Archaeological evidence from the prehistoric Spondylus industry of coast of Ecuador is analyzed to clarify how the production of export items was structured and the role that it played in the development of social complexity. The reconstruction of the trajectories of social change of the prehistoric population of the Machalilla National Park suggests that the region retained very low population numbers and very little evidence of social stratification until the end of the Regional Development Period (ca. A.D. 700). At around this time, a large population boom, increased evidence of supra-local forms settlement organization, more status distinction between settlements, and more architectural investment in elite structures suggest a marked rise in social and political complexity. These developments occurred at the same time that central Andean states began demanding locally produced Spondylus objects. Evidence for the manufacture of such items within the study area is widespread. Many models of social development propose that elite cooption of specialized craft production can serve as a useful avenue through which elites can acquire differential status and institutionalize their leadership. However, contrary to the expectations of these models, the data analyzed here suggest that craft production of sumptuary goods was an activity essentially carried out by household units for the benefit of the domestic economy. The appearance of large consumer markets of Spondylus items in the central Andes seems to have promoted local social stratification by providing the centripetal forces that pressured population nucleation and the derived managerial formations needed to permit smooth social articulation of large numbers of people residing in close proximity to one another.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-04062009-155749 |
| Date | 17 June 2009 |
| Creators | Martin, Alexander Javier |
| Contributors | Maria Auxiliadora Cordero, Marc Bermann, James B. Richardson III, John Frechione, Robert D. Drennan |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-04062009-155749/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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