Under the supervision of Dr. Robert D. Drennan, Mr. C. Adam Berrey will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. He will conduct a regional-scale survey of prehistoric human settlement in the RÃo Tonosà Valley of Central Pacific Panama. The central objective of this research is to understand the forces that led to the growth of large scale social formations within this region, and the activities and relationships around which they were organized. At the time of Spanish contact such 'supra-local' social formations in Central Panama were organized around highly unequal social relationships. However, archaeological research suggests there was considerable variability in how these social formations were organized across space and time. Social hierarchies were founded in different spheres of activity, and some social formations were organized along much less hierarchical lines. This variation can be seen clearly the world over, but for it to manifest at a smaller scale -- among the societies of a single small area -- provides a particularly intriguing opportunity to study the forces that produced it. To examine this question Mr. Berrey will conduct a survey of the Rio Tonosi Valley and record the presence and distribution of both structures, ceramics and other surface material.
In contrast to the very hierarchical forms of organization that developed in most of Central Panama, supra-local social formations in the RÃo Tonosà valley seem to have been much less hierarchical. The research will determine whether in fact this was the case. If it was, the research will attempt to establish whether RÃo Tonosà social formations were in other ways "less developed" than those of nearby regions. If RÃo Tonosà social organization turns out to be more hierarchical than it now appears, then the proposed research will provide information about ways in which the nature of that hierarchy may have differed from those of other regions.
The project will provide opportunities for field training for students from several universities, and foster international scholarly collaboration. Public understanding of science and appreciation of the archaeological record will be emphasized through outreach at local schools, and preliminary results will be presented to the local public in TonosÃ, as well as other venues in Panama.
The growth of small-scale local communities into much larger, regional-scale polities occurred repeatedly in many regions around the world and at different times throughout prehistory, creating more complex and highly varied forms of social and political organization. Strongly developed social hierarchies were often the backbone of this organization, but in some instances social hierarchy was far less important. In strongly hierarchical polities the roles of economic control, craft specialization, ritual, and warfare were highly variable. Under the supervision of Dr. Robert D. Drennan, doctoral candidate Charles Adam Berrey conducted a regional-scale, archaeological survey of the Rio Tonosi valley in Central Panama. Archaeological research in nearby regions of Central Panama (such as the Rio Grande and Rio Parita valleys) reveals strong social hierarchy, considerable specialization, and much prehistoric warfare. Burial evidence collected by previous research in the Rio Tonosi valley, however, suggested much more egalitarian social organization during the Late Ceramic period (AD 700-1522). This research sought to understand what might have led Rio Tonosi societies along such a different developmental trajectory. Mr. Berrey focused on the archaeological site of Guaniquito Abajo, known from previous research as an important Late Ceramic period settlement. He carried out a systematic archaeological survey of the landscape surrounding Guaniquito Abajo, covering an area of 50 sq km. As of the date of this report, the NSF-funded fieldwork and laboratory analysis of materials are complete, and data analysis is in progress. From AD 250 to 550 social organization in the Rio Tonosi valley was very similar to that of other regions, such as the Rio Parita valley. In both regions settlement is characterized by widely scattered small hamlets and farmsteads, with very little evidence of social hierarchy or specialized production. Between AD 550 and 900, though, the trajectories of these two regions began to diverge, resulting in strong social hierarchy in the Rio Parita valley contrasting with much more egalitarian social relationships in the Rio Tonosi valley in the Late Ceramic Period. The emergence of these different social structures may have its roots in patterns of demographic growth and community organization. Population growth at this time was slow in the Rio Parita valley, but much more rapid in the Rio Tonosi valley. Higher population densities in the Rio Tonosi valley created pressure for agricultural intensification which, in turn, encouraged farming families to live in dispersed hamlets and farmsteads near the land that they cultivated. This precluded the formation of the nucleated villages that emerged in the Rio Parita valley--villages where intensive interaction is easier and specialized production and exchange are facilitated. These seem to be among the opportunities for economic manipulation seized upon by emergent elites in the Rio Parita valley. These opportunities were not available in the Rio Tonosi valley, and regional survey results from this project support previous research centered on burials in finding evidence of only minimal development of social hierarchy. Understanding the forces that led to the organizational differences between the prehispanic societies of the Rio Parita and Rio Tonosi valleys not only contributes to our knowledge of early complex society development within Central Panama, but to our knowledge of the forces that generate societal change and variation more generally. Central Panama, where so much organizational variety emerged in neighboring regions with similar environmental conditions and the same cultural roots, provide a particularly interesting laboratory for comparative research. This project's results suggest that, under some circumstances, strong population growth can promote household self-sufficiency and egalitarian social relations rather than the strongly hierarchical forms of organization more often attributed to it. Beyond its substantive contribution to our understanding of the processes that underlie societal change and variation, this research project had broader impacts. As dissertation research it was vital to the training of the doctoral candidate, and it provided training opportunities for other students as well. One graduate student from the United States and seven undergraduate students from Colombia participated, gaining practical experience in systematic, regional-scale archaeological survey and in the logistics of archaeological field research. The project also provided opportunities for outreach to residents in the region, enhancing their appreciation of science and local cultural heritage. Next year Mr. Berrey will return to Panama to communicate final results of the research to residents of Tonosi and the scientific community at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
