Social Interaction, Social Status, and the Organization of Medio Period Craft Production as Evidenced in Ground Stone Artifacts from 76 Draw

ABSTRACT

The analysis of ground stone artifacts is a productive avenue for gaining useful information regarding the past societies of the North American Southwest. Here we present the results of the analysis of 255 ground stone items recovered from 76 Draw, a Medio period (AD 1200 to 1450) settlement in New Mexico. We find that locally available stone was used to make a variety of utilitarian items. We then compare the assemblage to previously reported ground stone assemblages from Paquimé (the economic and political center of the Medio period world) and nearby sites in northern Chihuahua, Mexico. We find that our assemblage is very similar to those from the smaller Medio period settlements but quite distinct when compared to Paquimé’s assemblage. Paquimé’s ground stone reflects an emphasis on non-utilitarian ornaments, religiously significant items such as effigies, and distinct utilitarian items such as well-formed metates produced by specialists. In contrast, the 76 Draw and other assemblages reflect an emphasis on utilitarian items produced at the household level. From this, we conclude that the social differentiation evident at Paquimé and reflected in its ground stone assemblage did not extend across the entire Casas Grandes region, even though utilitarian ground stone tools reflect the same technological system.

KEYWORDS:

• Ground stone
• Southwestern archaeology
• Casas Grandes archaeology
• status
• organization of production

Acknowledgements

We thank the private landowners and the many students who have made the excavations at 76 Draw possible. Thanks for your hard work and generosity over the years! We also thank Dr. Grant McCall, Dr. Jenny Adams, and an anonymous reviewer for their helpful suggestions on this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributors

Todd L. VanPool earned his BA at Eastern New Mexico University and his MA and PhD from the University of New Mexico. He now is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Missouri—Columbia. His research focuses on archaeological method and theory, quantitative analysis of anthropological data, prehistory of the North American Southwest, and stone artifact analysis.

Kenneth W. Kircher earned his BA at Lindenwood University and is currently pursuing his MA at the University of Missouri in Columbia. His research foci include archaeological methods and theory, morphological analysis of historic and anthropological data, stone artifact analysis, and European-Caribbean maritime history and interaction.

Christine S. VanPool earned her BA at Eastern New Mexico University and her MA and PhD from the University of New Mexico. She is now an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Missouri—Columbia. Her research interest include pottery analysis, iconographic analysis, anthropological theories of religion, archaeological method and theory, and prehistory of the North American Southwest.

Gordon F.M. Rakita earned his BA at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and his MA and PhD from the University of New Mexico. He is Professor of Anthropology and Director of Academic Technology at the University of North Florida. His research interests include anthropological approaches to mortuary and other ritual behavior, bioarchaeology, evolutionary theory, analytical data management and statistical analyses, and emergent social inequality and complexity.