Resilience and the Record: Suggestions for Application of Resilience Concepts to Archaeological Cases

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Inference in Paleoarchaeology" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Concepts from resilience theory (RT) have been variously applied in studies of the deep human past. Given emphasis on cross-scale interactions and cyclical trajectories, RT provides a framework to interpret historical sequences in terms of general ecological processes. However, less consideration has been given to the interface between the trajectories of socioecological systems prescribed by RT and the processes that give rise to patterning in the archaeological record. Beyond the issue of preservation, patterning in the record may reflect systemic elements that are reinforced by shifts in adaptive responses, or elements that periodically change to maintain a dynamic equilibrium. To interpret archaeological residues in terms of resilience, their formation must be understood within the context of adaptability, that is the capacity of actors to influence resilience. Here, we consider different pathways to archaeological patterning through mechanisms that contribute to resilience. Explicit models, such as computer simulations, provide a key tool for exploring how patterns form as outcomes of adaptive processes. We show that while the translation of RT concepts to the past is not always straightforward, models integrated with formation dynamics can be used to inform on potential generating mechanisms, providing expectations for future lab and fieldwork.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• Inference in Paleoarchaeology

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 33608