Dissertation Research: Pre-hispanic Argentinian Settlement Patterns

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9312006 Earle Under the direction of Dr. Timothy Earle, Ms. Elizabeth DeMarrias will collect data for her doctoral dissertation. She will conduct archaeological research in the Calchaqui valley which lies on the eastern slopes of the Andes in northwest Argentina. This location was selected for several reasons. First Ms. DeMarrias can coordinate her work with other U.S. researchers who are currently present in the area. Of greater importance however is that fact that this well defined geographical entity contains an archaeological sequence which begins approximately 6,000 years ago and extends up through late Inka times to the appearance of the Spanish. The region documents therefore the shift from hunting and gathering to agriculture and the change from small mobile human grouping to larger more highly organized entities which were incorporated into a state society. Ms. DeMarrias is interested in the latter portion of the sequence and wants to determine how social stratification and centralization of political power took place. To do this, she will survey broadly within the region. Following an initial reconnaissance, she and her colleagues will note all sites which fall within selected sample areas. Surface materials such as pottery and stone tools will be collected and architectural and agricultural features such as irrigation canals mapped. With these data Ms. DeMarrais will be able to reconstruct changing group size and organization over time. While archaeologists recognize that the general picture observed in the Calchaqui is repeated in many parts of the world and that with the adoption of agriculture groups become sedentary and increase in size and organizational complexity, the mechanisms by which these changes take place are not well understood. In particular it is not clear how authority becomes concentrated in the hands of limited numbers of individuals. By examining the development of centralization such as public works and by focussing on evidence of inequality as reflected in differential distribution of metals and other valuable goods, Ms. DeMarrais hopes to gain insight into this process. This research is important for several reasons. It will provide data of interest to many archaeologists. It will shed new light on the process which leads to social complexity and finally it will assist in the training of a promising young scientist. ***