Hunter-gatherer societies held sway in midwestern North America for at least 11,000 years. Those at the end of this period were more complex and less mobile, and they supported larger populations than those at the beginning, but there are relatively few general conceptions as to when and how this took place. Here we examine the fit of gradual, one-way social change as it relates to the size and shape of lithic supply zones for Upper Mercer and Flint Ridge flint as well as the inflow of exotic materials. Our results show no singular cline either in the size of successive lithic supply zones or in the inflow of exotic materials. Hunter-gatherer societies can make remarkable behavioral changes through time and not necessarily in any consistent (unilineal) direction. Such differences impose more contingency—and less directionality—into particular historical sequences.

中文翻译：

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Hunter-Gatherer 的流动性和多功能性：对中西部长期石料供应的考虑

狩猎采集者社会在北美洲中西部占据主导地位至少 11,000 年。这一时期结束时的那些更复杂，流动性更小，它们支持的人口比开始时更多，但关于何时以及如何发生的一般概念相对较少。在这里，我们研究了渐进式单向社会变革的契合度，因为它与上默瑟和弗林特岭燧石的石料供应区的大小和形状以及外来材料的流入有关。我们的结果表明，无论是在连续的岩屑供应区的大小还是在外来材料的流入方面，都没有单一的倾斜。狩猎采集社会可以随着时间的推移做出显着的行为改变，而且不一定是在任何一致（单线）方向上。