The Social Construction of Communities

Agency, Structure, and Identity in the Prehispanic Southwest

Contributions by James R. Allison, Jeffrey J. Clark, Michelle Hegmon, J Brett Hill, Kristen A. Kuckelman, Patrick D. Lyons Arizona State Museum, Tessie Naranjo, Scott G. Ortman, Timothy R. Pauketat, Elizabeth M. Perry, Susan C. Ryan, Gregson Schachner, James E. Snead, Thomas D. Yoder Edited by Mark D. Varien, James M. Potter

Publication date:

15 August 2008

Length of book:

336 pages

Publisher

AltaMira Press

Dimensions:

239x161mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9780759110083

The Social Construction of Communities draws on archaeological research in the Southwest to examine how communities are created through social interaction. The archaeological record of the Southwest is important for its precise dating, exceptional preservation, large number of sites, and length of occupation—making it most intensively researched archaeological regions in the world. Taking advantage of that rich archaeological record, the contributors to this volume present case studies of the Mesa Verde, Rio Grande, Kayenta, Mogollon, and Hohokam regions. The result is an enhanced understanding of the ancient Southwest, a new appreciation for the ways in which humans construct communities and transform society, and an expanded theoretical discussion of the foundational concepts of modern social theory.

Chapter 1. The Social Production of Communities: Structure, Agency, and Identity
Part 2 Part I. Identity
Chapter 3 Chapter 2. Space, Houses, and Bodies: Identity Construction and Destruction in Early Pueblo Villages
Chapter 4 Chapter 3. Exchanging Identities: Early Pueblo I Red Ware Exchange and Identity North of the San Juan River
Chapter 5 Chapter 4. Constructing Community and Transforming Identity at Albert Porter Pueblo
Part 6 Part II. Agency and the Individual
Chapter 7 Chapter 5. Agency and Gender in Prehispanic Pueblo Communities
Chapter 8 Chapter 6. An Agent-Centered Case Study of the Depopulation of Sand Canyon Pueblo
Part 9 Part III. Place and Landscape
Chapter 10 Chapter 7. Agency, Place, and Space in the Castle Rock Communities
Chapter 11 Chapter 8. History, Place, and Social Power in the Galisteo Basin, A.D. 1250-1325
Part 12 Part IV. Migration, Settlement, and Community Organization
Chapter 13 Chapter 9. Imagining Communities in the Cibola Past
Chapter 14 Chapter 10. Demography, Agricultural Potential, and Identity among Ancient Immigrants
Part 15 Part V. Social Theory and Southwestern Communities
Chapter 16 Chapter 11. Structure and Agency in Southwest Archaeology
Chapter 17 Chapter 12. The Grounds for Agency in Southwest Archaeology
Chapter 18 Chapter 13. Life as Movement: A Tewa View of Community and Identity

The authors in The Social Construction of Communities raise the right questions as they attempt to break with the ecofunctionalist models of past decades. Southwest archaeologists will find the volume's substantive, synthetic discussions of recent research to be particularly useful.