An Exploration of the Relationship between Mobility and Sedentism in the American Southwest and Mesoamerica
In Anthropology a false notion occurs in that hunters and gatherers are mobile and agriculturalists are sedentary. There are many examples of Native North American tribes and cultures that exhibit mobile agriculturalism, opposing early archaeological preconcieved notions of a unilineal settlement continuum from mobile to sedentary. The model from mobile hunting and gathering to sedentary agriculture should be thought of as a universal, variable and mutil-dimensional phenomenon. The American Southwestern culture of the Hopi and the Mesoamerican culture of the Raramuri are two fascinating examples of the incorporation of both mobility and sedentism as subsistence strategies.The concept of mobility must be thought of in terms of being a property of individuals who may move in many different ways: alone or in groups, frequently or infrequently, over short or long distances, daily, seasonaly or annually (Kelly). Binford differentiated between residential mobility, movements of the entire band or local group from one camp to another, and logistical mobility, foraging movements of individuals or small task groups out from and back to the residential camp (Binford). Binford later on added another dimensio
The motivations and consequences of why the Raramuri rely on mobility as a major componenet of their subsistence and residential strategies must be analyzed and examined. It seems that the Raramuri practice residential rather than logistical mobility during the growing season due to their ecology. Their mountainous environment has extreme microclimatic variability so the use of dispersed fields maximizes a household's chance of subsistence. The Raramuri's most important motivatin for winter mobility is whether they are caring for sheep and goats during this time of the year. Sheep and goats are "highly susceptible to hypothermia when they become wet in cold weather so they must be sheltered from cold and rain and snow or they will perish" (Hard and Merrill 614). The Raramuri's mobility and settlement strategies are alos affected by social and cultural factors. They marry exogomous to the valley and have a bilateral inheritance pattern which both promote residential mobility.
Some common words found in the essay are:
Hard Merrill, December February, Grande Pueblos, Mexico Raramuri, Binford Lastly, Pearl Beaglehole, AMERICAN SOUTHWEST, Southwest Mesoamerica, SEDENTISM Sedentism, Fish Historically, logistical mobility, growing season, sheep goats, hard merrill, residential mobility, hopi economic life, hopi economic, economic life, wild plants, mobility sedentism, mobility growing, mobility growing season, economic life based, annual review anthropology, residential logistical mobility,
Approximate Word count = 1796
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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