Review by Choice Review
This important volume presents a very different view of Southwestern prehistory by incorporating data from the many small sites found throughout the Southwest US. Most excavation and analysis has focused on major sites in three distinct culture systems (Ancestral Pueblo, Hohokam, and Casas Grandes) where there was evidence of concentrated populations, elaborate architecture, and the distinctive crafts that provide abundant information for analysis. With the advent of cultural resource management requirements, the criteria changed to include all kinds of sites in project areas, regardless of size or contents. As data from small sites accumulated, more problem-oriented research issues were developed for understanding the regional system as a whole. In 10 case studies, the editors and 15 other archaeologists explain research questions, data, and methods in regions where they have worked. The hinterlands are shown to have held diverse peoples who maintained their own traditions within the larger framework of the three dominant systems. Anyone already familiar with the basics of Southwestern archaeology will gain new insights, and scholars outside the Southwest will find useful ideas for similar research elsewhere. Excellent maps, diagrams. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Most levels/libraries. K. A. Dixon emeritus, California State University, Long Beach
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
