Theories of human migration have been invoked to account for the difference between large-scale spread of languages and linguistic elements, as opposed to small-scale local, residual distributions. The field of dialectology understands linguistic elements as distributed across human populations, with migration as only one possible mechanism of such distributions. Anthropological dialectology, grounded in the material circumstances of human populations, can offer an alternative to migration theories. The inherent variability of languages yields tokens that speakers can deploy to make claims on resources, and differentiate localist from distributed sociolinguistic stances toward this variability. People with secure primary claims on essential resources are more likely to favor localist stances, while people who lack adequate primary claims and draw instead on a diverse range of secondary or indirect claims are more likely to favor distributed stances. Distributed stances encourage the spread of sociolinguistic variables, while localist stances inhibit spread. The stances and their effects on distribution of language variation are illustrated by a study of two dialects of the Tohono O Odham (Papago) language. Contains 31 references. (Author)