Francisco "Pacho" Romano: PhD Candidate
Changing Bbases of Power: The Transition from Regional Classic to Recent in the Alato Magdalena (Colombia)
It has been argued that much of the variability to be observed in
developing hierarchical societies is attributable to the basis
underlying social power. Four main sources of power are often pointed
to: political, ideological, economic and military. These sources are not
exclusive of each other and can be relied upon in complementary fashion
by elites. Some scholars have strongly advocated the view that economic
bases of power have the greatest potential, although these arguments
vary in terms of just how far ideologically-based power can carry
emerging elites in the consolidation of large-scale, stable, centralized
political systems. Research in the Alto Magdalena deals with the
interplay between ideology and economics in the transition from the
hierarchical societies of the Regional Classic period (AD 1-900) to
those of the Recent period (AD 900-1530). The focus is on Mesitas, the
largest and most aggregated central community in the Alto Magdalena,
where a sample of high and low status households of the Recent period
was excavated so as to compare the kind and degree of economic
differentiation between them to that documented for the Regional Classic
period in previous research.
We will begin at 3pm, Friday, December 13th, in the Anthro Lounge.
Location and Address
3106 WWPH Anthropology Lounge