Local and/or Exotic Interactions: Symbols, Materials, and Societies
Part of: Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)
This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Local and/or Exotic Interactions: Symbols, Materials, and Societies" at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.
Across the ages, prehistoric societies have interacted with each other, generating flows of finished artifacts, raw materials, symbolic items, and last but not least, people themselves that can be discerned archaeologically both among hunter-gatherer groups and farmers. Allochthonous materials and long-distance relationships implied by their presence have usually played a major role within archaeological narratives, especially as signifiers of social and cultural complexity. Meanwhile the employ of local materials has usually been linked to domestic day-to-day activities, and less attention has been paid to their acquisition and movement within societies as a result. However, ethnographic and archaeological sources show us the importance of recognizing a dialectic interaction between both categories of materials in maintaining social and cultural entities in addition to representing social interactions in the archaeological record. We have brought together a group of papers that address the interactions between exotic and local materials and their complexity by making use of provenance studies, morpho-stylistic approaches, and spatial analysis. Our aim is to generate new insights into the mechanics of exchange across scales and the roles that it played within ancient societies.
Other Keywords
Paleolithic •
Lithic Analysis •
Archaeometry & Materials Analysis •
network analysis •
Digital Archaeology: Simulation and Modeling •
Hunter-Gatherers/Foragers •
demography •
Lithics •
Regional Synthesis •
Mobility
Geographic Keywords
Principality of Monaco (Country) •
Kingdom of Spain (Country) •
Principality of Andorra (Country) •
Gibraltar (Country) •
Portuguese Republic (Country) •
French Republic (Country) •
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Nort (Country) •
Ireland (Country) •
Isle of Man (Country) •
Kingdom of Belgium (Country)
Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-10 of 10)
- Documents (10)
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Artistic Currents in Late Paleolithic Times: An Approach from the Northwest of Iberia (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Local and/or Exotic Interactions: Symbols, Materials, and Societies" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Traditionally, the distribution of Paleolithic art was limited to the so-called “Franco-Cantabrian area,” but the distribution of this graphic phenomenon has enlarged with the identification of new sites in different parts of the Iberian Peninsula. Previously, the northwest of Iberia, roughly delimited by the valleys of...
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Cutting Through the Networks: An Assessment of the Circulation of Singular Artifacts in Prehistoric Iberia (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Local and/or Exotic Interactions: Symbols, Materials, and Societies" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In this paper, we aim to analyze a collection of singular artifacts recovered from various sites in the Iberian Peninsula, spanning from the Early Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age (approximately 5600–1800 BCE). Our primary focus will be on investigating the patterns of circulation and exchange of polished axes and...
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Diachronic Evolution of Raw Material Management and Technological Innovations along the Gran Dolina TD10 Sequence (Burgos, Spain) (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Local and/or Exotic Interactions: Symbols, Materials, and Societies" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. During the second half of Middle Pleistocene in Europe significant changes occurred, including the emergence of Neanderthal anatomical features and behavioral shifts documented in the archaeological record, such as fire use, Levallois technology, and development of complex hunting strategies. These changes could reflect...
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Geographically Broad Social Networks in Southwest Europe during the Solutrean: The Origin of Siliceous Rocks Exploited at Peña Capón (Central Spain) (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Local and/or Exotic Interactions: Symbols, Materials, and Societies" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Solutrean of southwest Europe (∼25,000–20,000 cal BP) is an outstanding case for studying human mobility and social networks within harsh environmental conditions, given its coincidence with the Last Glacial Maximum. However, little is known about these topics in the inland territories of the Iberian Peninsula....
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Investigating Interaction through Multilayer Material Culture Networks in the Western Pueblos (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Local and/or Exotic Interactions: Symbols, Materials, and Societies" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Comprehending the dynamics of regional interaction requires a holistic perspective. One artifact type falls short in capturing the richness of societal behavior, particularly when considering a sole attribute, such as paint style. Archaeologists are constrained by the availability of material culture and data, data...
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Local Materials, Global Ideas: The Lithic and Symbolic Record from NW Iberia (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Local and/or Exotic Interactions: Symbols, Materials, and Societies" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The NW of the Iberian Peninsula is defined by the scarcity of flint and the predominance of acid soils that prevent the preservation of organic remains. These are the main handicaps affecting Paleolithic research. The lithic assemblages of the Galician Upper Paleolithic sites are defined by the hegemonic use of local...
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Local or Exogenous? The Different Facets of Chert During the Gravettian at Vale Boi (Southwestern Portugal) (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Local and/or Exotic Interactions: Symbols, Materials, and Societies" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Hunter-gatherers relied strongly on lithic raw materials, making them essential to characterize mobility and land-use, raw material provisioning, technology, social organization, exchange, and the functioning of social networks. As such, the characterization of hunter-gatherer lifeways is often the result of the...
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Of Pigments and Tools: Lithic and Ochre Raw Material Procurement Strategies during MIS 5 at Mwulu’s Cave (Limpopo, South Africa) (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Local and/or Exotic Interactions: Symbols, Materials, and Societies" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Middle Stone Age was a period of important innovations for Homo sapiens, including but not restricted to heat-treatment of silcrete, hafting adhesive, symbolic behaviors such as engravings, or exploitation of ochre. Though southern African Middle Stone Age lithics and ochre are commonly studied, combined studies of...
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Social Connections Near and Far: The Role of Local and Exotic Goods in the Emergence of Complexity on Cyprus during the Prehistoric Bronze Age (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Local and/or Exotic Interactions: Symbols, Materials, and Societies" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The presence of international goods has long been a signifier of social complexity on Cyprus, but the accumulation of local goods and interregional imports may be equally as important for understanding the formation of hierarchical social networks during the Prehistoric Bronze Age (2400–1700 cal BC). This period marks...
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SPD Analysis Sheds Light on North Spanish Mesolithic Demography (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Local and/or Exotic Interactions: Symbols, Materials, and Societies" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Summed probability distributions of radiocarbon dates (SPD curves) have become an increasingly popular tool with which to reconstruct prehistoric population dynamics. They are used here to test models of demographic change using Mesolithic data from Cantabria and the middle Ebro valley. Local, regional, and global...