Technological Organization and Settlement Mobility: An Ethnographic Examination

Shott, Michael

doi:10.1086/jar.42.1.3630378

Cited by 377 publications

(193 citation statements)

References 24 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

160

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…This is perhaps best 281 expressed ethnographically by Pacific coast hunter-gatherers (Ames, 1994;Arnold and Walsh, 282 2010; Moss, 2011). This increased technological complexity could be a response to the 283 complex tasks associated with coastal foraging (Oswalt, 1973;Oswalt, 1976), reduced residential 284 mobility (Shott, 1986), and large populations and increased network size (Shennan, 2001; The discussion immediately preceding suggests that when hominins expanded their diet 294 to coastal resources, a social and technological tipping point may have been reached, or 295 minimally, a door to a more complex adaptation was opened. Given this, we need to ask the 296 question as to how to identify in the paleoanthropological record the various levels of commitment to the sea.…”

Section: How Do We Define a Coastal Adaptation? 154mentioning

confidence: 99%

The origins and significance of coastal resource use in Africa and Western Eurasia

Marean

2014

Journal of Human Evolution

173

155

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: How Do We Define a Coastal Adaptation? 154mentioning

confidence: 99%

The origins and significance of coastal resource use in Africa and Western Eurasia

Marean

2014

Journal of Human Evolution

173

155

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…"Foragers" (sensu Binford) occupy relatively fine-grained habitats that require or reward high mobility frequency (Kelly 1983, Shott 1986, and essentially the same set of activities is carried out in successive camps. Binford…”

Section: Discussion Of Assemblage Diversityimplicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, Quigg et al (2000) identified both Tortugas points and Nueces tools in Occupational Zone (OZ) 1 at the Lino site, which dates to about 2,000 b.p. In the broader scheme, with most tool and projectile point forms The intensive use of scrapers, maximizing use-life (exhausting) prior to discard, increased formality of tool form, and a high quality of raw materials could be interpreted as reflecting a "curated" toolkit designed for high reliability and maintainability, a hallmark of mobility patterns distinguished by short duration, low frequency occupations (Bamforth 1986;Binford 1979;Clarkson 2002;Parry and Kelly 1987;Shott 1986). This can be the signature of either forager residential camps or logistical groups.…”

Section: Temporal Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cuatro Vientos: A Reconsideration of Seven Prehistoric Sites in the Lower Rio Grande Plains of South Texas

Carpenter¹,

Chavez²,

Miller³

et al. 2010

ITA

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

IntroductIonWith this report, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) begins a reconsideration of approaches to the evaluation and treatment of those areas where surface lithic scatters are the main constituent of the archeological record. The reconsideration was inspired by the Cuatro Vientos project in Laredo, Webb County, Texas. The project and the ideas surrounding it developed slowly. The ideas continued to evolve through discussion between SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) and TxDOT as additional work on the project occurred. Because this project proceeded in an idiosyncratic fashion, some words of explanation might be helpful. The following discussion provides an account of how the project developed and where future work might be heading. PrevIous work at cuatro vIentosBlanton and Associates (Blanton) conducted the initial survey of the project's area of potential effects (Ringstaff et al. 2004). The survey identified 14 sites. The Blanton survey report showed the local archeological record to predominantly be a messy landscape of mixed assemblages. Within this landscape were some pockets with potentially-preserved, isolable components and features. The Blanton survey report thus recommended eight of the 14 sites for additional evaluation. TxDOT, in consultation with the Texas Historical Commission, accepted those recommendations.TxDOT then tasked SWCA with developing a scope for the fieldwork under one of TxDOT's general archeological services contracts. SWCA's approach concentrated on the identification of those select areas that had a high level of integrity, with horizontal and/or vertical separation of assemblages and components (Carpenter, Houk, and Miller 2005). This integrity-focused approach has been explicitly advocated by TxDOT in the past and continues to inform TxDOT's evaluations of the effects of its projects. IntegrIty and the evaluatIon oF south texas sItesThe integrity-focused approach can perhaps be refined, however. Two issues must be addressed. On the one hand, the archeological record of south Texas and its upland lithic scatters is not amenable to many interpretive strategies. The data from the uplands are typically of poor quality. In many places, the ground surface has remained stable or has eroded. Preservation of many types of material is poor. The same general areas have seen repeated occupation. This combination of factors has produced an archeological record that can be difficult to render meaningful. Many aspects of past human behavior and adaptations can not be inferred under these circumstances. On the other hand, the activities that occurred in these areas may have played a significant role in local adaptations. We should not be willing to treat such a large portion of the archeological record as a black box, where significant activities remain unidentified. To ignore the uplands makes an appreciation of the valley settings more difficult, since data would not be available from the upland areas for comparative analysis. Refining current approaches means splitting ...

show abstract

“…This is in contrast to the frequency with which reduction sequence studies utilize the organization of technology approach (i.e., middle-level theory developed by Andrefsky 1994;Bamforth 1986;Binford 1979Binford , 1980Binford , 1982Bleed 1986;Carr 1994;Kelly 1988;Nelson 1991;Shott 1986;Torrence 1989) to pursue questions of highlevel theory from evolutionary ecology (Foley 1985;Kelly 1995;Krebs 1978;O'Connell 1995;Shennan 2002;Smith 1983;Smith and Winterhalder 1992;Winterhalder 1986Winterhalder , 1997; for a comprehensive overview, see Krebs and Davies 1997). Despite the fact that chaîne opératoire practitioners investigate very similar questions of diachronic behavioral change in raw material economy (Féblot-Augustins 1993Geneste 1985Geneste , 1988Tixier 1980) and hunting technology (Geneste and Plisson 1990;Plisson and Geneste 1989), they do not situate the method or results in the context of a high-level theory such as evolutionary ecology.…”

Section: The Origins Of Chaîne Opératoirementioning

confidence: 99%

Untitled

2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There are more areas of overlap as well as distinction between the Reduction Sequence and Chaîne Opératoire methods of archaeological analysis than the current debate recognizes. While methodological differences have been acknowledged, high-level theory differs to a greater degree than is currently appreciated, partly due to the social practice of archaeology in different contexts. This paper compares and evaluates examples of reduction sequence and chaîne opératoire research to demonstrate how high-level theory goals impact middle-range theory and even low-level theory practices (i.e., how data are constructed and published). The paper then utilizes the distinction between an emic decision hierarchy and an etic production hierarchy to elucidate how the practitioners of both methods can more successfully integrate their approaches. An alternative to both methods is offered to demonstrate how common epistemological problems can be resolved. As an example of this alternative approach, the paper compares blank production behaviors and tool kit morphologies among Levantine Ahmarian, as well as among Levantine Aurignacian assemblages, from Kebara Cave, Israel. This case study demonstrates that the two Ahmarian assemblages are more different, rather than more similar to each other, in comparison to the Levantine Aurignacian assemblages. This suggests that a typological approach to these assemblages conceals significant behavioral data.

show abstract

Technological Organization and Settlement Mobility: An Ethnographic Examination

Cited by 377 publications

References 24 publications

The origins and significance of coastal resource use in Africa and Western Eurasia

The origins and significance of coastal resource use in Africa and Western Eurasia

Cuatro Vientos: A Reconsideration of Seven Prehistoric Sites in the Lower Rio Grande Plains of South Texas

Untitled

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About