Ancient Mycenaean and Chaco Canyon Communities

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that factors, including mortuary or burial evidence, economic systems and the presence of differentiated housing, can be used to determine if patterns of differences between elite versus common citizens existed, which helps decipher whether a community is considered a state-level or complex society. The author points out the fact that there are major differences between the palaces and housing for commoners in Mycenaean culture inferring that there was a definite distinction in socioeconomic status: the Mycenaean is a true state-level or complex society. The paper relates that the Chaco Canyon housing structures were much less extravagant than that of the Mycenaean; however, it was the temporary residence by pilgrimages outside of the communities that brought items to trade and thus wealth into the Chacoan societies: Chaco Canyon was a non-state-level society.

From the Paper:

"The burial patterns of the Mycenaean give us insight as to certain differences between the elite and common citizens and the burial patterns of the Chaco Canyon Society do so as well. In an article entitled, "Complexity, Hierarchy, and scale: A Controlled Comparison between Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, and La Quemada, Zacatecas" Ben Nelson states, "Aspects of Chacoan mortuary patterning have also been interpreted as indicative of hierarchy." In areas thought to have held the elites of the Chaco Canyon citizens such as the great houses or towns, individuals buried here were on average 4cm taller than individuals found buried outside of these places where the elite resided. The individuals buried near the great houses were also significantly healthier and showed less signs of nutritional stress than individuals outside of these areas."

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