Postmarital residence analysis

Prehistoric postmarital residence analysis attempts to identify whether differential migration by sex has occurred within a single site based on information collected from adult skeletal remains. This chapter examines analyses based on phenotypic and genotypic information drawn from temporally diverse samples in prehistoric West Central Illinois in an attempt to detect shifts in prehistoric postmarital residence that may be tied to the transition to intensive maize agriculture. The chapter also addresses the advantages and limitations of different forms of skeletal-based information, types of modeling techniques, and statistical approaches grounded in population genetic principles. The results do support an argument for a shift from virilocality to uxorilocality in prehistoric West Central Illinois that appears to coincide with the adoption of intensive maize agriculture.