The Neolithic Houses of California – An ethnohistoric comparative perspective on household and community organization among complex hunter-gatherers

Summary

The talk addresses the built environment of complex hunter-gatherer villages of the contact period in California. Although not agriculturalists, they constitute one of the most diverse and well-documented amalgam of complex hunter-gatherers in the world. The study explores the interrelationship between vernacular architecture, households, community organization, and their socio-economic underpinnings. In doing so, highlighted case studies will include the Chumash of coastal southern California, the Patwin of central California, and the Wintu of northern California. Finally, consideration is given to the potential for ethnohistoric vernacular architecture of California hunter-gatherers to provide insight into fundamental variables in the development of Neolithic households worldwide.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• The "Neolithic House": Worldwide Comparisons

Keywords

Spatial Coverage