Book contents
- The Archaeology of the North American Great Plains
- Cambridge World Archaeology
- The Archaeology of the North American Great Plains
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Chapter 1 Introduction
- Chapter 2 Where and What Are the Great Plains?
- Chapter 3 Peopling the Continent, Peopling the Plains:
- Chapter 4 Paleoindian Hunters (and Gatherers):
- Chapter 5 Diversity, Environmental Change, and External Connection:
- Chapter 6 Mounds, Pots, Pipes, and Bison:
- Chapter 7 The Context of Maize Farming on the Great Plains
- Chapter 8 Settled Farmers and Their Neighbors, Part 1:
- Chapter 9 Settled Farmers and Their Neighbors Continued:
- Chapter 10 The Plains Village Period, Part 3:
- Chapter 11 One Promise Kept:
- Chapter 12 Afterword
- References
- Index
Chapter 5 - Diversity, Environmental Change, and External Connection:
The Plains Archaic, 6900 BC to 600 BC
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 November 2021
- The Archaeology of the North American Great Plains
- Cambridge World Archaeology
- The Archaeology of the North American Great Plains
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Chapter 1 Introduction
- Chapter 2 Where and What Are the Great Plains?
- Chapter 3 Peopling the Continent, Peopling the Plains:
- Chapter 4 Paleoindian Hunters (and Gatherers):
- Chapter 5 Diversity, Environmental Change, and External Connection:
- Chapter 6 Mounds, Pots, Pipes, and Bison:
- Chapter 7 The Context of Maize Farming on the Great Plains
- Chapter 8 Settled Farmers and Their Neighbors, Part 1:
- Chapter 9 Settled Farmers and Their Neighbors Continued:
- Chapter 10 The Plains Village Period, Part 3:
- Chapter 11 One Promise Kept:
- Chapter 12 Afterword
- References
- Index
Summary
Dividing time into discrete chronological periods like those that organize the chapters here is a mixed blessing. On one hand, such divisions reflect real differences in the archaeological record, differences that tell us about important changes in the past. On the other, they often overemphasize those differences, as if massive changes occurred instantaneously. Looking for dividing lines teaches us to divide time into segments even though we know that it flowed continuously and it focuses our attention on archaeologically visible shifts, often blinding us to important patterns of continuity.
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- The Archaeology of the North American Great Plains , pp. 102 - 151Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021