Niche: A Productive Guide for Use in the Analysis of Cultural Complexity

THIS CHAPTER EXPLORES some of the interpretative implications of a failure to consider the potential causes for organized variability among cultural systems. The niche concept is considered useful when exploring organizational similarities and differences among cultural systems and central to a productive discussion regarding the differences between living systems that are biologically as opposed to culturally organized. Some interesting issues regarding systems complexity are focused upon through a discussion of mutualism and what is implied by the term when students of cultural systems use the idea

Las prácticas funerarias: su estudio y su potencial.

Se analizan ampliamente las explicaciones sobre las costumbres funerarias dadas anteriormente por antropólogos, a la vez que las hipótesis y las interpretaciones que de ellas se derivan. Unas y otras se ha demostrado que son inadecuadas tanto desde el punto de vista de la teoría de los sistemas como desde el examen detallado del registro empírico. Un estudio multicultural elaborado según los datos de la Human Relations Area Files2 (HRAF) muestra que existen relaciones entre las evaluaciones de la variedad de rituales funerarios y la complejidad estructural. Se descubrió que tanto el número como las formas específicas de la dimensión de la persona social, comúnmente reconocidas en el ritual funerario, varían significativamente según la complejidad organizativa de la sociedad, tomando como baremo las diferentes formas de las prácticas de subsistencia. Además, las formas que adoptan las diferencias en el ritual funerario varían significativamente en función de la dimensión del sujeto social al que representan. Así pues, muchas de las conjeturas de la arqueología contemporánea y de la interpretación relacionada con los procesos de cambio cultural, diferenciación cultural y la presencia de costumbres funerarias específicas son inadecuadas, al igual que lo son las hipótesis y supuestos conceptuales que subyacen en tales nociones. Las inferencias acerca de las presupuestas «relaciones », comparadas directamente con las listas de rasgos obtenidas de entre las manifestaciones arqueológicas, son inútiles sin el conocimiento de las propiedades organizativas de los sistemas culturales pertinentes.Se analizan ampliamente las explicaciones sobre las costumbres funerarias dadas anteriormente por antropólogos, a la vez que las hipótesis y las interpretaciones que de ellas se derivan. Unas y otras se ha demostrado que son inadecuadas tanto desde el punto de vista de la teoría de los sistemas como desde el examen detallado del registro empírico. Un estudio multicultural elaborado según los datos de la Human Relations Area Files2 (HRAF) muestra que existen relaciones entre las evaluaciones de la variedad de rituales funerarios y la complejidad estructural. Se descubrió que tanto el número como las formas específicas de la dimensión de la persona social, comúnmente reconocidas en el ritual funerario, varían significativamente según la complejidad organizativa de la sociedad, tomando como baremo las diferentes formas de las prácticas de subsistencia. Además, las formas que adoptan las diferencias en el ritual funerario varían significativamente en función de la dimensión del sujeto social al que representan. Así pues, muchas de las conjeturas de la arqueología contemporánea y de la interpretación relacionada con los procesos de cambio cultural, diferenciación cultural y la presencia de costumbres funerarias específicas son inadecuadas, al igual que lo son las hipótesis y supuestos conceptuales que subyacen en tales nociones. Las inferencias acerca de las presupuestas «relaciones », comparadas directamente con las listas de rasgos obtenidas de entre las manifestaciones arqueológicas, son inútiles sin el conocimiento de las propiedades organizativas de los sistemas culturales pertinentes.The explanations of burial customs provided by previous anthropologists are examined at length together with the assumptions and data orientations that lay behind them. Both the assumptions and explanations are shown to be inadequate from the point of view of systems theory and from a detailed examination of the empirical record. A cross-cultural survey drawn from the Human Relations Area Files shows that associations do exist between measures of mortuary ritual variety and structural complexity. It was found that both the number and specific forms of the dimensions of the social persona commonly recognized in mortuary ritual vary significantly with the organizational complexity of the society as measured by different forms of subsistence practice. Moreover, the forms that differentiations in mortuary ritual take vary significantly with the dimensions of the social persona symbolized. Hence, much of contemporary archaeological conjecture and interpretation regarding processes of cultural change, cultural differentiation, and the presence of specific burial customs is inadequate as well as the ideational propositions and assumptions underlying these notions. Inferences about the presumed «relationships» compared directly from trait lists obtaining among archaeological manifestations are useless without knowledge of the organizational properties of the pertinent cultural systems

Niche: A Productive Guide for Use in the Analysis of Cultural Complexity

THIS CHAPTER EXPLORES some of the interpretative implications of a failure to consider the potential causes for organized variability among cultural systems. The niche concept is considered useful when exploring organizational similarities and differences among cultural systems and central to a productive discussion regarding the differences between living systems that are biologically as opposed to culturally organized. Some interesting issues regarding systems complexity are focused upon through a discussion of mutualism and what is implied by the term when students of cultural systems use the idea

Nothing Lasts Forever: Environmental Discourses on the Collapse of Past Societies

The study of the collapse of past societies raises many questions for the theory and practice of archaeology. Interest in collapse extends as well into the natural sciences and environmental and sustainability policy. Despite a range of approaches to collapse, the predominant paradigm is environmental collapse, which I argue obscures recognition of the dynamic role of social processes that lie at the heart of human communities. These environmental discourses, together with confusion over terminology and the concepts of collapse, have created widespread aporia about collapse and resulted in the creation of mixed messages about complex historical and social processes

Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry of Seabird Guano Fertilization: Results from Growth Chamber Studies with Maize (Zea Mays)

Stable isotope analysis is being utilized with increasing regularity to examine a wide range of issues (diet, habitat use, migration) in ecology, geology, archaeology, and related disciplines. A crucial component to these studies is a thorough understanding of the range and causes of baseline isotopic variation, which is relatively poorly understood for nitrogen (δ(15)N). Animal excrement is known to impact plant δ(15)N values, but the effects of seabird guano have not been systematically studied from an agricultural or horticultural standpoint.This paper presents isotopic (δ(13)C and δ(15)N) and vital data for maize (Zea mays) fertilized with Peruvian seabird guano under controlled conditions. The level of (15)N enrichment in fertilized plants is very large, with δ(15)N values ranging between 25.5 and 44.7‰ depending on the tissue and amount of fertilizer applied; comparatively, control plant δ(15)N values ranged between -0.3 and 5.7‰. Intraplant and temporal variability in δ(15)N values were large, particularly for the guano-fertilized plants, which can be attributed to changes in the availability of guano-derived N over time, and the reliance of stored vs. absorbed N. Plant δ(13)C values were not significantly impacted by guano fertilization. High concentrations of seabird guano inhibited maize germination and maize growth. Moreover, high levels of seabird guano greatly impacted the N metabolism of the plants, resulting in significantly higher tissue N content, particularly in the stalk.The results presented in this study demonstrate the very large impact of seabird guano on maize δ(15)N values. The use of seabird guano as a fertilizer can thus be traced using stable isotope analysis in food chemistry applications (certification of organic inputs). Furthermore, the fertilization of maize with seabird guano creates an isotopic signature very similar to a high-trophic level marine resource, which must be considered when interpreting isotopic data from archaeological material

Cachimbos europeus de cerâmica branca, séculos XVI ao XIX: parâmetros básicos para análise arqueológica

O tabaco foi introduzido na Europa no final do século XV. Desde então, uma das formas mais comuns para o seu consumo foi o cachimbo, além do rapé, do tabaco de mascar, do charuto e, mais recentemente, dos cigarros. Os cachimbos de cerâmica branca, largamente produzidos e utilizados na Europa desde o século XV, são encontrados em sítios arqueológicos históricos ao redor do mundo, incluindo no Brasil, em decorrência do comércio internacional, que gradualmente se intensificou após o início da conquista europeia. Eles funcionam como excelentes elementos para datação de sítios e estratos arqueológicos, tendo sido estudados em vários países a partir dessa abordagem. Ainda, esse tipo de artefato, mais que fornecer datações, permite identificar redes comerciais entre nações e desenvolver discussões de cunho social e cultural. Contudo, eles foram pouco estudados no Brasil. Visando contribuir com os estudos nacionais dessa categoria material, este artigo oferece uma revisão da literatura internacional acerca do histórico da produção dos cachimbos europeus de caulim, incluindo apresentação dos principais centros produtores; da morfologia e decoração desses produtos, considerando a cronologia do fabrico; e dos métodos de análise dos diferentes cachimbos de caulim no âmbito da arqueologia histórica.Tobacco was introduced in Europe at the end of the 15th century. Since then, one of the most traditional means for its use has been the pipe, next to the powder version, chewing, cigars, and, more recently, cigarettes. White clay tobacco pipes, widely produced and used in Europe since the 15th century, are found in historical archaeological sites around the world, including Brazil, due to international trade, which gradually intensified with the European conquest of the New World. They are excellent guides for dating archaeological sites and layers. In addition, this type of artifact, more than a dating tool, permits identifying trading networks between nations and developing discussions of cultural and social nature. These pipes, however, have been understudied in Brazil. In order to contribute to studies of this type of artifact in our country, this paper offers a revision of the international literature on the history of clay pipe production in Europe, including the presentation of main production centers; morphology and decoration of these products, considering issues of fabrication chronology; and the methods used in Historical Archaeology for analyzing clay tobacco pipes

D-PLACE dataset derived from Binford 2001 'Constructing Frames of Reference'

<p>Cite the source of the dataset as:</p> <blockquote> <p>Binford, L. 2001. Constructing Frames of Reference: An Analytical Method for Archaeological Theory Building Using Hunter-gatherer and Environmental Data Sets. University of California Press</p> </blockquote&gt

¿Por qué se usa la frase "a igualdad de condiciones" cuando se postulan generalizaciones, se desarrollan argumentos de causalidad o cuando de construye teoría?

En este ensayo enfoco en el análisis de algunas de las estrategias de aprendizaje que se encuentran implicadas en la frase “a igualdad de condiciones”. Esta búsqueda se deriva en forma directa de los materiales presentados en mi estudio comparativo de la etnografía de sociedades cazadoras-recolectoras, desarrollado a lo largo de nueve años. La particularidad del presente trabajo es que el eje está centrado, en cambio, en el tema de los métodos disponibles al momento de expandir nuestras capacidades de aprendizaje, en el marco de estudios de reconocimiento de patrones. En este contexto, no aspiro a presentar un análisis exhaustivo de los casos tratados a nivel empírico, sino que priorizo el desarrollo de las estrategias de aprendizaje sobre la base de un conjunto de ejemplos. Las conclusiones alcanzadas con respecto al contenido del concepto “a igualdad de condiciones” deben ser integradas a futuro en un esquema de construcción de teoría dirigido a la resolución de nuevos problemas aquí planteados.In this essay I pay particular attention to some of the strategies for learning that are implied by the phrase “other things being equal”. This endeavor derives quite directly from the materials presented from my nine-year comparative study and analysis of hunter-gatherer ethnography. What is different, however, is that my focus here is upon the issue of methods that are available for use when seeking to expand our learning capabilities as a part of conducting pattern recognition studies. In this context, I make no claim that what is focused upon empirically is exhaustive. Importantly, this paper is about strategies for learning with some examples thereof. What was learned about “other things that were not equal” needs to be integrated into a theory building argument intended to solve new problems.Sociedad Argentina de Antropologí