects into
eight broad categories to facilitate the examination of spatial
and contextual differences in the distributions and uses of
figurines. Most prior interpretations of Mesoamerican fired clay
figurines have stressed their roles in household ritual.
Indeed, we found that most figurines were produced and
utilized in domestic contexts, but other classes of figurines,
especially certain whistles, were heavily used in public rituals
enacted in association with civic-ceremonial structures.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Desde una perspectiva bioarqueológica, examinamos la incidencia de traumatismos presentes en esqueletos de los habitantes de la antigua ciudad de El Palmillo, dentro del período Clásico (250-850 d.C.). El Palmillo es un asentamiento... more
Desde una perspectiva bioarqueológica, examinamos la incidencia de traumatismos presentes en esqueletos de los habitantes de la antigua ciudad de El Palmillo, dentro del período Clásico (250-850 d.C.). El Palmillo es un asentamiento zapoteca perteneciente al Valle de Oaxaca, ubicado en el municipio de Santiago Matatlán. La muestra de estudio (n=16) está conformada por 10 individuos femeninos, 5 masculinos y 1 indeterminado. Comparamos la localización de las lesiones traumáticas, el contexto arqueológico y observamos las diferencias entre los sexos biológicos, así, con base en la evidencia osteológica, buscamos explicar el por qué los esqueletos femeninos de este sitio presentan traumatismos en la región facial a diferencia de los esqueletos masculinos. Los textos escritos sobre las poblaciones prehispánicas zapotecas son limitados, así como los estudios arqueológicos enfocados en mujeres, por lo que consideramos importante abordar a este sector de la población en específico para establecer referencias sobre su devenir histórico al interior de las sociedades, en este caso, la diferencia en la presencia y localización de traumatismos entre ambos sexos, debe abordarse desde los diferentes tipos de violencia al interior de los grupos humanos.
Research Interests:
Desde la perspectiva bioarqueológica y arqueológica, la niñez no se muy considerada en investigaciones en Mesoamérica y Oaxaca. Para comprender mejor este problema, examinamos las diferencias en el tratamiento funerario para niños y... more
Desde la perspectiva bioarqueológica y arqueológica, la niñez no se muy considerada en investigaciones en Mesoamérica y Oaxaca. Para comprender mejor este problema, examinamos las diferencias en el tratamiento funerario para niños y adultos y evaluamos los ejes de variación entre estas diferentes muestras definidas por edad. De los más de 100 esqueletos humanos en la colección osteológica de El Palmillo que data del período Clásico (250-850 d.C.), se pudo realizar un estudio a partir de la evaluación de la edad biológica. Se utilizó un análisis estadístico de conglomerados para conocer la distribución de los entierros en el sitio por edad, posición, ubicación, cronología, entre otras variables. Finalmente, comparamos nuestros resultados con las prácticas mortuorias, hasta el momento publicadas en Monte Albán, para evaluar si existe un patrón constante en el tratamiento funerario zapoteco o si hay diferencias entre los sitios.
Research Interests:
Anthropology, Bioarchaeology, Mesoamerican Archaeology, Anthropology of Children and Childhood, Funerary Archaeology, and 10 moreArchaeology of Childhood, Osteoarchaeology, Oaxaca (Anthropology), Oaxaca (Archaeology), Mortuary archaeology, Bioarchaeology of Childhood, Zapotec, Mortuary Practices, Bioarqueologia, and Archaeotanatologie
Science 366 (6466):682–683.
Research Interests:
Gary M. Feinman, Fang Hui, and Linda M. Nicholas, 2019. Political Unification, Economic Synchronization, and Demographic Growth: Long-term Settlement Pattern Shifts in Eastern Shandong. In Weights and Marketplaces from the Bronze Age to... more
Gary M. Feinman, Fang Hui, and Linda M. Nicholas, 2019. Political Unification, Economic Synchronization, and Demographic Growth: Long-term Settlement Pattern Shifts in Eastern Shandong. In Weights and Marketplaces from the Bronze Age to the Early Modern Period, edited by
Lorenz Rahmstorf and Edward Stratford, pp. 355–376. Wachholtz Verlag Kiel/Hamburg – Murmann Publishers, Göttingen.
Lorenz Rahmstorf and Edward Stratford, pp. 355–376. Wachholtz Verlag Kiel/Hamburg – Murmann Publishers, Göttingen.
Research Interests:
Environmentally transformative human use of land accelerated with the emergence of agriculture, but the extent, trajectory, and implications of these early changes are not well understood. An empirical global assessment of land use from... more
Environmentally transformative human use of land accelerated with the emergence of agriculture, but the extent, trajectory, and implications of these early changes are not well understood. An empirical global assessment of land use from 10,000 years before the present (yr B.P.) to 1850 CE reveals a planet largely transformed by hunter-gatherers, farmers, and pastoralists by 3000 years ago, considerably earlier than the dates in the land-use reconstructions commonly used by Earth scientists. Synthesis of knowledge contributed by more than
250 archaeologists highlighted gaps in archaeological expertise and data quality, which peaked for 2000 yr B.P. and in traditionally studied and wealthier regions. Archaeological reconstruction of global land-use history illuminates the deep roots of Earth’s transformation and challenges the emerging Anthropocene paradigm that large-scale anthropogenic global environmental change is mostly a recent phenomenon.
250 archaeologists highlighted gaps in archaeological expertise and data quality, which peaked for 2000 yr B.P. and in traditionally studied and wealthier regions. Archaeological reconstruction of global land-use history illuminates the deep roots of Earth’s transformation and challenges the emerging Anthropocene paradigm that large-scale anthropogenic global environmental change is mostly a recent phenomenon.
Research Interests:
Landscape Ecology, Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Environmental Studies, Food Production, and 7 moreNeolithic Archaeology, Origins of Agriculture, Pastoralism (Archaeology), Historical Ecology, Environmental Change ( Landuse Landcover), Climate change and sustainable food production, and Food Security and Climate Change
Our regional study documents demographic and political shifts in coastal Shandong, China, over 3000 years. Drawing on systematic archaeological settlement pattern findings from a more than 3100 km2 area, we present evidence for... more
Our regional study documents demographic and political shifts in coastal Shandong, China, over 3000 years. Drawing on systematic archaeological settlement pattern findings from a more than 3100 km2 area, we present
evidence for occupational shifts from the initial habitation of this long coastal basin by peoples with an extant agricultural village economy to the rise of a linear string of important and seemingly autonomous coastal centers to the breakdown of this network and the region’s eventual incorporation as an ultimate provincial piece into the Qin Empire. These findings illustrate the transition of this coastal zone from emergent polities that were mostly tied into a north-south coastal network during the Neolithic to a seaside province of later empires whose polity
capitals were well to the west.
evidence for occupational shifts from the initial habitation of this long coastal basin by peoples with an extant agricultural village economy to the rise of a linear string of important and seemingly autonomous coastal centers to the breakdown of this network and the region’s eventual incorporation as an ultimate provincial piece into the Qin Empire. These findings illustrate the transition of this coastal zone from emergent polities that were mostly tied into a north-south coastal network during the Neolithic to a seaside province of later empires whose polity
capitals were well to the west.
Research Interests:
History, Ancient History, Demography, Archaeology, Anthropology, and 11 moreArchaeology Of China, Economic Anthropology, Settlement Patterns, Archaeological Method & Theory, Survey (Archaeological Method & Theory), Rise of Civilization (Archaeology), Chinese archaeology, Economic archaeology, Settlement archaeology, Archaeological survey, and Population History
In Historical Ecologies, Heterarchies, and Transtemporal Landscapes, edited by Celeste Ray and Manuel Fernández-Götz, pp. 248–264. Routledge, Abingdon, UK.
Research Interests:
Social Change, Archaeology, Anthropology, Political Anthropology, Ritual, and 12 moreMesoamerican Archaeology, Settlement Patterns, Governance, Archaeology of Religion, Archaeology of States, Archaeology of Architecture, Oaxaca (Archaeology), Archaeology of Ritual and Magic, Archaeology of Ritual, Mesoamerican Ballgame, Social Complexity (Archaeology), and Architecture and Public Spaces
Research Interests:
The Prehispanic Mesoamerican World: Framing Interaction (Gary M. Feinman). In New Perspectives on Interregional Interaction in Ancient Mesoamerica, edited by Joshua Englehardt and Michael Carrasco, pp. 34–50. University Press of Colorado,... more
The Prehispanic Mesoamerican World: Framing Interaction (Gary M. Feinman). In New Perspectives on Interregional Interaction in Ancient Mesoamerica, edited by Joshua Englehardt and Michael Carrasco, pp. 34–50. University Press of Colorado, Louisville, CO.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
In considering the long trajectory of early human societies, researchers have too often favored models of despotic control by the few or structural models that fail to grant agency to those with less power in shaping history. Recent... more
In considering the long trajectory of early human societies, researchers have too often favored models of despotic control by the few or structural models that fail to grant agency to those with less power in shaping history. Recent scholarship in settings across the globe demonstrates such models to be not only limiting but also empirically inaccurate. Archaeological perspectives on collective action show how humans through history have worked in groups to both cooperate and compete, whether as small farming villages of early sedentary communities or as neighborhoods, trading networks, or other factions within large cities and states. They highlight how institutions and systems of governance matter, vary over space and time, and can oscillate between more pluralistic and more autocratic forms within the same society, culture, or even city-state. This volume reviews archaeological approaches to collective action drawing on theoretical perspectives from across the globe and case studies from prehispanic Mesoamerica. Cases span small-scale farming communities to large, premodern empires. The historical coverage examines resource dilemmas and ways of mediating them, how ritual and religion can foster both social solidarity and hierarchy, the political financing of institutions and variability in forms of governance, and lessons drawn to inform the building of more resilient communities in the present.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
A wide-ranging treatment on the meaning of death, and its juxtaposition with life, from biological, cultural, and spiritual perspectives. Dozens of case studies accompany the principal essays written by scholars, Indigenous community... more
A wide-ranging treatment on the meaning of death, and its juxtaposition with life, from biological, cultural, and spiritual perspectives. Dozens of case studies accompany the principal essays written by scholars, Indigenous community members, and curators of the exhibition Death: Life’s Greatest Mystery. This volume offers a richly illustrated companion to the exhibition, produced by Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History, and contains full page photographs of the stunning objects in the exhibit, most from the Field Museum’s collections. This volume is intended to engage visitors to the exhibition and members of the general public who want to delve more fully into questions surrounding death and the multiple religious, historical, and cultural perspectives on it. Although not a comprehensive guide, the book touches on many world religions and case studies drawn from five continents.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
“Table of Contents Editorial: Origins, Foundations, Sustainability and Trip Lines of Good Governance: Archaeological and Historical Considerations Richard E. Blanton, Gary M. Feinman, Stephen A. Kowalewski and Lane F. Fargher Governance... more
“Table of Contents
Editorial: Origins, Foundations, Sustainability and Trip Lines of Good Governance: Archaeological and Historical Considerations
Richard E. Blanton, Gary M. Feinman, Stephen A. Kowalewski and Lane F. Fargher
Governance Strategies in Precolonial Central Mexico
David M. Carballo
Premodern Confederacies: Balancing Strategic Collective Action and Local Autonomy
Jennifer Birch
“Let Us All Enjoy the Fish”: Alternative Pathways and Contingent Histories of Collective Action and Governance Among Maritime Societies of the Western Peninsular Coast of Florida, USA, 100–1600 CE
Thomas J. Pluckhahn, Kendal Jackson and Jaime A. Rogers
The Foundation of Monte Albán, Intensification, and Growth: Coactive Processes and Joint Production
Linda M. Nicholas and Gary M. Feinman
Political Cohesion and Fiscal Systems in the Roman Republic
James Tan
Keystone Institutions of Democratic Governance Across Indigenous North America
Jacob Holland-Lulewicz, Victor D. Thompson, Jennifer Birch and Colin Grier
A Civil Body Politick: Governance, Community, and Accountability in Early New England
“Gleb V. Aleksandrov
Complexity, Cooperation, and Public Goods: Quality of Place at Nixtun-Ch’ich’, Petén, Guatemala
Timothy W. Pugh, Prudence M. Rice, Evelyn M. Chan Nieto and Jemima Georges
Collective Action, Good Government, and Democracy in Tlaxcallan, Mexico: An Analysis Based on Demokratia
Lane F. Fargher, Richard E. Blanton and Verenice Y. Heredia Espinoza
The Collapse of a Collective Society: Teuchitlán in the Tequila Region of Jalisco, Mexico
Verenice Y. Heredia Espinoza
Of Revenue Without Rulers: Public Goods in the Egalitarian Cities of the Indus Civilization
Adam S. Green
Mixed Governance Principles in the Gulf Lowlands of Mesoamerica
Barbara L. Stark and Wesley D. Stoner
Reversals of Fortune: Shared Governance, “Democracy,” and Reiterated Problem-solving
T. L. Thurston”
Editorial: Origins, Foundations, Sustainability and Trip Lines of Good Governance: Archaeological and Historical Considerations
Richard E. Blanton, Gary M. Feinman, Stephen A. Kowalewski and Lane F. Fargher
Governance Strategies in Precolonial Central Mexico
David M. Carballo
Premodern Confederacies: Balancing Strategic Collective Action and Local Autonomy
Jennifer Birch
“Let Us All Enjoy the Fish”: Alternative Pathways and Contingent Histories of Collective Action and Governance Among Maritime Societies of the Western Peninsular Coast of Florida, USA, 100–1600 CE
Thomas J. Pluckhahn, Kendal Jackson and Jaime A. Rogers
The Foundation of Monte Albán, Intensification, and Growth: Coactive Processes and Joint Production
Linda M. Nicholas and Gary M. Feinman
Political Cohesion and Fiscal Systems in the Roman Republic
James Tan
Keystone Institutions of Democratic Governance Across Indigenous North America
Jacob Holland-Lulewicz, Victor D. Thompson, Jennifer Birch and Colin Grier
A Civil Body Politick: Governance, Community, and Accountability in Early New England
“Gleb V. Aleksandrov
Complexity, Cooperation, and Public Goods: Quality of Place at Nixtun-Ch’ich’, Petén, Guatemala
Timothy W. Pugh, Prudence M. Rice, Evelyn M. Chan Nieto and Jemima Georges
Collective Action, Good Government, and Democracy in Tlaxcallan, Mexico: An Analysis Based on Demokratia
Lane F. Fargher, Richard E. Blanton and Verenice Y. Heredia Espinoza
The Collapse of a Collective Society: Teuchitlán in the Tequila Region of Jalisco, Mexico
Verenice Y. Heredia Espinoza
Of Revenue Without Rulers: Public Goods in the Egalitarian Cities of the Indus Civilization
Adam S. Green
Mixed Governance Principles in the Gulf Lowlands of Mesoamerica
Barbara L. Stark and Wesley D. Stoner
Reversals of Fortune: Shared Governance, “Democracy,” and Reiterated Problem-solving
T. L. Thurston”
Research Interests:
Contents List of Contributors ............................................................................................................................................... ii List of Figures... more
Contents
List of Contributors ............................................................................................................................................... ii
List of Figures ....................................................................................................................................................... iii
List of Tables ...........................................................................................................................................................v
Chapter 1. Chipping Away at the Past: An Introduction ......................................................................................1
Danielle J. Riebe and Gary M. Feinman
Chapter 2. Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence: The Role of Inter-Laboratory
Collaborations in a Lake Huron Archaeological Discovery ..................................................................................7
Danielle J. Riebe, Ashley K. Lemke, Jeffrey R. Ferguson, Alex J. Nyers, Elizabeth P. Sonnenburg, Brendan S. Nash,
John M. O’Shea
Chapter 3. A (Near) Comprehensive Chemical Characterization of Obsidian in the Field Museum
Collections from the Hopewell Site, Ross County, Ohio .....................................................................................17
Mark Golitko, John V. Dudgeon, Claire Stanecki
Chapter 4. Emergent Economic Networks in the American Southwest .............................................................45
Danielle J. Riebe, Gary M. Feinman, Jeffrey R. Ferguson
Chapter 5. Changing Patterns of Obsidian Procurement in Highland Oaxaca, Mexico ....................................58
Linda M. Nicholas, Gary M. Feinman, Mark Golitko
Chapter 6. Instrument Source Attributions of Obsidian Artifacts from Tikal, Guatemala ...............................76
Hattula Moholy-Nagy
Chapter 7. Classic Maya Obsidian Blades: Sourced from Afar and Produced in the Local Marketplace ...........87
Bernadette Cap
Chapter 8. Macroscale Shifts in Obsidian Procurement Networks Across Prehispanic Mesoamerica .............98
Gary M. Feinman, Linda M. Nicholas, Mark Golitko
Chapter 9. The Characterization of Small-Sized Obsidian Debitage Using P-XRF: A Case Study from
Arequipa, Peru ....................................................................................................................................................124
David A. Reid, Patrick Ryan Williams, Kurt Rademaker, Nicholas Tripcevich, Michael D. Glascock
Chapter 10. Obsidian Utilization in the Moquegua Valley through the Millennia .........................................148
Patrick Ryan Williams, David A. Reid, Donna Nash, Sofia Chacaltana, Kirk Costion, Paul Goldstein, Nicola Sharratt
Chapter 11. Concluding Thoughts: Open Networks, Economic Transfers, and Sourcing Obsidian ................162
Gary M. Feinman and Danielle J. Riebe
List of Contributors ............................................................................................................................................... ii
List of Figures ....................................................................................................................................................... iii
List of Tables ...........................................................................................................................................................v
Chapter 1. Chipping Away at the Past: An Introduction ......................................................................................1
Danielle J. Riebe and Gary M. Feinman
Chapter 2. Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence: The Role of Inter-Laboratory
Collaborations in a Lake Huron Archaeological Discovery ..................................................................................7
Danielle J. Riebe, Ashley K. Lemke, Jeffrey R. Ferguson, Alex J. Nyers, Elizabeth P. Sonnenburg, Brendan S. Nash,
John M. O’Shea
Chapter 3. A (Near) Comprehensive Chemical Characterization of Obsidian in the Field Museum
Collections from the Hopewell Site, Ross County, Ohio .....................................................................................17
Mark Golitko, John V. Dudgeon, Claire Stanecki
Chapter 4. Emergent Economic Networks in the American Southwest .............................................................45
Danielle J. Riebe, Gary M. Feinman, Jeffrey R. Ferguson
Chapter 5. Changing Patterns of Obsidian Procurement in Highland Oaxaca, Mexico ....................................58
Linda M. Nicholas, Gary M. Feinman, Mark Golitko
Chapter 6. Instrument Source Attributions of Obsidian Artifacts from Tikal, Guatemala ...............................76
Hattula Moholy-Nagy
Chapter 7. Classic Maya Obsidian Blades: Sourced from Afar and Produced in the Local Marketplace ...........87
Bernadette Cap
Chapter 8. Macroscale Shifts in Obsidian Procurement Networks Across Prehispanic Mesoamerica .............98
Gary M. Feinman, Linda M. Nicholas, Mark Golitko
Chapter 9. The Characterization of Small-Sized Obsidian Debitage Using P-XRF: A Case Study from
Arequipa, Peru ....................................................................................................................................................124
David A. Reid, Patrick Ryan Williams, Kurt Rademaker, Nicholas Tripcevich, Michael D. Glascock
Chapter 10. Obsidian Utilization in the Moquegua Valley through the Millennia .........................................148
Patrick Ryan Williams, David A. Reid, Donna Nash, Sofia Chacaltana, Kirk Costion, Paul Goldstein, Nicola Sharratt
Chapter 11. Concluding Thoughts: Open Networks, Economic Transfers, and Sourcing Obsidian ................162
Gary M. Feinman and Danielle J. Riebe
Research Interests:
Archaeology, World Systems Analysis, Mesoamerican Archaeology, Economic Anthropology, Ancient economies (Archaeology), and 9 moreNorth American archaeology, Obsidian, Maya Archaeology, Mesoamerica, Economic archaeology, Ancient Trade & Commerce (Archaeology), Ancient economy, South American Archaeology, and Obsidian Sourcing
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This book aims to provide a comprehensive comparison about the basic organization of power in ancient Mesoamerica and Egypt. How power emerged and was exercised, how it reproduced itself, how social units (from households to cities)... more
This book aims to provide a comprehensive comparison about the basic organization of power in ancient Mesoamerica and Egypt. How power emerged and was exercised, how it reproduced itself, how social units (from households to cities) became integrated into political formations and how these articulations of power expanded and collapsed over time. The resilience of very particular areas (Oaxaca in Mesoamerica, Middle Egypt in the Nile Valley), to the point that they preserved a highly distinctive cultural personality irrespective of their integration into a state, may provide a useful guideline about the basics of integration, negotiation and autonomy in the organization of political formations and ancient states. Furthermore, both regions were crucial nodes in extensive economic networks. This offered many possibilities to accumulate wealth and power to their populations, but also attracted expansionist foreign powers eager to control such lucrative trading circuits. A final crucial point is that both societies developed very characteristic monumental manifestations of power, not only in their physical aspect (temples, tombs, plazas) but also in the way these monuments addressed a broader public seen as a significant actor and provider of legitimacy, that should then be integrated in public ceremonies that stressed the idea of community.
Research Interests:
History, American History, Ancient History, Economic History, Archaeology, and 15 moreEgyptology, Anthropology, Landscape Archaeology, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Comparative History, Egyptian Archaeology, Mesoamerican Archaeology, Ancient economies (Archaeology), Urbanism, Oaxaca (Archaeology), Mesoamerica, Ancient Trade & Commerce (Archaeology), Ancient Egyptian History, Settlement archaeology, and Zapotec
Understanding connectivity is a key to understanding decision making. Social network analysis offers formalized ways of describing and thus comparing attributes of actors related to each other in networks. Using quantitative spatial data,... more
Understanding connectivity is a key to understanding decision making. Social network analysis offers formalized ways of describing and thus comparing attributes of actors related to each other in networks. Using quantitative spatial data, social network analysis promises deeper insights into how social positions are achieved and developed, as mirrored in the ancient fl ows of materials. The volume collects contributions of an international conference on network analysis in archaeology, held in 2015 at the University of Cologne as part of the DFG Research Training Group 1878 'Archaeology of Pre-Modern Economies'.
Research Interests:
This timely volume explores the everyday lives of ancient Mesoamerican people from the Formative through the Postclassic. In honor of Dan Healan, who devoted his life’s work to this theme, several notable scholars present novel research... more
This timely volume explores the everyday lives of ancient Mesoamerican people from the Formative through the Postclassic. In honor of Dan Healan, who devoted his life’s work to this theme, several notable scholars present novel research to reconstruct how households produced and exchanged goods, carried out private and public rituals, built their residences and neighborhoods, organized their towns and cities, earned a living, observed the stars, and even fomented resistance within powerful states throughout Mesoamerica.
Research Interests:
Gary M. Feinman and Linda M. Nicholas (2017)
Settlement Patterns in the Albarradas Area of Highland Oaxaca, Mexico: Frontiers, Boundaries, and Interaction. Fieldiana Anthropology, 46 (1):1-162.
Settlement Patterns in the Albarradas Area of Highland Oaxaca, Mexico: Frontiers, Boundaries, and Interaction. Fieldiana Anthropology, 46 (1):1-162.
Research Interests:
History, Ancient History, Social Demography, Demography, Archaeology, and 16 morePrehistoric Archaeology, Landscape Archaeology, Mesoamerican Archaeology, Social Interaction, Settlement Patterns, Archaeological Method & Theory, Survey (Archaeological Method & Theory), Archaeology of States, Prehistoric Settlement, Oaxaca (Archaeology), Archaeological Fieldwork, Economic archaeology, Ancient Trade & Commerce (Archaeology), Settlement archaeology, Archaeological survey, and Borders and Frontiers
From http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/C/bo24112417.html: At the entrance of The Field Museum’s Cyrus Tang Hall of China, two Chinese stone guardian lions stand tall, gazing down intently at approaching visitors. One... more
From http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/C/bo24112417.html:
At the entrance of The Field Museum’s Cyrus Tang Hall of China, two Chinese stone guardian lions stand tall, gazing down intently at approaching visitors. One lion’s paw rests upon a decorated ball symbolizing power, while the other lion cradles a cub. Traditionally believed to possess attributes of strength and protection, statues such as these once stood guard outside imperial buildings, temples, and wealthy homes in China. Now, centuries later, they guard this incredible permanent exhibition.
China’s long history is one of the richest and most complex in the known world, and the Cyrus Tang Hall of China offers visitors a wonderful, comprehensive survey of it through some 350 artifacts on display, spanning from the Paleolithic period to present day. Now, with China: Visions through the Ages, anyone can experience the marvels of this exhibition through the book’s beautifully designed and detailed pages. Readers will gain deeper insight into The Field Museum’s important East Asian collections, the exhibition development process, and research on key aspects of China’s fascinating history. This companion book, edited by the exhibition’s own curatorial team, takes readers even deeper into the wonders of the Cyrus Tang Hall of China and enables them to study more closely the objects and themes featured in the show. Mirroring the exhibition’s layout of five galleries, the volume is divided into five sections. The first section focuses on the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods; the second, the Bronze Age, the first dynasties, and early writing; the third, the imperial system and power; the fourth, religion and performance; and the fifth, interregional trade and the Silk Routes. Each section also includes highlights containing brief stories on objects or themes in the hall, such as the famous Lanting Xu rubbing.
With chapters from a diverse set of international authors providing greater context and historical background, China: Visions through the Ages is a richly illustrated volume that allows visitors, curious readers, and China scholars alike a chance to have an enduring exchange with the objects featured in the exhibition and with their multifaceted histories.
At the entrance of The Field Museum’s Cyrus Tang Hall of China, two Chinese stone guardian lions stand tall, gazing down intently at approaching visitors. One lion’s paw rests upon a decorated ball symbolizing power, while the other lion cradles a cub. Traditionally believed to possess attributes of strength and protection, statues such as these once stood guard outside imperial buildings, temples, and wealthy homes in China. Now, centuries later, they guard this incredible permanent exhibition.
China’s long history is one of the richest and most complex in the known world, and the Cyrus Tang Hall of China offers visitors a wonderful, comprehensive survey of it through some 350 artifacts on display, spanning from the Paleolithic period to present day. Now, with China: Visions through the Ages, anyone can experience the marvels of this exhibition through the book’s beautifully designed and detailed pages. Readers will gain deeper insight into The Field Museum’s important East Asian collections, the exhibition development process, and research on key aspects of China’s fascinating history. This companion book, edited by the exhibition’s own curatorial team, takes readers even deeper into the wonders of the Cyrus Tang Hall of China and enables them to study more closely the objects and themes featured in the show. Mirroring the exhibition’s layout of five galleries, the volume is divided into five sections. The first section focuses on the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods; the second, the Bronze Age, the first dynasties, and early writing; the third, the imperial system and power; the fourth, religion and performance; and the fifth, interregional trade and the Silk Routes. Each section also includes highlights containing brief stories on objects or themes in the hall, such as the famous Lanting Xu rubbing.
With chapters from a diverse set of international authors providing greater context and historical background, China: Visions through the Ages is a richly illustrated volume that allows visitors, curious readers, and China scholars alike a chance to have an enduring exchange with the objects featured in the exhibition and with their multifaceted histories.
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The last several decades have seen the publication of a considerable amount of scholarly and popular literature concerning the collapse of complex societies, yielding a fair amount of comparative data and hypotheses regarding this... more
The last several decades have seen the publication of a considerable amount of scholarly and popular literature concerning the collapse of complex societies, yielding a fair amount of comparative data and hypotheses regarding this phenomenon. More recently, scholars have begun to challenge these works, rejecting the notion of collapse altogether in favor of focusing on concepts such as resilience and transformation. Driven by these developments, archaeologists have turned their attention to what occurs in the aftermath of sociopolitical decline, attempting to identify factors that contribute to the regeneration, transformation, or reorganization of complex sociopolitical institutions. Subsequent research has provided important data shedding light on political environments that were once characterized as “dark ages.” In that time, general theoretical approaches have transformed as well, and recent frameworks reconsider collapse and reorganization not as unrelated or sequential phenomena but as integral components in a cyclical understanding of the evolution of complex societies. The most recent of these approaches incorporates the tenets of Resilience Theory, as developed by environmental scientists.
In March 2013, an international conference held at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale brought together scholars with diverse theoretical perspectives to present and synthesize new data and approaches to understanding the collapse and reorganization of complex societies. No restrictions were imposed regarding chronological periods, geographical regions or material specialties, resulting in a wide-ranging potential for comparative analysis. This publication is the outcome of that meeting. It is not organized merely as a collection of diverse case studies, but rather a collaborative effort incorporating various data sets to evaluate and expand on theoretical approaches to this important subject. The works contained within this volume are organized into five sections: the first sets the stage with introductory papers by the editor and distinguished contributor, Joseph Tainter; the second contains works by distinguished scholars approaching collapse and reorganization from new theoretical perspectives; the third presents critical archaeological analyses of the effectiveness of Resilience Theory as a heuristic tool for modeling these phenomena; the fourth section presents long-term adaptive strategies employed by prehistoric societies to cope with stresses and avoid collapse; the final section highlights new research on post-decline contexts in a variety of temporal and geographic ranges and relates these data to the more comprehensive works on the subject.
In March 2013, an international conference held at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale brought together scholars with diverse theoretical perspectives to present and synthesize new data and approaches to understanding the collapse and reorganization of complex societies. No restrictions were imposed regarding chronological periods, geographical regions or material specialties, resulting in a wide-ranging potential for comparative analysis. This publication is the outcome of that meeting. It is not organized merely as a collection of diverse case studies, but rather a collaborative effort incorporating various data sets to evaluate and expand on theoretical approaches to this important subject. The works contained within this volume are organized into five sections: the first sets the stage with introductory papers by the editor and distinguished contributor, Joseph Tainter; the second contains works by distinguished scholars approaching collapse and reorganization from new theoretical perspectives; the third presents critical archaeological analyses of the effectiveness of Resilience Theory as a heuristic tool for modeling these phenomena; the fourth section presents long-term adaptive strategies employed by prehistoric societies to cope with stresses and avoid collapse; the final section highlights new research on post-decline contexts in a variety of temporal and geographic ranges and relates these data to the more comprehensive works on the subject.
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History, Social Change, Social Demography, Demography, Archaeology, and 17 morePrehistoric Archaeology, Anthropology, Spatial Analysis, Landscape Archaeology, Mesoamerican Archaeology, Settlement Patterns, Archaeological Method & Theory, Survey (Archaeological Method & Theory), Archaeology of Architecture, Oaxaca (Anthropology), Oaxaca (Archaeology), Archaeological Fieldwork, Settlement archaeology, Field Archaeology, Archaeological survey, Archaeological field survey, and Spatial demography
In this book, different approaches to the problem of identifying intermediate units, such as neighborhoods, in Mesoamerican cities is addressed.
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There are few questions more central to understanding the prehistory of our species than those regarding the institutionalization of social inequality. Social inequality is manifested in unequal access to goods, information,... more
There are few questions more central to understanding the prehistory of our species than those regarding the institutionalization of social inequality. Social inequality is manifested in unequal access to goods, information, decision-making, and power. This structure is essential to higher orders of social organization and basic to the operation of more complex societies. An understanding of the transformation from relatively egalitarian societies to a hierarchical organization and socioeconomic stratification is fundamental to our knowledge about the human condition. In a follow-up to their 1995 book Foundations of Social Inequality, the Editors of this volume have compiled a new and comprehensive group of studies concerning these central questions. When and where does hierarchy appear in human society, and how does it operate? With numerous case studies from the Old and New World, spanning foraging societies to agricultural groups, and complex states, Pathways to Power provides key historical insights into current social and cultural questions.
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Well illustrated, full-color, site-by-site survey of prehistory captures the popular interest, excitement, and visual splendor of archaeology as it provides insight into the research, interpretations, and theoretical themes in the field.... more
Well illustrated, full-color, site-by-site survey of prehistory captures the popular interest, excitement, and visual splendor of archaeology as it provides insight into the research, interpretations, and theoretical themes in the field. The new edition maintains the authors' innovative solutions to two central problems of the course: first, the text continues to focus on about 80 sites, giving students less encyclopedic detail but essential coverage of the discoveries that have produced the major insights into prehistory; second, it continues to be organized into essays on sites and concepts, allowing professors complete flexibility in organizing their courses.
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"Water management, soil conservation, sustainable animal husbandry . . . because such socio-environmental challenges have been faced throughout history, lessons from the past can often inform modern policy. In this book, case studies from... more
"Water management, soil conservation, sustainable animal husbandry . . . because such socio-environmental challenges have been faced throughout history, lessons from the past can often inform modern policy. In this book, case studies from a wide range of times and places reveal how archaeology can contribute to a better understanding of humans’ relation to the environment.
The Archaeology of Environmental Change shows that the challenges facing humanity today, in terms of causing and reacting to environmental change, can be better approached through an attempt to understand how societies in the past dealt with similar circumstances. The contributors draw on archaeological research in multiple regions—North America, Mesoamerica, Europe, the Near East, and Africa—from time periods spanning the Holocene, and from environments ranging from tropical forest to desert.
Through such examples as environmental degradation in Transjordan, wildlife management in East Africa, and soil conservation among the ancient Maya, they demonstrate the negative effects humans have had on their environments and how societies in the past dealt with these same problems. All call into question and ultimately refute popular notions of a simple cause-and-effect relationship between people and their environment, and reject the notion of people as either hapless victims of unstoppable forces or inevitable destroyers of natural harmony.
These contributions show that by examining long-term trajectories of socio-natural relationships we can better define concepts such as sustainability, land degradation, and conservation—and that gaining a more accurate and complete understanding of these connections is essential for evaluating current theories and models of environmental degradation and conservation. Their insights demonstrate that to understand the present environment and to manage landscapes for the future, we must consider the historical record of the total sweep of anthropogenic environmental change. "
The Archaeology of Environmental Change shows that the challenges facing humanity today, in terms of causing and reacting to environmental change, can be better approached through an attempt to understand how societies in the past dealt with similar circumstances. The contributors draw on archaeological research in multiple regions—North America, Mesoamerica, Europe, the Near East, and Africa—from time periods spanning the Holocene, and from environments ranging from tropical forest to desert.
Through such examples as environmental degradation in Transjordan, wildlife management in East Africa, and soil conservation among the ancient Maya, they demonstrate the negative effects humans have had on their environments and how societies in the past dealt with these same problems. All call into question and ultimately refute popular notions of a simple cause-and-effect relationship between people and their environment, and reject the notion of people as either hapless victims of unstoppable forces or inevitable destroyers of natural harmony.
These contributions show that by examining long-term trajectories of socio-natural relationships we can better define concepts such as sustainability, land degradation, and conservation—and that gaining a more accurate and complete understanding of these connections is essential for evaluating current theories and models of environmental degradation and conservation. Their insights demonstrate that to understand the present environment and to manage landscapes for the future, we must consider the historical record of the total sweep of anthropogenic environmental change. "
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The Aztec World is an illustrated survey of the Aztecs based on insightful research by a team of international experts from the United States and Mexico. In addition to traditional subjects like cosmology, religion, human sacrifice, and... more
The Aztec World is an illustrated survey of the Aztecs based on insightful research by a team of international experts from the United States and Mexico. In addition to traditional subjects like cosmology, religion, human sacrifice, and political history, this book covers such contemporary concerns as the environment and agriculture, health and disease, women and social status, and urbanism. It also discusses the effects of European conquests on Aztec culture and society, in addition to offering modern perspectives on their civilization.
The text is accompanied by colorful illustrations and photos of artifacts from the best collections in Mexico, including those of the Templo Mayor Museum and the National Museum of Anthropology, both in Mexico City, as well as pieces from archaeological sites and virtual reconstructions of lost artwork. The book accompanied an exhibition at The Field Museum.
The text is accompanied by colorful illustrations and photos of artifacts from the best collections in Mexico, including those of the Templo Mayor Museum and the National Museum of Anthropology, both in Mexico City, as well as pieces from archaeological sites and virtual reconstructions of lost artwork. The book accompanied an exhibition at The Field Museum.
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Archaeology, Mesoamerican Archaeology, Settlement Patterns, Archaeological Method & Theory, Survey (Archaeological Method & Theory), and 7 moreOaxaca (Archaeology), Mesoamerica, Craft production (Archaeology), Settlement archaeology, Archaeological survey, Archaeological field survey, and Fortifications
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History, Archaeology, Anthropology, Art History, Public Archaeology, and 27 moreSocial Sciences, Museum Studies, Cultural Heritage, Material Culture Studies, Heritage Studies, Museum, Collections Management, History of Anthropology, Archaeological Method & Theory, Cultural Heritage Conservation, Museum Anthropology, Heritage Conservation, History of Museums, History of Art, Cultural Heritage Management, Collecting and Collections, Museology, Exhibition, Museum, Expositions and Worlds Fairs, Archaeological theory and practice, Museum Collection history, Museums, Chicago History, Heritage, History of Archaeology, Museum and Heritage Studies, Anthropological Theory, and History of the Social Sciences
An internationally distinguished roster of contributors considers the state of the art of the discipline of archaeology at the turn of the 21st century and charts an ambitious agenda for the future. The chapters address a wide range of... more
An internationally distinguished roster of contributors considers the state of the art of the discipline of archaeology at the turn of the 21st century and charts an ambitious agenda for the future. The chapters address a wide range of topics including paradigms, practice, and relevance of the discipline; paleoanthropology; fully modern humans; holocene hunter-gatherers; the transition to food and craft production; social inequality; warfare; state and empire formation; and the relationship between classical and anthropological archaeology.
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Drawing on Kent Flannery's forty years of cross-cultural research in the area, the contributors to this collection reflect the current diversity of contemporary approaches to the study of cultural evolutionary processes. Collectively the... more
Drawing on Kent Flannery's forty years of cross-cultural research in the area, the contributors to this collection reflect the current diversity of contemporary approaches to the study of cultural evolutionary processes. Collectively the volume expresses the richness of the issues being investigated by comparative theorists interested in long-term change, as well as the wide variety of data, approaches, and ideas that researchers are employing to examine these questions.
"..contributions by renowned senior scholars have the quality, depth, and breadth to be of wide interest to current evolutionary archaeologists.' -- Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 8:4 (2002)
'All chapters are top-knotch...Every faculty member interested in the subject certainly should add it to his professional library.' -- Journal of Anthropological Research, 58 (2002)
"..contributions by renowned senior scholars have the quality, depth, and breadth to be of wide interest to current evolutionary archaeologists.' -- Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 8:4 (2002)
'All chapters are top-knotch...Every faculty member interested in the subject certainly should add it to his professional library.' -- Journal of Anthropological Research, 58 (2002)
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One of the most challenging problems facing contemporary archaeology is that of explaining the operation and diversity of ancient states. This volume addresses the ways in which ancient states were structured and operated, an... more
One of the most challenging problems facing contemporary archaeology is that of explaining the operation and diversity of ancient states. This volume addresses the ways in which ancient states were structured and operated, an understanding of which is key to our ability to interpret a states rise or fall.
Contributors are John Baines, Richard E. Blanton, Gary M. Feinman, Kent V. Flannery, Joyce Marcus, Craig Morris, Gregory L. Possehl, David Webster, Henry T. Wright, and Norman Yoffee. This book is the result of the seminar "The Archaic State," held at the School of American Research (Santa Fe, NM) in November 1992.
Contributors are John Baines, Richard E. Blanton, Gary M. Feinman, Kent V. Flannery, Joyce Marcus, Craig Morris, Gregory L. Possehl, David Webster, Henry T. Wright, and Norman Yoffee. This book is the result of the seminar "The Archaic State," held at the School of American Research (Santa Fe, NM) in November 1992.
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Pottery, once it appears in the archaeological record, is one of the most routinely recovered artifacts. It is made frequently, broken often, and comes in endless varieties according to economic and social requirements. Moreover, even in... more
Pottery, once it appears in the archaeological record, is one of the most routinely recovered artifacts. It is made frequently, broken often, and comes in endless varieties according to economic and social requirements. Moreover, even in sherds ceramics can last almost forever, providing important clues about past human behavior. The contributors to this volume, all leaders in ceramic research, probe the relation between humans and ceramics. Here they offer new discoveries obtained through traditional lines of inquiry, demonstrate methodological breakthroughs, and expose innovative new areas for research. Among the topics covered in this volume are the age at which children begin learning pottery making; the origins of pottery in the Southwest U.S., Mesoamerica, and Greece; vessel production and standardization; vessel size and food consumption patterns; the relationship between pottery style and meaning; and the role pottery and other material culture plays in communication. Pottery And People provides a cross-section of the state of the art, emphasizing the complex interactions between ceramic containers and people in past and present contexts. This is a milestone volume useful to anyone interested in the connections between pots and people.
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In this volume, leading researchers offer diverse theoretical perspectives and a wide-range of information on the beginnings and nature of social inequality in past human societies. Their illuminating work investigates the role of status... more
In this volume, leading researchers offer diverse theoretical perspectives and a wide-range of information on the beginnings and nature of social inequality in past human societies. Their illuminating work investigates the role of status differentiation in traditional archaeological debates and major societal transitions. This volume features numerous case studies from the Old and New World spanning foraging societies to agricultural groups and complex states. Diachronic in view and archaeological in focus, this book will be of significant interest to archaeologists, anthropologists, and students.
'One of the best publications available on the origins of social inequality....Contributors present a multiplicity of ideas concerning social inequality and how it developed....The credentials of the authors and the editors are impeccable....highly recommended for upper-division undergraduates and above.' --Choice
''For the reader interested in pursuing the finer gradations of social inequality in particular, it is a book with much to offer.'' --American Anthropologist
'One of the best publications available on the origins of social inequality....Contributors present a multiplicity of ideas concerning social inequality and how it developed....The credentials of the authors and the editors are impeccable....highly recommended for upper-division undergraduates and above.' --Choice
''For the reader interested in pursuing the finer gradations of social inequality in particular, it is a book with much to offer.'' --American Anthropologist
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Ancient History, Social Change, Archaeology, Anthropology, Political Economy, and 10 moreLeadership, Political Anthropology, Ancient economies (Archaeology), Social Stratification, Cultural Evolution, Social Evolution, Social Inequality (Anthropology), Social Inequalities, Social Inequality, and Social and Behavioral Sciences
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Mesoamerica has become one of the most important areas for research into the emergence of complex human societies. Between 10,000 years ago and the arrival of the Spanish in 1521, some very significant changes in the evolution of numan... more
Mesoamerica has become one of the most important areas for research into the emergence of complex human societies. Between 10,000 years ago and the arrival of the Spanish in 1521, some very significant changes in the evolution of numan societies occurred. In this revised and updated edition of a book first published in 1981, the authors synthesize recent research, focusing on three intensively studied regions, the Valleys of Oaxaca and Mexico and the Maya lowlands. A theoretical framework of ideas is developed to explain long-term change in complex societies.
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Ancient History, Archaeology, Comparative History, Mesoamerican Archaeology, Aztecs, and 12 moreState Formation, Social Stratification, Maya Archaeology, Oaxaca (Archaeology), Ancient Civilization (Archaeology), Economic archaeology, Craft production (Archaeology), The archaeology of state formation, Ancient Trade & Commerce (Archaeology), Ancient economy, Early State Formation, and Development of complex societies
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Social Change, Archaeology, Historical Demography, Mesoamerican Archaeology, Settlement Patterns, and 7 moreState Formation, Survey (Archaeological Method & Theory), Oaxaca (Archaeology), Ancient Civilization (Archaeology), Archaeological survey, Early State Formation, and Development of complex societies
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Human Bridges
July 11, 2023
https://go.ind.media/webmail/546932/1324536045/cc7194b141baaaa8a723e4ddc7b97d61dc3129820ebb144ac77f22da42e1186b
(Gary M. Feinman)
July 11, 2023
https://go.ind.media/webmail/546932/1324536045/cc7194b141baaaa8a723e4ddc7b97d61dc3129820ebb144ac77f22da42e1186b
(Gary M. Feinman)
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In The Field 2020
V. 91(3):6–7.
V. 91(3):6–7.
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Walking with Professor Feinman--Regional Systematic Archaeological Survey in the Southeast Shandong (Chinese). By Sunzejuan, in Popular Archaeology, June 30, 2018, pp. 24–27.
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Among the more than 7,500 fragments from the Java Sea shipwreck that reside in Chicago's Field Museum are corroded lumps of iron, exported from China for use as weapons or agricultural tools in Southeast Asia; button-like weights used on... more
Among the more than 7,500 fragments from the Java Sea shipwreck that reside in Chicago's Field Museum are corroded lumps of iron, exported from China for use as weapons or agricultural tools in Southeast Asia; button-like weights used on merchants' scales; barnacle encrusted chunks of aromatic resin and crumbling ivory; and thousands upon thousands of ceramic wares. Each ancient object has its own history and context, but it was a tiny inscription on one that helped researchers unlock the mystery behind this wreck—or so they thought. Etched on only two ceramic containers, the words " Jianning Fu " gave the lidded box a specific provenance. When anthropologist Lisa Niziolek first saw the writing in 2012, she realized that the city name only existed in that form for a brief window of time: " Fu " designated Jianning as a Southern Song dynasty superior prefecture beginning in 1162. By 1278, the city had changed to Jianning Lu, a new designation bestowed by the invading Mongol leader, Kublai Khan.
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Rich Man, Poor Man (Wayne Curtis) 2018 American Archaeology 22 (2):32–37.
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Smithsonian Insider, May, 2017
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Ancient Obsidian: Reflections of Ancient Economy (Gary M. Feinman, Linda M. Nicholas, Mark Golitko, 2017). In the Field, Summer, p. 18.
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Chencheng Zhao and Shanshan Wang
Medill Reports Chicago, March 2, 2016
Medill Reports Chicago, March 2, 2016
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Please see Feinman, Nicholas, and Baker 2010 Antiquity for fuller discussion.
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Illinois Antiquity V. 42 (3-4): 4-7. 2007.
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Following extensive cooperation between the community and INAH, the Community Museum in Santiago Matatlán has now been open for a couple of years. It is one of a few museums in Mexico in which the artifacts displayed are almost entirely... more
Following extensive cooperation between the community and INAH, the Community Museum in Santiago Matatlán has now been open for a couple of years. It is one of a few museums in Mexico in which the artifacts displayed are almost entirely presented with their archaeological context.
In The Field, 72 (2) March-April, 2001, pp. 2-5.
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Review of the book: City, Craft and Residence in Mesoamerica, Honoring Dan M. Healan. Edited by Ronald K. Faulseit, N. Xiuhtecutli, and H. M. Mehta. [Review by John Millhauser]
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Cambridge Archaeological Journal 27(2):392–394.
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History, Ancient History, Economic History, Economic Sociology, Archaeology, and 44 moreEconomics, Anthropology, Political Economy, Social Sciences, Comparative History, Mesoamerican Archaeology, Economic Anthropology, Aztecs, Archaeological Method & Theory, Markets, International Political Economy, Comparative Political Economy, Agricultural Economics, Ancient economies (Archaeology), Cultural Evolution, Theoretical Archaeology, Latin American History, Social History, Urban Economics, Maya Archaeology, Archaeological Theory, Political Ecology (Anthropology), Mesoamerica, Ancient Civilization (Archaeology), Economic archaeology, Inca Archaeology, Craft production (Archaeology), Empire, Trade, Ancient Trade & Commerce (Archaeology), Ancient economy, Cooperation, Economy, Economia, Economía, South American Archaeology, Ancient markets, Anthropological Archaeology, América Prehispánica, Development of complex societies, Political economy of regulation, Political Economy and History, Economic, and Social Science
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A review of Social Complexity and Complex Systems in Archaeology by Dries Daems (Routledge, 2021)
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The principal conceptual axes for explaining variation in prehispanic Mesoamerican political organization (states and empires) have shifted over time. Current perspectives build on and extend beyond the important dimensions of scale and... more
The principal conceptual axes for explaining variation in prehispanic Mesoamerican political organization (states and empires) have shifted over time. Current perspectives build on and extend beyond the important dimensions of scale and hierarchical complexity and have begun to probe the nature of leadership and governance, drawing on collective action theory and incorporating recent findings that challenge long-held statist vantages on preindustrial economies. Recent results from and archaeological correlates for the application of this approach are outlined, offering opportunities for more comparative analyses of variation and change in the practice of governance within prehispanic Mesoamerican world and more globally.
Environmentally transformative human use of land accelerated with the emergence of 5 agriculture, but the extent, trajectory, and implications of these early changes are not well understood. An empirical global assessment of land use from... more
Environmentally transformative human use of land accelerated with the emergence of 5 agriculture, but the extent, trajectory, and implications of these early changes are not well understood. An empirical global assessment of land use from 10,000 BP to 1850 CE reveals a planet largely transformed by hunter-gatherers, farmers and pastoralists by 3,000 years ago, significantly earlier than land-use reconstructions commonly used by Earth scientists. Synthesis of knowledge contributed by over 250 archaeologists highlighted gaps in archaeological 10 expertise and data quality, which peaked at 2000 BP and in traditionally studied and wealthier regions. Archaeological reconstruction of global land-use history illuminates the deep roots of Earth's transformation through millennia of increasingly intensive land use, challenging the emerging Anthropocene paradigm that anthropogenic global environmental change is mostly recent. 15 One Sentence Summary: A map of synthesized archaeological knowledge on land use reveals a planet transformed by hunter-gatherers, farmers and pastoralists by 3,000 years ago.
Authors not found on Academia:
Torben Rick, Tim Denham, Jonathan Driver, Heather Thakar, Amber L. Johnson, R. Alan Covey, Jason Herrmann, Carrie Hritz, Catherine Kearns, Dan Lawrence, Michael Morrison, Robert J. Speakman, Martina L. Steffen, Keir M. Strickland, M. Cemre Ustunkaya, Jeremy Powell, Alexa Thornton.
Authors not found on Academia:
Torben Rick, Tim Denham, Jonathan Driver, Heather Thakar, Amber L. Johnson, R. Alan Covey, Jason Herrmann, Carrie Hritz, Catherine Kearns, Dan Lawrence, Michael Morrison, Robert J. Speakman, Martina L. Steffen, Keir M. Strickland, M. Cemre Ustunkaya, Jeremy Powell, Alexa Thornton.
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This paper reviews recent archaeological research on human-environment interaction in the Holocene, taking continental China as its geographic focus. As China is large, geographically diverse, and exceptionally archaeologically and... more
This paper reviews recent archaeological research on human-environment interaction in the Holocene, taking continental China as its geographic focus. As China is large, geographically diverse, and exceptionally archaeologically and historically well-documented, research here provides critical insight into the functioning of social-natural systems. Based on a broad review of the field as well as recent advances and discoveries, the authors reflect on research themes including climate change and adaptive systems theory, spatial and temporal scale, anthropogenic environmental change, risk management and resilience, and integration of subdisciplines. These converge on three overarching conclusions. First, datasets relevant to climate change and ancient human-environment interaction must be as local and specific as possible, as the timing of environmental change differs locally, and the human response is highly dependent on local social and technological conditions. Second, the field still needs more robust theoretical frameworks for analyzing complex social-natural systems, and especially for integrating data on multiple scales. Third, for this work to contribute meaningfully to contemporary climate change research, effective communication of research findings to the public and to scientists in other disciplines should be incorporated into publication plans.
Skidegate, along with other Haida Gwaii communities, is recognized by its cultural traditions, art, language, and, particularly, totem poles. Monumental, elegant, and stylized, totem poles are made of massive trunks of red cedar that are... more
Skidegate, along with other Haida Gwaii communities, is recognized by its cultural traditions, art, language, and, particularly, totem poles. Monumental, elegant, and stylized, totem poles are made of massive trunks of red cedar that are carved and subsequently painted with intricate designs and motifs. Whereas the practice of creating ceremonial carvings in wood is relatively widespread among North American Indigenous groups, the level of perfection, monumentality, and stylization of the Northwest Coast poles is particularly distinctive.
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The GINI project investigates the dynamics of inequality among populations over the long term by synthesising global archaeological housing data. This project brings archaeologists together from around the world to assess hypotheses... more
The GINI project investigates the dynamics of inequality among populations over the long term by synthesising global archaeological housing data. This project brings archaeologists together from around the world to assess hypotheses concerning the causes and consequences of inequality that are of relevance to contemporary societies globally.