Craft Production and Sociopolitical Hierarchy in Southern Mesoamerica

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With National Science Foundation (NSF) support, Drs. Edward Schortman, Patricia Urban and their colleagues have conducted archaeological survey and excavation in the Naco Valley in Honduras. This work has revealed the presence of a complex prehistoric polity which flourished during the first millennium A.D. The central site of La Sierra contains large numbers of both monumental platforms as well as smaller constructions. The surrounding region also has many of sites, all significantly smaller than La Sierra itself. This suggests that La Sierra represents the capital of a state level polity which encompasses the entire Naco valley and possibly extends beyond these physiographic limits. Continuing NSF support will permit the team to analyze the wide range of materials recovered. The goal is to examine the floral and faunal remains, the ceramic and other cultural objects as well as other skeletal material to gain insight into the political mechanisms which permitted stratification and centralization to develop. The investigators believe that the economic system was controlled by the elite and organized in such a way to maintain this domination. This, it appears, extended both to local craft production as well as importation of specialized commodities. The research is important for several reasons. First, it will increase our understanding of how complex societies develop, are maintained and eventually collapse. The project will also provide data from a relatively unknown area and these will be of interest to a large number of archaeologists. Finally, because the research is based at an undergraduate institution and students will be taken into the field, it will provide a firsthand introduction to how science is conducted and hopefully encourage these individuals to pursue careers in this area.