Critique of the claim of cannibalism at Cowboy Wash.
TL;DR: The response to the study by Billman et al. is intended to provide a critical yet constructive commentary, propose fresh ways of thinking about what assemblages of disarticulated and broken bones might mean, and reformulate how research questions are being asked.
Abstract: The article by Billman et al. contributes to a growing body of data that demonstrates the complex variability of the Pueblo world during the twelfth century. Although the article's title promises a comprehensive review of major cultural and environmental processes (drought, warfare, cannibalism, regional interactions), relatively little theory regarding these processes informs their research design, and much of their interpretation is based on weak inferences. Their empirical data are not used to test alternative hypotheses or rigorously examine expectations derived from modeling. Dynamic aspects of cultural patterns relating to migration, settlement, environment, abandonment, mortuary behaviors, conflict, and group identity are implicated in their research but are not adequately contextualized. Our response to the study by Billman et al. is intended to provide a critical yet constructive commentary, propose fresh ways of thinking about what assemblages of disarticulated and broken bones might mean, and reformulate how research questions are being asked.
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TL;DR: For instance, this paper found that throughout the history of our species, interpersonal violence, especially among men, has been prevalent, and mass killings, homicides, and assault injuries are also well documented in both the Old and New Worlds.
Abstract: ▪ Abstract Traumatic injuries in ancient human skeletal remains are a direct source of evidence for testing theories of warfare and violence that are not subject to the interpretative difficulties posed by literary creations such as historical records and ethnographic reports. Bioarchaeological research shows that throughout the history of our species, interpersonal violence, especially among men, has been prevalent. Cannibalism seems to have been widespread, and mass killings, homicides, and assault injuries are also well documented in both the Old and New Worlds. No form of social organization, mode of production, or environmental setting appears to have remained free from interpersonal violence for long.
443 citations
TL;DR: Skeletons represent the most direct evidence of the biology of past populations, and their study provides insight into health and well-being, dietary history, lifestyle (activity), violence and trauma, ancestry, and demography.
Abstract: Skeletons represent the most direct evidence of the biology of past populations, and their study provides insight into health and well-being, dietary history, lifestyle (activity), violence and trauma, ancestry, and demography. These areas help inform our understanding of a range of issues, such as the causes and consequences of adaptive shifts in the past (e.g., foraging to farming, sedentarism), the biological impact of invasion and colonization, differential access to food and other resources (e.g., by gender or status), and conflict and warfare. Central to bioarchaeological inquiry are the interaction between biology and behavior and the role of environment on health and lifestyle. Bioarchaeological analysis has traditionally focused on local settings. However, important perspective on general questions of human adaptation is possible both regionally and globally.
237 citations
TL;DR: Theory in North American archaeology is characterized in terms of foci and approaches manifested in research issues, rather than in explicit or oppositional theoretical positions as discussed by the authors, which may contribute to diversity and dialogue, but it also may cause North American theory to receive inadequate attention and unfortunate misunderstandings of postmodernism.
Abstract: Theory in North American archaeology is characterized in terms of foci and approaches manifested in research issues, rather than in explicit or oppositional theoretical positions. While there are some clear-cut theoretical perspectives—evolutionary ecology, behavioral archaeology, and Darwinian archaeology—a large majority of North American archaeology fits a broad category here called “processual-plus.” Among the major themes that crosscut many or all of the approaches are interests in gender, agency/practice, symbols and meaning, material culture, and native perspectives. Gender archaeology is paradigmatic of processual-plus archaeology, in that it draws on a diversity of theoretical approaches to address a common issue. Emphasis on agency and practice is an important development, though conceptions of agency are too often linked to Western ideas of individuals and motivation. The vast majority of North American archaeology, including postprocessual approaches, is modern, not postmodern, in orientation. The relative dearth of theoretical argument positively contributes to diversity and dialogue, but it also may cause North American theory to receive inadequate attention and unfortunate misunderstandings of postmodernism.
219 citations
Cites background from "Critique of the claim of cannibalis..."
...…considers the social milieu of the researcher (see overview in Otterbein 2000) or the political ramifications of the research, as has been brought to the fore by the debate about cannibalism in the Southwest (Billman et al. 2000; Dongoske et al. 2000; Martin 2000; Turner and Turner 1999)....
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TL;DR: A survey of recent archaeological research on warfare in prestate societies of native North America can be found in this article, which comprises six regions: Arctic/Subarctic, Northwest Coast, California, Southwest/Great Basin, Great Plains, and Eastern Woodlands.
Abstract: This article reviews recent archaeological research on warfare in prestate societies of native North America. This survey comprises six regions: Arctic/Subarctic, Northwest Coast, California, Southwest/Great Basin, Great Plains, and Eastern Woodlands. Two lines of evidence, defensive settlement behavior and injuries in human skeletal remains, figure prominently in archaeological reconstructions of violence and warfare in these regions. Burning of sites and settlements also has been important for identifying the consequences of war and investigating more subtle aspects of strategy and directionality. Weaponry and iconography have to date provided important but more limited insights. Although considerable disparities exist between regions in the archaeological evidence for intra- and intergroup violence, all regions show a marked increase after A.D. 1000. These findings suggest that larger forces may have been responsible for escalating violence throughout North America at this time.
138 citations
References
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Book•
01 Jan 1989TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the history of archaeological thought from medieval times to the present in world-wide perspective, and found that subjective influences have been powerful, while the gradual accumulation of archaeological data has exercised a growing constraint on interpretation.
Abstract: In its original edition, Bruce Trigger's book was the first ever to examine the history of archaeological thought from medieval times to the present in world-wide perspective. Now, in this new edition, he both updates the original work and introduces new archaeological perspectives and concerns. At once stimulating and even-handed, it places the development of archaeological thought and theory throughout within a broad social and intellectual framework. The successive but interacting trends apparent in archaeological thought are defined and the author seeks to determine the extent to which these trends were a reflection of the personal and collective interests of archaeologists as these relate - in the West at least - to the fluctuating fortunes of the middle classes. While subjective influences have been powerful, Professor Trigger argues that the gradual accumulation of archaeological data has exercised a growing constraint on interpretation. In turn, this has increased the objectivity of archaeological research and enhanced its value for understanding the entire span of human history and the human condition in general.
1,346 citations
01 Jun 1991
531 citations
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...Historically, science and archaeology have been used to denigrate and dehumanize Native Americans, justifying the taking of land and the perception of Native American cultures as static and destined for extinction (Trigger 1989:119-128)....
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TL;DR: The analysis of human bones from an Anasazi pueblo in southwestern Colorado, site 5MTUMR-2346, reveals that nearly 30 men, women and children were butchered and cooked there around 1100 AD as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Cannibalism is one of the oldest and most emotionally charged topics in anthropological literature. This analysis of human bones from an Anasazi pueblo in southwestern Colorado, site 5MTUMR-2346, reveals that nearly 30 men, women and children were butchered and cooked there around 1100 AD. Their bones were fractured for marrow, and the remains discarded in several rooms of the pueblo. By comparing the human skeletal remains with those of animals used for food at other sites, the author analyzes evidence for skinning, dismembering, cooking and fracturing to infer that cannibalism took place at Mancos. As White evaluates claims for cannibalism in ethnographic and archaeological contexts worldwide, he describes how cultural biases can often distort the interpretation of scientific data. This book applies and introduces anatomical, taphonomic, zooarchaeological and forensic methods in the investigation of prehistoric human behaviour.
406 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1992
TL;DR: The analysis of human bones from an Anasazi pueblo in southwestern Colorado, site 5MTUMR-2346, reveals that nearly 30 men, women and children were butchered and cooked there around 1100 AD as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Cannibalism is one of the oldest and most emotionally charged topics in anthropological literature. This analysis of human bones from an Anasazi pueblo in southwestern Colorado, site 5MTUMR-2346, reveals that nearly 30 men, women and children were butchered and cooked there around 1100 AD. Their bones were fractured for marrow, and the remains discarded in several rooms of the pueblo. By comparing the human skeletal remains with those of animals used for food at other sites, the author analyzes evidence for skinning, dismembering, cooking and fracturing to infer that cannibalism took place at Mancos. As White evaluates claims for cannibalism in ethnographic and archaeological contexts worldwide, he describes how cultural biases can often distort the interpretation of scientific data. This book applies and introduces anatomical, taphonomic, zooarchaeological and forensic methods in the investigation of prehistoric human behaviour.
370 citations
Additional excerpts
...The analysis of osteological data by element, broken out by the two assemblages, masks patterns that might more understandable with an element-by-element analysis of the total site assemblage, as used in the work of White (1992)....
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...Assemblages of disarticulated and commingled human remains in the northern Southwest are phenomena that span at least 800 years and tens of thousands of square kilometers of space (White 1992:348)....
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Book•
01 Jan 1999
TL;DR: LeBlanc (archaeology, UCLA) tackles a subject that he admits is not pleasant; but he overcame his initial aversion to the subject when he found abundant evidence conflicting with a romanticized picture of the ancient Pueblo people of the Southwest as peaceful, sedentary corn farmers as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: LeBlanc (archaeology, UCLA) tackles a subject that he admits is not pleasant; but he overcame his initial aversion to the subject when he found abundant evidence conflicting with a romanticized picture of the ancient Pueblo people of the Southwest as peaceful, sedentary corn farmers. He takes a pan-
278 citations