Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Role of Craft Specialization in the Development of the Chiefly Center of He-4, Central Panama

University Of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA

Investigators

Abstract

With support from the National Science Foundation and under the supervision of Dr. Robert D. Drennan, doctoral candidate Adam Menzies will conduct one field season of archaeological research in the Rio Parita Valley of Central Pacific Panama. The central objective of this research is to evaluate the importance of the production of craft goods in the emergence of chiefdoms at the site of He-4 (El Hatillo) some time between A.D. 550-750. At the time of the Spanish Conquest, the indigenous societies of Panama were strongly stratified, but there is considerable debate with respect to the means by which this elaborate social hierarchy emerged and developed. On one hand scholars have argued that the control over economic resources and the production of finished goods critical to basic subsistence pursuits was of primary importance to the establishment and maintenance of social hierarchies. An opposing perspective sees this transition as a consequence of elites attempting to gain increased social status largely through political and religious means with little real economic control. The research questions for this project require a focus on households and residential areas across He-4 in order to sample a large number of households for data on household activities, such as production and consumption of craft goods. This will simultaneously provide the kind of evidence required to evaluate whether differences in quality of life, status and wealth accumulation existed. These same garbage deposits will provide information for how daily activities changed over time. The first phase of fieldwork will be to conduct an intensive surface collection of artifacts across the site in order to determine the density and time depth of occupation and the distribution of craft production activities. The second phase of fieldwork will be to analyze these collections in order to locate areas to be sampled by small-scale excavations in phase three. Phase three will be the excavation of fifty 1m x 1m units across He-4 to acquire information from a large number of households. The final phase will be the analysis of all artifacts collected in phases 1 and 3 of the fieldwork. The intellectual merit of this work is its contribution to models of social change and the emergence of social hierarchies. The means by which social hierarchies are established and maintained are of fundamental interest in archaeology because these social trajectories are based on different principles of ranking. The broader impacts of this research are that it will provide a long-term perspective on the social and political dynamics in the Rio Parita as seen at an important, but understudied, site. The ceremonial precinct at He-4 has been the focus of heavy looting for over forty years. Consequently this project will be the first systematic scientific investigations at He-4 to focus on the residential areas and will offer a new perspective on the development of this community. This project will also be a vital component of the training of the doctoral candidate and will further the training of U.S., Panamanian and Colombian students who will be engaged in several aspects of the fieldwork. This project will also strengthen international scholarly collaboration by involving Panamanian archaeologists from the Instituto Nacional de Cultura (INAC).