13 - Abandonment processes in prehistoric pueblos

Summary

Introduction

This paper presents a discussion of site abandonment processes and applies a simulation approach in a case study of abandonment of a ninth–century pueblo in the American Southwest. The general questions addressed are: (1) To what extent can one use archaeological assemblages to explain both abandonment and preabandonment activities and processes? (2) How can one tell what was removed from or added to the systemic assemblage at the time of abandonment? (3) What can intrasite variability in abandonment assemblages tell us about abandonment processes and behavior?

There is an ongoing and sometimes heated debate in archaeology over what kind of record the archaeological record is, and how we should legitimately use it to learn about the past (Ascher 1961; Binford 1981; Schiffer 1976, 1985). Specifically, there have been many accusations that other archaeologists are misusing the archaeological record by falsely assuming a “Pompeii premise,” the term coined by Ascher to refer to a perception of archaeological deposits as “the remains of a once living community, stopped as it were in time” (Ascher 1961:324). Schiffer (1985) criticized Southwestern archaeologists for failing to evaluate adequately the effects of formation processes in creating floor assemblages. He argued that: “The real Pompeii premise is that archaeologists can treat house–floor assemblages at any site as if they were Pompeii–like systemic inventories” (Schiffer 1985:18). Schiffer advocated one alternative which was to evaluate de facto refuse depletions, which are reductions from the basic systemic artifact inventory.