Utah Archaeology 2002

Institutional constraints on social and economic fluidity in farmer

INSTITUTIONAL CONSTRAINTS ON SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC FLUIDITY IN FARMER-FORAGER SYSTEMS: BIOARCHAEOLOGY AND THE SEXUAL DIVISION OF LABOR IN PREHISTORIC UTAH Jason Bright, Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112. The Formative period in the eastern Great Basin is marked by considerable economic and social variation, as individuals cycled in and out of farming and foraging modes. Such cycling may have been difficult, because the two economic options include contrasting social institutions that may clash, and therefore inhibit change. The sexual division of labor is one such institution that may vary between the two ends of the subsistence cycle. However, bioarchaeological data suggest that men and women were able to maintain broad similarities in the sexual division of labor, whether farming or foraging. Being able to maintain their interests in this regard across the economic spectrum loosened social constraints to switching, and facilitated economic cycling. During the Formative Period (ca. A.D. 400-1300) in the eastern Great Basin and Colorado Plateau a mix of farmers and foragers practiced a diverse suite of sub­sistence options (Madsen and Simms 1998; Upham 1994). Economic ptions included: 1) mixing aspects of both economies at once, 2) cycling between the two economies over the course of an individual's life, or 3) remaining active in one mode or the other, but exchang­ing food, labor, and other items, resulting in mixed diets. Options 1 and 2 are similar, in that individuals ac­tively participate in each economic strategy. Option 3 is different because foragers are distinct from farmers, but connected through exchange. The first two options can be taken together as "enmeshed" subsistence practices, in order to emphasize that individuals actively partici­pate in both subsistence economies. The remaining option can be thought of as "symbiosis" (Madsen and Simms 1998), where exchange is the common mecha­nism that provides farmers with wild foods and foragers with agricultural products. Madsen and Simms (1998:283-289) highlight the importance of identifying archaeological manifestations of these different strategies. Teasing apart enmeshed farmer-forager systems from symbiotic systems in the archaeological record may be difficult, because each practice leads to a mixed faunal and floral record, di­verse technologies, and a combination of site types and settlement patterns. Likewise, evidence of mixed diets from available stable carbon isotope data (Coltrain and Stafford 1999; Coltrain and Leavitt 2002) cannot, by itself, separate cycling from symbiosis (Simms 1999:45). An institutional approach to farmer-forager archae­ology holds the potential for accomplishing this. Insti­tutions constitute the agreed upon "rules of the game" (North 1990:3) that determine rights, rules, and obliga­tions between group members. Because institutions are constructed to solve local problems of interaction and encourage economic performance, they may vary widely between different economies (North 1990). If we can identify archaeological manifestations of institutions that differ between farming and foraging economies, then we are in a position to identify con­texts of enmeshed subsistence systems from symbiotic systems for the following reason: In enmeshed farmer- UTAH ARCHAEOLOGY 15( 1 )2002 pp. 67-83 67 68 UTAH ARCHAEOLOGY 2002 forager systems, one expects consistency between farm­ing and foraging institutions as a result of consistent economic switching and mixing. Otherwise, institutional contrasts between farming and foraging may inhibit cycling. In symbiotic settings, one may expect distinct differences in farmer and forager institutions, because farmers and foragers remain relatively distinct, but con­nected through exchange. Many institutions vary between farmers and for­agers. Examples include leveling mechanisms common to foragers which encourage sharing and redistribu­tion, and inhibit the accumulation and inheritance of material wealth (Wiessner 1997). These mechanisms are largely absent from farming societies. Here, I focus on the sexual division of labor because it often varies be­tween the two economies, and leaves direct, bioarchaeological evidence (e.g., Bridges 1989; Branson 2000; Larsen 1995; Ruff 1999). I focus on differences between male and female cortical bone loading in farm­ing and foraging contexts. Because cortical bone depo­sition can be encouraged by common, repeated use of limbs, it can identify differences in the sexual division of labor. FARMERS, FORAGERS, AND THE BIOARCHAEOLOGY OF SEXUAL DIVISIONS OF LABOR One institution individuals use to assign and sched­ule responsibilities and obligations of economy is the sexual division of labor, which allocates tasks of sub­sistence, manufacture, maintenance, and production. Differences in public and private chores are also struc­tured by the sexual division of labor, which has an im­portant role in determining many social relationships. Foragers Ethnographies of Great Basin foragers (e.g., Stew­ard 1938) suggest that women's tasks commonly in­clude gathering wild foods as well as teaching and tend­ing children. These activities often kept women rela­tively close to home. Men commonly involve themselves in more public tasks of hunting for sharing, and visiting friends and relatives at great distances. Men also orga­nized rabbit and game drives and associated public feasts by seeking the contributions of individuals from other camps. In this task they travel far and wide, unit­ing bands across great distances. This general pattern is apparent in other cases. Sugawara (1988) shows that among the central Kalahari San, men are more active than women in visiting friends and kin, and are likely to travel farther. Cashdan (1980:731) shows that among the //Gana in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, men are up to four times more likely to visit individuals outside the reserve, at greater distances than women. Women however, are more ac­tive across the smaller distances within the reserve. Further, during the summer of 2000,1 was struck by how often Tjimba forager men in northwest Namibia make long distance trips to visit friends and relatives, and to organize meetings between headmen of distant regions. In one trip, a man covered more than 100 km in a matter of days to visit a wife, and to collect on a debt. He remained at home only a few days before departing again. In this region, men seem constantly on the move. When men's public roles take them further afield, their patterns of logistic mobility may contrast with that of women. Men's greater degree of travel, especially when traversing rugged terrain, should leave traces in the physical skeleton. Indeed, Great Basin anthropol­ogy has embraced bioarchaeology as a useful medium for exploring the sexual division of labor in prehistory. Hemphill (1999:284-285) reports that men from the Malheur Lake and Stillwater skeletal series exhibit el­evated levels of osteoarthritis, especially older men. The onset of osteoarthritis occurs earlier in males than it does in females, and males exhibit faster progression of osteoarthritis throughout the entire skeleton. In a simi­lar study, Branson (2000:7) found corroborating evi­dence of sex-based differences in logistic mobility in the Great Salt Lake wetlands sample. She reports that articular surfaces in the leg (hip, knee, and ankle joints) and lumbar vertebrae bear arthritic lesions more often in men than women. Moreover, men's lesions are often more severe than women's lesions. Branson attributes BIOARCHAEOLOGY AND SEXUAL DIVISION OF LABOR IN PREHISTORIC UTAH 69 this difference to higher male logistic mobility (2000:9). Ruff (1999:314-315) finds that men in Great Basin skel­etal series often exhibit evidence of heavier biomechani-cal loading in lower limb bones than do women, and exhibit greater cortical area (1999:299-301). Again, this suggests that men had higher logistic mobility. All of these lines of evidence are consistent with ethnographic descriptions of sex-based differences in logistic mobil­ity from the Great Basin. Farmers Archaeological and ethnographic sources from across North America indicate that men's logistic mo­bility is less pronounced in settled agricultural settings (Bridges 1989; Larsen 1993; Ruff 1999). In these con­texts, tasks such as clearing and tending fields and main­taining more substantial housing seem to keep men closer to home. If farming makes long-range hunting trips less frequent, men's logistic mobility is further re­duced. Moreover, when the demands of agricultural life select for kin and other relations to live closer together, this also decreases male logistic mobility. This is not to say that there are no differences be­tween men's and women's logistic mobility in agricul­tural communities, but relative to women, men seem to engage in shorter, or less frequent, logistical forays in agricultural communities. In this regard, the sexual divi­sion of labor takes a different form than we commonly see among hunter-gatherers. Ruff (1999) presents bioarchaeological data from several North American contexts showing that foragers often exhibit greater sexual dimorphism in lower limb mechanical loading than do members of agricultural groups (Figure 1). This sug­gests that the dichotomy between men and women in logistic mobility patterns is weaker among farmers than among foragers. Important for the present study, Ruff finds that dif­ferences between men and women are more pronounced in the Great Salt Lake wetlands series than any other sample he discusses (1999:316-317), despite wide varia­tion in the amount of corn consumed by Great Salt Lake area inhabitants (Coltrain and Stafford 1999). This un­derscores the important point that it is the way people allocate labor that places different demands upon their skeletons. Men in the Great Salt Lake wetlands were highly active in terms of logistic mobility, whether sub­sisting on wild or agricultural foods. Applications to Enmeshed versus Symbiotic Farmer Forager Systems Bioarchaeology should be able to identify institu­tional constraints on cycling between farming and for­aging, and the sexual division of labor because patterns of logistic mobility are reflected in bone morphology. This leads to some testable hypotheses for enmeshed and symbiotic farmer-forager relations. In a setting of enmeshed farmer-forager relations, where cycling is frequent and expected, individuals will maintain great similarity in the sexual division of labor. By maintaining consistency in this particular institu­tion, one contrast between farming and foraging econo­mies is lifted. Bioarchaeological evidence should indi­cate patterns of greater male logistic mobility relative to females, no matter what the local subsistence base might be. In a setting of symbiosis, where cycling is less fre­quent, farmers and foragers are more likely to negotiate relatively distinct institutions. Thus, we would expect to see two distinct patterns in the sexual division of labor that co-vary with mode of production. Farmers in symbiotic settings should exhibit bioarchaeological evidence of reduced male logistic mobility, while forag­ers should maintain patterns of high male logistic mo­bility. To test these hypotheses, I compare bioarchaeological data from a number of Great Basin foraging contexts to data from Great Basin farming con­texts. If the general pattern of men's logistic mobility is similar, it suggests that Great Basin "farmers" maintained consistency in the sexual division because they were cycling between modes that required maintenance of kin networks and hunting patterns. If patterns of the sexual division of labor vary between Great Basin fann­ers and foragers, then this suggests that farmers did not engage in frequent cycling, and may have created 70 UTAH ARCHAEOLOGY 2002 Forager O Farmer Figure 1. Percent sex differences in biomechanical loading between farmers and foragers (from Ruff 1999). symbiotic relationships with neighboring foragers. In this way, an institutional approach to farmer-forager systems holds potential for identifying contexts of en­meshed versus symbiotic relationships. MATERIALS AND METHODS The above-mentioned studies employ measures of osteoarthritis, joint wear, bone lesions, and biomechani­cal loading to assess mobility. Another part of human skeletal anatomy that responds to repeated activity is cortical bone. Cortical Bone and Behavior Cortical bone is the compact outer layer of bone that surrounds the medullary cavity and sponge-like cancellous bone that provides much of the support and strength of a bone (Figure 2). Cortical growth proceeds by depositing new material on the periosteal (outer) surface, and cortical bone resorption occurs along the endosteal (inner) surface, but the rates at which each happens can vary. Increasing loads placed on bones, and the in­creased blood flow from physical activity, or repeated use of a limb enhances the growth of cortical bone. For example, Kirk et al. (1989) find that increased physical activity increases cortical bone density in pre-meno-pausal, long-distance running women. Gilsanz et al. (1997) discuss the role mechanical loading plays in de­termining cortical bone density in young children. Hatch et al. (1983) report on archaeological samples with dif­ferences in cortical thickness between individuals of differing social status, based upon the physical demands common to different sociopolitical positions. Compari­sons between chimps, gorillas, and early hominid corti­cal bone attest to the bipedality of the latter, because an erect posture places a greater load on lower limb bones (Ohmanetal. 1997). Age plays a significant role in cortical bone main­tenance (see Brockstedt et al. 1993; Kaur and Jit 1990). In adolescence, periosteal bone is added while endosteal bone is lost, leading to increased cortical thickness. Through much of adulthood, normal bone deposition BIOARCHAEOLOGY AND SEXUAL DIVISION OF LABOR IN PREHISTORIC UTAH 71 Spongy bone Medullary cavity Spongy bone Figure 2. Drawing of a tibia identifying cortical wall, medullary cavity, and spongy (cancellous) bone. and resorption lead to relative stability in cortical thick­ness and medullary width, and male and female cortical development appears to be similar (Kaur and Jit 1990:Fig-ures 5 and 6). With increasing age, endosteal resorption occurs more rapidly than does periosteal growth, re­sulting in a wider medullary cavity and thinner cortical bone (Hatch et al. 1983). By 30-40 years of age, male and female cortical development begins to diverge more widely as bone resorption accelerates in post-meno-pausal women (Kirk et al. 1989). Dietary stress also inhibits cortical growth and has­tens resorption as the body remodels old bone in re­sponse to nutritional shortages. Hummert (1983) finds that low percentages of cortical area in prehistoric sub-adults that may be nutritionally deficient are consistent with values found in modern, malnourished children. Pfeiffer and King (1983) attribute decreases in cortical bone to dietary stress in two Iroquoian ossuary samples. Although dietary stress can affect cortical bone, it is probably not significant in this sample. Bright and Loveland (1999) report low frequencies of all the pa­thologies they studied in the Great Salt Lake wetlands sample, suggesting that dietary shortages were not com­mon. Andrews (1972) presents pathological data for some of the individuals included in the non-wetlands sample studied here, and while frequencies are higher than in the wetlands setting, they do not indicate severe nutri­tional or dietary stress. Finally, general robusticity, such as sexual dimor­phism, can affect cortical bone values. For that reason, these data are presented as cortical bone index values, as outlined below. To calculate cortical index (CI), cortical bone thick­ness (C) is determined by subtracting the width of the medullary cavity (M) from the total width of the bone shaft (T). To control for the affect of dimorphism in robusticity mentioned above, cortical thickness is di­vided by the width of the total bone shaft, such that C -r T = CI. All measurements are taken at mid-shaft, except on tibiae, where the measurements are taken two-thirds 72 UTAH ARCHAEOLOGY 2002 Oregon Miles ;AfevVt/a- Idaho GSL Wetlands Injun Creek i 42Dv8 42SI29- Caldwell • Viltage • Klephi Mounds • Pharo Village 42Em3 & • 42Em4 7 ' Median Village Snake Rock S 1 • • • Coombs' Ivy Shelter Steer Place 'Evans Mound L 42Ga540 ona California Figure 3. Location of sites and areas discussed in text (modified from Grayson 1993:21). of the way towards the distal end. This provides a simple measure of cortical development that controls for dif­ferences in general size and robusticity between the sexes, and which has been used successfully elsewhere (Martins etal. 1987). Most analyses are limited to lower limb bones, as those elements respond to repeated activities that in­clude walking and traveling. Upper limb bone data are presented for the entire sample for comparison. How­ever, the farmer sample includes too few upper limb bones for statistical tests between males and females within the group, so comparisons between farmers and foragers are limited to lower limbs. Within these ele­ments, the fibula is a non-load bearing bone that may not respond to repeated activities in the same way that femora and tibiae will. Unless otherwise indicated sta­tistical tests are two-tailed t-tests. The Sample The sample for analysis includes 63 individuals from 32 farmer and forager sites across Utah (Figure 3). For­ager samples are drawn from the Great Salt Lake wet­lands series (n = 32 individuals). Stable carbon isotope data (Coltrain and Leavitt 2002:Table 15; Coltrain and Stafford 1999) as well as bioarchaeological data indi­cate switching between farming and foraging in this sample (Simms 1999). To further underscore "typical" forager patterns, comparisons are made to the Malheur and Stillwater (Figure 1) skeletal series, which are from exclusively forager contexts (Oetting 1999; Schoeninger 1999). Farmer samples are drawn from more temporally and spatially scattered sites across Utah (n = 31 indi­viduals). These come from larger sites such as Caldwell Village, Evans Mounds and the Coombs Site, where BIOARCHAEOLOGY AND SEXUAL DIVISION OF LABOR IN PREHISTORIC UTAH 73 stable carbon isotope data suggest heavy reliance on corn agriculture (Coltrain 1993; Coltrain and Leavitt 2002), or from similar sites. It is important to note that this sample includes individuals from a number of sites typically glossed as "Fremont" as well as "Anasazi," because the general wisdom is that the Anasazi phe­nomenon includes considerable reliance on corn. Seven of the individuals are sub-adult, but were originally aged as no less than 15 years old and are thus included in the sample. Individuals of indeterminate age-at- death or sex are excluded. Elements that could not be accurately identified, or were too fragmentary to mea­sure, are also excluded. RESULTS The analysis results in several observations and Table 1 presents cortical bone index data for all limb bones. These observations are: 1. Male femora and tibiae exhibit greater cortical bone development than do females, and for most elements the difference is statistically significant (Table 2). 2. The general pattern of increased male cortical bone development in lower limbs is apparent in the forager and farmer sub-samples, although sample sizes are reduced when breaking the sample down by economy (Table 3). 3. Within either sex, cortical bone indices for lower, load-bearing limbs do not vary signifi­cantly by economy, although farmers exhibit slightly less cortical bone development (Table 3). Table 4 presents these data in a way consistent with those reprinted from Ruff, and shown in Figure 1. The relative difference in cortical development by sex for each economy is shown. For example, a value of 30 percent indicates that females are on average 30 per­cent less robust than males for that element. Although the relative difference between the sexes in cortical bone index values are not as pronounced as in Ruff's data, they still range between 10 to 20 percent, consistent with foraging populations across North America. Note that this holds true for the farmer sub-sample. The analysis also results in several minor observa­tions. Although age can affect cortical bone develop­ment, it does not seem to introduce significant bias to this sample. Cortical bone loading does not differ sig­nificantly between old adult and young adult samples in lower limbs (Table 5). There is a slight trend towards greater cortical loading in upper limb bones among the younger individuals, suggesting some degree of corti­cal bone resorption among the elderly in this sample. Differences are rarely significant between age groups, however, and they are limited to upper limbs only. Sub-adults were excluded from Table 5 because only seven included in the sample. Notice, also, that upper limbs usually do not differ significantly between the sexes (Table 2). This owes, in part, to very small sample sizes. If any trend is apparent, it is that females are more heavily loaded in the upper limbs. Further, differences between the sexes are more pronounced in right side elements than in left side ele­ments (Table 2). DISCUSSION The potentially confounding factors of age and physiological stress do not seem to have a significant effect on these data, thus it is likely that these data represent a real sex-based difference in logistic mobility patterns in both farming and foraging contexts. 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Cortical Bone Index Data by Side and Sex. Element Right Side Femur Tibia Fibula Humerus Ulna Radius Left Side Femur Tibia Fibula Humerus Ulna Radius Male (n) 0.27 ±0.02 (16) 0.19 ±0.04 (12) 0.24 ± 0.09 (7) 0.15 ±0.05 (8) 0.28 ± 0.03 (3) 0.28 ± 0.08 (4) 0.28 ± 0.03 (10) 0.21 ± 0.05 (9) 0.26 ± 0.05 (6) 0.18 ±0.04 (10) 0.26 ± 0.04 (5) 0.21 ± 0.07 (3) Female (n) 0.23 ±0.03 (21) 0.16 ±0.04 (16) 0.26 ± 0.07 (3) 0.18 ±0.04 (7) 0.31 ±0.01 (2) 0.22 ± 0.03 (6) 0.25 ±0.03 (15) 0.18 ±0.03 (12) 0.26 ± 0.04 (7) 0.19 ±0.05 (7) 0.23 ±.10 (6) 0.23 ± 0.06 (5) Significance .000 .060 .723 .208 .245 .005 .004 .138 .908 .787 .539 .731 An explanation for this consistency is economic cycling. In other words, from a forager's perspective, men kept being men and women kept being women, no matter how the local resource base varied. Lacking eth­nographic analogy for prehistoric farmer-forager sys­tems in Utah, we may turn to descriptions of similar systems in other parts of North America to flesh out this picture in more human terms. Trigger (1990:130- 131) identifies differences in men's and women's public and private roles among the Iroquois of Ontario that are salient with reference to physical demands: The division of labor was overwhelmingly along gender lines...Men cleared new fields, built houses, hunted, fished, traded, waged war, and conducted the public affairs of their communities, tribes and confederacies. Women grew and harvested crops, gathered firewood, cooked, looked after children, and engaged in craft production... In all of these activities there was a strong emphasis on work teams made up of individuals of the same sex. While men frequently engaged in activities that took them far from their communities, women rarely ventured beyond their clear ings unaccompanied by men. Despite the distinction in activity patterns that should be expressed in skeletal attributes, Trigger (1990:132) also observes: While men and women led separate lives, there is no evidence that women were inferior to men in Iroquoian societies. BIOARCHAEOLOGY AND SEXUAL DIVISION OF LABOR IN PREHISTORIC UTAH 11 Table 3. Cortical Bone Index Data by Side, Sex and Economy. Forager Farmer Element Right femur Left femur Right tibia Left tibia Right femur Left femur Right tibia Left tibia Sex (n) male (10) female (7) male (7) female (7) male (5) female (6) male (6) female (5) male (6) female (14) male (3) female (8) male (7) female (10) male (3) female (7) Mean 0.28 ± 0.03 0.25 ± 0.02 0.29 ± 0.03 0.25 ± 0.04 0.21 ± 0.05 0.17 ±0.03 0.21 ± 0.06 0.18 ±0.02 0.26 ± 0.02 0.23 ± 0.03 0.27 ± 0.09 0.24 ± 0.02 0.19 ±0.03 0.16 ±0.04 0.20 ± 0.05 0.18 ±0.03 Significance* .038 .041 .102 .183 .003 .004 .094 .242 In this case, and others, men and women pursued different interests that led them to different lifestyles in many respects. One result of this division of labor was a sex-based difference in logistic mobility. A similar divi­sion of labor seems to have operated among prehistoric farmers and foragers in Utah. These results imply that Basin/Plateau farmer-for­ager systems may represent a mosaic of enmeshed sub­sistence economies more than they represent symbi­otic, exchange relationships between distinct islands of farmers and foragers. Results do not mean that symbi­otic relationships were absent, however. The presence of corn remains at Hogup Cave, for example, suggests exchange between farmers and foragers over a signifi­cant distance (Aikens 1970; Janetski 1997). Rather, these findings indicate that enmeshed subsistence practices were common enough to be expressed in human anatomy. Contexts where symbiosis should not be expected in Utah skeletal samples are Fremont and Anasazi residen­tial farming bases where reliance on corn was higher than in the Great Salt Lake wetlands case. In those cases, symbiosis may have been more occasional or temporary. Although only one potential institutional constraint on economic and social fluidity is discussed here, these results hold implications for other aspects of social or­ganization, and for the archaeology of adaptively di­verse farmer-forager systems in general. Two topics of immediate interest that should reflect institutional dif­ferences between enmeshed and symbiotic farmer-for­ager strategies involve the creation and maintenance of ethnic identities (Janetski 1990; Jones 1994), and the construction of space at camps and villages (Hillier and Hanson 1984; Widlok 1999). 78 UTAH ARCHAEOLOGY 2002 Table 4. Percent Sex Difference [(male CI - female CI) + female CI) x 100] Between Farmers and Foragers Lower Limb Bones (load-bearing bones only). Group Forager Farmer Element Right femur Left femur Right tibia Left tibia Right femur Left femur Right tibia Left tibia Percent Sex Difference 12.0 16.0 19.0 16.7 13.0 12.5 18.8 11.1 Ethnic Boundaries in Farmer-Forager Systems Modern farmer-forager systems with symbiotic re­lationships suggest that ethnic distinctions are often drawn along economic lines (e.g., Bahuchet and Guillaume 1982; Grinker 1994; Smith 1998). In these set­tings, ethnic contrasts between farmers and foragers often reflect different groups' economic niche, and rein­force relevant stereotypes, even though the boundaries themselves may be plastic (Figure 4). In more enmeshed economic settings, such as the Great Basin results re­ported here, ethnic identities may not correlate with mode of production at all. This may be analogous to the case described by Vierich (1982) for the Basarwa of the Kalahari Desert, in Botswana, southern Africa. Had results of this study implied symbiosis more than meshing, then we would predict economically bounded representations of identity; perhaps differ­ences between large farming villages and the smaller forager camps around them. Given the implication of considerable economic flexibility in eastern Great Basin farmer-forager systems, we may instead anticipate that archaeological reflections of ethnic identities will cross­cut the mode of production. The Organization of Space The second topic involves the organization of space at camps or villages (e.g., Hillier and Hanson 1984; Widlok 1999). In cases of enmeshed farmer-forager sys­tems, institutions that promote egalitarian ethics of shar­ing and redistribution may remain consistent across economic transitions, much the same way that the sexual division of labor does. In symbiotic systems, there may be strong contrasts between the two modes, such that forager institutions promote redistribution, while farmer institutions commonly foster hoarding and greater ac­cumulation of material wealth. Therefore, in enmeshed farmer-forager settings, the layout of camps and villages should encourage open­ness and easy access to everyone and everything. In symbiotic settings, there should be contrasts in this regard between farming and foraging settlements. For­ager camps should emphasize openness and easy ac­cess, but at farming villages space should be more pri­vate, with access across the settlement more regulated. An example of what this means is found in the "so­cial permeability maps" developed by engineers to regu­late the flow of people in buildings during emergencies. BIOARCHAEOLOGY AND SEXUAL DIVISION OF LABOR IN PREHISTORIC UTAH 79 Table 5. Cortical Bone Index Data by Side and Age. Element Right Femur Left Femur Right Tibia Left Tibia Right Fibula Left Fibula Right Humerus Left Humerus Right Ulna Left Ulna Right Radius Left Radius 35 + (n) 0.25 ±0.04 (14) 0.26 ±0.03 (12) 0.17 ±0.05 (12) 0.18 ±0.04 (13) 0.21 ±0.10(5) 0.26 ± 0.04 (7) 0.16 ±0.06 (7) 0.17 ±0.04 (7) 0.26 ± 0.01 (2) 0.22 ± 0.08 (6) 0.24 ±0.04 (6) 0.19 ±0.07 (4) 18-34 (n) 0.26 ±0.02 (17) 0.24 ±0.03 (10) 0.18 ±0.03 (13) 0.19 ±0.06 (8) 0.26 ± 0.06 0.26 ± 0.06 0.18 ±0.03 0.21 ±0.03 0.31 ±0.10 0.27 ± 0.05 0.24 ± 0.03 0.25 ± 0.03 Significance .772 .106 .475 .593 .359 .942 .282 .035 .019 .270 .872 .126 Widlok (1999) for instance, presents contrasts of this sort between between HaiDom forager camps and Ovambo farmsteads in northern Namibia (Figure 5). He demonstrates that forager camps are often open, with all areas easily accessible, whereas farmsteads are more spatially regulated, preventing easy access to impor­tant areas. The spatial organization of some Fremont sites such as Five Finger Ridge (Talbot et al. 2000) and Baker Village (Wilde and Soper 1994) may represent settings with more private space, with little emphasis on openness and easy access. Perhaps in settings such as these, fre­quent cycling was not as common as elsewhere. While only a suggestion, the discussion here shows the po­tential of this line of research, and suggests some test­able hypotheses using an institutional approach to un­derstanding farmer-forager systems. CONCLUSIONS Great Basin anthropology has uncovered several biological indications of a sexual division of labor in which males appear more logistically active than fe­males. This pattern is common to hunter-gatherer soci­eties but contrasts with many farming societies across North America. This study finds that forager-like pat­terns of sex-based differences in logistic mobility are common across predominantly foraging as well as pre­dominantly farming contexts in the Great Salt Lake wet­lands, and in some other Fremont and Anasazi cases with residential farming bases in Utah. The implication of these findings is that an impor­tant economic institution, the sexual division of labor, remained consistent regardless of whether subsistence was weighted toward wild or agricultural foods. Tasks necessary to both farming and foraging appear to be integrated into existing patterns of labor and logistic mobility. This loosened the constraints on economic and residential cycling. It appears that individuals moved among these systems over the course of their lives. It also appears that task integration occurred across pub­lic and private roles, also loosening constraints on eco­nomic and residential cycling. These findings and their implications provoke ques­tions beyond the dialectic of wild versus agricultural 80 UTAH ARCHAEOLOGY 2002 subsistence bases, to focus more upon the social insti­tutions that may encourage or inhibit subsistence cy­cling and mixing in an economically and socially plastic environment. Acknowledgments. Cortical bone data were measured from radiographs for each individual in the sample. The GSL wet­lands radiograph sample were donated by the Western Sur­gery Center, Logan, Utah, and radiographic film was donated by the Eastman Kodak Company. The remaining radiographs were made available by the Utah Museum of Natural History, and I owe thanks to their staff for allowing access to them, especially Kathy Kankainen and Duncan Metcalfe. I also thank all those at Utah State University who permitted ac­cess to the wetlands skeletal series over many years. Jude Higgins drafted Figure 2, and Jennifer Graves assisted with Figure 3. 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