edited by Jon L. Gibson and Philip J. Carr
contributions by Philip J. Carr, Samuel O. Brookes, Prentice Thomas, Michael Russo, Janice Campbell, James R. Morehead, Lee H. Stewart, Michael Heckenberger, Joe W. Saunders, David G. Anderson, Richard Jefferies, Jon L. Gibson, Kenneth E. Sassaman, John A. Clark, Nancy Marie White, George R. Milner and Randolph J. Widmer
University of Alabama Press, 2004
Cloth: 978-0-8173-1391-3 | Paper: 978-0-8173-5085-7 | eISBN: 978-0-8173-8279-7
Library of Congress Classification E78.S65S523 2004
Dewey Decimal Classification 975.01

ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC
ABOUT THIS BOOK

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.


See other books on: Anderson, David G. | Mounds | Sassaman, Kenneth E. | Signs | Southeast
See other titles from University of Alabama Press