Brian Hayden's archaeological case study addresses the development of prehistoric and social and economic hierarchies. This archaeology project encompasses a fascinating range of topics making it an ideal case study for all students of archaeology. It also includes a vivid reconstruction of life in one of the largest and most complex Platean communities.

The Pithouses of Keatley Creek

Literature & Fiction

Hayden, Brian

History & Criticism

Harcourt College Pub.

Archaeology: The Science of Once and Future Things

Hayden introduces general readers to the real work of this captivating science, describes basic concepts and tools, and answers the questions that archaeology seeks to resolve: how did complex societies evolve? What caused them to change and collapse? What can our understanding of the past tell us about our society and its future? Illustrations.

Politics & Social Sciences

Archaeology

W.H.Freeman & Co.

Brian Hayden offers a fresh approach to the study of archaeology at an introductory level. In archaeology he sets out a  broad overview of the subject emphasizing the most interesting problems and conclusions. His approach is to shows how the world works from an archaeological perspective. He teaches students how to develop the conceptual tools of archaeology, how to examine the many specific eras in prehistory and sites to demonstrate how archaeologists draw conclusions, find answers and interpret the findings in their fieldwork. He believes this will stimulate their interest and provide the springboard for further study. archaeology is a gentle introduction to the often intimidating topics of science and theory, which are both approachable and enjoyable.;"Archaeology.  The Science of Once and Future Things is an innovative, stimulating introduction to archaeology. It should be the perfect complement to any of the standard texts currently available and is eminently suitable for introductory college courses. It is also an ideal book to recommend to the lay person who is interested in learning @e about the nature of archaeology research.

Feasting has long played a crucial role in the social, political, and economic dynamics of village life. It is far more than a gustatory and social diversion from daily work routines: alliances are brokered by feasts; debts are created and political battles waged. Feasts create enormous pressure to increase the production of food and prestige items in order to achieve the social and political goals of their promoters. In fact, Brian Hayden argues, the domestication of plants and animals likely resulted from such feasting pressures. Feasting has been one of the most important forces behind cultural change since the end of the Paleolithic era. 
Feasting in Southeast Asia documents the dynamics of traditional feasting and the ways in which a bewildering array of different types of feasts benefits hosts. Hayden argues that people’s ability to marry, reproduce, defend themselves against threats and attacks, and protect their interests in village politics all depend on their ability to engage in feasting networks. To be excluded from such networks means to be subject to attack by social predators, perhaps even leading to enslavement. As an archaeologist, Hayden pays specific attention to the materials involved in feasting and how feasting might be identified and interpreted from archaeological remains. His conclusions are based on his own ethnographic field studies in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Indonesia, as well as a comparative overview of the regional literature on feasting. Hayden gives particular attention to the longhouses of Vietnam, an unusual but important social unit that hosts feasts, in an attempt to understand why they became established.
This unique volume is the culmination of fifteen years of fieldwork among tribal groups in Southeast Asia. Until now no one has examined feasting as a general phenomenon in Southeast Asia or tried to synthesize its underlying dynamics from a theoretical perspective. The book will be of interest to cultural anthropologists, archaeologists, historians, and others involved in food studies.

Feasting in Southeast Asia

History

Asia

University of Hawaii Press

Feasting has long played a crucial role in the social, political, and economic dynamics of village life. It is far more than a gustatory and social diversion from daily work routines: alliances are brokered by feasts; debts are created and political battles waged. Feasts create enormous pressure to increase the production of food and prestige items in order to achieve the social and political goals of their promoters. In fact, Brian Hayden argues, the domestication of plants and animals likely resulted from such feasting pressures. Feasting has been one of the most important forces behind cultural change since the end of the Paleolithic era. Feasting in Southeast Asia documents the dynamics of traditional feasting and the ways in which a bewildering array of different types of feasts benefits hosts. Hayden argues that people’s ability to marry, reproduce, defend themselves against threats and attacks, and protect their interests in village politics all depend on their ability to engage in feasting networks. To be excluded from such networks means to be subject to attack by social predators, perhaps even leading to enslavement. As an archaeologist, Hayden pays specific attention to the materials involved in feasting and how feasting might be identified and interpreted from archaeological remains. His conclusions are based on his own ethnographic field studies in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Indonesia, as well as a comparative overview of the regional literature on feasting. Hayden gives particular attention to the longhouses of Vietnam, an unusual but important social unit that hosts feasts, in an attempt to understand why they became established. This unique volume is the culmination of fifteen years of fieldwork among tribal groups in Southeast Asia. Until now no one has examined feasting as a general phenomenon in Southeast Asia or tried to synthesize its underlying dynamics from a theoretical perspective. The book will be of interest to cultural anthropologists, archaeologists, historians, and others involved in food studies.

Structure of Material Systems: Ethnoarchaeology in Maya Highlands

Cannon, Aubrey

Society Amer Archaeology

The Power of Feasts: From Prehistory To The Present

In this book, Brian Hayden provides the first comprehensive, theoretical work on the history of feasting in pre-industrial societies. As an important barometer of cultural change, feasting is at the forefront of theoretical developments in archaeology. The Power of Feasts chronicles the evolution of the practice from its first perceptible prehistoric presence to modern industrial times. This study explores recurring patterns in the dynamics of feasts as well as linkages to other aspects of culture such as food, personhood, cognition, power, politics, and economics. Analyzing detailed ethnographic and archaeological observations from a wide variety of cultures, including Oceania and Southeast Asia, the Americas, and Eurasia, Hayden illuminates the role of feasts as an invaluable insight into the social and political structures of past societies.

The Power of Feasts: From Prehistory to the Present

Historical Study & Educational Resources

Cambridge University Press

In this book, Brian Hayden provides the first comprehensive, theoretical work on the history of feasting in pre-industrial societies. As an important barometer of cultural change, feasting is at the forefront of theoretical developments in archaeology. The Power of Feasts chronicles the evolution of the practice from its first perceptible prehistoric presence to modern industrial times. This study explores recurring patterns in the dynamics of feasts as well as linkages to other aspects of culture such as food, personhood, cognition, power, politics, and economics. Analyzing detailed ethnographic and archaeological observations from a wide variety of cultures, including Oceania and Southeast Asia, the Americas, and Eurasia, Hayden illuminates the role of feasts as an invaluable insight into the social and political structures of past societies.

The Power of Ritual in Prehistory is the first book in nearly a century to deal with traditional secret societies from a comparative perspective and the first from an archaeological viewpoint. Providing a clear definition, as well as the material signatures, of ethnographic secret societies, Brian Hayden demonstrates how they worked, what motivated their organizers, and what tactics they used to obtain what they wanted. He shows that far from working for the welfare of their communities, traditional secret societies emerged as predatory organizations operated for the benefit of their own members. Moreover, and contrary to the prevailing ideas that prehistoric rituals were used to integrate communities, Hayden demonstrates how traditional secret societies created divisiveness and inequalities. They were one of the key tools for increasing political control leading to chiefdoms, states, and world religions. Hayden's conclusions will be eye-opening, not only for archaeologists, but also for anthropologists, political scientists, and scholars of religion.

The Power of Ritual in Prehistory: Secret Societies and Origins of Social Complexity

The Power of Ritual In Prehistory

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hayden, Brian. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Hayden, Brian

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hayden, Brian. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Pithouses of Keatley Creek

Archaeology: The Science of Once and Future Things

Archaeology

Feasting in Southeast Asia

Feasting in Southeast Asia

Structure of Material Systems: Ethnoarchaeology in Maya Highlands

The Power of Feasts: From Prehistory to the Present

The Power of Feasts: From Prehistory To The Present

The Power of Ritual in Prehistory: Secret Societies and Origins of Social Complexity

The Power of Ritual In Prehistory