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Matrilocality, Corporate Strategy, and the Organization of Production in the

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MATRILOCALITY, CORPORATE STRATEGY,AND THE ORGANIZATION
OF PRODUCTION IN THE CHACOAN WORLD

Peter N. Peregrine

Kinship is central to an understandingof sociopolitical organization and the organization of production in Chaco Canyon.
Between A.D. 700 and 900, lifeways in the Chacoan wor7ldunderwenta transformationthat reflects the evolution of matrilo-
cal residence. Matrilocal groups became thefoundation of a polity based on a corporatepolitical strategy.Matrilocalitypro-
vided the peoples of the Chaco region a social structure in which women were able to form stable agricultural communities
while men werefreed to takepart in long-distance resourceprocurementand trade. Leaders mobilized goods from across the
activities, such as construction of great houses. This corporate strategy is evident in an exami-
polity for corporate-affir-ming
nation of turquoiseproduction. The production of turquoise ornamentswas diffuse and uncontrolled,but the consumption of
turquoise,at least in Chaco Canyon, was highly centralized. This is what we would expect to see in a polity operating within
a corporate strategy.

Elparentesco es centralpara entenderla organizaci6nsocio-politico y la organizaci6nde produci6nen Cafi6nChaco. Entred.C.

700 y 900 la manerade vida en el mundoChaquefiose cambi6 reflejandola evoluci6n de la residencia matrilocal. Los grupos
matrilocales convenieronla fundaci6n de una regi6npolitica basada en una estrategiapolitica corporativa.La matrilocalidad
suministr6a la gente Chaquefiasuna estructurasocial en que las mujeresfueroncapaz aformar comunidadesagriculturalesesta-
bles mientraslos hombresfueronlibres a conseguirrecursosy hacer neg6cios de larga-distancia.Los lider-esmobilizar-onrecur-
sos al trave'sde la regi6n politica para actividades corportiva-afirmando,como la construci6n de las Casas Granzdes.Esta
estrategia es evidenteen una investigaci6nde la produci6n turquesa.Los ornamentosturquesosfuei-onfabricados por familias
quienespecializaronen la produci6nartisticapero la produci6nfue difusay incontrolada.Sin embai-gola consunci6nde turquesa
fue altamenteespecializada, al menos entreCan6n Chaco. Eso es precisamenteque espe7rar-iamos ver en una region politicafun-
cionandoentre una estrategiacorporativa.

A mong the most striking monuments of
ancient North America are the Chacoan
greathouses.Generationsof archaeologists
have marveledat theirscale and craftsmanshipand
wonderedwhy they were built, whatpurposesthey
served,what kind of society fosteredthe construc-
tion of such impressivestructures.These questions
are made only more enigmaticwith knowledge of
the archaeologicalrecordfortheeraprecedinggreat
houseconstruction.BetweenA.D.700 andA.D.900
lifeways in the Chacoanworld underwenta trans-
formation.Single-familypit structures,a basic res-
identialform since as earlyas 200 B.C., were given
up for multifamilypueblos.Whataccountsfor this
transition?Whatdoes it meanfor ourunderstanding
of the organizationof productionin the Chacoan
world?
I suggestthe developmentof pueblosmayreflect
Peter N. Peregrine * Departmentof Anthropology,LawrenceUniversity,515 E. College Ave., Appleton,WI 54911
the evolution of matrilocal residence and, more
specifically,of a polityrootedin thepossibilitiesand
constraintssuchresidentialgroupscreate.I suggest
emergentleadersin the Chacoanpolityusedmatrilo-
cal groupsas the foundationof a corporatepolitical
strategy.As my colleagues and I have explainedin
a series of recentarticles(Blanton1998; Blantonet
al. 1996; Feinman2000), leadersfollowing a cor-
porate political strategyattemptto build a power
base by developing and promotingactivities that
reinforcethe corporatebonds that tie membersof
the politytogether.A commoncorporatestrategyis,
for example,to mobilize goods fromacrossa polity
for largepublic ritualsor constructionprojectsthat
bringmembersof the polity togetherin corporate-
affirmingactivities(activitiesthatseem reflectedin
the Chacoangreat houses and pre-Chacoangreat
kivas).

AmericanAntiquity,66(1), 2001, pp. 36-46

Copyright( 2001 by the Society for AmericanArchaeology

36
 MATRILOCALITY,
CORPORATE STRATEGY,AND ORGANIZATION 37

My colleagues and I have arguedthatcorporate or status,receiveno tributeorcompensationfortheir

strategyshouldbe seen as one end of a continuum work,andarepowerlessin termsof judicialauthor-
ofpoliticalstrategywiththeoppositeendbeingwhat ity. Yet Leach (1954:206) argues that in terms of
we have called an exclusionaryor "network"strat- politicalauthority,"inpracticea gumlao 'headman'
egy. Leadersfollowing a networkstrategyattempt maybe hardlydistinguishablefroma gumsa'chief."'
to build a powerbase by controllingaccess to net- How do such gumlao leaders gain authority?The
worksof exchangeandalliancebothwithinandout- answerLeach (1954:263, 275) gives is thatthey do
side the polity (Blantonet al. 1996:4-5; Peregrine so by appealingto corporateideology and support-
1992).Thusa networkstrategyis one in whichlead- ive mythsandprinciplesof behavior.It is important
ers attemptto monopolizesources of power,while to notethatpolitieswitha gumlaoorientationarenot
a corporatestrategyis one in which leadersattempt hinderedin what they can accomplish-they build
to sharepower across differentgroups and sectors andmaintainagricultural terraces,defendthemselves
of a polity. against enemies, engage in trade with other poli-
It is importantto note thatcorporateandnetwork ties-and yet they do so within a frameworkthat
strategieslie on a continuumand are not "pure" downplaysstatusdifferencesandindividualaggran-
strategiesin any given case. Rather,leaderstend to dizement(Leach 1954:231-238).
promotemorecorporate-oriented strategiesor more Whilethe ideaof corporatepoliticalstrategywas
network-orientedones, but it is unlikelyany leader initiallyput forwardas partof a theoryfor the evo-
will promotea "purely"corporateor networkstrat- lution of complex societies in Mesoamerica(Blan-
egy. It is also importantto make clear that these ton et al. 1996), severalof the papersin this issue of
strategiesareused in societies with varyingdegrees AmericanAntiquityuse it as a model of political
of political centralization,scale, and technological behaviorto provide insight into the structureand
complexity.They do not define societal"types"nor operationof the ancient Chacoanpolity. Timothy
do they define a unilinealevolutionarytrend. Earle,for example,explainsthatthe focus of polit-
While archaeologistshave tendedto ignorecor- ical strategyin theChacoanpolityappearsto be "sta-
poratelyorientedpolities in favorof the often more ple finance"-the mobilization of goods for
colorfulnetwork-oriented ones, severalgood exam- corporateactivities.Similarly,Colin Renfrewsug-
ples do exist, perhaps the most prominentbeing gests thatgreathouseswereusedfor largepublicrit-
TeotihuacanandtheInduscivilization.In bothcases uals,ritualscoordinatedandfundedby leaderswhose
we find few of the typical indicatorsof powerful activitiesmaintainedthe corporateorientationof the
rulers-there are no royal tombs, few or no repre- polity.Whilenotdirectlyemployingtheideaof a cor-
sentationsof rulers, and where writing is present porate-orientedpolity,he suggeststhatthese rituals
rulers are rarely mentioned-such polities seem also servedto legitimatethe authorityof the leaders
"faceless"(Blanton1998:149).And yet these "face- who hosted them,just as the mobilizationof mate-
less" polities were able to constructcities, conquer rialsused in themdid.ThusbothEarleandRenfrew
largeregions,andintegratetensof thousandsof peo- suggestthata basicpoliticalstrategyin the Chacoan
ple. SimilarlyColinRenfrew(1974) describedwhat worldwas the coordinationof corporaterituals.
he called "group-oriented" chiefdomsin thirdmil- Whateffects might a corporateorientationhave
lenniumB.C. Europethatwere capableof organiz- on the organizationof production?Wewouldexpect
ing laborto producelargepublicworks suitablefoi productionin corporate-orientedpolities to be dif-
communal ritual within an apparentlyegalitarian fuse, with no clearcentersof control,andto be dis-
frameworkwhere political authoritywas "faceless persed across the polity. This is what we appearto
and anonymous"(1974:79). see in the Chacoanworld. We would also expect
The ethnographicliteratureprovidesanotherpic- productionto be directedtowardgroupratherthan
ture of such "faceless" polities. Leach (1954) individual consumption. Again, this is what we
describesgumlaochiefdomsorganizedaroundegal- appear to see in the Chacoan world. We would
itarianprinciples among the Kachin of highland expect consumption, on the other hand, to be
Burma.Leadersin gumlaopolities(whoLeachterms focused at points of grouparticulation.In the Cha-
"headmen"to distinguish them from the gumst coan worldthose points of articulationappearto be
chiefsof otherKachinpolities)haveno specialrights greathousesandgreathousemiddens.Thusthe idea
38 AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 66, No. 1, 2001

that the Chacoanpolity was corporatelyoriented -xample,the dataon small sites presentedby Peter
seems both a reasonableanduseful one. It appears M\1cKenna (1986) suggest that during the period
to fit the patternof the materialrecordandprovides betweenA.D. 500 and 700, pit structuresaveraged
useful insights into how productionmay have been about15 squaremetersin floor area,and this aver-
organized. age size remained fairly constant in the period
betweenA.D. 700 and 900, althoughvariationin
Matrilocal Residence in the Chacoan World size seems to have increased. When the pueblos
Ratherthan furtherdiscuss the natureof corporate beganto be constructed,in the periodbetweenA.D.
political strategiesin the Chacoanworld (which is 900 and 1100, individualrooms averagedabout 7
discussed in more detail by Earle and Renfrew),I squaremetersin floor area,but each site consists of
would like to focus on the context in which those anagglomerationof theserooms,givingoverallsizes
strategieswere employed-the context of matrilo- of the roomblocks a rangefrom roughly70 square
cal residence.As I statedabove,I believethatthepit- meters(29-SJ-629) to over 300 squaremeters(29-
structure-pueblotransitionreflects a transitionto SJ-633). Clearlydwelling size increasedin a man-
matrilocalresidence (also see James 1994), and I ner consistent with the evolution of matrilocality,
have two fundamentalreasonsto acceptthis asser- and, in fact, the conclusion reachedby McKenna
tion.Thefirstis thata numberof themostlikelymod- (1986:38), thatthis changemarksa transitionfrom
ern descendants of the Chacoan people are single-familyto multifamilydwellings,is also con-
matrilocal.Couldtheinhabitantsof theChacoregion sistent.
havebeenmatrilocalfromveryearlyin theirhistory? If we acceptthatthe pit structure-pueblotransi-
It seemsunlikely.TheArchaichunter-gatherers who tion marks the evolution of matrilocal residence
populatedthe AmericanSouthwestwere probably amongthe inhabitantsof the Chacoregion,it is rea-
patrilocalor neolocal, as patrilocalresidenceis by sonableto ask why matrilocalityevolvedandwhy it
farthemost commonformof post-maritalresidence evolvedwhen it did.The answersto these questions
in the world (about60 percentof known societies), go well beyond the purposeof this paper,but there
andneolocalresidenceappearsto be a commonadap- are severalgeneralconditionsthat appearto foster
tationof hunter-gatherers in marginalenvironments. matrilocality,each of which may have playeda role
Matrilocalresidenceonly occursin about10 percent in the Chacoancase. Matrilocalresidencehas been
of known societies, and thereis an unusualcluster- shownto evolve whereeither(1) a groupof migrants
ing of matrilocal groups among likely Chacoan has entered a previously inhabitedregion (Divale
descendants(includingthe modernHopi andZuni). 1984); (2) there is frequentextra-communitywar-
It is very likely, therefore, that this "pocket"of fare (Emberet al. 1974); (3) significantlong-dis-
matrilocality hasrelativelyrecentroots(Martin1950; tance traderelationshave recentlybeen introduced
Steward1955). (Peregrine1994); or (4) a group'sculturalpractices
My secondreasonfor suggestingthe adoptionof areunderstressdue to contactwith more dominant
pueblo dwellings reflects the evolutionof matrilo- societies (Helms 1970). These four explanations
cal residence comes from Melvin Ember's (1973; share a common element: competitiveinteraction
replicated by Divale 1977; also see James with othersocieties.
1994:120-124)findingthatmatrilocalsocietieshave Why does competitiveinteractionfostermatrilo-
significantlylargerdwellings than patrilocalones. cality?Two answershavebeen given:(1) matrilocal
The dwellingsarelargerbecausetheyhousethefam- residence creates a culturally stable core group
ilies of severalrelatedwomen who togetherform a throughwhich childrencan be raised in a "tradi-
singleeconomic(andresidential)unitundermatrilo- tional"manner(Helms 1970; Peregrine1994); and
cal residence.Ember's(1973) findingssuggest that (2) matrilocalresidence allows men to be absent
societies with patrilocal residence tend to have fromthe coregroupforlong periodsof timefortrad-
dwellingsthatareless than60 squaremetersin floor ing, raiding,or diplomacy(Emberet al. 1974;Pere-
area, while matrilocal societies tend to have grine 1994). Both of these explanationsare really
dwellingslargerthan100 squaremetersin totalfloor oppositesides of the samecoin. On the one side, the
area.Sucha shiftis clearlyevidentin ChacoCanyon matrilocalhome groupallows domesticlife to con-
dwellingsin the periodfromA.D. 700 to 100. For tinue with stabilityeven in the face of political and
Peregrine] MATRILOCALITY,
CORPORATE STRATEGY,AND ORGANIZATION 39

economicactivitiestakingmen awayfromthehome matrilocalresidence(see Driver1956 versusDivale

groupfor long periodsof time.On the otherside, the 1984),the datado clearlysupportAberle'sargument
fact thatmen marryout of theirnatalgroupappears for NorthAmericansocieties (Divale 1974; Ember
to foster the developmentof fraternalassociations andEmber1971).
thatcan coordinatethe laborof largegroupsof men Subsistenceproductionin a matrilocalChacoan
for activitiesof pan-societal,ratherthannatalgroup world would be organizedaroundwomen's work
or lineage, importance. groups.These workgroups,in turn,would likely be
Competitiveinteractionhas been routinelyput composed of membersof individualmatrilineages
forwardas an explanationfor boththe development who controlaccess to the areasof agriculturalland
of pueblodwellingsandof politicalcentralizationin they work.The matrilineageswould similarlycon-
Chaco Canyonitself. Wilcox (1993), for example, trolaccessto theagriculturalproductsproducedfrom
arguedthatthe Chacoanpolitybeganas a refugefor that land, and women's work groupswould handle
displacedpopulationsfrom the northernSan Juan the tasks of processingand storingthose products.
basin,andbecamecentralizedas a militaristicpolity Thuswe can envisionChacoCanyonbeing divided
with an eye to expansionand conquest.Such situa- upintoareasof landcontrolledby localmatrilineages
tions are ones thathave repeatedlybeen suggested residentatnearbypueblos.Groupsof relatedwomen,
as fosteringmatrilocalresidence (see Emberet al. althoughlikelywith somehelpfromhusbands,sons,
1974; Helms 1970). Similarly, Weigand (1992; or brothers,would prepareand sow fields of corn,
WeigandandHarbottle1993)arguedthatanexpand- beans, and squash,rotatingthose fields on a regular
ing tradenetworkwith Mesoamericawas centralto basis aroundthe areasof land they control.!These
sociopolitical developmentsin Chaco Canyon. In groupswould harvestthe crops, and preparethem
this scenario,one can easily envisionmatrilocalres-for storageby dryingthe beans and squashes,and
idence being fosteredas a way to allow groups of grindingthe corn.Womenwouldhavebeenthemost
malesto leaveforlong periodsof time on tradeexpe- likely producersof basic storage utensils; that is,
ditions (see Peregrine1994). Thus, while I am not ceramics.Ceramicproductionwas likely organized
able to put forward a specific argumentfor why in muchthesameway as subsistence,throughgroups
matrilocalityevolved in the Chacoanworldwhen it of relatedwomen.Thesegroupswouldhaveformed,
did, the sociopoliticalconditionsof the region dur-slipped,fired, and paintedthe ceramicsas a group,
ing the periodfrom roughlyA.D. 700 to A.D. 900 with the whole processtakingseveraldays andper-
(and perhapseven earlier)seem ripe for fostering hapsbeing repeatedonce everyfew months,as new
matrilocalresidence. ceramicswere needed.
Whatwould men contributeto subsistence?The
Matrilocal Residence and the simple answeris meat. Hunting,especially during
Organization of Production the PuebloBonito phaseandlater,wouldhavebeen
If we accepttheideathatthepitstructure-pueblotran- a time-consumingactivity,likelyrequiringthehunter
sitionreflectsthe evolutionof matrilocalresidence, to travelsome distancefrom Chaco Canyonto find
what are the implicationsfor our understandingof game. This is precisely where matrilocalresidence
Chacoanpolity and, in particular,the organization providesgreatbenefits,for it allows groupsof men
of production?A good startingpoint, I suggest, is to be absent for long periods of time without dis-
theideaputforwardby DavidAberle(1961:661)that rupting the core community (Ember et al. 1974;
"Matrilinealgroups arise ... in connection with Helms 1970; Peregrine1994). In termsof utensils,
women'sworkgroupsandthe resourcebases which menwouldlikelyhavemadetheirownhuntinguten-
these groups control."In his cross-culturalexami- sils; thatis, chippedstonetools. Unlike ceramics,it
nation of matrilineal societies (and virtually all is unlikelythatmen would have done so in groups,
known matrilocal societies are also matrilineal), but ratheras individualsproducingtools for them-
Aberle(1961:670)alsoarguesthat"matrilinyis most selves.Particularmenwithuniqueskillin flint-knap-
base,withwomen ping might producetools for others,but likely not
likelyto developon a horticultural
doing the agriculturallabor."WVhile therehas been on a large scale. Raw materialswould be procured
some debateover the importanceof women's con- eitherby directlyobtainingthem from the source,
tributions to subsistence on the development of perhapsin the courseof huntingexcursionsor while
40 AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 66, No. 1, 2001

visitinghomecommunities.However,the samefree- thatalienationareoften found.One formis the kind

dom thatmatrilocalresidencewould have allowed of fraternal associations mentioned above, but
men to be absentfor long periods of time hunting another,related, form might be cross-community
wouldhavealso allowedthemto spendtime actively associations.A thirdmight stem from createdrela-
procuringrawmaterialsfromlong distancesor trad- tions of debt throughgifts and reciprocalfeasting.
ing withdistantcommunities.Indeed,we mightenvi- In all cases these would requirethe communitiesto
sion a large, formalnetworkof traderelationships become increasinglyinteractive.This leads, in turn,
spreadacrossthe Chacoanworldmuchlike theKula to the notionthat"isolatedcommunities(or smaller
ring of the TrobriandIslanders(who are also matri- groups)consistingof matrilinealcore andin-marry-
lineal-see Malinowski1922). ing spouses are extremely difficult to maintain"
Men would also be the most likely producersof (Schneider1961:27).Thus,theincreasedinteraction
special craftwork and, indeed,of the very pueblos so evident archaeologically in the Chaco region
I am suggestinggive evidence of Chacoanmatrilo- would be a logical, perhaps necessary, result of
cality.Therawmaterialsforthepueblosandforcraft matrilocalresidence.
items would be obtainedeitherdirectlyor through
trade,but in eithercase men would have to be able Matrilocal Residence and Corporate Strategy
to leave the home groupto obtainthese items, and Theethnographicrecordsuggeststhatmatrilocalres-
in large work groups, particularly if the work idence often encouragesleadersto adopta network
involved transportingbeams, or mining stone and ratherthancorporatestrategy(see Peregrine1992for
minerals.Productionof craftitems would likely be examples).This makes some sense as the ease with
doneby individuals,butmatrilocalitycouldpromote which matrilocalityallows large groupsof men to
some form of fraternalcraft"co-ops"at individual leave for long periodsof time to tradeor raidseems
pueblos, and certainlythe constructionof pueblos to fit nicely with a networkstrategy.The Chacoan
themselves would requirea group of coordinated polity,then, may be somewhatunusualin combin-
workers(Lekson 1986:257-273;Wills 2000). Such ing matrilocalresidencewith a corporatestrategy.
workor craftgroupswouldbe createdin partto inte- Why did Chacoanleaderspursuea corporatestrat-
gratemen intotheirmarriagecommunity(muchlike egy? An importantfactormay have been the mar-
quiltingsocieties did for ruralAmericanwomen in ginalnatureof the Chacoanenvironment,at leastfor
the nineteenthcentury). Such integrativemecha- an agriculturaleconomy(Judge1979, 1989).Places
nisms are importantin matrilocalsocieties, for in- where network strategiesthrive, such as highland
marryingmales have few formalmeans to tie them New Guinea,westernPolynesia,and the northwest
to the community-they are not importantin the coast of NorthAmerica,tend to have temperatecli-
domesticeconomy,andtheyhaveno rolein thepolit- matesandextremelyrichenvironments.One factor,
ical life of the community.Thus fraternalassocia- indeed, that may promotea networkorientationis
tions and interestgroupsoften develop as meansto thefactthatvirtuallyanyfamilyorlineagegroupcan
create bonds among in-marryingmen, as well as survive,at least in termsof food, shelter,and other
bondsbetweenthese men and the community. necessitiesof life, in isolationfrom the rest of soci-
Such fraternalassociationsand interestgroups ety.Whatnetwork-oriented leaderscontrolis access
would, indeed, extend to other communities. As to socially relevantgoods, knowledge, and events,
David Schneider (1961:20) explained this issue, and not to things needed for survival (Peregrine
"Matrilinealdescent groupshave special problems 1992).A networkstrategymay not be very success-
in the organization of in-marrying affines with ful in a situationwhere families or lineages cannot
respect to each other" and, I would add, to the easily surviveindependentof others.Leaderswho
matrilocalgroupas a whole. In-marryingmalesmay stresscooperativeactivitiesaimedat mutualsupport
carrypoliticalauthorityandhigh statusin theirnatal andgroupsurvivalmay be moresuccessfulin gain-
community,buthavenonein thecommunityof their ing followers than those who stress individual
wife. There,they may be subjectto the ruleof other advancementand the exclusion of othersfrom net-
males to whom they feel superioror contentious.In worksof power.
short,men become alienatedin matrilinealsocieties How did Chacoanleadersimplementtheir cor-
(Schneider1961:20),andsome meansof alleviating porate-orientedpolitical strategies?I suggest there
Peregrine] MATRILOCALITY,
CORPORATE STRATEGY,AND ORGANIZATION 41

Table 1. Counts of GeneralAbraders,LapidaryAbraders,and CeramicPolishersby Location.

Observed (expected) GeneralAbraders Lapidary Abraders Ceramic Polishers Total

Room 211 (182) 28 (36) 3 (11) 242
Pithouse 131 (141) 24 (29) 32 (18) 187
Ramada/Plaza 34 (41) 16 (8) 5 (5) 55
Kiva 75 (86) 21 (17) 18 (11) 114
451 89 58 598
%2= 4067, df= 6,p< .001
Source Data adoptedfrom Akins (1997): generalabraders= types 10 and 20; apidaryabraders= types 12 and 22; ceramic pol-
ishers = type 30.

are at least three areas where a corporatestrategy house communities. Thus I agree with Windes
seemsmanifestedin the archaeologicalrecord.First, (1992:162) that, at least from a community per-
it seems clearthatChacoanleaderspromotedevents spective, "participation in turquoisejewelry manu-
thatbroughtmatrilineagestogetherforcommonpur- facturewas universal,or nearlyso."
poses at the greathouses. This idea is discussedin The availabledataalso suggestthatturquoisepro-
some detail by Earle and Renfrewin their papers, ductionwas not a spatiallylocalized activitywithin
andI will not elaboratehere. Second, I suggestthat communities,butrathertookplacein a varietyof con-
the sharedstylistic featuresin ceramicsand archi- texts. Mathien's (1984, 1997) identification of
tecture, features that also undergo coordinated turquoise"workshops"demonstratesthatthey were
changethoughtime, may reflectthe sanctioningby locatedin kivas,pithouses,rooms, andplazas.Thus
Chacoanleaders of efforts to downplaydifference there is no single specialized location where
and division between matrilineages(see Peregrine turquoisebeadproductiontookplace.Is therea loca-
1991 for similarethnographiccases). Chacoanlead- tion where turquoisework was more likely to take
ers may have used their influence to promote an place than other activities?It appearsnot, as evi-
emphasison commonbonds of relationshipamong dencedby the datapresentedin Table1.
matrilineagesthoughsharedstylisticpatterns,ritual Table 1 shows the cross-tabulationof general
practices,andthelike.Third,I suggestChacoanlead- abraders,lapidaryabraders,and ceramicpolishers
ers encourageddiffuseproductionof importantreli- by theirlocationin excavatedcontextswithinChaco
gious orceremonialgoods thatwouldbe pooledinto Canyon.Generalabradersshouldtendto be located
common activities.This would be in starkcontrast whereunspecializeddailyactivitiestakeplace,while
to network-oriented strategies in which leaders ceramicpolishersshouldbe locatedwhere ceramic
tightly manage such goods through the use of productiontakesplace. By comparingthe locations
attachedspecialistsandsumptuaryrules(Blantonet where lapidaryabradersare found (Figure 1), one
al. 1996:5;Peregrine1992). should be able to determinewhere turquoisebead
Turquoiseappearsto be a goodexampleof anitem productiontookplace.Thevalueof chi-squaredsug-
with symbolicimportancein the Chacoanworldthat gests thatthe distributionof these items is not ran-
is produceddiffuselybut consumedwithin limited dom, andif we examinethis table more closely, we
contexts. Indeed, the available data suggest that see thatgeneralabradersaremuchmorelikely to be
turquoiseproductionis anexampleof whatFlannery foundin roomsthanchancewould suggest,butthat
and Winter(1976:38-39) term "householdspecial- ceramicpolishersare much less likely to be found
ization";that is, activitiesthat take place in every there. Ceramicpolishers appearmuch more likely
communitybut not in every household.While not than would be suggestedby chance to be found in
every Chacoancommunityhas in situ evidence for pithousesor kivas, and lapidaryabradersare more
turquoisebeadproduction,Windes's(1992) studyof likely to be found in ramadaor plaza areas than
turquoisedebrisin foragingantmoundsfound that chance would suggest. This patternholds up if we
94 percentof Pueblo II period sites had turquoise examine only lapidaryand general abraders(X2
debris.Roughlyhalf of all excavatedsites in the val- 15.25, df = 3, p < .01), but changes slightly if we
ley do have in-situevidence of turquoisebead pro- examineonly lapidaryabradersandceramicpolish-
duction,andsuchevidenceis foundin everyareaof ers. In this case, lapidaryabradersaremorelikely to
Chaco Canyon and in both great house and small be foundin roomsthanwouldbe expectedby chance
 42 AMERICAN

RI

410 4w 'b
46

to EX
0,
S'. V,* 4A 7, 041 -

t-
vo, 'P
it PMV " yo
-i - rVej 'k _

wi-W

10

W-WO-Z.

.0.-

4-1

AL

---- ---
W-11-MON"---

Figure 1. abrader recovered from Pueblo Bonito.

0 O Lapi'dary
Institution,Nati'onalAnthropolo cal Archives.

(x2 = 21.29, df = 3,p < .001). If we take the

presence
of lapidary abraders as an indicator of turquoise bead
production (Akins 1997:733), it appears that there
were no special locations where turquoise bead pro-
duction took place; rather, turquoise beads were pro-
duced in a variety of locations, a preferred one
Peregrine] MATRILOCALITY,
CORPORATE STRATEGY,AND ORGANIZATION 43

cific contextsandonlyafterbeingcollectedintomas-
sive amounts.It is interestingthatthe PuebloBonito
burials that were accompanied by most of the
turquoisefoundin the canyonwerelocatedadjacent
to otherapparentlyritualfacilitiesor storagerooms.
It may be that these are not burialswhose accom-
panyingrichesdisplayconspicuousconsumptionby
a wealthyeliteas has oftenbeensuggested,butrather
burials of corporateleaders containinggifts from
individualsthroughoutthe polity as a means of dis-
playingthe corporatebondsmanifestedthroughthe
deceased.

Conclusions
Chaco was a corporate-oriented polity, but it was,
perhapsmore importantly,a matrilocalpolity. Cor-
poratestrategiesat once fosteredand were fostered
by the evolution of matrilocalresidence. Matrilo-
cality providedthe peoples of the Chaco region a
social structurein which women were able to form
stable agriculturalcommunities while men were
freedto takepartin long-distanceresourceprocure-
ment and trade.Politicalleaderstook advantageof
this situation and developed strategies to build a
powerbase fromthem. Outof this matrilocalstruc-
tureandthe associatedcorporatepoliticalstrategies
arosethe large communitiesthatcame to dominate
the Chacoanworld,the intenseinteractionbetween
those communities,and the rise of influentialpan-
societalfraternalgroups.To understandthe "Chaco
phenomena,"the organizationof productionin the
Chacoanworld,theintenseinteractionbetweenCha-
coan communities, or indeed any other aspect of
Chacoansociety, I arguethat one must approachit
throughthe lens of matrilocalresidence.
To argue that kinship is central to Chacoan
sociopoliticalorganization,and to the organization
of productionin particular,shouldnot be surprising
to us as anthropologists.And yet in the literatureon
the Chacoanworld we find little discussionof kin-
ship, and we even find scholarssuggestingthatthe
Chacoanarchaeologicalrecord"indicatesa degree
of centralizationandpoliticalspecializationbeyond
the capacityof societies whose decision makingis
carriedout within the frameworkof kinship . . ."
Figure 2. Turquoise beads recovered from Pueblo Bonito (Sebastian1991:119).This is unfortunate,for it con-
averaged 4 mm in diameter, most were discoidal in shape, tradictswhatwe know aboutsocieties fromall over
and are flat-sided. Variations in form are shown here. From
Judd (1954), figure 12, drawn by Irvin E. Alleman. the world, even highly politically centralizedones
Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution, National Anthro- like Natchez,Tonga,and Kongo. I have suggested
pological Archives. elsewherethat archaeologistsoften confuse ethno-
44 AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 66, No. 1, 2001

graphicanalogy with ethnology (Peregrine1996). system dominating the Chacoan world (Lekson
Here I will go fartherto suggestthatarchaeologists 1997), I suggest thatwhatwe see is an overarching
oftenforgetthelessonsethnologytaughtus as anthro- social system, a social system based on matrilocal
pologists. To argue,as an anthropologist,that kin- residenceandthe demandsandopportunitiesit cre-
ship is not importantto understandingany given ated.
society is problematic;to suggest it is unimportant Acknowledgments. I wantto thankall theparticipantsin theChaco
to understanding theorganizationof a non-statesoci- Organizationof Productionconference-Tim Earle, Melissa
ety is ridiculous.Kinshipin all non-statesocieties Hagstrum,Steve Lekson, PeterMcKenna,JoanMathien,Colin
structuressocial relations.It defines who a person Renfew, Tom Windes, and, in particular,Cathy Cameronand
is, who theirleadersare, what resourcesthey have WolkyToll for invitingme to participate.They providedmany
usefulsuggestionsforimprovingtheideaspresentedin thispaper,
access to, whom they may marry,where they may andthey were exceptionallygraciousandhelpfulin bringingan
live, what occupationsare availableto them, and "outsider"up to speed on currentdataand thinkingin Chacoan
spiritualpracticesthey will follow. Kinship influ- archaeology.My deepestgratitudegoes outto all of them.I would
ences, bounds, and shapes all aspects of life. To also like to thankLynneGoldsteinand the four externalreview-
understanda non-statesociety,like Chacoan,in the ers who providedsuggestionsand critiquesthathave markedly
improvedthis paper.
absenceof understandingthe relationsof kinshipis
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Strategiesin thePrehispanicSouthwest,editedby B. Mills, group in question (the Chacoansin this case) were not unusu-
pp. 19-44. Universityof ArizonaPress,Tuscon. al in their practices, but ratherto first determine if common
Windes,T. C. practices are evidenced in the archaeological record before
1992 Blue Notes:The ChacoanTurquoiseIndustryin the San seeking evidence for more unusual ones.
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Notes number of beads producedfrom the raw material.
3. The "drubbing"taken by scholars such as Hill (1970)
1. This is not the case in some modern puebloan groups, and Longacre (1970) who attemptedsuch analyses has prob-
but it is importantto note that the idea of women agricultur- ably not encouraged others to pursue kinship in the archaeo-
al groups comes not from ethnographic analogy, but from logical record of the Southwest.
ethnology; that is, in matrilocal societies these kinds of work
groups are the norm, as are all the features I am putting for-
ward here. That modern (or ancient) groups may not have
followed these practices is understood-there is a range of
variation in all human behaviors. However, it seems most ReceivedAugust 10, 1999; AcceptedDecember 16, 1999;
reasonableto begin an analysis underthe assumptionthat the RevisedApril 14, 2000

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