Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Role of Raw Material in Defining Social Interaction

This doctoral dissertation project investigates the social and economic dynamics of different groups who inhabited a prehistoric large city. It was composed of a wide variety of groups who were densely nucleated in apartments and neighborhoods, requiring a high level of cooperation. The researchers seek to understand how cooperative or hierarchical these interactions were by identifying the procurement and distribution strategies of stone materials found in parts of the city.

Occupants of both the central spaces made use of a variety of rock materials for their daily as well as ritual activities. This study provides a better understanding of the economic, social, and political relationships between these different sectors. New analytical methods have provided advances in studies of the provenance of materials such as basaltic and andesitic rocks, which were not previously considered.

Artifacts made from these volcanic materials were widely used by elites and non-elites, making them vital evidence for understanding the socio-political and economic dynamics among the inhabitants.

The research focuses on the use of stones of volcanic origin, which, with the help of economic theories, can elucidate the socioeconomic relationships of different groups. Little is known about the socioeconomic relationships between the different groups that inhabited it. To better understand these dynamics, the researchers make use of provenance studies, such as portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) and petrology, to identify the origin of a variety of artifacts created from basalt and andesite.

Provenance studies provide important data regarding the origin of each artifact and how the material was distributed to each site of consumption. This information provides important insights into the commercial, social, and political organization among the groups that distributed these materials, as well as the accessibility of the artifacts to each of the consumers.

Ultimately, this can provide relevant information regarding the socioeconomic policies of a large prehistoric city and the degree of cooperation between different groups in order to secure materials for daily and ritual uses. This research can expand the current limited set of methodologies and datasets related to provenance identification of basalt and andesite artifacts for the future development of this type of research around the world.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.