Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: El Cholo: A Case Study Evaluating Site Variability and Social Organization in the Upper General Valley, Costa Rica

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Under the direction of Dr. Garth L. Bawden, Roberto A. Herrera will conduct extensive surface and sub-surface investigations at El Cholo, one of several Formative Period, Aguas Buenas phase (300BC-AD800) mound sites in the Diquis region of Southern Costa Rica. El Cholo, located within a region commonly known as the Intermediate Area, represents a unique opportunity to investigate what is understood to be a poorly defined archaeological region. The area has posed an interesting problem since the beginning of investigations in the 19th century, presenting distinctive variation when compared against generally accepted Mesoamerican and South American models of cultural evolution and social complexity. Whereas areas such as the Valley of Mexico and the Andes saw the rise of state-level societies, the Intermediate Area maintained stable, middle-range levels of social complexity, ostensibly from the Formative period up to European contact. It is the duration of this relative stability that is interesting when compared to extant models of social evolution. The investigation of El Cholo will explore a component of this larger question by examining previous hypotheses which propose that the emergence of monumental architecture (i.e. cobble platform mounds) results from the rise of incipient chiefs and specialists who begin the process of consolidating power through socio-ritual and economic means. In light of recent research, Mr. Herrera proposes that these platforms could also be produced through community level labor organized along corporate lines rather than established hierarchical chiefdoms. Anthropologically, the area and the case site embody an underutilized data sample that can be used to explore vital questions regarding the development of social complexity and inequality.In addition to the contribution that Mr. Herrera's research will have within the anthropological and academic community, the project will be able to provide an opportunity for outreach to local communities by engaging the local population and promoting a sense of stewardship in the national patrimony, promoting interest in what is increasingly an endangered cultural resource. Herrera's work will not only be made available to the academic community but also disseminated in local Costa Rican public forums as well as in public outreach lectures.