Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: The La Consentida Archaeological Project

University Of Colorado At Boulder, Boulder CO

Investigators

Abstract

Under the direction of Dr. Arthur Joyce, Mr. Guy Hepp will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. His research will investigate the origins of sedentism, the transition toward reliance upon agriculture, and the origins of hierarchical social inequality in initial Early Formative period Mesoamerica. He will undertake surface survey, mapping, and excavations at the archaeological site of La Consentida in coastal Oaxaca, Mexico. La Consentida offers a promising opportunity to promote new understandings of the birth of Mesoamerican culture in a region and ecological setting never previously included in the canon of Mesoamerican scholarship for this important early time period. The project will employ cutting-edge archaeological techniques to address its research objectives, including topographic mapping using a light-emitting mapping station, neutron activation analysis to identify exchange networks that mobilized ceramics and social interaction, analysis of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes to reconstruct ancient diet, AMS carbon dating for chronological control of excavated contexts, and analysis of macrobotanical finds to identify the food remains in domestic garbage deposits. The Mesoamerican Formative or Preclassic period (c.a. 1900 BCE - 250 CE) which is represented at La Consentida is widely regarded as an important transitional phase between the nomadic horticulture of the Archaic period (9000 - 1900 BCE) and the complex Mesoamerican societies that flourished, independent of influence from the Old World, until the arrival of Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century. Despite the general recognition of the significance of the Formative period, key scholarly debates concern the interrelatedness between transitions in domestic practices, subsistence, and social organization during this time. The archaeology of the initial Early Formative period (c.a. 1900-1500 BCE) in particular appears to be a promising venue of research for informing these dialogues regarding Mesoamerican social change . In addition to its relevance for Mesoamericanist scholarship, the La Consentida Archaeological Project offers an opportunity for United States-based scholars to collaborate with Mexican archaeology students and to engage with local communities in Oaxaca who are interested in learning more about their region's ancient past. Outreach with local communities will include an educational display proposed for a local community museum and a public talk proposed for a local community anniversary festival. US-based student volunteers on the project will receive valuable training in a variety of standard archaeological field techniques. The results of the project will be disseminated in a report to the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH), the branch of the Mexican federal government overseeing archaeological research. Research results will also be presented in peer-reviewed journals in both English and Spanish, in edited book chapters, and in the form of bilingual (Spanish/English) webpage content designed to showcase archaeological research by various scholars working in the region.