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The neighbors of casas grandes: excavating medio period communities of northwest chihuahua, mexico
Journal of Archaeological Science 38 (2011) 480–481
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Journal of Archaeological Science journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jas
Book review The neighbors of casas grandes: excavating medio period communities of northwest chihuahua, mexico. Michael E. Whalen, Paul E. Minnis (2009). 464pp; ISBN: 978-0-81652760-1; US$60.00. cloth The archaeology of the Casas Grandes region comprises one of the most important but poorly understood parts of the North American Southwest, and recent research by Professors Whalen and Minnis represents an invaluable move to correct this imbalance. For non-Southwesternists, this book offers the added attraction of addressing fundamental questions about the evolution of chiefdom level societies. The Casas Grandes regional system is located in the high, desert grasslands and mountains of northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico. Because of its location it has not received as much attention from American archaeologists working across the nearby border in the U.S. Likewise most archaeologists working in Mexico have focused greater attention on the spectacular sites found to the south. Despite its current geography, the site of Casas Grandes is the largest prehispanic site in the region and the one with the most convincing evidence of emergent social complexity. Perhaps less widely understood is that Casas Grandes is surrounded by many other sites including population centers, agricultural complexes and ritual/administrative sites. The authors have spent more than two decades documenting these sites and placing them in context relative to Casas Grandes and the greater Southwest. These survey data probably constitute a 15–20% addition to the total known population of the Southwest in the late prehispanic period, comparable to their much better known Hohokam and Northern Rio Grande contemporaries. Excavation and analyses of four sites including one large community, the Tinaja site, two small villages, and one administrative center provide opportunity to examine variability in the exercise of centralized control over surrounding areas. A valuable addition to the present volume is important data and revised interpretations of findings at Casas Grandes itself. This complement offers both a comparative perspective and updated views on older research. Their results are used to elucidate the chronological development and nature of relationships among Casas Grandes and surrounding communities. The presentation investigates the “archaeology of power” and is structured on the hypothesis that elites at the primate center exercised regional authority primarily through control over economic and ritual realms, and relatively little military conquest. Economic control was manifest in both prestige and subsistence goods. Elites are thought to have dominated the production and distribution of exotic materials such as parrot feathers and marine shell, as well as local goods such as turkeys and agave. Elite control over ritual provided the ideological support for hierarchical social order and is evidenced by the distribution of ritual architecture such as ball courts, platform mounds, and decorated
doi:10.1016/j.jas.2010.09.024
Ramos Polychrome pottery exhibiting symbolic reference to a regional cult. Elite power at Casas Grandes was not, however, temporally or spatially uniform but was contested with its neighbors across a span of more than two centuries. Thus a dominant focus of the book is on chronological refinement aimed toward clarifying the development of “funds of power” at Casas Grandes and its neighbors. Evidence from new dendrochronology and radiocarbon samples supports a refined division of the Medio period into early and late phases of approximate AD1200–1300 and AD1300–1450, respectively. Subsequent chapters address major categories of material culture including architecture, ceramics, lithics, floral and faunal remains, and exotic and ritual items. Overall these analyses appear to be thoughtful and supported by abundant statistical evaluation. Descriptions are thorough and 109 black and white figures are provided, including charts, plan and profile drawings, photographs and artifact illustrations. Although the figures are clear and informative, readers unfamiliar with some subjects, such as local ceramic decoration, may wish for a bit more. Distributions of different material classes are variable among sites, but the upshot of analyses is that there are significant changes towards more elaboration of production and florescence of craftsmanship from the early to late phases. Moreover, there is evidence from differential distribution among material classes that these changes resulted in the accumulation of more expensive and exotic goods primarily at Casas Grandes, followed by its administrative node and the Tinaja site. Evidence from ritual structures, ceramic vessel size and use-wear also suggest feasting occurred in contexts most closely controlled by Casas Grandes elites. The authors conclude with several important observations on the development of elite authority at Casas Grandes. They argue that most growth at the site occurred in the late Medio period, and that this growth was largely at the expense of local early Medio rivals such as the Tinaja community. The authors diminish the role of large-scale diffusion or immigration at Casas Grandes and emphasize relatively local developments. Consequent with the disproportionate concentration of population at the primate center was the development of its disproportionate control over many economic and ritual activities. Most signifiers of power in the region either appear to be concentrated at the central site or somehow under its control. The analyses result in a persuasive and thorough documentation of the rise of centralized authority. Two related questions are left relatively under-developed however; why did this development occur when and where it did, and what relation does it have with profound contemporary changes elsewhere in the Southwest? The author’s de-emphasis of demographic contribution from the northern Southwest implies a decoupling of macro-regional and local developments, without offering much in the way of causal alternative. My sense is that they may
Book review / Journal of Archaeological Science 38 (2011) 480–481
be correct on the former account while still leaving out important connections between Casas Grandes and its farther neighbors. In any case, this is a fascinating book and a compelling demonstration of well-designed and executed research. It should be a valuable addition to any library of archaeology on the American Southwest or the rise of chiefdom level societies.
481
J. Brett Hill Hendrix College, Conway, AR, USA The Center for Desert Archaeology, Tucson, AZ, USA E-mail address: [email protected].
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Journal of Archaeological Science journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jas
Book review The neighbors of casas grandes: excavating medio period communities of northwest chihuahua, mexico. Michael E. Whalen, Paul E. Minnis (2009). 464pp; ISBN: 978-0-81652760-1; US$60.00. cloth The archaeology of the Casas Grandes region comprises one of the most important but poorly understood parts of the North American Southwest, and recent research by Professors Whalen and Minnis represents an invaluable move to correct this imbalance. For non-Southwesternists, this book offers the added attraction of addressing fundamental questions about the evolution of chiefdom level societies. The Casas Grandes regional system is located in the high, desert grasslands and mountains of northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico. Because of its location it has not received as much attention from American archaeologists working across the nearby border in the U.S. Likewise most archaeologists working in Mexico have focused greater attention on the spectacular sites found to the south. Despite its current geography, the site of Casas Grandes is the largest prehispanic site in the region and the one with the most convincing evidence of emergent social complexity. Perhaps less widely understood is that Casas Grandes is surrounded by many other sites including population centers, agricultural complexes and ritual/administrative sites. The authors have spent more than two decades documenting these sites and placing them in context relative to Casas Grandes and the greater Southwest. These survey data probably constitute a 15–20% addition to the total known population of the Southwest in the late prehispanic period, comparable to their much better known Hohokam and Northern Rio Grande contemporaries. Excavation and analyses of four sites including one large community, the Tinaja site, two small villages, and one administrative center provide opportunity to examine variability in the exercise of centralized control over surrounding areas. A valuable addition to the present volume is important data and revised interpretations of findings at Casas Grandes itself. This complement offers both a comparative perspective and updated views on older research. Their results are used to elucidate the chronological development and nature of relationships among Casas Grandes and surrounding communities. The presentation investigates the “archaeology of power” and is structured on the hypothesis that elites at the primate center exercised regional authority primarily through control over economic and ritual realms, and relatively little military conquest. Economic control was manifest in both prestige and subsistence goods. Elites are thought to have dominated the production and distribution of exotic materials such as parrot feathers and marine shell, as well as local goods such as turkeys and agave. Elite control over ritual provided the ideological support for hierarchical social order and is evidenced by the distribution of ritual architecture such as ball courts, platform mounds, and decorated
doi:10.1016/j.jas.2010.09.024
Ramos Polychrome pottery exhibiting symbolic reference to a regional cult. Elite power at Casas Grandes was not, however, temporally or spatially uniform but was contested with its neighbors across a span of more than two centuries. Thus a dominant focus of the book is on chronological refinement aimed toward clarifying the development of “funds of power” at Casas Grandes and its neighbors. Evidence from new dendrochronology and radiocarbon samples supports a refined division of the Medio period into early and late phases of approximate AD1200–1300 and AD1300–1450, respectively. Subsequent chapters address major categories of material culture including architecture, ceramics, lithics, floral and faunal remains, and exotic and ritual items. Overall these analyses appear to be thoughtful and supported by abundant statistical evaluation. Descriptions are thorough and 109 black and white figures are provided, including charts, plan and profile drawings, photographs and artifact illustrations. Although the figures are clear and informative, readers unfamiliar with some subjects, such as local ceramic decoration, may wish for a bit more. Distributions of different material classes are variable among sites, but the upshot of analyses is that there are significant changes towards more elaboration of production and florescence of craftsmanship from the early to late phases. Moreover, there is evidence from differential distribution among material classes that these changes resulted in the accumulation of more expensive and exotic goods primarily at Casas Grandes, followed by its administrative node and the Tinaja site. Evidence from ritual structures, ceramic vessel size and use-wear also suggest feasting occurred in contexts most closely controlled by Casas Grandes elites. The authors conclude with several important observations on the development of elite authority at Casas Grandes. They argue that most growth at the site occurred in the late Medio period, and that this growth was largely at the expense of local early Medio rivals such as the Tinaja community. The authors diminish the role of large-scale diffusion or immigration at Casas Grandes and emphasize relatively local developments. Consequent with the disproportionate concentration of population at the primate center was the development of its disproportionate control over many economic and ritual activities. Most signifiers of power in the region either appear to be concentrated at the central site or somehow under its control. The analyses result in a persuasive and thorough documentation of the rise of centralized authority. Two related questions are left relatively under-developed however; why did this development occur when and where it did, and what relation does it have with profound contemporary changes elsewhere in the Southwest? The author’s de-emphasis of demographic contribution from the northern Southwest implies a decoupling of macro-regional and local developments, without offering much in the way of causal alternative. My sense is that they may
Book review / Journal of Archaeological Science 38 (2011) 480–481
be correct on the former account while still leaving out important connections between Casas Grandes and its farther neighbors. In any case, this is a fascinating book and a compelling demonstration of well-designed and executed research. It should be a valuable addition to any library of archaeology on the American Southwest or the rise of chiefdom level societies.
481
J. Brett Hill Hendrix College, Conway, AR, USA The Center for Desert Archaeology, Tucson, AZ, USA E-mail address: [email protected].