Editing Community (section)

===Archaeology===
[[Archaeology|Archaeological studies]] of social communities use the term "community" in two ways, mirroring usage in other areas. The first meaning is an informal definition of community as a place where people used to live. In this literal sense it is synonymous with the concept of an ancient [[Human settlement|settlement]]—whether a [[hamlet (place)|hamlet]], [[village]], [[town]], or [[city]]. The second meaning resembles the usage of the term in other [[social sciences]]: a community is a group of people living near one another who interact socially. [[Social interaction]] on a small scale can be difficult to identify with archaeological data. Most reconstructions of social communities by archaeologists rely on the principle that social interaction in the past was conditioned by physical distance. Therefore, a small village settlement likely constituted a social community and spatial subdivisions of cities and other large settlements may have formed communities. [[Archaeology|Archaeologists]] typically use similarities in [[material culture]]—from house types to styles of pottery—to reconstruct communities in the past. This classification method relies on the assumption that people or households will share more similarities in the types and styles of their material goods with other members of a social community than they will with outsiders.<ref>Canuto, Marcello A. and Jason Yaeger (editors) (2000) ''The Archaeology of Communities''. Routledge, New York. Hegmon, Michelle (2002) Concepts of Community in Archaeological Research. In ''Seeking the Center: Archaeology and Ancient Communities in the Mesa Verde Region,'' edited by Mark D. Varien and Richard H. Wilshusen, pp. 263–279. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.</ref>