Agent of Change

Barbara Roth is Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Her recent research has focused on changes in household and community organization that occur as groups become more sedentary and dependent on agriculture and move from pithouses to pueblos in the Mimbres Mogollon region of southwestern New Mexico.

• List of IllustrationsIntroduction: The Deposition and Manipulation of Ash in the PastE. Charles Adams and Barbara J. RothPart I: Ash as a Transformative AgentChapter 1. The Ritual Closing of Domestic Structures in the Mimbres Mogollon RegionBarbara J. RothChapter 2. Complex Closure Practices Involving Ash at a Small Pueblo in Northeastern ArizonaE. Charles AdamsChapter 3. Sequencing Termination Events: Preparing Hearths for the Ritual Decommissioning of Ancestral Pueblo Pit Structures in the Northern U.S. SouthwestSusan C. RyanChapter 4. Symbolic Associations: Assessing the Co-occurrence of Turquoise and Ash in the Ancient U.S. SouthwestSamantha G. Fladd, Saul L. Hedquist, E. Charles Adams, and Stewart B. KoyiyumptewaChapter 5. Fire, Ash and Sanctuary: Pyrotechnology as Protection in the Pre-Colonial Northern Rio GrandeMichael A. AdlerChapter 6. Burned Roofs and Cultural Traditions: Renewing and Closing Houses in the Ancient Villages of the Middle Fraser Canyon, British ColumbiaAnna Marie Prentiss, Alysha Edwards, Ashley Hampton, Ethan Ryan, Kathryn Bobolinski, and Emma VanceChapter 7. Agentive Ash and Dispersed Power in the Cahokia Mississippian WorldMelissa R. Baltus and Sarah E. BairesChapter 8. Townhouses, Hearths, Fire, Smoke, Ash, and Cherokee Towns in Western North CarolinaChristopher B. RodningChapter 9. Ash as an Agent of Transformation in Iroquoian SocietyWilliam FoxPart II: Ash and RitualChapter 10. Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust in Caddoan Mortuary RitualMarvin KayChapter 11. Ashes for FertilityCheryl ClaassenChapter 12. Ashes, Arrows, and SorcerersWilliam H. Walker and Judy BerrymanChapter 13. Divine Food and Fiery Covenants: The Significance of Ash in Ancient Maya ReligionJames L. FitzsimmonsAfterwordTammy Stone

“This volume is an outstanding contribution to North American anthropology and archaeology, and an excellent starting point for research into related topics here and elsewhere…[It] is a fantastic resource for those investigating ash and all its related processes and concepts.” • Anthropos“The combination of solid methodology and sophisticated theory places the works in this volume within the broader movement of understanding social action and meaning in archaeology and provide a path researchers can follow in other areas as research in this area continues in the future.”
 From the Afterword, Tammy Stone, University of Colorado, Denver