Thesis (B.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics; and, (B.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 1979. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND SCIENCE. / Bibliography: leaves 53-55. / by Timothy John Carroll. / B.S.

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The processes that accompany the transition to social and political inequality have perplexed archeologists in their attempts to explain the emergence of complex society. Over the past decade, archaeological excavations in the Mazatan region of Chiapas, Mexico, has yielded new information on the processes surrounding this social and political transformation. Most recently, the earliest known ballcourt was discovered at the site of Paso de la Amada in the Mazatan region. This ballcourt predates all other known ballcourts by more than 500 years. For over 2500 years, ballcourts and the associated ballgame formed an integral part of religious, social, and political life of Mesoamerican complex societies. The tremendous success of the ballgame lies in its ability to act as a medium of social and political integration while simultaneously encouraging intense rivalry. This dissertation uses ballcourts and competitive games to address the larger question of how social and political inequality evolves. Using architectural, artifactual, and settlement pattern data, I argue that an emerging complex society was involved in the construction and use of the ballcourt at Paso de la Amada. I suggest that elites sponsored the ballcourt construction, enabling them to expand their regional networks and enhance their own social positions. I present evidence to support these claims, and review several existing models for the emergence of complex society in light of this discovery. I conclude that competitive games and gaming facilities, such as ballcourts, played a crucial role in the emergence of complex society in Mesoamerica and have significant implications for how this process is modeled.

The processes that accompany the transition to social and political inequality have perplexed archeologists in their attempts to explain the emergence of complex society. Over the past decade, archaeological excavations in the Mazatan region of Chiapas, Mexico, has yielded new information on the processes surrounding this social and political transformation. Most recently, the earliest known ballcourt was discovered at the site of Paso de la Amada in the Mazatan region. This ballcourt predates all other known ballcourts by more than 500 years. For over 2500 years, ballcourts and the associated ballgame formed an integral part of religious, social, and political life of Mesoamerican complex societies. The tremendous success of the ballgame lies in its ability to act as a medium of social and political integration while simultaneously encouraging intense rivalry. This dissertation uses ballcourts and competitive games to address the larger question of how social and political inequality evolves. Using architectural, artifactual, and settlement pattern data, I argue that an emerging complex society was involved in the construction and use of the ballcourt at Paso de la Amada. I suggest that elites sponsored the ballcourt construction, enabling them to expand their regional networks and enhance their own social positions. I present evidence to support these claims, and review several existing models for the emergence of complex society in light of this discovery. I conclude that competitive games and gaming facilities, such as ballcourts, played a crucial role in the emergence of complex society in Mesoamerica and have significant implications for how this process is modeled. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

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The interplay between social and productive spheres in arid land agrarian societies with non-mechanized technologies is exemplified in a case study of the prehistoric Hohokam Indians of southern Arizona. In addition to chapters unique to the dissertation, ten papers are included that were published during the period of doctoral enrollment. Results from a variety of investigative techniques are combined to characterize Hohokam agriculture and its relationship to societal forms and dynamics. Among these are archaeological survey and settlement pattern analysis, technical studies of prehistoric fields, palynological analysis for reconstruction of agricultural environments, and comparison with methods and concepts employed by historic and modern traditional farmers in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Hohokam farming is examined at sequential scales, beginning with the setting, layout, and yield of individual fields and ending with comparison between Hohokam agricultural configurations and those of other arid land cultures. Topics receiving emphasis within the broader dissertation theme are the nature of Hohokam agrarian landscapes, the recently recognized role of cultivated agave in subsistence systems, and the social and economic framework for agricultural decision-making and strategies.

In reconstructing the meaning of prehistoric artifacts, the art historian's task is particularly difficult. Scholars dealing with this period of time have to build their arguments on scarce archeological data, often unaided by written documents. Due to this lack of information, prehistoric female figurines are the subject of innacurate iconographic interpretations. In the case of the Mesoamerican Preclassic, the missing data is supplemented by subjective perceptions about people who do not belong to the scholar's own sex or ethnic background. The resulting misinterpretations fill the interstices between the information available and the historical facts. The traditional view that considers these figurines nothing more than beautiful women stop any further inquiries into the subject. Sometimes, the scholar's own fantasies substitute for logical arguments. Scholars writing on Mesoamerican iconography must be careful not to follow many of their predecessors to avoid confusing their colleagues, students and the general public.