Mosaic Patterning in Prehistoric California—Great Basin Exchange

Abstract

Even a cursory review of the literature on California-Great Basin exchange shows that there has been a fundamental shift in orientation during the short time researchers have concerned themselves with the issue. There are three principal points of departure that set contemporary research apart form earlier work. First, early studies of prehistoric trade/exchange operated largely with an incremental model of culture change. Second, early researchers drew much more heavily on ethnographic analogy than is the case today. Third, early studies adopted a univariate perspective on “trade” (driven by assumptions derived from the incremental model of culture change).