Economy of Production: A Theory of Household Labor Organization and Material Reuse

Summary

This is an abstract from the "*SE The State of Theory in Southeastern Archaeology" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Although studies of household economies in archaeology are abundant one area that has not been examined is the economic use of materials, space, and labor and how this affects household economy and organization. Understanding how culture define thrift and waste would help us understand household economies more precisely. Related, many household domestic economies are managed by women. Examining how women within these economies adhere to cultural definitions of thrift and waste allows for a more complete understanding of gender relations in households and recognizes the importance of women’s labor in household economies. In this paper I argue household economies need to be examined for economic uses of materials, space and labor, and identification of such economic use in archaeological contexts is possible. I show that women engaged in a culturally defined economy within one particular household engaged in craft production at a Southeastern Mississippian chiefdom. Through an economic use of materials, space, and labor the inhabitants of this household increased their power over time. In examining material evidence of an economy of production archaeologists and anthropologists can more specifically identify the focus of household economies and cultures as a whole and the role of women in those households and cultures.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)   •
• *SE The State of Theory in Southeastern Archaeology

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38316.0