Under the direction of Dr. Robert Drennan, Mr. Florencio Delgado will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. He will conduct archaeological fieldwork in the Lower Guayas Basin region of Equador and combine analysis of aerial photography with surface survey, augur testing and small scale archaeological research. This lowland region is seasonally flooded and this fact makes subsistence agriculture difficult. The Spanish chronicles indicate that the inhabitants at the time of contact were organized into chiefdoms and archaeological reconnaissance has revealed the presence of a large scale system of `raised fields.` These prehistoric constructions consist of elongated raised earthen platforms and research in other regions of Middle and South America indicate that they were planted and served as fields which projected above the water level. Based on co-occurrance in many parts of the world, archaeologists know that the rise of stratified chiefly societies and the appearance of irrigation systems and other `large scale` agricultural projects are linked. However they do now understand the cause and effect mechanisms involved. In attempting to understand the appearance of such features, some believe that a `top down` model applies: that it was the emergence of chiefs and the authority they wielded which allowed the organization of the numbers of people supposedly necessary for such construction projects. Other researchers support a `bottom up` interpretation and believe that many features such as raised fields are relatively easy to construct, that this can be done at a family level of organization and that the surplus produced by such fields allowed chiefs in fact to emerge. Mr. Belgado's research will examine this question. Through an examination of raised field size, spatial organization and association with `elite` mound vs. commoner residences it should be possible to set this agricultural system into a political and social context and examine the relationships among them. This research is important because it addresses a central anthropological question. It will provide data of interest to many archaeologists and assist in training a promising young scientist.
