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Despite its ubiquity in residential middens at many North American archaeological sites, thermally modified rock (TMR) is among the least studied elements of the archaeological record. TMR assemblages, however, may provide key insights into routine cooking practices, patterns of refuse disposal, and midden formation processes. This article outlines the results of experimental research aimed at understanding the conditions by which TMR assemblages were created in residential settlements in the Pacific Northwest. We present baseline data addressing the thermal properties of the hearth, the rate and circumstances of cobble fracturing, the extent to which different kinds of cobbles break when exposed to heat for varying durations, and the effectiveness of hot cobbles at achieving cooking temperatures.

Archaeologists working in the Ancestral Pueblo region of the American Southwest have documented variability in sociopolitical and economic complexity, landscape use, community organization, mobility, and violence at a wide range of temporal and spatial scales from AD 500-1700. Recent studies have a strong synthetic orientation, employ methods that track material culture, mobility, and social networks at macroregional scales, and benefit from a renewed engagement with indigenous peoples. Much of this research relies on integrating vast amounts of data from numerous academic and cultural resource management projects and demonstrates the promise of an archaeology that relies on the cumulative acquisition and sharing of data. Given the scale and depth of this research, Ancestral Pueblo archaeology is an exceptional comparative case for archaeologists considering similar processes, especially at fine temporal and wide geographical scales, in ancient farming societies across the globe.

The development of corporate groups and social differentiation has long been studied by scholars interested in the historic development of Puebloan societies in the American Southwest. Recent discussions of these issues have suggested that corporate group organization and differentiation were formalized during the transition from pithouse to pueblo architecture from A.D. 700 to 1000. In this article, I examine the history and process of the pithouse-to-pueblo transition in the northern San Juan region from A.D. 700 to 900. Unlike in most parts of the ancient Southwest, the architectural transition in this area was accompanied by a significant settlement change resulting in the founding of large, permanent villages housing hundreds of residents. I present an analysis of architectural differences within McPhee Village, one of the largest of these settlements, that documents variability in corporate group organization and socioeconomic power near the end of this transitional period. This study contributes to a growing body of archaeological literature that highlights the importance of internal social dynamics and corporate strategies within early village societies.