Dissertation Research on the Evolution of Sociopolitical Complexity in Pacific Nicaragua

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

This Science in Developing Countries Program award will support Silvia Salgado Gonzalez to carry out dissertation research on the nature and evolution of sociopolitical complexity among precolumbian groups of Pacific Nicaragua. Ethnohistorical sources suggest that the sociopolitical organization of the area corresponded to complex chiefdoms, but the archaeological data to explain the evolution and operation of these politics is lacking. The project will provide new data on one of the most poorly- known areas in Central America and, more importantly, it will contribute to the ongoing debate on the nature of the evolution of complexity in Southeastern Mesoamerica and Lower Central America. This is a cooperative project between SUNY-Albany, and the National Museum and the Patrimonio Historico of Nicaragua. It will provide training in field and laboratory archaeological methods and techniques to Nicaraguan students, enlarge the archaeological program of the Nicaraguan institutions involved, and expand the research interests of the Department of Anthropology and the Institute of Mesoamerican Studies at SUNY. ***//