The fundamental goal of this and similar archaeological research is to understand the processes through which complex societies arise. How in technologically simple societies do social entities which bind thousands of individuals into functioning political and economic networks arise? Archaeology, because it can trace such developments, often over millennia, provides an important source of insight. The research will contribute to understanding incipient state power by documenting the important prehistoric Middle American polity and evaluating whether it emerged as a single state or in competition with the newly recognized larger center. The first phase of this research documented the extent of the site for the first time. NSF support also allowed the documentation of changing overall occupation levels in three adjacent environments and provided a glimpse of regional political organization through eight lower-order monumental centers. The second stage of research will determine the nature of incipient state power.
The principal investigator Dr. Robert Rosenswig will collect lidar (remotely sensed areal imagery) data and undertake one field season of pedestrian settlement survey to document the emergence of the Izapa state in the Soconusco region of Mexico. This is the second stage of research and builds on existing lidar data and pedestrian survey data funded by the NSF. Lidar is a new and exciting technology that employs pulses of light to penetrate thick tropical vegetation and map terrestrial features below. The site of Izapa has long been recognized as an important center consisting of 100s of mounds and the heart of a regional style of public art. The research will determine whether Izapa arose as the only political center in the region or if it developed in competition with the newly discovered center of Las Viudas. To evaluate these alternate possibilities, all Formative period (850 BCE - CE 100) monumental centers will be mapped to determine their regional distribution in relation to Izapa and Las Viudas. The orientation and internal layout of each lower order centers (of which there is an estimated 30 more to be documented) will be very accurately documented using lidar, allowing for site planning patterns to be reconstructed at a regional scale.
In addition to Prehispanic occupation of the region, these lidar data will document the hydrology of streams, creeks and rivers in the economically important Soconusco. Located as it is at the base of the Sierra Madre, the region is prone to flooding and was devastated following Hurricane Stan in 2005. These new data will allow the identification of river buffer areas eroded in the past and subject to current erosion risk. With this information, both archaeological sites and modern communities at risk from future flood-related erosion will be identified and this information shared with local officials.
