Paradigms in Conflict: Cognitive Archaeology on the High Plains

PARADIGMS IN CONFLICT offers an anthropologically grounded alternative to Culture History and Culture Ecology, explaining three contemporaneous archaeological cultures in the High Plains and the Southwest of North America. The rock art at the Wallace site reflects supernatural protection and cosmic origins, while pilgrimages led by shamans provided the social context.

Format: Hardback
Length: 266 pages
Publication date: 11 February 2022
Publisher: Nova Science Publishers Inc

Paradigms in Conflict presents an anthropologically grounded alternative to Culture History and Culture Ecology. By utilizing principles derived from the ethnography of descendant (or closely related) peoples, the book elucidates three contemporaneous archaeological cultures in the High Plains and the Southwest of North America: High Plains Upper Republican, Apishipa, and Sopris. Contrary to the prevailing notion of hunter-gatherers, the High Plains Upper Republican people at the Wallace site were engaged in maize farming and bison hunting. In contrast, the Apishapa people were hunter-gatherers but likely spoke the Numic language originating from the Great Basin. The Sopris people, on the other hand, had no familial ties with the Apishapa but were affiliated with the Tanoan group of Pueblo people. Consistent with their worldview, the rock art at the Wallace site portrayed both the supernatural protection afforded to shield-bearing warriors and the cosmic origins of humanity. Pilgrimages guided by shamans provided the social context for rock art in the Apishapa valley, while the Sopris rock art varied according to the concentric zones surrounding the core of Pueblo-like villages. Our ethnographically informed approach contributes to the unity of rock art with traditional dirt archaeology.

Weight: 522g
ISBN-13: 9781685074975