Analyzing social space: Interpreting spatial patterning at archaeological sites using ethnoarchaeological data

The organization of dwellings, public space, and artifact placement reveal spatial patterns that form as a result of repeated actions and use of space by the members of a corporate group. The intersection of physical structures with real and imagined boundaries on the landscape is informed by a group's cultural and social behaviors, practices, and interactions.;This research analyzes those factors that can produce some of the spatial patterns associated with middle-range, low-level food producing groups (also referred to as horticultural communities), particularly those patterns that signify intra-site communication flow and maintenance of group continuity. Common social behaviors are expected among horticultural communities, given that these communities face similar challenges in growing and storing food, including the preparation of fields for planting; maintenance and irrigation of fields; harvesting and storage of crops; and food preparation. Consequently, there should be identifiable spatial patterns for certain activities that are consistent among most horticultural groups.;A review of the ethnographic data from extant horticultural groups shows that cross-cultural regularities do exist and can be identified from a community's use of space. Analyses of these data show that occupational density influences the social behaviors, stability, and information exchange employed by horticultural communities. Variation from this patterning is influenced by kinship and residential layout within the community; presence of private and communal spaces; ecological context; and degree of residential sedentism.;Expected archaeological correlates for the identified factors are outlined and discussed. These predicted correlates are compared to previously published archaeological data from two prehistoric horticultural communities in the American Southwest, Shabik'eschee and Wheatley Ridge. This comparison shows that interactions between different households within this community, presence of communal space or plazas for larger group integration, and evidence for the relative importance of kinship and occupational density in decision-making may be inferred from the spatial behaviors evident at the site level.