Trans-egalitarian Society in the Transitional Archaic

Summary

Transitional Period settlement ecology and material culture in eastern Pennsylvania indicates the emergence of a cultural complex expressive of trans-egalitarian society. This includes centralized riverine settlements characterized by large thermally altered features, concentrations of soapstone vessels, and proximity to seasonally predictable food resources, such as migratory fish and drought tolerant herbaceous plants, that could be intensively managed or cultivated. This presentation discusses the warmer and drier climate conditions of the mid-Holocene, and examines the concept of trans-egalitarian society and the practice of alliance feasting as a context for understanding the relatively short-term patterning of the Transitional Archaic.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Foragers in Middle Atlantic Prehistory

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