Dissertation Research: Changing Bases of Power: The Transition from Regional Classic to Recent in the Alto Magdalena (Colombia)

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Under the supervision of Dr. Robert D. Drennan, doctoral candidate Francisco Romano will conduct archaeological excavations in the central community of Mesitas, at San Agustín, in the Alto Magdalena region of Colombia. The aim of the proposed research is to evaluate whether the central basis of power in this chiefly community shifted from religion and ideology during the Regional Classic period (AD 1-900) to rely more on economic control during the Recent period (AD. 900-1530) as has recently been proposed.Institutionalized social hierarchy has emerged and developed in many parts of the world and at different times in the past, taking a variety of different forms in the process. The kinds of asymmetrical relationships that comprise a hierarchy are the basis of much of the social organization in which the world's population lives today. The contrast between ideological and economic bases of power in social hierarchies has attracted much attention in attempts to understand the social dynamics of early hierarchical societies. In the competition for authority and power, economic control has often been accorded the position of greatest potential for development, while ideology has been regarded as a less promising base of social power. Scholars who broadly agree that economic bases of power are the most potent do, however, differ in their notions of just how far the development of large-scale, stable, centralized political systems can proceed with social power based primarily in the realm of religion and ideology. The proposed study deals with the interplay between ideology and economics in the transition from the Regional Classic period to the Recent period in the Alto Magdalena. It is based on previous research in the Mesitas community which documents very little productive specialization or economic differentiation in Regional Classic times. Mr. Romano will build on these previous results by carrying out magnetometer survey and extensive excavations in a sample of Recent period households selected so as to maximize the possibility that both very low ranking households and very high ranking households will be represented. A fair amount of household information is already available for the Formative and Regional Classic periods, and the proposed research will complement this knowledge with similar information for the less-known Recent period. It will then be possible to compare the Regional Classic and Recent periods in regard to the nature and extent of the differences that separate households at the top of the social hierarchy from those at the bottom. Mesitas represents an ideal location to investigate these changes at the household level because it was the largest and most aggregated central community of all Alto Magdalena chiefdoms. This project will also have broader impacts. It will make a vital contribution to the training of the doctoral candidate. It will provide opportunities for students from Colombian and US universities to gain experience in archaeological fieldwork and laboratory analysis. And it will take advantage of the opportunity for outreach to residents of the region, enhancing public appreciation of science and the protection of the region's cultural heritage.