The Social Dynamics of Raised Field Agriculture

University Of Hawaii, Honolulu

Investigators

Abstract

Systems of raised agricultural fields covering many square kilometers were constructed by prehistoric societies in numerous parts of the world. These fields, which consist of elevated platforms or ridges and excavated canals, represent the earliest and most substantial forms of prehistoric landscape modification undertaken in many regions; their emergence marks an important shift in modes of economic production and labor organization. In the broad sweep of human history these agricultural projects were important early steps toward many of the organizational, technological, and engineering developments that underpin modern society, and archaeological research has revealed a great deal of variation in the types of social, political, economic, and demographic conditions under which they came to develop. This variation raises important questions as to how and why human societies first decided to undertake large-scale landscape modification projects in the prehistoric past. What, for instance, were the forces that prompted the emergence of raised-field agriculture in different world regions? Were they environmental, demographic, or political in nature? And what impact did this new mode of economic production have on other aspects of social, economic, and political life? In a world where large-scale landscape modification projects provide the economic and infrastructural foundation on which society is built, and often with great consequence to local populations, such questions are of particular relevance. Dr. C. Adam Berrey, of the University of Hawaii, along with colleagues and students from Panama and Colombia, will undertake research to study to the social, political, economic, and demographic dynamics of raised-field agriculture among early complex societies in the Rio Bayano valley of eastern Panama. It was among these types of societies that the earliest forms of social inequality, economic specialization, and large-scale social formations first began to emerge, making them a particularly interesting context in which to evaluate the emergence of raised-field agriculture. How might the emergence of raised-field agriculture, for example, connected to the new forms of social and economic relationships, and the larger scales of integration, that were emerging at this time? To answer this and the questions enumerated above, Dr. Berrey will lead a team of archaeologists to study the development of early complex society in the Rio Bayano valley, from the very beginnings of a sedentary, agricultural lifeway to the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century. Regional and local-scale survey will be carried out to study the changing demographic conditions of the region, while local survey and excavation will generate household artifact assemblages with which it will be possible to study changing social and economic relationships. Of particular interest will be to examine if and how these social, economic, and demographic conditions changed during and after the emergence of raised-field agriculture. This research will generate new comparative data and methods for the study of raised-field agriculture and early complex society development, and will provide educational and training opportunities for students and other researchers. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.