Collective action theory, as formulated in the social sciences, posits rational social actors
who regularly assess the actions of others to inform their own decisions to cooperate. In …

Abstract Current research on Chaco Canyon and its surrounding outlier communities is at an
important juncture. Rather than trying to argue for the presence or absence of complexity …

Theory in North American archaeology is characterized in terms of foci and approaches
manifested in research issues, rather than in explicit or oppositional theoretical positions …

Development of strong leaders and social stratification in prehistory is suitable for a political
economy approach to the longue durée. Our goal is to encourage archaeologists to …

Ongoing debates over the significance of specialized production in ancient political
economies frequently hinge on questions of whether elites or commoners controlled craft …

This paper offers a new perspective for the study of prehistoric Pueblo political organization
in the American Southwest. In reviewing salient developments in Puebloan archaeology …

How did our current society come into being and how is it similar to as well as different from
its predecessors? These key questions have transfixed archaeologists, anthropologists and …

The role of production, exchange, and consumption in Chaco Canyon can be analyzed
successfully only when the system as a whole is considered. A cognitive-processual …

The idea that a substantial portion of the North American midcontinent centered on the Ohio
and Mississippi Rivers confluence was largely depopulated around AD 1450–1550 …

The monumental architecture of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico was constructed to convey,
reinforce, and challenge ideas about social, ritual, and cosmological order. The concept of …