Economic Intensification and Social Differentiation: A View from the Late Woodland Southeast

Summary

Intensification has long been equated with the rise of tightly-controlled economies, often in association with incipient social inequality. Previous research has sometimes suggested that centralized control is necessary both for the development of intensification as a viable economic strategy, and for the management of its repercussions. Here, we present evidence from Kolomoki, Crystal River, and Roberts Island, three prominent Late Woodland (ca. A.D. 500-1000) mound centers of the American Southeast, to demonstrate that economic intensification existed on a broad scale, and grew out of the social practices of communities lacking apparent social hierarchy. Specifically, we evaluate these phenomena by comparing trends between inland domestic economies and coastal subsistence economies. Our evidence suggests that different social groups within some Late Woodland communities were associated with intensification of particular resources. In our view, these trends highlight striking similarities in the development of economic and social differentiation during this period across a broad swathe of the Southeast.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16527