Edited by Susan M. Alt Foundations of Archaeological Inquiry Jim Skibo, Series Editor Anthropology and Archaeology Many archaeologists have long been frustrated with the traditional, reductionist representation of complexity. Yet, even after years of debate, there seem to be never ending disagreements over the complexity of places like Chaco Canyon, Cahokia, and Poverty Point. This matters, because there are political and scholarly implications to calling any place or people more or less complex. In North America especially, given historical biases and the mound-builder myth, archaeologists need to rethink complexity as they seek to explain the past. Based on a Society of American Archaeology symposium, Ancient Complexities offers a current overview of what is meant by cultural complexity and how archaeologists study the development of complex societies in North America. Taking a critical look at how accepted definitions of complexity have bounded our thinking about ancient societies, this volume presents new theoretical perspectives and states a case for the need for different definitions in order to move this discussion ahead. This collection by scholars of North American archaeology is a must read for anyone wishing to be abreast of the most current dialogue on complexity taking place in modern archaeology.
Susan M. Alt is an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Indiana, Bloomington, and is an archaeologist studying Mississippian societies. She is currently excavating in southern Indiana, seeking to understand the homelands of people who migrated to Cah
Susan Alt, ed., Ancient Complexities: Contents List of FiguresList of Tables1. Considering Complexity: Confounding Categories with Practices Susan M. Alt2. (E)mergent Complexities during the Archaic Period in Northeast Florida Asa R. Randall and Kenneth E. Sassaman3. Hunter-Gatherer Ritual and Complexity: New Evidence from Poverty Point, Louisiana Tristram R. Kidder4. Practicing Complexity (Past and Present) at Kolomoki Thomas J. Pluckhahn5. Sacrificing Complexity: Renewal through Ohio Hopewell Rituals Bretton Giles6. Mobile Farmers and Sedentary Models: Horticulture and Cultural Transitions in Late Woodland and Contact Period New England Elizabeth S. Chilton7. Confounding Kinship: Ritual Regional Organization in Northern Michigan, A.D. 1200-1600 Meghan C. L. Howey8. Complexity in Action(s): Retelling the Cahokia Story Susan M. Alt9. Categories of Complexity and the Preclusion of Practice Jon Bernard Marcoux and Gregory D. Wilson10. Landscapes of Complexity in the U.S. Southwest: The Hohokam, Chacoans, and Peer Polity Interaction Jill E. Neitzel11. The Good Gray Intermediate: Why Native Societies of North America Can't Be States Stephen H. Lekson12. A People's History of the American Southwest Severin Fowles13. Downsizers, Upgraders, Cultural Constructors, and Social Producers Robert Chapman14. The Unbearable Lightness of Complexity Norman YoffeeList of ContributorsIndex
