Orderly Anarchy origins of human behavior and culture Edited by Monique Borgerhoff Mulder and Joe Henrich 1. Behavioral Ecology and the Transition to Agriculture, edited by Douglas J. Kennett and Bruce Winterhalder 2. Pattern and Process in Cultural Evolution, edited by Stephen Shennan 3. The Hadza: Hunter-Gatherers of Tanzania, by Frank W. Marlowe 4. Life Histories of the Dobe !Kung: Food, Fatness, and Well-being over the Life Span, by Nancy Howell 5. Friendship: Development, Ecology, and Evolution of a Relationship, by Daniel J. Hruschka 6. Emergence and Collapse of Early Villages: Models of Central Mesa Verde Archaeol- ogy, edited by Timothy A. Kohler and Mark D. Varien 7. Technology as Human Social Tradition: Cultural Transmission among Hunter- Gatherers, by Peter Jordan 8. Orderly Anarchy: Sociopolitical Evolution in Aboriginal California, by Robert L. Bettinger Orderly Anarchy Sociopolitical Evolution in Aboriginal California Robert L. Bettinger university of california press University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu. University of California Press Oakland, California © 2015 by The Regents of the University of California Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bettinger, Robert L., author. Orderly anarchy : sociopolitical evolution in aboriginal California / Robert L. Bettinger. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-520-28333-6 (cloth) isbn 978-0-520-95919-4 (ebook) 1. Indians of North America—California— Civilization. I. Title. e78.c15b473 2015 979.4004’97—dc23 2014032694 Manufactured in the United States of America 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of ansi/niso z39.48–1992 (r 2002) (Permanence of Paper). Cover image: Hunter and bighorn sheep from site CA-Iny-1375, Sheep Canyon, Coso Rock Art National Historic Landmark, Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California. Photo courtesy of Far Western Anthropological Research Group, Inc. To Ishi Contents List of Figures x Acknowledgments xi 1. Introduction 1 Defi ning California 3 Jorgensen’s Western North American Indians Sample 4 Regional Variation 6 Orderly Anarchy 12 2. California in Broad Evolutionary Perspective 15 The Evolutionary Fate of Hunting and Gathering 16 The Rise and Fall of Agriculture in Western North America 21 3. The Evolution of Intensive Hunting and Gathering in Eastern California 29 Intensifi cation Studies in California 30 Ideal Free Distribution 32 Plant Intensifi cation in Eastern California 38 Introduction of Bow and Arrow Technology 44 Eff ects of the Bow 46 H unter-Gatherer Group Size, Subsistence Risk, and Resource Pooling 51 vii viii | Contents The Small Group Shift in Owens Valley 55 Alternative Routes to Plant Intensifi cation 56 4. The Privatization of Food 59 Pinyon Intensifi cation in Eastern California 64 Family Band Organization 81 Murdock’s Theory of Social Organization 83 The Social Organization of Great Basin Family Bands 87 Why Pinyon? 88 The Generalization and Spread of Privatization 91 5. Plant Intensifi cation West of the Sierra Crest 95 Appearance of the Bow and Intensifi cation 99 Acorns as a Resource 110 Archaeology of Acorn Use and Intensifi cation 113 Medieval Climatic Anomaly 116 6. Patrilineal Bands, Sibs, and Tribelets 119 The Patrilineal Band 120 Privatization and the Evolution of Tribelets 125 The Archaeology of Tribelet Development 141 The Role of Property 144 7. Back to the Band: Bilateral Tribelets and Bands 149 Demise of the Patrilineal Tribelet 149 Patrilineal to Bilateral Organization 152 Ascent of the Individual 168 E mergence of Anarchy and the Yurok-Karuk-Hupa Household Group 169 Cooperation in the Presence of Anarchy 174 Discussion 177 8. Money 179 Background 179 Why Money in California? 183 How California Money Might Have Evolved 190 Money and Inequality 196 9. The Evolution of Orderly Anarchy 199 Motivation Crowding 201 Mind-Set in Aboriginal California 204 Aboriginal Orderly Anarchy in Evolutionary Perspective 208 Quantifying Organizational Authority 210 Contents | ix Quantifying Individual Autonomy 214 The Evolutionary Landscape: Results 216 10. Conclusion 223 Money 230 The Importance of Subsistence Economy 231 Orderly Anarchy More Generally 234 Hierarchy versus Orderly Anarchy: Alternative Adaptive Strategies 238 Orderly Anarchy Now and in the Future 241 Glossary 243 References 249 Index 281 Map section between chapters 1 and 2.
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