The Formation of Early Settled Villages and the Emergence of Leadership: A Test of Three Theoretical Models in the Rio Ilave, Lake Titicaca Basin, Southern Peru
| Title | The Formation of Early Settled Villages and the Emergence of Leadership: A Test of Three Theoretical Models in the Rio Ilave, Lake Titicaca Basin, Southern Peru |
| Publication Type | Thesis |
| Year of Publication | 2005 |
| Authors | Craig, N. Michael |
| Academic Department | Anthropology |
| Degree | Ph.D. |
| Number of Pages | 916 |
| University | University of California, Santa Barbara |
| City | Santa Barbara |
| Thesis Type | Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation |
| Abstract | Despite obvious necessities for understanding later developments in the region, Preceramic cultures in the Titicaca Basin are poorly understood due to lacking empirical data. This dissertation focuses on examination of two processes occurring in the Rio Ilave drainage during the Late 5000-3100 B.C.E. (6000-4400 BP) and Terminal 3100-1500 B.C.E. Archaic (4400-3200 B.P.): the formation of settled villages and the emergence of leadership. These processes are tested against theoretical predictions derived from: population resource imbalance, human behavioral ecology, and agency theories. Resource imbalance theory predicts appearance of density dependent adaptive problems prior to major cultural transformations. Human behavioral ecology predicts increased dietary diversity and incorporation of greater processing costs occuring coincidentally with reduced residential mobility. Symbolic mate value advertising is a predicted leadership strategy. Agency theory predicts internal sources of social tension, potentially independent of external forces, as primary causes of cultural change. Feast hosting and the formation political economy are expected to be central to both social processes investigated from this perspective. Local paleoclimatic proxies suggest aridity from ca 4000-2000 B.C.E. Reanalysis of pedestrian survey data indicate population growth during the Late Archaic. Excavation and ground penetrating radar survey at Pirco and Jiskairumoko demonstrate reduced residential mobility and increased evidence for social differentiation appearing during the Late Archaic’s (before 3000 B.C.E.) end. New cultural patterns include: pithouses, more groundstone, internal storage, costly non-local artifacts, domesticated plants and animals, costly grave goods, and use of ochre in symbolic contexts. No clear cut evidence for inter-community promotional feasting was identified but some finds suggest intra-community alliance feasts. By the end of the Terminal Archaic ca. 1500 B.C.E., domestic architecture changes to rectangular above ground structures lacking internal storage. Survey and excavation data strongly support population-resource imbalance theory. Excavation results are largely consistent with human behavioral ecology expectations. Evidence for early population growth rejects the expectation from some forms of agency theory asserting social change occurs largely independent of external forces. However, the support for human behavioral ecology suggests conspecific interaction and therefore forces described by agency theory are at play during these cultural transitions. |
| URL | http://archaeo.info/craig/modules/Downloads/docs/craig2005_dissertation_jiska.pdf |
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