Transport Patterns as Heuristic Testing Variables for the Social Coherence of Taxonomic Units at Different Spatial Scales

Abstract

AbstractTaxonomic units in archaeology strongly convey the assumption of a social connection between the people having left the sites attributed to these units. The (implicit) assumption is that people whose sites are attributed to the same unit had closer social relations among one another than they had to people whose sites are attributed to other taxonomic units, and that such social proximity is reflected in similarities in their material culture. It is often difficult to be sure about the processes behind the emergence of similarities and dissimilarities. Therefore, taxonomic units relying on this criterion require additional testing in order to be meaningful components of studies on social relations. Dynamic objects, whose location of origin is known in addition to their place of discard, provide means for such testing, because they reflect the movement or contact patterns of people, potentially providing information on social boundaries or links on different spatial scales. Social coherence—the degree of connectedness between the people having left the sites attributed to these units—is sensitive to phenomena of spatial and temporal scale. However, there is no coherent terminology that would match scale levels of taxonomic units to those of social units. This paper proposes a hierarchical systematics for taxonomic units and their social equivalents applicable to both hunter-(fisher-)gatherer and farming societies to facilitate discussions on this topic. Based on this systematics, we propose an approach to test the coherence of taxonomic units regarding different social scale levels based on transport patterns of dynamic objects. Knowledge on the mode of acquisition (direct/embedded procurement, exchange, trade) of the dynamic objects is not a prerequisite. Three case studies from the Late Upper Paleolithic in Central Europe, the Late Paleolithic in Bavaria, and the Early Neolithic in Norway will be discussed to evaluate the potential and limits of the approach.