Dissertation Research: Prehistoric Socio-Political Development and Wetland Agriculture in West Mexico

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Under the direction of Dr. James Schoenwetter, Mr Glen Stuart will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. The goal of his research is to gain insight into prehistoric Middle American agricultural techniques and to examine the relationship between the development of large scale agriculture and the emergence of complex societies. Investigation in many areas of Middle and South America has revealed the presence of `raised field` complexes. These are located almost exclusively in low-lying poorly drained areas and consist of rectilinear arrangements of raised earth separated by linear canals. These appear to be a widespread form of wetland control and modern experiments to reconstruct such fields indicate that they are capable of sustaining intensive planting. However archaeologists do not understand just what crops were planted on such fields and have not developed robust analytic techniques to provide such information. Prior research has indicated the presence of extensive wetland agricultural systems in the Jalisco region of West Mexico. Through a program of field studies of these system's remnants and laboratory studies of radiocarbon, ceramics and pollen obtained during the course of fieldwork, Mr. Stuart will accomplish several goals. First he will gain insight into the relationship between wetland agricultural intensification and socio-political and economic development. Through study of fossil pollen he will elucidate the types of crops grown and how these may have changed through time. He will also develop a method to recognize the palynological signature of wetland agricultural systems. Archaeologists wish to understand how complex societies and civilizations arise. Central to the integration of large numbers of people is some form of hierarchical control and it is unclear what processes led to the development of social inequality. One influential idea ties this to the development of irrigation systems which are both central to survival in arid and semi-arid environments and which require some kind of centralized management to distribute water, an essential limited resource. In many Middle American environments prehispanic states arose and because this process occurred in wetland environments where irrigation is not necessary, the irrigation hypothesis does not hold. Archaeologists however have noted other types of large field systems and wish to know whether these played a causative role. Mr Stuart's research will address this question. This project is important for several reasons. It will provide data of interest to many archaeologists and help to develop a methodological tool of great potential use. It will also assist in training a promising young scientist.