Moieties in prehistory: A case study from the Pueblo southwest

Identifying moiety systems and inferring their functions using archaeological data is addressed. First, historical Pueblo moiety systems are discussed with attention to how these systems are indicated materially, through architecture. Second, the case for a moiety system at Turkey Creek Pueblo, a large 13th-century site in Arizona, is presented. The architectural data suggest that two groups of earlier, small villages aggregated here and maintained the physical separation of their two sets of domestic structures. They built a single Great Kiva with two attached moiety houses. It is suggested that this prehistoric moiety system functioned ceremonially and politically to manage a newly enlarged population without relinquishment of a consensual system of decision making.