Exploring the Longhouse and Community in Tribal Society

Abstract

Archaeology offers a unique opportunity to explore the ways humans have created, lived within, and changed their communities. Recent research indicates important theoretical distinctions in the way in which archaeologists conceive of community, and further development of nontraditional theoretical models is necessary to improve our ability to understand communities of the past. This study offers a reconsideration of community that focuses on the incorporation of multiple spatial scales with social dynamics. Through the use of ethnographic and ethnohistoric examples, the link between community and spatial relationships in longhouse-using tribal societies is examined. A case study of community from the Oneota tradition of the North American midcontinent is then reconsidered using insights into kinds of community situated at and affecting multiple spatial scales. The reanalysis emphasizes the way human relationships in multiple social contexts created a multitude of spatially situated community links, and illustrates the importance of using alternative theoretical approaches.