Book
The Chaco Anasazi: sociopolitical evolution in the prehistoric Southwest
Cambridge University Press • Cambridge [England] • Published In 1992 • Pages: xiv, 181
By: Sebastian, Lynne.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
Sebastian examines the group of Anasazi that lived in the Chaco Basin and that constructed the architectural features known as great houses. The farmers in this area changed from 'small-scale, simply organized prehistoric Pueblo societies' where 'leadership was situational and most decision making carried out within kinship structures, to a hierarchically organized political structure with institutional roles of leadership. She argues that … increasing political complexity was a consequence of improved rainfall … which permitted surplus production…' (page i). Sebastian examines the literature on the theories of the evolution of sociopolitical complexity and explains why she believes the previous explanations for the complexity seen in the San Juan Basin are wrong or wouldn't work. She links possible surplus corn production with the rise of institutional leaders. Greater corn production was probably achieved by groups that pursued a more labor intensive method of farming that involved capture and distribution of water runoff verses the groups that depended on a land-extensive strategy where planting was done in numerous fields. The groups that pursued the labor intensive farming methods would also have had the advantage of an available labor pool when construction on the great houses started.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Theoretical orientation in research and its results
- Production and supply
- Status, role, and prestige
- Manipulative mobility
- Community heads
- Sociocultural trends
- traditionCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Early Anasazi
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2012
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- North America
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Southwest and Basin
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- Book
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Archaeologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Sarah Berry; 2011
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- not specified
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1300-700 BP (AD 700-1300)
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- San Juan Basin; Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah; United States
- NotesAdditional notes
- Lynne Sebastian
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 166-178) and index
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 91038431
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Chaco culture--Politics and government
- Social archaeology--New Mexico--Chaco Canyon Region
- Social archaeology--San Juan Basin (N.M. and Colo.) Chaco Canyon Region (N.M.)--Antiquities
- San Juan Basin (N.M. and Colo.)--Antiquities
- New Mexico--Antiquities
- Colorado--Antiquities