Dr. Prieto
This course explores the relations of cooperation and, subsequently, the interaction between and within ancient communities and households. The study of ancient communities and, more specifically, the relations and interactions of their household units should allow us to understand the social mechanisms that organized and integrated social systems in the past. In the study of the internal social dynamics and economic interactions, we can obtain a partial but essential spectrum of how society operated in the past. In this course, we will study the social and economic dynamics at the household level of ancient societies throughout the world, with a particular emphasis on the Andes and Mesoamerican regions. This study draws our attention away from extraordinary ancient monuments or high-status burials to focus on routine practices and daily social interactions. How can we study community and households archaeologically? This class is designed to survey recent approaches researchers are using in the Americas and other parts of the world.