Drs. Frederick Bove and Hector Neff will conduct analyses of archaeological ceramics from the Pacific coast of Guatemala which date to the periods immediately preceding and following 250 A.D. This date marks an abrupt change from a group of cultures termed "Terminal Formative" to another set termed "Early Classic." The team will conduct instrumental neutron activation analysis on approximately 400 potsherds, most from the stratified deposits at the site of Balberta. They shall also collect and analyze 200 raw material samples from clay deposits in the region. Together with data already in hand, as well as binocular microscope examination, paste color analysis, and typological and attribute analysis, it should be possible to trace changes in ceramic production and distribution across this time boundary. Although the abrupt Formative-Classic transition has been noted by other archaeologists, explanations for this have varied. Some have suggested that some catastrophic natural event such as a volcanic eruption caused rapid culture change. It has also been suggested that long-distance culture contacts with central Mexico played a significant role. Finally, it has been argued that intra-regional or local processes are responsible for this change. The issue is important because the Early Classic marks the appearance of hierarchically organized centralized states which replace a more uniform and widely distributed form of organization. The question then is what process is responsible for the rise of the state in lowland Middle America. The ceramic analysis should shed light on organization of production and trade and this, in turn, should provide insight into changes in social and political organization. This research is important because it will shed light on the processes which gave rise to the state and led to the development of complex societies such as our own. It will also increase our understanding of the prehistory of the New World.
