essay
The calculus of self-interest in the development of cooperation: sociopolitical development and risk among the northern Anasazi
Evolving complexity and environmental risk in the prehistoric Southwest : proceedings of the Workshop 'Resource Stress, Economic Uncertainty, and Human Response in the Prehistoric Southwest,' held February 25-29, 1992, in Santa Fe, NM / editors, Joseph A. Tainter, Bonnie Bagley Tainter • (24) • Published In 1996 • Pages: 169-196
By: Kohler, Timothy A., Van West, Carla R. (Carla Rebecca).
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This study attempts to formulate a new framework for analyzing and predicting the behavior of producers in various contexts of productive shortage and abundance. The authors begin by assuming that nearly all agricultural production among the northern Anasazi was at the household level. By drawing on microeconomic theory, evolutionary ecology, and recent studies in the behavioral ecology of foragers, Kohler and Van West develop a context to predict when networks of food exchange among households ought to appear, based solely on the self-interest of the households involved. Data on production variability in the Mesa Verde Region - developed by Van West - are examined in this context, and these sections draw heavily on Van West and Kohler's 1995 work. They attempt to show that networks of food sharing provide a foundation for more general elaboration of sociopolitical complexity in cases where production provides a surplus. In the last part of this work Kohler and Van West examine the implications of this work and point to some of the fruitful avenues for research that it suggests (p. 170).
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Theoretical orientation in research and its results
- Organization and analysis of results of research
- Production and supply
- Gratification and control of hunger
- Population
- 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
- essay
- 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
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- John Beierle; 2011
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- no date
- 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)
- Southwestern United States
- NotesAdditional notes
- Timothy A. Kohler and Carla R. Van West
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 192-196)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 95045139
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Indians of North America--Southwest, New--Economic conditions--Congresses.
- Indians of North America--Southwest, New--Social conditions--Congresses.
- Indians of North America--Southwest, New--Antiquities--Congresses.
- Subsistence economy--Southwest, New--Congresses.
- Hunting and gathering societies--Southwest, New--Congresses.
- Southwest, New--Environmental conditions--Congresses.
- Southwest, New--Antiquities--Congresses.