{"product_id":"the-gift-of-the-middle-tanana-dene-pre-colonial-history-in-the-alaskan-interior-9781793654762","title":"The Gift of the Middle Tanana: Dene Pre-Colonial","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Middle Tanana Valley in Alaska remains one of the most important regions of the continent for archaeological research. In The Gift of the Middle Tanana: Dene Pre-Colonial History in the Alaskan Interior, Gerad Smith explores the history, ethnography, and archaeological record of the Native people in this region during the late Holocene. Smith creates an interpretive framework informed by Alaskan Native traditions, focusing on traditional place names and the deep-play rituals of reciprocity. Smith sets forth the case that the local themes and oral traditions of the potlatch are better understood not as singular ceremonial events but as a mechanism of regional social cohesion that dictated everyday life. The Gift of the Middle Tanana illustrates how the role of reciprocal deep-play shaped a traditional society that has lasted over a thousand years.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eForeword by Charles E. Holmes\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIntroduction\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 1: The Middle Tanana People: Modern and Historical Identities\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 2: The Ethnographic Reconstruction of the Past: The Middle Tanana People and a Theory of Deep Reciprocity\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 3: Complexity and Optimality in the Archaeological Record\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 4: The Traditional Place Names and Language of the Middle Tanana Dene\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 5: Understanding Archaeological Research\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 6: The Holocene Environmental Context of the Middle Tanana\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 7: The Middle Tanana Dene and the Archaeological Traditions of the Taiga\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 8: Thinking About Raw Materials\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 9: Identifying Reciprocity and Meaning in the Material-Cultural Record\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfterword by Evelynn Combs\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lexington Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51042700067159,"sku":"9781793654762","price":82.8,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781793654762.jpg?v=1750955242","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-gift-of-the-middle-tanana-dene-pre-colonial-history-in-the-alaskan-interior-9781793654762","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}