Evolutionary household archaeology: Inter-generational cultural transmission at housepit 54, Bridge River site, British Columbia

The evolution of material wealth-based inequality is an important topic in archaeological research. While a number of explanatory models have been proposed, rarely have they been adequately tested. A significant challenge to testing such models concerns our ability to define distinct, temporally short-term, residential occupations in the archaeological record. Sites often lack evidence for temporally persistent inequality, or, when present, the palimpsest nature of the deposits often make it difficult to define the processes of change on scales that are fine enough to evaluate nuanced model predictions. In this article, we use the detailed record of Housepit 54 from the Bridge River site, interior British Columbia, to evaluate several alternative hypotheses regarding the evolution of persistent material wealth-based inequality. Results of our analyses indicate that inequality appeared abruptly coincident with a decline in intra-house cooperation associated with population packing and the initiation of periodic subsistence stress. We conclude that persistent inequality in this context was a byproduct of altered social networks linked to a Malthusian transition and ceiling.

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Malthusian cycles among semi-sedentary Fisher-Hunter-Gatherers: The socio-economic and demographic history of Housepit 54, Bridge River site, British Columbia

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology ◽

10.1016/j.jaa.2020.101181 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 59 ◽

pp. 101181 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Anna Marie Prentiss ◽

Matthew J. Walsh ◽

Thomas A. Foor ◽

Kathryn Bobolinski ◽

Ashley Hampton ◽

...

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Demographic History ◽

Hunter Gatherers ◽

History Of ◽

River Site

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Evolution of a Late Prehistoric Winter Village on the Interior Plateau of British Columbia: Geophysical Investigations, Radiocarbon Dating, and Spatial Analysis of the Bridge River Site

American Antiquity ◽

10.1017/s0002731600041287 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 73 (1) ◽

pp. 59-82 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Anna Marie Prentiss ◽

Guy Cross ◽

Thomas A. Foor ◽

Mathew Hogan ◽

Dirk Markle ◽

...

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Radiocarbon Dating ◽

Late Prehistoric ◽

History Of ◽

Geophysical Investigations ◽

Extensive Program ◽

New Research ◽

A Site ◽

The Village ◽

River Site

A common issue for archaeologists who study intermediate-scale societies is defining scale and complexity of occupations across entire villages or towns. This can be a major problem since an understanding of site-wide inter-household occupation patterns can be crucial for accurate reconstruction of village demographics and socio-economic organization. In this paper we present new research at the Bridge River site, a large complex hunter-gatherer village in British Columbia, designed to develop a site-wide history of household occupation patterns. We accomplish this through broad-scale geophysical investigations, test excavations and an extensive program of radiocarbon dating. Results of the study suggest that the village grew rapidly between ca. 1800 and 1250 cal. B.P. expanding from 7 to at least 29 simultaneously occupied houses. Variability in household spacing and size indicate that social organization may have grown increasingly complex parallel with rising numbers of households.

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Variation in cedar leaf blight (Didymascella thujina) resistance of western redcedar (Thuja plicata)

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x07-034 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 37 (10) ◽

pp. 1978-1986 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

John H. Russell ◽

Harry H. Kope ◽

Peter Ades ◽

Heidi Collinson

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Genetic Correlations ◽

Natural Populations ◽

High Elevation ◽

Leaf Blight ◽

Population Variation ◽

Thuja Plicata ◽

Western Redcedar ◽

Queen Charlotte Islands ◽

River Site

Western redcedar ( Thuja plicata Donn ex D. Don) seedlings from a population study with family structure were planted at four sites across coastal British Columbia. All seedlings at the time of planting were infected with cedar leaf blight (CLB) ( Didymascella thujina (E.J. Durand) Maire). CLB severity and tree heights were measured at various ages from 2 to 12 years. There were significant site differences in CLB severity with the coastal hypermaritime site showing the most and with the submaritime site showing the least. Population differences in disease severity were evident with British Columbia coastal, low-elevation populations exhibiting the most resistance and with British Columbia high-elevation and California sources showing the least. Population resistance was consistent across all four sites (all r > 0.90, p < 0.001). Coefficients of additive genetic variation in CLB severity at all four sites varied from 13.2% to 20.1% with narrow-sense heritabilities from 0.21 to 0.66. Type B genetic correlations in CLB severity across sites averaged 0.59. Type A genetic correlations between 6 year CLB severity and height at the Jordan River site on western Vanvouver Island and at the site on the Queen Charlotte Islands were –0.96 and –0.86 (p < 0.001), respectively. Results are discussed with respect to climatic influences and prior exposure to CLB on among- and within-population variation in western redcedar natural populations and impact on gene resource management.

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Testing Hypotheses About Emergent Inequality (Using Gini Coefficients) in a Complex Fisher-Forager Society at the Bridge River Site, British Columbia

Ten Thousand Years of Inequality ◽

10.2307/j.ctt20d8801.7 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 96-129 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Anna Marie Prentiss ◽

Thomas A. Foor ◽

Mary-Margaret Murphy

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Testing Hypotheses ◽

Gini Coefficients ◽

River Site

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The Cultural Evolution of Material Wealth-Based Inequality at Bridge River, British Columbia

American Antiquity ◽

10.7183/0002-7316.77.3.542 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 77 (3) ◽

pp. 542-564 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Anna Marie Prentiss ◽

Thomas A. Foor ◽

Guy Cross ◽

Lucille E. Harris ◽

Michael Wanzenried

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Social Inequality ◽

Fundamental Problem ◽

Explanatory Models ◽

Spatiotemporal Variability ◽

Wealth Accumulation ◽

Material Wealth ◽

Ecological Variability ◽

Evolutionary Origins ◽

River Site

AbstractA fundamental problem for anthropological archaeology lies in defining and explaining the evolutionary origins of social inequality. Researchers have offered a range of models emphasizing variability in the roles of managers, aggrandizers, ecological variability, and historical contexts. Recent studies suggest that the form of emergent inequality may have varied significantly between groups, implying that pathways to inequality may have varied as well. Unfortunately it has been difficult to test many of these models using archaeological data given their requirements for fine-grained assessments of spatiotemporal variability in many data classes. Recent research at the Bridge River site in British Columbia provides the opportunity to explore the utility of a range of explanatory models associated with early social inequality. Results of the study suggest that inequality, measured as significant variability in accumulation of a range of material wealth items, came late to the Bridge River site (ca. 1200–1300 cal. B.P.) and was associated with a period of demographic packing and apparent declining access to some critical subsistence resources. Assessment of interhousehold variability in demography, wealth accumulation, and occupational longevity suggests that markers of significant affluence manifested only in newly established houses. An important implication is that material wealth-based inequality may not have been hereditary in nature at Bridge River during the period prior to 1100 cal. B.P.

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