Large‐scale integrative facilities in tribal societies: Cross‐cultural and southwestern US examples

This paper combines both ethnographic and archaeological data in an examination of the construction and use of monumental architecture in formative cultures. We propose that our current archaeological interpretations of the evolution and function of large‐scale social integrative facilities, i.e. monuments, should be informed by a broader understanding of the organizational role played by social integrative facilities in modern as well as prehistoric societies. With this information it is possible to re‐examine the massive prehistoric structures known as ‘great kivas’ in the American southwest. The construction and use of early great kivas are proposed to be most similar to the large‐scale, specialized ritual facilities documented in the ethnographic record.