Suárez Calderón, Amanda
(2023)
EMERGENCE OF SOCIAL COMPLEXITY IN THE PRECOLUMBIAN SITE JAVA, SOUTHERN COSTA RICA.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
This is the latest version of this item.
Abstract
Socioceremonial centers are ubiquitous in the archaeological record around the world, and particularly in southern Central America, the region of interest for the present investigation. This research is about the development of one of those centers in Southern Costa Rica: the site Java, a precolumbian settlement located on a hilltop in the Coto Brus Valley and characterized by the presence of earthen mounds and the abundance of stone sculptures of various types, such as life-sized anthropomorphic figures and stone spheres. Three different perspectives about the origins and role of socioceremonial centers in early complex societies were explored: an elite oriented perspective, a community oriented perspective, and an scalar stress perspective.
An intensive shovel probe survey was conducted at the site in order to determine some of the characteristics of the entire settlement, such as the extension, the population size, the length and the intensity of the occupation, as well as potential differences in status, wealth, and participation in specialized activities across the site. Three stratigraphic units were excavated in order to collect charcoal samples for radiocarbon dating, as well as more detailed stratigraphic information. The radiocarbon dates demonstrated that the most intense occupation of Java occurred during the Late Aguas Buenas period (650 – 850 AD), and the population estimates based on the density of ceramics indicate that there were approximately 390 to 780 people living there during this period. A careful examination of the evidence collected revealed that socioceremonial activities had a prominent place for the general population of Java, not only for those living in the central sector of the site. In addition, there were very little differences in terms of the quality of the ceramic and lithic assemblages across the site. This indicates that, aside from the possible differences in status inherent to living in a mound structure, there were no clear differences in wealth or participation in specialized activities among the population of Java. From the three proposed perspectives, the evidence supports more strongly a scenario where the socioceremonial center in Java emerges as a response to the scalar stress generated by the population growth of the Late Aguas Buenas period.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
| Creators | Email | Pitt Username | ORCID  |
|---|
| Suárez Calderón, Amanda | ams547@pitt.edu | ams547 | |
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| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
6 September 2023 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
16 March 2023 |
| Approval Date: |
6 September 2023 |
| Submission Date: |
20 May 2023 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
176 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Anthropology |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Archaeology
Precolumbian |
| Date Deposited: |
07 Sep 2023 01:23 |
| Last Modified: |
07 Sep 2023 01:23 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/44914 |
Available Versions of this Item
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EMERGENCE OF SOCIAL COMPLEXITY IN THE PRECOLUMBIAN SITE JAVA, SOUTHERN COSTA RICA. (deposited 07 Sep 2023 01:23)
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