Chumash Watercraft, Maritime Exchange, and Sociopolitical Complexity

Summary

This is an abstract from the "AD 1150 to the Present: Ancient Political Economy to Contemporary Materiality—Archaeological Anthropology in Honor of Jeanne E. Arnold" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Jeanne Arnold explored the relationship between advanced boat technology and sociopolitical complexity in her research and in many publications. She investigated the origins of the Chumash tomol (plank canoe) and emphasized its key role in facilitating cross-channel trade between island and mainland coastal towns. She linked the importance of maritime exchange to the Chumash islanders coming to specialize in the manufacture of shell bead currency. Arnold advanced the study of these developments both theoretically and empirically through archaeological research. She engaged in vigorous, yet informative debates with others over theoretical issues and varying interpretations of evidence. The current study builds on Arnold’s and others’ contributions, calling attention to ethnographic and ethnohistoric observations that shed further light on the relationships between Chumash watercraft, exchange, and sociopolitical complexity.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• AD 1150 to the Present: Ancient Political Economy to Contemporary Materiality—Archaeological Anthropology in Honor of Jeanne E. Arnold   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38286.0