Resources Intensification, Sedentism, Storage, and Ranking: A Visual Synopsis of Pacific Northwest History and Theory
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Campus where you would like to present
SURC Ballroom C/D
Start Date
15-5-2014
End Date
15-5-2014
Keywords
archaeology, anthropology, history, theory, resource intensification
Abstract
Resource intensification is a theoretical concept that is used routinely to explain past human subsistence and settlement systems by identifying evidence of sedentism, storage, ranking, and hierarchy among early horticulturists and complex hunter-gatherers. Evidence for these developments in the archaeological record include: large houses, and cooking and storage features. Resource intensification, as defined, can include technology for mass capture and processing, resource extension through scheduling, logistical organization of labor, or expanding habitat use. Within the Pacific Northwest, theoretical explanations of these developments grew within three schools: evolutionary-ecology, political economy, and social agency. Our strategy is to (1) diagram the intellectual history of Northwest coast and Columbia plateau theory, and (2) trace relationships and interactions between synthetic works and archaeological studies. Given that almost all treatments of resource intensification focus on the development of households (plank houses and house pits) and larger house settlements, our review provides a critical synopsis of major directions in the archaeology of the Pacific Northwest. As possible each source we cite is assessed in our visual synopsis. We code each source according to three scientific performance criteria: dynamic sufficiency, empirical sufficiency, and tolerance limits. By evaluating each work using these performance criteria, we can begin to interpret anthropological explanations for cultural ecology and evolution, and political economy or social agency within the Pacific Northwest.
Recommended Citation
Brown, James and McCutcheon, Patrick, "Resources Intensification, Sedentism, Storage, and Ranking: A Visual Synopsis of Pacific Northwest History and Theory" (2014). Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 82.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2014/posters/82
Poster Number
42
Additional Mentoring Department
Anthropology and Museum Studies
Resources Intensification, Sedentism, Storage, and Ranking: A Visual Synopsis of Pacific Northwest History and Theory
SURC Ballroom C/D
Resource intensification is a theoretical concept that is used routinely to explain past human subsistence and settlement systems by identifying evidence of sedentism, storage, ranking, and hierarchy among early horticulturists and complex hunter-gatherers. Evidence for these developments in the archaeological record include: large houses, and cooking and storage features. Resource intensification, as defined, can include technology for mass capture and processing, resource extension through scheduling, logistical organization of labor, or expanding habitat use. Within the Pacific Northwest, theoretical explanations of these developments grew within three schools: evolutionary-ecology, political economy, and social agency. Our strategy is to (1) diagram the intellectual history of Northwest coast and Columbia plateau theory, and (2) trace relationships and interactions between synthetic works and archaeological studies. Given that almost all treatments of resource intensification focus on the development of households (plank houses and house pits) and larger house settlements, our review provides a critical synopsis of major directions in the archaeology of the Pacific Northwest. As possible each source we cite is assessed in our visual synopsis. We code each source according to three scientific performance criteria: dynamic sufficiency, empirical sufficiency, and tolerance limits. By evaluating each work using these performance criteria, we can begin to interpret anthropological explanations for cultural ecology and evolution, and political economy or social agency within the Pacific Northwest.
Faculty Mentor(s)
Hackenberger, Steve