Doctoral Dissertation Research: A View from Afar: Elite Residences, Teotihuacan Interaction, and the Early Classic Period in the Lower Rio Verde Valley, Oaxaca

University Of Colorado At Boulder, Boulder CO

Investigators

Abstract

This project will explore how ancient elites in the lower Rio Verde valley, Oaxaca, Mexico, interacted with the Central Mexican state of Teotihuacan during the Early Classic Period (AD 250 to 500) . Archaeological research by Dr. Arthur Joyce has shown that, by the Terminal Formative Period (100 BC to AD 250), a state polity had developed in the lower Rio Verde valley (LRVV). The polity's center lay at the 200 hectare (500 acre) city of Rio Viejo. The Rio Viejo city-state suddenly declined in the Early Classic Period, as evidenced by disuse of public spaces such as temples, a decrease in the population and size of the city, and the development of communities in defensible locations. Concomitant with these events, lower Rio Verde valley residents began using imported volcanic glass (obsidian) from mines at Pachuca, located over 400 miles away, just beyond the massive ancient city of Teotihuacan. Other objects with clear stylistic or manufacture connections to Teotihuacan, such as ceramic funerary vessels, also appear in the lower Rio Verde valley's Early Classic archaeological record. These changes in Early Classic Period lower Rio Verde valley material remains clearly indicate new political and economic ties between the Oaxaca coast and the bourgeoning Teotihuacan polity. The character of these ties, however, remains difficult to ascertain given currently available data. It is the objective of this research project to fill the existing data gap on this time period in the Rio Verde valley and allow for a more complete understanding of the relationship between the two regions. Exploration of the relationship between the LRVV and Teotihuacan will be done through archaeological excavation of elite residences, an often overlooked source of information on ancient political and economic exchange practices. I will then compare the archaeological data against four models that predict how material culture might have changed at elite residences with the establishment of interaction between the LRVV and Teotihuacan. Using a suite of seven material culture categories-such as ceramic serving vessels and burial style-I have attempted to determine how different types of relationship with Teotihuacan would have impacted elite residences. After excavation, I will compare patterns in excavated materials with patterns predicted in the models. The closest "fit" between excavated materials and one of the four models should serve to identify what type of relationship existed between Teotihuacan and the lower Rio Verde valley. This project will offer key data on ancient political and economic relations, especially in relation to the Teotihuacan, as well as developing a methodological approach distinct from that used in most research on this topic. It will also assist in training a promising young scientist.