Understanding complexity in the prehistoric southwest
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Bibliographic Information
Understanding complexity in the prehistoric southwest
（Santa Fe Institute studies in the sciences of complexity, Proceedings ; v. 16）
Addison-Wesley Pub. Co., c1994
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Note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
This volume brings together the combined efforts of 26 physical and behavioral scientists to attempt to understand the evolution of prehistoric Southwestern societies.. The American Southwest, because of the high degree of preservation and the unparalleled chronological control, is a classic natural laboratory for the testing of schemes concerning the evolution of culture. This volume brings together the combined efforts of twenty-six physical and behavioral scientists from a number of different disciplines. Using non-traditional techniques and different models, they attempt to understand the underlying processes and the historical events that account for the evolution of prehistoric Southwestern societies.While specific southwestern data is used for the test cases, the contributors to the seminar have gone beyond both the stage of describing basic temporal sequences and of defining broad types of behavioral patters, such as trade or warfare. They have utilized many of the concepts and techniques that were pioneered or enhanced by Santa Fe Institute scientists for exploring different types of complex adaptive systems, thereby providing new perspectives on prehistory.
Table of Contents
The ProblemIntroduction (George J. Gumerman, Murray Gell-Mann, and Linda Cordell) Approaches to Understanding Southwestern Prehistory (Stephen Lekson, Linda Cordell, and George J. Gumerman) Southwestern Contributions to the Understanding of Core-Periphery Relations (Joseph Tainter) Human Biology And HealthIssues in Demography and Health (Alan C. Swedlund) Studies in Disruption: Demography and Health in the Prehistoric Southwest (Ben A. Nelson, Timothy A. Kohler, and Keith W. Kintigh) Demographic Alternatives: Consequences for Current Models of Southwestern Prehistory (Ben A. Nelson, Timothy A. Kohler, and Keith W. Kintigh) Offering ExplanationsThe Nature of Explanation in Archaeology: A Position Paper (Linda S. Cordell) Toward Increasing Our Knowledge of the Past: A Discussion (Linda S. Cordell, Jane H. Kelly, Keith W. Kintigh, Stephen H. Lekson, and Rolf M. Sinclair) Historical Processes in the Prehistoric Southwest (Jonathan Haas, Edmund J. Ladd, Jerrold E. Levy, Randall H. McGuire, and Morman Yoffee) Ethnographic Analogs: Strategies for Reconstructioning Archaeological Cultures (Jerrold E. Levy) Systems Modeling and Political Evolution: A Position Paper (Steadman Upham) A Perspective on Systems Modeling in Southwest Archaeology (Steadman Upham, Fred Plog, Robert Reynolds, and Joseph Tainter) Evolutionary and Ecological Moedling in Southwestern Archaeology (Wirt H. Wills) Complex Adaptive Systems and Southwestern Prehistory (Wirt H. Wills, Patricia L. Crown, Jeffrey S. Dean, and Christopher G. Langton) Memorandum to Murray Gell-Mann Concerning: The Complications of Complexity in the Prehistoric Southwest (Norman Yoffee)
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