With National Science Foundation support Drs. Laura Kosakowsky and Francisco Belli will submit pot sherd samples from Middle American sites to Dr. Michael Glascock at the University of Missouri nuclear reactor for neutron activation analysis. He will provide trace element profiles which will allow determination of raw material similarity and the likely number of sources involved. This approach permits one to determine whether pottery, which on the basis of shape and decoration appears similar, was in fact produced in a limited number of locations, or whether it was widely manufactured Widespread local production suggests a relatively egalitarian form of social organization in which individual areas are independent and self sufficient. Centralized production on the other hand indicates extensive controlled trade and often a form of more highly organized and hierarchical social and political organization. Although the Mayans and Aztecs are the best known prehistoric Middle American civilizations, archaeologists have learned that similar entities existed in other portions of this region. Particular attention has been focused on the Pacific coast of Guatemala because it appears that a repeating cycle of state rise and fall occurred. The areas extent of these entities however is a subject of lively debate. Some researchers, on the basis of ceramic data have argued that their spatial scale is relatively limited. Others, such as Drs. Kosakowsky and Belli believe that trade networks were extensive and have supported this scenario on the basis of neutron activation analysis of a small sample of one pottery type. This award will permit them to expand their sample size and to include other kinds of ceramics. The results will provide new insight into the rise of complex society in Middle America and will be of interest to many archaeologists.
