This publication brings together for presentation to a wider audience papers prepared for the second in a series of advanced seminars held under the sponsorship of the School of American Research, Santa Fe, New Mexico, April 9-13, 1968. The central theme of the seminar was prehistoric Pueblo social organization. Through the application of archaeological techniques to regional data these scholars attempt to discover inferences that might lead to improved hypotheses about aspects of early cultural systems.
After a review of historical trends in archaeological research relating to the Southwest, William A. Longacre focuses on a perspective for modern research “directed toward the reconstruction of prehistoric Pueblo society” to establish a background for the other papers. James N. Hill, R. Gwinn Vivian, William D. Lipe, Jeffrey S. Dean, Douglas W. Schwartz, and Paul S. Martin then present papers that draw specific examples from findings at particular sites, or inferences from research related to particular topics. These all refer back to the main theme—prehistoric social organization in the Southwest. Edward P. Dozier and David F. Aberle, in the two final papers, comment on theoretical and methodological propositions, and on the possibility of drawing meaningful inferences concerning social organization in prehistoric Southwestern societies through use of the proposed theories and methods.
This book will be useful for supplementary reading in courses on archaeological theory and method, or in any instance where one desires to present a cross section of “current thinking among archaeologists.”
