Cambridge Archaeological Journal

Table of Contents - 2008 - Volume 18, Issue 01  


Special Section: Time and Change in Archaeological Interpretation

Temporal Scale and Qualitative Social Transformation at Chaco Canyon

Ruth M.  Van Dyke  a1
a1 Department of Anthropology, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO 80903, USA; RVanDyke@ColoradoCollege.edu.

Article author query
van dyke r m   [Google Scholar] 
 

One of the strengths of the archaeological discipline is our ability to examine social transformations over the course of centuries or millennia. However, we rarely think about the ways in which temporal scale affects our interpretations of these processes. Transformative social changes look different when seen from the perspective of the longue durée, a human lifespan, or a single day. Although they clearly result from human actions, long-term, major social changes cannot be understood simply as additive concatenations of short-term shifts.

(Published Online February 15 2008)
(Received November 20 2007)


Key Words: archaeological theory; time; Southwestern USA; Chaco Canyon; Pueblo Bonito.