ISBN:
9780813069531
,
081306953X
Language:
English
Pages:
viii, 303 pages
,
illustrations, maps
,
24 cm
DDC:
301
Keywords:
Social archaeology
;
Ethnoarchaeology
;
Social change
;
Anthropology
;
Human beings
;
Prehistoric peoples
;
Social change
;
Prehistoric peoples
;
Ethnoarchaeology
;
Anthropology
;
Human beings
;
Social archaeology
Abstract:
"This book is about transitional periods of cultural and environmental change as seen through the lenses of archaeology and ethnography. Incorporating data from across six continents and tracing the human experience from the Late Pleistocene to the present, these chapters offer a global comparative perspective on transitional states. Questions of causality are considered, as are hypotheses about the processes of cultural change. Archaeology on the Threshold focuses on major transitions such as the shift from foraging to agriculture, the adoption of new technologies, the emergence of large-scale societies, the transition from egalitarian to inegalitarian leadership, and changes that occur in socioeconomic and ideological systems as a result of climate change and disease. Theoretical approaches range from processual to postprocessual, humanistic, and interpretive. Methodologies include ethnoarchaeology, the use of ethnographic analogy, cross-cultural comparisons and large-scale data approaches, oral history, the historical record, participant observation, and focus group discussions"--
Description / Table of Contents:
1. The Role of Theory and Ethnographic Analogies in Understanding Paleoindian Obsidian Acquisition, Mobility, and Mating Strategies in the Great Basin -- 2. Across Boundaries: Origin of Microblade Technology in Northeastern Asia under the Macroecological Approach -- 3. Fragmented Records: Fuego-Patagonian Hunter-Gatherers and Archaeological Change -- 4. Earth Oven Size and Camas Intensification in the Upper Willamette Valley, Oregon -- 5. At the Edges of Food Production: The Archaic to Ancestral Pueblo Transition in Central New Mexico -- 6. At the Pacific Edge and Field's Margin: Edible Weeds, the Ideal Free Distribution, and Niche Construction in Neolithic Taiwan -- 7. Domestic Crop Production among the Ju/'hoansi San of Nyae Nyae, Namibia: Ethnoarchaeological and Ethnographic Perspectives -- 8. Moving Beyond: Using New Methods to Assess Holocene Environmental Change in Northwestern Guyana -- 9. On the Edge of Inequality: Economic and Social Boundaries at the Onset of Megalithism in Western Iberia (Fourth Millennium BC) -- 10. Megadroughts, Rodents, and Weevils: The Ecological Basis for Ritual Burning during the Iron Age in Southeastern Africa -- 11. Differentiating Ecological Contexts of Plant Cultivation and Animal Herding: Implications for Culture Process
Note:
Includes bibliographical references and index
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