Adam Berrey

April 4, 2014 - 3:00pm to 4:30pm

Department of Anthropology

Colloquium Series, 2014

Organization and Growth among Early Complex Societies in Central Pacific Panama

Adam Berrey
PhD Candidate
Department of Anthropology
University of Pittsburgh


In recent decades one major objective of early complex society research has been to understand the immense amount of variability that exists in the way early complex societies came to develop.  Particularly important to this endeavor has been an attempt to understand the highly variable role played by social inequality, and the forces that came to shape early inequality in such a variety of different ways.  Why was it, for instance, that some societies came to be organized according to very strong hierarchical principles, while others exhibit little in the way of social differentiation? Moreover, why among those in which inequalities developed did factors such as economic control, specialization, ritual and warfare play such highly variable roles? This research explores the factors that led to such variation within a single sociocultural context, known as the Gran Coclé Semiotic Tradition of Central Pacific Panama. Within this context the variation observed is not simply the consequence of different historical trajectories, but rather of divergent evolution sparked by specific forces of social change.

Friday, April 4, 2014, 3:00pm

Anthropology Lounge, 3106 WWPH

Location and Address

3106 WWPH Anthropology Lounge