Dissertation Research: Archaeological Settlement Patterns of the Sola Valley, Oaxaca, Mexico

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Feinman Under the direction of Dr. Gary Feinman, Mr Andrew Balkansky will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. He will conduct an archaeological survey of the Sola Valley which is located in Oaxaca Mexico. While very little work has been done in the region, it is known to contain several large sites which include mounded architecture and carved stelae. Mr. Balkansky and assistants will aim for 100% coverage of the valley floor. All sites will be located and surface artifacts such as ceramics and stone tools will be recovered. On this basis it will be possible to reconstruct the population history of the valley and determine how settlement and political organization changed over time. The Oaxaca region is important to archaeologists because of the prehistoric state which was centered at Monte Alban and which arose there. Archaeologists wish to understand how complex societies arise and through extensive research at the Monte Alban site it is now possible to trace the development at this core in some detail. However it is also necessary to understand how this state expanded and to do this one must look at peripheral areas such as the Sola Valley. The research which Mr. Balkansky will conduct will shed new light on the process of state formation and the strategies employed for state expansion and incorporation of new regions. This research is important for several reasons. It will shed new light on the rise of complex societies. It will provide data of interest to many archaeologists and assist in the training of a promising young scientist.