Vanishing River Volume 4: Chapter 15: Re-Thinking the Core-Periphery Model of the Pre-Classic Period Hohokam

In Chapter 15, Whittlesey reviews the Hohokam core-periphery model in light of the new data generated by the LVAP. She begins with a description of the intellectual history and the key concepts of the Hohokam core-periphery model and the Hohokam regional system model. She then examines the utility of the core-periphery model for explaining current data on Hohokam prehistory. After reviewing the distribution of several quintessential Hohokam traits among sites in the “core” and in the “periphery”, Whittlesey concludes that the model no longer explains the known variability. She proposes that there is considerable diversity among and within these so-called peripheries. Whittlesey briefly examines individual social processes and their distribution across a Hohokam landscape towards constructing a more useful model for prehistoric social interaction in central and southern Arizona.