Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Power Relations and Urban Landscape Formation: A Study of Construction Labor and Resources in Teotihuacan, Mexico

Arizona State University, Scottsdale AZ

Investigators

Abstract

Under the direction of Drs. Barbara Stark and George Cowgill, Mr Tatsuya Murakami will collect data for his doctoral thesis. He will focus his research on the archaeological site of Teotihuacan to determine how political and economic power was differentially distributed among the inhabitants and how this changed over time. Teotihuacan which is located in the Valley of Mexico, is one of the largest and most impressive prehistoric sites in the New World. Monumental architecture - the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon - provide evidence of this early state's ability to harness and maintain a large supply of labor and at its height archaeologists estimate that population reached 100,000 or more individuals. Teotihuacan projected its power over a large hinterland and its effects were felt as far as the Mayan lowlands where trade relations were established. Mr. Murakami wishes to understand the dynamics which allowed this state to develop and flourish and to accomplish this he proposes to study how power was distributed between elite rulers and the broader populace. Archaeological evidence suggests that the latter gained influence over time. The research is designed to examine the relative amount of effort devoted to construction within the central ceremonial portion of the site which, it is assumed, was occupied by the elite ruling class and the adjacent residential precincts which were inhabited by other groups. Quantitative assessment of labor expenditure for construction will be based on replicative experiments, ethnographic observation and published measures of construction costs. The total and per capita labor costs for structures within the central precinct will be used as proxy for the extent and degree of state power respectively. For quality analysis, cut stone blocks (used for facing walls and stairways) and lime plaster (coverfing floors and walls) will be analyzed since both are non-local materials and require relatively high labor inputs for manufacture. The research will not only provide new insight into an iconic archaeological site but also provide a new and useful tool for archaeological analysis. The project will also further the intellectual and academic development of a promising young scientist.