Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Political Economy and the Development of Chiefly Societies from the Rio Parita Area in the Central Region of Panama

University Of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA

Investigators

Abstract

Under the direction of Dr. Robert Drennan, Mr. Mikael Haller will collect data for his doctoral dissertation in Central Panama. He will conduct archaeological investigations at the regional level by examining settlement occupation over a 4000 year period up to Spanish contact in the 16th century. Central Panama is an ideal area to investigate the development of chiefdoms since there is both archaeological and historical data relating to the region which can be used to test against current models for the development of chiefly societies. On the one hand, anthropologists have argued that long-distance exchange of esoteric knowledge was critical for establishing political power, as opposed to economic gain. In contrast others claim that chiefly control of local resources was the main factor. A third model, focusing on warfare as the key factor in the development of chiefdoms from autonomous societies, derives from a comparison of tribal and chiefly societies in South America and Panama. In evaluating these models, Mr. Haller will use survey data in determining the relative importance of five factors that combined include the major components of the three models: control of agricultural land, population growth, local exchange and craft production, long-distance exchange, and warfare. Despite recent archaeological work concerning important sociopolitical issues, there is still relatively little information about the geography, economy and development of Panamanian chiefdoms and various hypotheses remain unsubstantiated by the archaeological record. Clearly, using Panamanian chiefdoms as models for archaeological reconstruction of other cases and for comparative studies requires a better understanding of their emergence and development prior to the sixteenth-century, as well as the nature of the archaeological record at the time of contact. This research project addresses concerns similar to those of regional specialists working around the world on the formation of complex societies since an underlying goal is to determine the relative importance demographic stress, economic specialization, control of agricultural production, and local exchange in this process. This research project will add to current understanding of regional processes through an examination of the development of Panamanian chiefdoms and it will provide a specific case for comparative studies of sociopolitical organization. Therefore, this project has the potential to address several important lines of anthropological inquiry. Foremost is the contribution this research will make to the study of the development of complex societies. In addition, it will contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between archaeological and ethnohistorical accounts-crucial in reconstructing and interpreting prehistoric societies. On a general anthropological level, data from this research can be used in understanding the relationship between social complexity and population pressure, warfare, and control of economic resources. It will also assist in training a promising young scientist.