| The gradual shift from single-family pithouses to large, multi-segmented longhouses has been demonstrated in the archaeological record of the Maritime Archaic (ca. 8000-3200 BP) of central and northern Labrador. However, little systematic research has been conducted on why such a change in residential architecture and social organization occurred. This study examines that change at a high resolution through the excavation of Maritime Archaic houses at each end of their residential spectrum---two pithouses and a single longhouse---and places it within the larger social context of the Maritime Archaic tradition.;Several hypotheses have been posited to explain the change in house forms throughout the Maritime Archaic period, including increased social complexity, changes in subsistence-settlement strategies, and a shift to logistical mobility. This dissertation evaluates those hypotheses and suggests several more that better explain the reasons behind why Maritime Archaic people began to co-reside rather than maintain their own separate houses. It concludes that increased social complexity is not evident in the archaeological record of the Maritime Archaic of northern Labrador and, therefore, does not explain the change to longhouses. Multiple influences must have led to the reorganization of that society, including conservation of material, the importance of boats, and enforced egalitarianism. More broadly, this research finds that larger structures in prehistoric hunter-gatherer societies do not necessarily result from increased social complexity, and their study should not be based on that assumption and must be demonstrated through systematic research. |
