<p> This study investigates geospatial relationships among Late Intermediate Period (1000&ndash;1400 CE) settlement patterns within the Moquegua River drainage of southern Peru which were first identified in the 1990s by the Moquegua Archaeological Survey (MAS). A prevalence of walls and defensive locations and a largely vacant no-mans-land between down valley Chiribaya and up valley Estuqui&ntilde;a settlements likely evidences an increased level of inter-cultural conflict in the region during the LIP that may have continued in the Late Horizon. Using viewshed analyses in ARC-GIS, this study proposes and compares two possible chronologies to explore how Chiribaya, Estuqui&ntilde;a, and Estuqui&ntilde;a -Inca settlements interacted or competed for the surrounding river valley through their direct or indirect control of resources, and their ability to defend against each other. Through the identification of these prime factors, this study aims to understand how the placement of settlements corresponds to the larger web of social interactions.</p><p>

This dissertation evaluated the interactional dynamics of emerging social inequality and the economics of basic necessities during the early development of Lowland Maya civilization. Basic necessities, including clothing, shelter, and utilitarian tools, were all affected in some way by the changes in access to and distribution of resources, technology, and information. This study focuses on one specific relationship: that between increasing social inequality and the procurement and distribution of animal resources. This research problem is addressed using faunal remains from the site of Colha in northern Belize. The faunal assemblage (totaling 14,553 bones/bone fragments) was recovered from Preclassic Period (1,000 B.C.-A.D. 250) residential deposits. The 1,250 years represented in the assemblage cover the time when the Maya shifted from small autonomous communities to hierarchically ranked centers, many of which specialized in the production and/or exchange of goods for regional consumption. The faunal data from Colha were evaluated against the changes in social complexity documented for this period. A distinct patterning in the use of faunal resources during the Preclassic was observed. The early settlers of Colha (roughly 1,000-600 B.C.) utilized low-bush terrestrial, wetland, and aquatic species nearly equally. The prominent use of wetland and aquatic resources suggests that wetland agriculture may have been used. The five hundred years that followed saw a gradual shift toward a heavier use of wetland and aquatic resources, probably due to wetter conditions and to the biodegradation caused by land clearing and heavy faunal exploitation. In the Late Preclassic there was a marked change in faunal use, beginning approximately 100 B.C. This includes a heavier reliance on terrestrial species, an increased use of dog for food, and a greater utilization of distant habitats, such as marine and high-forest environments. These changes required modifications in the social aspects of food procurement and distribution, including exchange relationships, and not simply an intensification of past strategies. It is proposed that households could use their elevated status (and accompanying accumulation of wealth and power) to shift from a strategy of direct food procurement to one in which food could be acquired indirectly through exchange and/or tribute.

<p> Spearthrower devices held a role around the world as a primary weapon and tool before slowly falling out of favor in certain areas for other projectile weapons. While it is widely accepted that spearthrowers were used by the people of the ancient central Andes, comparatively little research has gone into the role that they had as weapons of war, hunting tools, and objects of ceremonial reverence. In addition, the Andes developed a unique style of spearthrower and have produced many examples of spearthrowers with exceptional craftsmanship, leading me to believe that these tools were given special reverence. </p><p> This thesis compiles evidence of who in the Andes was using spearthrowers, and in what contexts, by comparing iconography to existing artifacts. It was determined that they saw the heaviest use among the coastal societies through the Early Intermediate Period and were primarily seen as a symbol in the following years.</p><p>