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Shifting Strategies of Political Authority in the Middle through Terminal Formative Polity of Chiapa De Corzo, Chiapas, Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Timothy D. Sullivan
Timothy D. Sullivan*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA 15260 ([email protected])
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Abstract

This study investigates changes in strategies ofrulership at the early Zoque polity ofChiapa de Corzo, Chiapas, Mexico, from its inception in the Middle Formative period through its peak of political power during the Terminal Formative period. Incorporating data from my survey ofChiapa de Corzo and its hinterland with excavation data from the center, I contrast changes in the organization of ceremonial activity and in the establishment of status differences at the site with strategies employed in the governance of the polity at large. The initial rulers ofChiapa de Corzo adopted civic-ceremonial conventions shared with the Olmec site of La Venta, including the E-Group architectural pattern repeated at a number of sites in Chiapas. In the Late Formative, rulers integrated the E-Group into an architectural template adopted from contemporary capitals in the Maya Lowlands. This new space was less accessible than the earlier Middle Formative ceremonial zone. The adoption of these new traditions was accompanied by increased status differentiation between rulers and subjects. At the same time, there was a reduction in the elaboration of the regional political hierarchy and a decrease in the practice of forced resettlement. The results of this study indicate that the novel ceremonial practices and changes in status differentiation at the capital were accompanied unevenly by interference of rulers in the daily life of the hinterland.

Resumen

Resumen

Este estudio investiga los cambios en las estrategias de gobierno de la antigua sociedad zoque de Chiapa de Corzo, desde su formación como capital en elperiodo Formativo Medio hasta el auge máximo de supoder durante el Formativo Tardío. Para ello, se comparan los cambios evidentes en la organizatión de ceremonias y las divisiones sociales dentro de la capital, con las estrategias utilizadas para el gobierno de la sociedad en la región, a partir de los datos procedentes de la larga historia de excavaciones en Chiapa de Corzo y sus alrededores, así como de la informatión obtenida por medio de mi propio reconocimiento del area de sustento del sitio. Una estrategia central en el gobierno de Chiapa de Corzo, en todo lo largo de su ocupacionjue el manejo de ceremonias a gran escala. Sin embargo, la organizatión de estas ceremonias cambio con el tiempo; los primeros gobernantes adoptaron la planificacion del Complejo de Conmemoración Astronomica, un patron arquitectonico compartido con el centro olmeca de La Venta, Tabasco y con varios otros sitios de Chiapas. Por su parte, los gobernantes del Formativo Tardio incorporaron el Complejo de Conmemoracion Astronómica dentro de un patrón que se adecuaba a las normas arquitectónicas importadas de las tierras bajas mayas. Las actividades desarrolladas dentro de este nuevo recinto ceremonial fueron menos visibles y menos accesibles al pueblo comün, que las realizadas en el viejo recinto. A su vez, la evidencia de la arquitectura residentialy los entierros indica un aumento en la distancia entre rangos sociales. Con respecto a las estrategias de gobierno del pueblo del area de sustento, sepresenta aquí la evidencia para la utilización de principalmente dos estrategias: el grado de imposición de una jerarquía político y el grado de reubicación forzada de la población. La evidencia demuestra que los cambios en el grado de control sobre la poblacíon del área de sustento no se corresponden adecuadamente con los cambios en la estructura del ritual y la separación de los rangos sociales en la capital.

Type
Articles
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 26 , Issue 4 , December 2015 , pp. 452 - 472
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1999

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Table S1

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Table S2

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Table S3

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Table S4

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Table S5

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Table S6

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Figure S1

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Figure S2

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