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Archaeology of Native American Complex Societies The Archaeology of Native American Complex Societies is a specific realm of archaeological inquiry focused on the emergence, development, and organization of complex societies. From an archaeological perspective, complex societies are the consequence of the transformation from hunting and harvesting to food production, in other words, from an economic strategy in which people move to food resources to one that moves food to people. The social, political, and economic effects of this transformation produced social groups classified by archaeologists as chiefdoms, kingdoms or early states. At the time of contact with Europeans, chiefdoms were found in the Southeastern U.S. and the Caribbean, kingdoms and early states in Mexico and Central America. At the University of Alabama the archaeology focus includes North America, primarily the Southeastern U.S., and Mesoamerica, two areas of the New World where ancient complex societies evolved. Faculty members who study prehistoric chiefdoms and states share a similar set of research questions oriented toward understanding how leaders came to power, what strategies they used to institutionalize social inequality, and why these organizations collapsed. Although every society followed a unique developmental trajectory, each struggled with these basic processes, no matter whether they lived in ancient Moundville, the Maya lowlands, or the Andean highlands. Here students benefit from a cross-cultural approach that attempts to explain cultural processes, rather than merely describes culture history. Links To Archaeology Websites
University of Alabama Archaeology Faculty Archaeology of the Southeast U.S.A. & Mississippian Peoples
Mesoamerican Archaeology
The Anthropology of Chiefdoms General Resources
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