Socio-political Complexity, Interaction, and Community Ritual at Formative Etlatongo, Oaxaca, Mexico

复杂社会的起源--从平等主义到早期等级（或酋长领地）社会的转变--是社会科学家探索的一个根本性转变。由于其历时性，考古学特别适合探索复杂社会中权力和地位关系的巨大变化。在古代墨西哥，社会政治复杂的社会首次出现在公元前1500年至850年之间。实质性的辩论集中在政治一体化的作用，在国内经济的差异和获得异国情调的材料，区域间的互动，和公共仪式在这一重大的社会转型。为了促进这一辩论，Blomster博士将在墨西哥瓦哈卡的Mixteca阿尔塔的Etlatongo的Nochixtlán山谷遗址进行考古研究。他的研究将探索早期排名社会的出现和动态，通过考古相关的变化，包括：家庭聚集，建筑，工艺生产，社区仪式，获得异国情调的商品，以及区域间的互动。米斯特卡的特点是在社会政治复杂性和区域间互动方面比附近的瓦哈卡山谷的同时代人表现出更少的早熟发展，这提供了大量的比较数据。通过在Etlatongo三年的挖掘和实验室分析，研究人员将产生多行数据来探索Nochixtlán山谷早期社会的出现和动态。研究人员的假设是，大约在公元前1150年，由于公共仪式的发展和通过区域间互动更容易获得异国情调的符号和材料，埃特拉通戈迅速发展成为一个大中心。他将通过两个主要的人类学问题来探讨这一中心假设。第一个问题是：大约在公元前1150年，埃特拉通戈是否已经成为一个等级社会，可以与同时代瓦哈卡山谷的圣何塞莫戈特的主要中心相媲美？这个问题将通过探索家庭建筑，手工艺活动，物质文化和参与盛宴的比较差异来评估。第二个问题是：如果存在的话，在Etlatongo出现社会政治复杂性的关键因素是什么？这个问题将通过分析公共空间，仪式和区域间的互动（包括与墨西哥湾沿岸的奥尔梅克），以确定他们是否与新生的领导人在空间上和通过他们的限制访问仪式用具和/或异国情调的材料。通过记录Etlatongo的早期政治历史，这项研究将通过提高对Mixtecs对当地和国家文化遗产的独特贡献的认识而产生更广泛的影响。根据当地利益攸关方的利益，Blomster博士将在发展项目中进行合作，包括在Etlatongo建立一个拟议的社区博物馆。研究结果将通过一个英文/西班牙文双语项目网站向公众传播。该项目还将培训来自墨西哥和美国的学生，促进国际合作，并将产生论文和论文项目。

The origin of complex societies--the change from egalitarian to early ranked (or chiefdom level) societies-- is a fundamental transformation explored by social scientists. Due to its diachronic nature, archaeology is particularly well suited to explore the dramatic changes in power and status relationships attendant with complex societies. In ancient Mexico, socio-politically complex societies first appear between 1500 and 850 BC. Substantial debate has centered on the role of political integration, differences in domestic economies and access to exotic materials, interregional interaction, and public ceremony in this major social transition. In order to contribute to this debate, Dr. Blomster will conduct archaeological research at the Nochixtlán Valley site of Etlatongo, in the Mixteca Alta of Oaxaca, Mexico. His research will explore the emergence and dynamics of early ranked society through variation in archaeological correlates including: household assemblages, architecture, craft production, community ritual, access to exotic goods, and interregional interaction. The Mixteca has been characterized as exhibiting less precocious developments in socio-political complexity and interregional interaction than their contemporaries in the nearby Valley of Oaxaca, which provides substantial comparative data.Through three years of excavation and laboratory analyses at Etlatongo, the researcher will generate multiple lines of data to explore the emergence and dynamics of early ranked society in the Nochixtlán Valley. The researcher's hypothesis is that Etlatongo developed rapidly into a large center circa 1150 BC due to the confluence of the development of public ritual and greater access to exotic symbols and materials through interregional interaction. He will explore this central hypothesis through two main anthropological questions. The first question is: did Etlatongo, circa 1150 BC, become a ranked society, comparable to the similarly-sized contemporaneous chiefly center of San José Mogote in the Valley of Oaxaca? This issue will be assessed by exploring comparative differences in household architecture, crafting activities, material culture, and participation in feasting. The second question is: if present, what were the key factors in the emergence of socio-political complexity at Etlatongo? This issue will be examined through analysis of public space, ritual, and interregional interaction (including with the Olmec of Mexico's Gulf Coast), to determine if they are associated with nascent leaders both spatially and through their restricted access to ritual paraphernalia and/or exotic materials. By documenting Etlatongo's early political history, this research will have a broader impact by increasing awareness of Mixtecs' unique contributions to local and national cultural heritage. Based on the interests of local stakeholders, Dr. Blomster will collaborate in development projects, including a proposed community museum at Etlatongo. Research results will be disseminated to the public through a bilingual English/Spanish project website. The project will also train students from both Mexico and the United States, promoting international collaboration, and will generate dissertation and thesis projects.