Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
11.30.18
Archaeology 1
Professor Rick
occupied the Santa Maria Valley in Mexico. I advance that the societies diverged in both their
military potency and in the extent to which class stratification and sociocultural organization
played a role in dictating the way that the society functioned on a daily basis. I begin by
considering the society of San Juan Asqueroso, and proceed to compare its perceived
sociocultural organization to that of Tahuile. I conclude with a brief discussion of how the
formation and function of both societies may be fruitfully explained by several different theories
of state formation.
We begin by considering several lines of evidence that point to the class stratification and
intricate political organization inherent in the society of San Juan Asqueroso. In the first place,
figure 2, along with the attendant data on archaeological remains found at each of the structures,
evinces a clear difference in the nature and layout of the residential compounds that made up San
Juan Asqueroso. Before launching into a discussion of the compounds themselves, it is important
to make two evidentiary clarifications. First, I use the term residence, by itself or in a phrase
such as residential compound, to mean a structure that an individual inhabits and in which said
individual performs the duties necessary for survival, such as eating and sleeping. Other
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Second, I submit that a cursory examination of the data shows that San Juan Asqueroso
was composed of at least three residential compounds (Northwest corner, Southwest corner, and
several ancillary lines of evidence present themselves. In the first place, structures 1, 10, and 11
contain hearths. It is possible that a hearth served a ceremonial purpose, but it seems more likely
that a hearth was used either to keep inhabitants warm in cold weather, or to cook food (or both).
Both of these purposes make a hearth more suited to a residential area, especially since Mexico
has a year-round warm climate and the night seems to be the only time that the temperature
Most importantly, the archaeological remains (as well as the architecture) found at each
compound are unique, suggesting that each was inhabited by a group of individuals who differed
in their role, and concomitantly in their place on the sociopolitical hierarchy. Within structure 1,
we find an assortment of tools that are generally used for agricultural purposes. Most notable is
the presence of 15 basalt hoes — unique among all of the structures — which suggests that the
inhabitants were involved in tilling or hoeing soil, likely for the purpose of planting and tending
to crops. In addition, we see plant remains, scrapers, and food grinding stones, all of which lend
further credence to the notion that the residents were involved in food production and
agricultural work. It is harder to explain the chert projectile points; it seems unlikely that they
were used as weapons, since no other weapons are to be found within the remains. It strikes me
as more likely that these points were used to fashion the figurines that were found under the
floor. There is a copious amount of chert flakes, buttressing the notion that the projectile points
were painstakingly produced and burnished in order to be used for some sort of craftsmanship
(as well as for fine agricultural work). I advance, then, that the Northwest compound was
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probably inhabited by farmers and miscellaneous agricultural workers, some of whom doubled
as specialized craftsmen who manufactured figurines to be used for ceremonial and ritual
purposes.
We now turn to the Northeast corner, to which belong the remains found in structures 10
and 11. It is plain that these remains, which consist largely of flakes, blades, and stones, were
used for some sort of craftsmanship or construction. All of these items are small, and there is no
heavy-duty equipment (such as hoes), which suggests that the inhabitants of this compound were
not tightly involved in agricultural work. Notably, there is a great number of basalt flakes, all of
which came from basalt that had to be brought in from a distance of over 25 km. This
observation, along with the heavy use to which the obsidian blades and cores were suggested,
leads me to conclude that the inhabitants of the Northeast corner were involved in the production
and manufacture of various tools and crafts, among which one can almost certainly identify the
figurines found in the central structure. It is also not unlikely that these craftsmen manufactured
basalt hoes, which then made their way to the Northwest corner to be used by farmers and food
producers.
The Southwest corner is harder to classify from the archaeological remains alone. In
structure 7, one finds a copious amount of ceramic sherds, which may suggest some sort of
craftsmanship. But one also finds 18 deer bones, which constitute far more animal remains than
are found at any of the other corners. The obsidian blades merely add to the ambiguity; it seems
equally plausible that the inhabitants of the Southwest corner were warriors, craftsmen, farmers,
To resolve this ambiguity, I believe that it is crucial to turn to the burial data, which
offers further insight into the roles that the individuals in question played during their lifetimes.
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To this end, the associated artifacts from the burials surrounding structure 1 are not terribly
informative: we hypothesized that the inhabitants of the Northwest corner were involved in
agricultural work, yet the associated artifacts can be interpreted in a myriad different ways.
Somewhat more informative are burials 11-13, which are found in the Northeast corner. All of
these individuals are buried with graving tools, adding weight to our prediction that these
But it is burials 6-8, which are to be found in the Southwest corner, which have the most
utility in helping us shed light on the aforementioned ambiguity. In terms of pure numbers, the
graves of these individuals contain more artifacts by a country mile: even the two-year-old
toddler at number 6 has 8 artifacts, whereas the 35-year-old craftsman buried at number 12 has
only 6! The individual buried at number 7 possesses an unthinkable 28 obsidian blades, a number
rendered all the more shocking by the fact that obsidian could only be found 150 km away. Jade
All of this data leads me to conclude that the Southwest corner was inhabited by the elite
class, which may have included the leaders of the society, elite warriors, and perhaps individuals
from the first two compounds who demonstrated a superior quality of work. To this end, the
individual buried at number 7 may have been a warrior due to the jade axeheads, while number 8
was likely some sort of leader due to his advanced age and the presence of a gold mask, unique
among all of the artifacts. The two-year-old may have been part of an elite individual’s family,
given the fact that no other individual under the age of 10 was buried with any associated
artifacts.
In sum, I propose that San Juan Asqueroso was a heavily stratified society in which
residents were segregated in accordance with the role that they fulfilled. It is hard to say whether
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craftsmen or agricultural workers were higher up on the sociopolitical hierarchy, but it is evident
that the aristocracy — composed of elite workers, societal leaders, and perhaps warriors — were
universally respected and enjoyed a high quality of both life and death. To complete the
reconstruction, I propose that the central structure, loosely encompassing structures 2-8, served
non-residential purposes. To this end, it is worth paying attention to structure 4, which may have
served some sort of ceremonial purpose due to its unique painting. Structure 5 may have
functioned as some sort of mess hall due to the copious amount of food remains, and structure 6
may have operated as a kind of military headquarters due to the presence of obsidian arrowheads.
This notion is further buttressed by the fact that stone walls surround some of the structures in
the central compound. It is difficult to piece together the exact function of the central compound,
but since my analysis focuses on stratification and sociocultural organization, we will leave it at
that.
In comparison, Tahuile does not lend itself particularly well to an analysis that seeks to
ascertain stratification and social organization. In the first place, this is due to the fact that the
remains found at each of the structures can hardly be divided along functional lines. To this end,
structure 2 houses figurine and shell fragments, which suggest craftsmanship, but also include
hoes, a grinding stone, and projectile points, which squarely indicate agricultural work. The same
ambiguity is attendant to the remains found at structure 4: we see evidence of military activities
in the human remains, yet the great amount of hematite nodules, grinding stones, and animal
bones indicate that all sorts of work, from craftsmanship to agricultural processing to ceremonial
Unlike in San Juan Asqueroso, burial data does not come to the rescue. Most individuals
who reached a prepubescent age are buried with an assortment of artifacts that does not differ
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greatly in nature or number. A cursory statistical analysis shows that older individuals were
buried with a marginally greater number of artifacts (see burials at number 2 and 11), suggesting
that Tahuile may have featured some degree of age-related stratification. However, this
theorization is circumscribed by the fact that we do not know what roles these individuals
played.
stratification. It is possible that the chief lived next to the farmer, but it is also entirely plausible
that stratification existed along lines that we can no longer diagnose. For instance, one can
imagine a scenario in which the two 55-year-old individuals who were buried with the most
artifacts belonged to a ruling family, with everyone else occupying the same position on the
To put this analysis in its proper context, it is worth briefly considering its relation to the
various state formation theories discussed in lecture. In the case of San Juan Asqueroso, it seems
likely that its creation and organization can be partially explained by a classical theory of state
formation, whereby a militarily and socioculturally-potent ruling class consolidates power and
dictates the formation of the society. It is difficult to say whether the ruling class of San Juan
Asqueroso was military in nature, though it seems likely that warriors almost certainly existed.
We can reach this conclusion by noting the presence of axeheads in the elite camp, as well as by
the fact that the individual buried with said axeheads was aged 35. He could have obviously been
felled by disease, but it is also likely that an individual at the prime of his life who was buried
with weapons would be killed in military combat. At any rate, it seems very likely that San Juan
Asqueroso’s organization was at least partially dictated by a well-protected and powerful elite
class.
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In the case of Tahuile, which was organized in a far more ambiguous and egalitarian
fashion, it is harder to come up with a coherent theory of formation. To this end, it is plausible
that there was no ruling party or strong military presence, especially since we can find virtually
no evidence of any weapons being produced (other than a single jade axehead). It is also possible
that there was a loosely-defined ruler or ruling class, which dictated egalitarian living conditions
for the rest of the population. Ultimately, I hope that my analysis reveals the extent to which a
close reading of archaeological data can point to immeasurable divergences in the way that two
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