How Migration Transformed Social Networks in the Prehispanic Southwest
Dr. Barbara Mills: Director, School of Anthropology; Curator of Archaeology(ASM); Professor of American Indian Studies at University of Arizona
Friday, Oct. 5, 4-5 p.m., Todd Hall Room 276
Migration is now one of the most studied topics by Southwest archaeologists. Rather than focusing on whether migration occurred, however, most archaeologists are currently focusing on the social consequences of migration. Using social network analysis (SNA) on a large database of ceramics and obsidian from the late prehispanic Southwest (A.D. 1200-1500), we can see where, when, and how migration transformed networks of interaction at multiple scales. Networks based on decorated ceramics, in particular, show how migration initiated new ceramic networks that then became widespread as part of religious movements. These networks also show how differently migration impacted the northern and southern Southwest.