NORTH AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND NATIVE CULTURE AREAS:
A HISTORICAL BACKDROP TO THE DISCIPLINE
(MODULE 03)
Read: Fagan (2000:31-66).
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A. This course will be organized along culture areas—a concept that has an interesting history in North America.
1. Culture areas were initially developed as an organizational response to the need to develop museum displays.
2. Key individuals in developing the culture area concept were:
a. Otis T. Mason
(1) 18 environmental zones
b. Clark Wissler
(1) Initially developed food areas
(2) Subsequently developed material culture areas
(3) Maps published in The American Indian (1917)
3. Thus, museology must be considered as a driving force for geographic categorization that occurred in the early twentieth century.
B. Culture areas were seen to reflect clusters of behavior that often reflected similar adaptive strategies.
1. Thus, ecological implications were unavoidable
2. Thus, culture areas could be defined by trait lists:
a. Those uniquely present, plus,
b. Those uniquely absent
3. Thus, if traits could be directly observed in the ethnographic present, then they could also be observed archaeologically.
4. Thus, the concept of archaeological areas became legitimate.
C. Number and placement of culture areas varies depending upon authors and their particular theoretical interests.
(For a larger PDF version of this map, click here)
1. Chapter headings in many North American archaeology texts roughly correspond to main culture areas as the:
a. Arctic
b. Subarctic
c. Plateau
d. Northwest Coast
e. California
f. Great Basin
g. Southwest
h. Great Plains
i. Eastern Woodlands
j. Mesoamerica
k. Circum-Caribbean
2. Culture areas can be better defined in the following ways:
a. Arctic:
(1) Traditionally inhabited by the Inuit
(2) From the Canadian Archipelago and the Alaskan North Slope through the tundra south through
the boreal forest, or taiga, and then south to the Great Plains.
b. Subarctic:
(1) Often subdivided into the:
(a) Western Subarctic:
i) Great Slave Lake west into central Alaska
ii) Linguistically tied to Athabascan speakers
(b) Eastern Subarctic:
i) Central Canada east into the Maritime Provinces and northern New England
ii) Linguistically tied to Algonquin speakers
c. Plateau:
(1) Headwaters of the rivers that drain into the Pacific Northwest
(2) Culturally seen as tied to the cultural development of the Northwest Coast peoples
d. Northwest Coast:
(1) Geographically:
(a) Southern and coastal Alaska
(b) British Columbia
(c) Washington
(d) Oregon
(e) Northern California
(2) Culturally:
(a) "Totempole builders"
(b) Kwakiutl, Nootka, Tsimshian, etc.
(3) Note that if you are in Canada, these peoples can be found under titles referring to peoples of the
"West Coast"
e. California:
(1) Principally in the Central Valley of California
(2) Culturally these people had a subsistence strategy oriented toward acorn exploitation
f. Great Basin:
(1) High desert areas of Nevada, eastern Washington, Utah
(2) Culturally followed an archaic lifestyle to the time of white contact
g. Southwest:
(1) Geographically the "four corners area":
(a) Utah (principally in the south)
(b) Colorado (principally in the south)
(c) New Mexico
(d) Arizona
(2) Sometimes called the Greater Southwest
(a) Geographically this is a larger area than just the "southwest" and adds to the above:
i) Sonora (principally in the north)
ii) Chihuahua
(3) Archaeologically generally popularly understood as "the Pueblos"
h. Great Plains:
(1) Canadian Prairie Provinces
(a) Alberta
(b) Saskatchewan
(c) Manitoba
(2) Minnesota and the Dakotas south to Texas and the Gulf of Mexico
i. Eastern Woodlands:
(1) Often subdivided into the:
(a) Northeast and the
(b) Southeast
(2) Northeast:
(a) Southern Ontario to Ohio east to include New England
(3) Southeast:
(a) Illinois to Virginia, south to Florida, and west to Louisiana and including Arkansas
(b) Most famous archaeologically for the Temple Mound Builders and Mississippian Culture
j. Mesoamerica:
(1) Technically outside of North America but having had considerable influence during certain periods
(2) North Central Mexico south to Central Honduras and then south along the Pacific Coast to central Costa Rica
(3) Archaeologically the area of great civilizations of the Maya, Aztec, etc.
k. Circum-Caribbean:
(1) Also technically outside of North America, but archaeologically suggested as present in South Florida
D. In short, the concept of culture areas is definitely within the Boasian anthropological tradition (or legacy?) and still governs the way courses
such as this are taught and the way most books are titled—in particular evidence of this we have the current absence of a comprehensive text
on North American prehistory!
E. Culture area—as an approach—is OK, except if we want to have a good synthesis we must be aware of some of the shortcomings.
F. While using this approach for this class, we should note that there are some general trends that are relevant (those interested should consult
my NAMPREHI.W87 file that has major developments sorted according to chronology, rather than by culture area.)
G. Terms related to discussion of NORTH AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND NATIVE CULTURE AREAS: A HISTORICAL BACKDROP TO
THE DISCIPLINE:
1. Culture area: concept and history
2. Otis Mason
3. Clark Wissler
4. "Food Areas"
5. Culture areas and ecological implications
6. Culture areas and museology?
7. "Trait lists"
8. Major North American archaeological areas: location, characteristics
9. Arctic Culture Area: location, characteristics
10. Subarctic Culture Area: location, characteristics
11. Plateau Culture Area: location, characteristics
12. Northwest Coast Culture Area: location, characteristics
13. California Culture Area: location, characteristics
14. Great Basin Culture Area: location, characteristics
15. Southwest Culture Area: location, characteristics
16. Great Plains (or Plains) Culture Area: location, characteristics
17. Eastern Woodlands Culture Area: location, characteristics
18. Northeast Culture Area: location, characteristics
19. Southeast Culture Area: location, characteristics
20. Mesoamerican Culture Area: location, characteristics
21. Circum-Caribbean Culture Area: location, characteristics
22. Boasian anthropological tradition (or legacy?)
23. Culture area concept: pros and cons of using this as an organizing principle?
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