Craft Specialization and Shell Bead Production

The concept of craft specialization has important implications for social organization of complex hunter-gatherer populations. However, how does craft specialization materialize and how is it organized within a cultural system? What are the socioeconomic influences of independent and attached specialization in social development and how are they observable in the archaeological record. How do anthropologist generally differentiate between these two concepts of specialized activities and are these generalization applicable to all situations? Jeanne Arnold and Ann Munns attempt to explore complex aspects of Chumash organization through analyses of shell-bead manufacture in southern California. Specifically, they want to discover how specialization arose and its role in the formation of a social hierarchy.

The traditional definitions of independent specialists entails specialists that are producing typically utilitarian goods or services for a general, unspecified population. General assumptions indicate that independent specialization arises out of an innate need when conditions lead to resource variability or inability to sustain a population with subsistence needs. Whereas, attached specialists are individuals that produce prestige goods or services under the patronage of others, who in turn control the distribution of products. Attached specialization is a product of political activities of a coercive elite class, and as such, are typically located within close proximity to elite structures. It is these basic assumptions about specialization and the role of specialization on social organization that Arnold and Munns wish to examine in relation to the Chumash of the Channel Islands through the context of shell bead production.

They performed an analysis of 12 large samples of bead manufacturing detritus and bead blanks in order to quantify a chronological order for the locations of bead production. Based on their results, they concluded that Late Period mainland sites demonstrated the location of finished bead production in both residential and burial contexts. There is also little evidence of actual manufacture of shell beads at these sites. Thus, indicating that mainland sites were consumers in a market exchange of prestige items. Whereas, Santa Cruz Island coastal villages from that Late Period contain large quantities of shell bead production waste in relation to few finished products. This pattern is indicative of a specialized production area.

Their results indicate that there is a significant increase in demand by mainland sites for finished beads from the Middle to Late Periods. The authors conclude from these results that as production demands increased so was the need for specialized production. However, specialized production zones were tethered more to resources and the ability to distribute products, rather than proximity to elite patrons. Even though aspects of shell bead production fall within the category of attached specialist, the traditional definition does not fully work. Therefore, they deemed Channel Island shell bead production a peripherally attached specialist activity.

Arnold and Munns provide a valuable distinction between traditional definitions of specialized activities and how they actually fit when attached to a real world production scenario. There simply is not the ability to pigeonhole concepts of specialization and its role in social organization to every cultural entity. Social relationships will distinctly very from group to group. Arnold and Munns analysis of Chumash shell bead production clearly define the role of consumers and producers; however, fall short in defining the formation of social hierarchy within the Chumash population. They indicate only that elites did not directly oversee production, but rather controlled distribution. This article and analysis serves as a strong foundation for understanding the fundament nature of specialization, but seems to be only the first step in a larger, comprehensive understanding of specialized production within social organization.

Arnold, Jeanne E. and Ann Munns

1994 Independent or Attached Specialization: The organization of Shell Bead Production in California. Journal of Field Archaeology 21(4): 473-489.

The Evolutionary and Ecological Roots of Human Social Organization

Kaplan et al., in their article, “The evolutionary and ecological roots of human social organization,” argue that shifts in production strategies cause changes in social organization. Shifts in production strategies include the utilization of land for agriculture, domestication of animals for pastoralism both of which result in changes in social organization such as the societal value on skill, inter and intra group competition and the conditions necessary to institute coercive authority and domination. The authors discuss the reasoning behind the high value of skill and knowledge within the human adaptive complex; due to the human dependence on high-quality and therefore difficult to acquire food, skill and knowledge are highly valued to sustain the described diet. The high value of skill and knowledge result in longevity and lowered mortality rates, both which are uniquely human characteristics.

The authors discuss four major sustenance strategies and their differences in value of skill, cooperative relationships and dominance among other factors. Egalitarian societies are characterized by a high value on skill and knowledge and cooperative production and the sharing of food resources which result in relationships characterized by cooperation. While the value of skill is variable, but generally highly valued in egalitarian societies, it tends to decrease in tribal horticulture. In tribal pastoralism, skill and knowledge is a prerequisite to efficiency of herd management; however, herd size rather than time and labor investment, including the time investment in acquiring knowledge is the determinant to pastoral productivity. Also, frequency of warfare and the paralleling need for leadership increases dramatically within this strategy. The rise of agrarian states witnessed the increase in land inheritance which the authors argue directly affects the societal value of skill, due to the fact that the child’s wealth is generally predetermined. This strategy is also characterized by dramatically increased levels of inter and intra group competition followed by severe social stratification. Social stratification in these early agrarian states was pinnacled with despotic males who capitalized on social power by the disposing of rivals, increased access to land, slaves and wealth as well as the ability to determine who their political successor would be. The authors conclude that while investment in acquiring skill and knowledge is a marked characteristic of egalitarian societies, the value of such investment decreases with the utilization of other strategies, especially land and cattle due to the fact that they are inheritable. The authors also include the interesting comparison of contemporary skill-based economies and skill-based economies of hunters and gatherers. They argue that the two are similar and both result in social and political structures that resemble egalitarianism as well as an increased individual freedom.

Gurven, M. Hooper, P. Kaplan, H.

2009 The Evolutionary and Ecological Roots of Human Social Organization. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. Bilogical Sciences. Pp. 3289-3299

Co-Residence Patterns in Hunter-Gatherer Societies Show Unique Human Social Structure

Human social structure and grouping are unique and may have a lot to do with our success as a species. This social structure appears to be based on cooperation with unrelated individuals and a reliance on cultural transmission. The ancestral form of human patterning has been argued to be either female philopatry with maternal grandmother provisioning, or male philopatry with adult male provisioning. Both of these hypotheses suggest grouping by kin and inclusive fitness as the primary reason for any cooperation.

An alternative model, proposed by Bernard Chapais suggests that partnerships of males revolving around a single related female could bridge relationships between different lineal groups. One way of achieving this is marriage of daughters to an unrelated but local group, creating a familial bond between the two groups. This would allow for greater interaction and visitation between groups and a high number of co-resident adults who are not genetically related. Between groups of large enough size, social networks will also be large and can lead to increased observation of rare innovations. The rate of social and cultural evolution would increase and lead to more complex social structure.

Hill et al. analyzed data of band composition from a worldwide sample of 32 hunter-gatherer societies. In the majority of the societies (19) there was no difference between parents living with adult sons versus daughters. In general the total number of co-residing male primary kin is higher than the number of co-residing female primary kin. There is also a pattern of frequent brother-sister co-residence that can be seen across all ages, not just for during ritual bride service.

Hill et al. more specifically analyzed 58 precontact Ache bands and 6 bands of Ju/’hoansi. Smaller Ju/’hoansi bands contain a greater proportion of primary kin, whereas larger Ache bands contain a higher proportion of distant kin. Kin of a family unit only make up about 40% of the co-resident adult members of a band. “Distant affines” or kin of kin make up about half of the co-resident adult members of a band. Finally about 25% of all the individuals in a band are not linked by family ties.

In general, the bands of the 32 societies are composed of distantly related or unrelated individuals. Primary kin generally make up less than 10% of these residential bands, although not much other information of these 32 societies is given. Given the large amount of movement of individuals and cooperation between groups, there would be a pressure for the evolution of positive social mechanisms. The large the populations of the two groups, the more frequent the interactions would be and the faster any cultural innovations may be transmitted and adopted. This is one possible explanation for why humans evolved social learning mechanisms that resulted in cumulative evolution.

Kim R. Hill, et al. 2011 Co-Residence Patterns in Hunter-Gatherer Societies Show Unique Human Social Structure. Science 331: 1286-1289.

Chumash Canoe Specialization

The Chumash plank canoe (tomol) was a highly specialized and effective tool for the Chumash people. It has been argued that the development of this technology played a crucial role in the sociopolitical evolution of the Chumash. However, the debate lingers as to the actual provenance for invention of the plank canoe. Were the Cumash, a complex hunter-gatherer people, able to construct an intricate and complex tool on their own, or did they, as some have suggested, rely on external influence from Polynesia to guide construction? Jeanne Arnold’s article delves into multiple data sets in order to extrapolate who was responsible for the initial invention of the tomol.

The tomol were highly valued and, as such, were only in the possession of chiefs and certain elites. This was due to the high costs in producing the craft. The tomol required nearly 500 days of skilled labor and a sufficient quantity of material, such as redwood, that was not available locally. However, when completed the craft was six to seven meters in length and could hold 12 passengers or 2-tons of cargo. The ability to transport large quantities of cargo is essential in the expansion trading systems and the ability to capture large bodied fish.

Direct evidence for the construction or construction areas for the tomol are based on the presence of two main items; asphaltum, a sticky substance used to make the ships watertight, and redwood, used to construct the planks. While the indirect evidence of invention and widespread use of the tomol relies on the appearance of cross-channel movement of highly prized trade goods and heavy objects such as mortars, that would have been difficult to transport in any other fashion.

Based on these criteria, multiple techniques have been used to date the inception of the tomol. Radiocarbon dating of planks at a San Miguel Island site reported a calibrated date of A.D. 625-700. However, there has also been a strong case for using a database of fish remains form the Santa Barbara Channel to help date the tomol. The results of this study to a period between A.D. 500-600, in which a steady number of larger species of fish appear at coastal villages. It also appears that the movement of highly prized trade goods begins to be accelerated after A.D. 600-700. Based on the culmination of results from nearly a dozen sites, Arnold argues that at the date of A.D. 500 plus/minus a century is the most likely date for the invention of the tomol.

Based on an accepted date for the invention of the tomol, it is possible to delve into a possible Polynesian connection. However, given the early date of the invention of the tomol, it is highly improbable that there was any connection between the two groups. The earliest dates for colonization by Polynesians in the Hawaiian Islands dates no earlier than A.D. 800, and at Easter Island, that date is identified at A.D. 1200. These dates are far too recent to demonstrate a Polynesian influence on tomol invention. The dates also coincide with the fact that both construction techniques and the physical manifestation of the crafts are highly dissimilar. This clearly demonstrates that the Chumash was able to formulate a complex technological system in the creation of their specialized watercraft.

Arnold was able to demonstrate through empirical data that a complex hunter-gatherer population was able to manifest highly complex technological innovation without the influence of “an agricultural society”. The Chumash was able to develop a complex system, in which a vertical hierarchy was able to provide the social and economic capital necessary for social and technological innovation. In turn, Innovation was able to expand a network of exchange and craft specialization, thereby, firmly establishing Chumash political and social complexity.

Arnold, Jeanne E.

2007 Credit Where Credit is Due: the History of the Chumash Oceangoing Plank Canoe. American Antiquity 72(2): 196-209.

Envisioning San History

Benjamin Smith writes about past attempts at creating an historical account of the San people that uses strictly indigenous sources without outside influences. For Thomas Dowson, the only way to do this was to use the native rock art. Neither historical records collected and written by non-San, nor interpretations of archaeological remains by the west could be used in this endeavor because they were corrupted by values and preconceptions that were not help by the San.

In 1994 Dowson examined the changing role of shamans through time with three different categories of rock paintings. In these rock paintings, shamans are first depicted as the same as the rest of the people, then small shaman groups are painted more elaborately than adjacent groups, and lastly a single shaman is painted larger and more elaborately than adjacent people. The drawback with this interpretation is that it lacks chronological context. Without dating, there is no way to know the duration of these changes and if they relevant to the contact period.

In 2004 Geoff Blundell continued Dowson’s work on rock art and shamans. He characterized different sets of rock art as ones of translucent spirits, crudely depicted contact animals such as cattle, and significantly differentiated figures. He argued that the San already had developed concepts of individuality and powerful shamans before interactions with other peoples. Although the regional focus was the strength of the study, again the lack of historical context could place the change anywhere within the last few thousand years.

In 2008 Sam Challis used a mix of historical sources, archaeology, and oral traditions to determine the symbolic system used by a particular group. He was able to track the use this symbolism through time. With these varying sources, he was able to balance perspective to produce an insider view into San culture and situate it in a specific time period.

Smith concludes that ultimately, even the rock art is subject to interpretations of the viewer and can’t fully speak for people who are gone. Also unless the artwork can be directly dated, the interpretations must rely on contextual clues for a time period. A combination of sources is needed to ensure that an outsider perspective doesn’t dominate the account. Regardless rock art has an important role to play in the future of inclusive histories.

Smith, Benjamin W. (2010) 'Envisioning San History: Problems in the Reading of History in the Rock Art of the Maloti-Drakensberg Mountains of South Africa', African Studies, 69: 2, 345 — 359

The extraterrestrial hypothesis

In 2007 a paper was written by Firestone hypothesizing an extraterrestrial airburst or impact in nothern North America that caused the Younger Dryas event, caused megafaunal extinction, and the termination of the Clovis culture. A carbon-rich black layer dating to 12.9ka has been identified at 50 Clovis-age sites and is contemporaneous with the onset of the Younger Dryas. Bones of extinct Pleistocene megafauna and Clovis tool assemblages occur below the black layer but not in the layer or above it. Clovis-age sites are overlain by a thin, discrete layer with varying peak abundances of magnetic grains with iridium, magnetic microspherules, charcoal, soot, glass like carbon containing nanodiamonds, and fullerenes with extraterrestial helium. The layer also extends through 15 Carolina Bays which are unique elliptical depressions that are oriented northwest across the Atlantic Coastal Plain. Evidence suggests that the extinction of mammalian and avian taxa occured catastrophically at the onset of the Younger Dryas. In North America 35 mammalian genera disappeared. At Murray Springs, AZ (Clovis site), mammoth bones and Clovis tools lie below the black layer but not above it. Firestone believes the extinctions are too broad and ecologically deep to be explained by either overkill or climatic cooling hypotheses. He lays out his evidence very well. Magnetic microspherules measuring 10-250 um peaked in or near the Younger Dryas boundary at 8 of 9 Clovis sites tested. Microspherules are most abundant in the north with a peak of 2144 per kilogram at the Paleoindian site of Gainey, MI. Magnetic grains measuring 1-500 um show a peak at the Younger Dryas boundary at all 10 Clovis sites tested. And again the abudances are higher in the north. Iridium was found at levels up to 5000 times higher than typical crustal abundance at 9 of 14 Clovis sites. And iridium was only found at the black mat layer and not above it. Charcoal displays peaked at the Younger Dryas boundary. High temperature polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were found in the Younger Dryas boundary layer but no above it suggesting intense fires occured at locations that were tested. Carbon spherules found at the P/T boundary (a suggested cosmic impact that created a mass extinction 250mya) are similar to the spherules found in the black mat of the Younger Dryas boundary. The spherules contain fullerenes and nanodiamonds which are extremely rare on Earth but are found in meteorites and at extraterrestial impact sites. Evidence of biomass burning is found in the ice cores of Greenland which show large spikes of ammonium and nitrate markers. Some megafuanal bones studied at the Younger Dryas boundary were highly roadioactive relative to bones in stratigraphic layers before the Younger Dryas boundary. All this evidence leads Firestone to the conclusion that a comet hit the Laurentide ice sheet causing huge amounts of meltwater to pour into the North Atlantic and caused the MOS cycle to be disrupted. Biomass burning and mass extinctions took place as well. The comet is hypothesized to have released 10e7 megatons of energy when it impacted and it was probably around 4km in size. But where's the crater? If the comet impacted at less than 30 degrees it would not have left a crater. Or if it broke up on the way to impact it wouldn't necessarily leave large craters. While all this is certainly plausible Firestone makes inferences about the effect this had on the Paleoindians that are not supported by any evidence. He claims major adaptive shifting by Paleoindians occured around 12.9kya. But no evidence of this exists. He claims a population decline and bottleneck occured at this time as well, again no evidence supports this. Other archaleologists attempted to recreate his evidence of iridium, spherules, etc., but couldn't detect anything at the level that Firestone did. Something happened at the 12.9kya Younger Dryas boundary, but it most likely wasn't an extraterrestrial impact. Firestone RB. Evidence for an extraterrestial impact 12900 years ago that contributed to the megafaunal extinctions and the Younger Dryas cooling. PROCEEDINGS- NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES USA, 104, no. 41, (October 9, 2007): 16016-16103