Polity and Ecology in Formative Period Coastal Oaxaca

1. Polity and Ecology in Formative Period Coastal Oaxaca: An Introduction

1 ThearchaeologyofthesouthernMexicanstateofOaxaca(Figure1.1) is best known for research on the prehispanic culture of the Valley of Oaxaca, especially the ancient city of Monte Albán (Blanton 1978; Caso et al. 1967; Joyce 2010; Joyce and Winter 1996; Kowalewski et al. 1989; Marcus and Flannery 1996; Martínez et al. 2000; Winter 1989, 1994a, 1995). While the Oaxacan highlands have been a focus of archaeological research for more than 100 years, investigations of coastal Oaxaca began only in the 1950s with the pioneering work of Donald Brockington (Brockington 1966; Brockington et al. 1974; De Cicco and Brockington 1956). Since the 1980s research on the Oaxaca coast has accelerated, especially in the lower Río Verde Valley (Barber 2005; Barber and Joyce 2007; Joyce 1991a, 1991b, 2006, 2008, 2010; Joyce and Barber 2011; Joyce et al. 1998, 2001, 2004; King 2003; Levine 2002, 2007; Urcid and Joyce 2001; Workinger 2002; Workinger and Joyce 2009). Archaeological research in the lower Río Verde has focused on the Formative period, particularly questions of interregional interaction, environmental change, and political centralization. This book provides a synthesis of research on the Formative period in the lower Río Verde Valley (Figure 1.2), which demonstrates O N e polIty and eCology In FormatIve perIod Coastal oaxaCa An Introduction Arthur A. Joyce DOI: 10.5876/9781607322023.c01 Figure 1.1. Map of the state of Oaxaca showing geographical regions and archaeological sites mentioned in the book. 3 Polity And ecology in FormAtive Period coAstAl oAxAcA that the region was a center of prehispanic population and social complexity , especially in the later Formative period. The chapters provide empirically oriented studies that trace Formative period developments from the earliest known evidence of a human presence in the region during the Archaic period to the collapse of Río Viejo, the region’s first centralized polity, at ca. AD 250. This period saw the earliest agricultural settlements in the region as well as the origins of sedentism and early village life. The early/Middle Formative witnessed major changes in the lower Verde’s floodplain and in environments along the coast that expanded the productivity of subsistence resources. Social complexity emerged by the Late Formative, although we suspect future research will show that hereditary inequality began by the Middle Formative. By the Terminal Formative period an urban center had developed at the site of Río Viejo, which became the dominant community in the valley. Centralized Figure 1.2. Map of the lower Río Verde Valley showing archaeological sites mentioned in the book. 4 Arthur A. Joyce political authority was short-lived as Río Viejo collapsed at ca. AD 250 and the region fragmented into several small polities. This chapter provides an introduction to the volume by discussing the history of archaeological research in the lower Río Verde Valley and by presenting an overview of the Formative period so as to contextualize the studies that follow . Although the volume emphasizes the archaeological and paleoecological evidence, I also briefly summarize the theoretical approach that informs much of the research in the region in order to frame the arguments in many of the chapters. HIstOry Of ArcHAeOlOgIcAl reseArcH In tHe lOwer ríO VerDe VAlley The importance of the lower Río Verde Valley in terms of prehispanic settlement was undoubtedly related in part to its ecology. The Río Verde is one of the largest rivers on the Pacific coast of Mesoamerica in terms of both drainage area and discharge (Tamayo 1964). The upper catchment of the Verde drains the highland valleys of Oaxaca and Nochixtlán, which were also major centers of prehispanic population. The river emerges from a narrow valley in the Sierra Madre del Sur onto a broad coastal floodplain about 20 km north of the Pacific Ocean. The ecology of the approximately 1000 km2 lower Río Verde region is complex and diverse, including riverine, floodplain, lacustrine, estuarine, marine, piedmont, and mountain habitats that provide a variety of resources for human populations (Joyce et al. 1998, 3–9). Today the Verde’s floodplain is one of the most productive agricultural areas in Oaxaca (Rodrigo 1998, 346–347). While agriculture is the predominant subsistence activity, people also exploit fish and shellfish from the river, ponds, estuaries, and ocean as well as wild plants and animals from terrestrial habitats (Rodríguez et al. 1989). Paleoenvironmental research in the lower Río Verde Valley indicates...