The Relationship between Mobility Strategies and Site Structure

Kent, Susan

doi:10.1007/978-1-4899-2602-9_3

Cited by 72 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Finally, the entryway, which skirts rather than cuts through a sterile hummock, illustrates a desire by the builders to minimize the construction costs associated with the dwelling. This low-energy building strategy is consistent with an expectation by the builders that the structure would not be occupied for an extended period (see Kent 1991 for discussion of anticipated mobility).…”

Section: Discussion Of House 6 Occupationsupporting

confidence: 86%

A Late Dorset semi-subterranean structure from the Bell Site (NiNg-2), Ekalluk River, Victoria Island

Ryan

2005

etudinuit

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This paper presents a detailed description of the architectural elements associated with a Late Dorset semi-subterranean structure at the Bell site (NiNg-2), located on the Ekalluk River, southeastern Victoria Island, Nunavut. The 2002 excavation of the house centred on the recovery of detailed information relating to the architectural tradition of the Late Dorset in this area. The structural remains associated with House 6 suggest it was intended for only a short period of occupation that corresponded with the late fall caribou migration through the area. Probably abandoned during the early winter, House 6 is best interpreted as a "between seasons" structure, comparable to the Thule and historic Inuit qarmat.

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Section: Discussion Of House 6 Occupationsupporting

confidence: 86%

A Late Dorset semi-subterranean structure from the Bell Site (NiNg-2), Ekalluk River, Victoria Island

Ryan

2005

etudinuit

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“…And, the spatial constraints have also been considered, including those imposed by the strength and repair of social relationships (Binford, 1991;Gargett and Hayden, 1991;Whitelaw, 1991), seasonal labor needs (Binford, 1991), sharing large packages of food (O'Connell, 1987, pp. 99-104;O'Connell et al, 1991;Binford, 1987Binford, , 1991, rare community events that may require special facilities (Hitchcock, 1987;Kent, 1991Kent, , 1992, events that prompt households to move their position because of death, disagreements, or misunderstandings (Binford, 1991;Fisher and Strickland, 1989, pp. 479-480;O'Connell, 1987, p. 88).…”

Section: A Theory Of Site Maintenance and The Formation Of Size Sortementioning

confidence: 99%

Describing and comparing archaeological spatial structures

Wandsnider

1996

J Archaeol Method Theory

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Quantitative archaeological spatial analysis today is radically different from that introduced more than 20 years ago. Today spatial analysis is couched in more general formational terms that include earlier functional pursuits. Today spatial analysts (1) focus on individual formationally sensitive artifact or element attributes, rather than on types; (2) use distributional rather than partitive methods and techniques; (3) consider a suite of such attributes to construct the formational history of archaeological deposits; and, least commonly, (4) undertake comparative spatial analysis. An elaboration of the latter tactic is proposed here, that of characterizing spatial structure in terms of structural elements (or "grid cells") and relationships among those elements. This proposal is illustrated through the analysis of five well-known ethnoarchaeological sites with different formational histories. The illustration focuses on the formational process of site maintenance and relies on the relative frequencies of small and large artifacts to monitor the operation of that process. Structural descriptors describe the configuration of grid cells with different artifact size profiles in formationally meaningful terms. Importantly, these descriptors enable the rigorous comparison of spatial structure among and between ethnoarchaeological and archaeological deposits.

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“…Such concepts are most appropriate for sedentary groups who occupy locations for long periods and structure or rigidly adapt space to suit their needs. In comparison, the concepts of "anticipated mobility" or expected duration of stay (see Kent 1991) and the "use of space" or "use of place" are more appropriate to hunter-gatherers and pastoralists who select a place with an emphasis on "distinctive characteristics," rather than "making" a place. These distinctive characteristics are similar to what Zedeño (1997Zedeño ( , 2000Carroll et al 2004), after Schiffer and Skibo (1997, p. 29) has referred to as the performance characteristics of a place for ritual activities, although my work suggests that these essentially same set of performance characteristics apply to mobile group sites in a more general way (Seymour 1995(Seymour , 2002a, rather than to post-contact rituals.…”

Section: Place Assessment In Circumstances Of High Mobilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Yet, as noted by Kent (1991), the operative factor for many measurable aspects of mobile group site layout is the expectation of an extended stay, rather than the fact of staying. For this reason, one could have a pueblo made of coursed stone that was abandoned the day after it was constructed (because of the death of the owners or any number of factors), but the sturdiness of construction bespeaks the expectation for an extended stay.…”

Section: Place Assessment In Circumstances Of High Mobilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The less durable single and paired structures at Abó, Quarai, and elsewhere likely represent short-term forays from not-too-distant mountain settlements. Kent's (1991) important work examined the role of "anticipated mobility" in relation to a number of measurable factors in ethnoarchaeological contexts including square meters of the site per person, site size, formal storage loci, prevalence of activity restricted areas (or monofunctional loci), investment in hut construction, hut diameter, and number of huts per site. All but one of these measures was most affected by anticipated mobility, even more so than actually duration of stay.…”

Section: Place Assessment In Circumstances Of High Mobilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Distinctive Places, Suitable Spaces: Conceptualizing Mobile Group Occupational Duration and Landscape Use

Seymour

2009

Int J Histor Archaeol

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While extreme mobility and ensconced sedentism can be easily distinguished in the archeological record, effective means are lacking of discriminating between degrees of mobility that may range from seasonal shifts by farmers to recurrent moves across the landscape as a way of life. Fortunately, site layout and the way space is used are related to expectations regarding length of stay, and though they are not quantifiable measures, they provide linkages between the active and material realms. Short stays elicit a search for distinctive characteristics of a place rather than investing in the modification of a place. The quest for suitable spaces is a matter of fact among mobile groups, whereas sedentary groups, or those expecting to stay in one place for an extended period, tend to build their environment to suit their needs, even formalizing spaces in consistent ways from place to place. By understanding the ramifications of these concepts it is possible to distinguish between differing degrees of mobility of groups occupying similar environmental zones in the southern portion of the American Southwest in the protohistoric and early historic periods and to apply these to wider contexts.

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The Relationship between Mobility Strategies and Site Structure

Cited by 72 publications

References 6 publications

A Late Dorset semi-subterranean structure from the Bell Site (NiNg-2), Ekalluk River, Victoria Island

A Late Dorset semi-subterranean structure from the Bell Site (NiNg-2), Ekalluk River, Victoria Island

Describing and comparing archaeological spatial structures

Distinctive Places, Suitable Spaces: Conceptualizing Mobile Group Occupational Duration and Landscape Use

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