| Signs of Power: The Rise of Cultural Complexity in the Southeast Contributor(s): Gibson, Jon L. (Editor), Anderson, David G. (Contribution by), Jefferies, Richard (Contribution by) |
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ISBN: 0817350853 ISBN-13: 9780817350857 Publisher: University Alabama Press OUR PRICE: $42.70 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: May 2004 Annotation: By focusing on the first instances of mound building, pottery making, fancy polished stone and bone, as well as specialized chipped stone, artifacts, and their widespread exchange, this book explores the sources of power and organization among Archaic societies. It investigates the origins of these technologies and their effects on long-term (evolutionary) and short-term (historical) change. The characteristics of first origins in social complexity belong to 5,000- to 6,000-year-old Archaic groups who inhabited the southeastern United States. In "Signs of Power, regional specialists identify the conditions, causes, and consequences that define organization and social complexity in societies. Often termed "big mound power," these considerations include the role of demography, kinship, and ecology in sociocultural change; the meaning of geometry and design in sacred groupings; the degree of advancement in stone tool technologies; and differentials in shell ring sizes that reflect social inequality. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | United States - State & Local - General - Social Science | Anthropology - General - Social Science | Archaeology |
| Dewey: 975.01 |
| LCCN: 2003023968 |
| Physical Information: 1.03" H x 6.26" W x 9.2" (1.48 lbs) 383 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Traces the sources of power and large-scale organization of prehistoric peoples among Archaic societies. By focusing on the first instances of mound building, pottery making, fancy polished stone and bone, as well as specialized chipped stone, artifacts, and their widespread exchange, this book explores the sources of power and organization among Archaic societies. It investigates the origins of these technologies and their effects on long-term (evolutionary) and short-term (historical) change. The characteristics of first origins in social complexity belong to 5,000- to 6,000-year-old Archaic groups who inhabited the southeastern United States. In Signs of Power, regional specialists identify the conditions, causes, and consequences that define organization and social complexity in societies. Often termed "big mound power," these considerations include the role of demography, kinship, and ecology in sociocultural change; the meaning of geometry and design in sacred groupings; the degree of advancement in stone tool technologies; and differentials in shell ring sizes that reflect social inequality. |