Dynamics of Southwest Prehistory

1. Cultural Interaction in the Prehistoric Southwest

xviii Preface to the 2006 Edition ines the causes and patterns ofthese transitions, which include the initiation of agriculture and sedentism, expansion of horticultural communities throughout the Southwest, differentiation ofregionally organized societies and polities, reorganization following demographic upheavals, and founding ofaggregated settlements. These topics are being explored today in continuing field research, in computer simulations, and in theoretically oriented studies. Johnson's outside view as discussant at the seminar and in the concluding chapter ofthis volume has since become a classic reference and touchstone for virtually all current debates about the nature of prehistoric southwestern political and social organization. We are grateful to The University ofAlabama Press for making this volume available to a new generation ofstudents and scholars. We think that this book continues to provide an accessible baseline for understanding the dynamics ofresearch and debate that are at the forefront ofsouthwestern archaeology today and likely into the future. -Linda S. Cordell Boulder, Colorado -George J. Gumerman Santa Fe, New Mexico Preface An effective conference uses the data and concepts that have been collected and generated in order to assess the current state ofthe discipline, and then uses that platform to address current concerns in new ways. The conference that was the genesis ofthis volume was proposedbecause Southwest archaeology is in a period of rapid change, both in terms of the amount and kinds of data that have been collected and in the development of various models that might be tested through the new data. It seemed a propitious time to assess the current state of Southwest archaeology and to attempt new insights about the nature ofprehistoric southwestern society. The conference participants were concerned with synthesizing the culture history of key regions of the Southwest and attempting to delineate underlying patterns and infer causes of stability and change. There was no narrowly defined goal as is so often the case in seminars of this type. .The participants were selected for their expertise in a specific geographic and cultural subarea ofthe Southwest. These scholars have all had a minimumof10years invested inthe professional investigation ofsouthwestem archaeology; most have been practicing for 20 or even 25 years. The long-term, collective experience of the participants does not mean, however , that there is a standard orthodoxy expressed in these papers. While individual authors do espouse a particular interpretation ofthe past for each xix xx Preface area, attempts were made to discuss alternative explanations wherever possible . During the seminar, considerable time was spent trying to reconcile differences, note similarities, and explain differences among the areas. Toward the end of the seminar, the participants produced a framework that describes broad patterns of generally synchronous cultural events for all of the subareas represented. This scheme is discussed in Chapter 1. Some authors were more comfortable in using this scheme for their areas than were others. Finally, no one scheme was imposed on all the contributors. Authors used whatever cultural-historical or chronological framework they felt was most appropriate for their area. The overall conference scheme does highlight some pan-southwestern phenomena, and points of concordance and dissonance. These general patterns are noted and possible explanations for them are discussed by Cordell and Gumerman in Chapter 1 and by Johnson in Chapter 10. The major charge to the participants was to examine the character of the archaeological manifestations in their area, and to explore the nature of change and the reasons for it. Most of the authors were particularly interested in patterns of interaction and isolation. They attempt to describe and explain the existence of periods when there were widespread social and economic networks, encompassing broad geographic regions, and other times during which these networks collapsed and were replaced by more localized and seemingly parochial traditions. All ofthe authors use the detail oftheir area ofstudy to address some of the larger questions of Southwest archaeology. In the best tradition of the archaeological study ofa large region, the individual chapters in this volume demonstrate how data from smaller locales provide insight into the larger scheme. Being restricted to a relatively small area, however, the separate chapters cannot address all of the larger issues, and those which are addressed are examined within a necessarily limited context. An attempt to document the large areal patterns and synthesize regional data is reserved for the introductory chapter. Johnson's concluding chapter offers valuable commentary on the Southwest as a whole from the perspective of the Old World (especially Near Eastern...