Origins of Ceremonial Architecture and Sedentary Life

Wake Forest University, Winston Salem NC

Investigators

Abstract

Around the world, large building projects and public rituals predated and contributed to the development of complex societies, such as states. Of particular interest are regions where states developed without the external influence of preexisting states. Recent analyses of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) maps, created by airborne lasers, show a surprising number of early ceremonial centers, featuring monumental platforms and plazas, spread across a broad swath of one culture area. The PI and team investigate a group of sites to understand the role of public architecture and rituals in the development of ancient society, including the transition to a sedentary, farming lifestyle and the development of social complexity. Results can shed light on the interactions that resulted in the culture area, including the relationship between different groups of people. This project strengthens international research collaborations, including among female researchers. It also contributes to the education and training of students, including at least one Ph.D. student. Outreach activities involve local communities and encourage the preservation of cultural resources. High-resolution LiDAR mapping facilitate future research and preservation efforts in the region. The PI and team investigate the adoption of formal ceremonial spaces at multiple archaeological sites. They test the hypothesis that the practice of building monumental architecture for public rituals spread across regions of several hundred years, and that the communal activities associated with these structures contributed to the transition to a sedentary lifestyle and a reliance on maize agriculture. Main objectives are to 1) date the ceremonial complexes; 2) locate residential areas associated with the complexes; and 3) recover evidence of early foodways. The project includes a LiDAR survey, pedestrian surveys, excavations in public and residential areas, radiocarbon dating, analyses of ceramics and other artifacts, and both micro-plant and macro-plant paleobotanical analyses. 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.