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ExpansionaryDynamicsoftheNascentMonteAlbánState

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Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 29 (2010) 278–301

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Journal of Anthropological Archaeology

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Expansionary dynamics of the nascent Monte Albán state

R. Jason Sherman a,*, Andrew K. Balkansky b, Charles S. Spencer c, Brian D. Nicholls a

a Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201-0413, USAb Department of Anthropology, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Carbondale, IL 62901-4502, USAc Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024-5192, USA

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:Received 8 April 2009Revision received 1 April 2010Available online 11 May 2010

Keywords:State formationMilitarismOaxacaMonte Albán

0278-4165/$ - see front matter � 2010 Elsevier Inc. Adoi:10.1016/j.jaa.2010.04.001

* Corresponding author. Fax: +1 414 229 5848.E-mail address: [email protected] (R.J. Sherman

a b s t r a c t

The Monte Albán state emerged in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, between 300 and 100 BC. Archaeologicalevidence indicates that this case of state formation was linked to the territorial expansion of the MonteAlbán polity. We argue that rulers at Monte Albán adopted an expansionist strategy in order to acquireresources they could use to fund campaigns against rival polities and to bolster their position in a com-petitive sociopolitical environment. Logistical challenges associated with expansion favored experimen-tation with new (state) forms of administrative control, while importation of exotic goods contributed tothe development of social stratification. Multiple lines of evidence—including excavation data from Til-cajete and Yaasuchi, survey data from the Sola Valley, and a GIS model of potential transportationroutes—indicate that the Pacific coast of Oaxaca likely was a target of Monte Albán’s expansion. Ourmodel explains the variable nature of that expansion and its impact on the developmental histories ofneighboring regions, as well as the synergistic increase in complexity among interacting societies in LateFormative Oaxaca. Cross-cultural comparison demonstrates that key factors in the formation of theMonte Albán state (e.g., status rivalry, inter-polity conflict, territoriality, militarism, trade) are evidentelsewhere in the world.

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Introduction

Henry Wright (2006, p. 316) argues that prehistoric state for-mation was the result of long-term, cumulative experimentationinvolving ‘‘successive efforts to build successful political or socialformations.” In a few cases, such experiments led to the emergenceof primary states, or those which arose in a context of interactingpre-state societies (Wright, 1977, p. 379). These new state societieswere characterized by centralized and internally specialized gov-ernments, as well as at least two endogamous social strata, onecommoner and the other elite (Marcus and Feinman, 1998, p. 4;Wright, 1977). The earliest states also had ‘‘more power than theranked societies that preceded them, particularly in the areas ofwaging war, exacting tribute, controlling information, drafting sol-diers, and regulating manpower and labor” (Marcus and Feinman,1998, pp. 4–5). In our view, archaeological evidence indicates thatsuch a society—centered at the Zapotec site of Monte Albán—emerged in the Valley of Oaxaca in the southern highlands ofMexico sometime between 300 and 100 BC (Figs. 1 and 2) (e.g.,Balkansky, 1998a; Sherman, 2005; Spencer et al., 2008). As oneof few examples of primary states, the Monte Albán polity has beenof great interest to scholars concerned with the development andnature of early state societies (e.g., Feinman and Marcus, 1998;

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).

Marcus, 2008; Spencer and Redmond, 2004b; Wright, 1986; Yoffee,2005). We believe the evidence now conclusively shows that theMonte Albán state formed during a phase of militaristic expansion,and that experiments in territorial control led to the emergence ofstate institutions.

Over the past several decades research in regions neighboringthe Valley of Oaxaca has revealed that the Monte Albán polity be-gan to expand its control or influence outside the valley during theLate Monte Albán I (Late MA I) phase (300–100 BC) (Fig. 3; Spencerand Redmond, 2001a). As we discuss below, there is evidence thatthe founding of Monte Albán around 500 BC, as well as the subse-quent expansion of the Monte Albán polity, were motivated bylong-term inter-polity conflict in highland Oaxaca. As a responseto this conflict, long-distance expansion was undertaken in orderto establish and maintain the flow of resources—including exoticgoods not available in the Valley of Oaxaca—that elites at MonteAlbán could use to fund campaigns against rival polities and to bol-ster their position in a competitive, and increasingly stratified andcentralized, political environment. One key finding is that thearchaeological manifestations of Monte Albán’s expansion variedfrom region to region (Balkansky, 2001). Such a pattern undoubt-edly reflects variability in the strategies adopted by the rulers atMonte Albán in response to geographical and logistical constraints;the availability of valuable resources in particular regions; and theprior scale, organization, and strategic responses of neighboringsocieties.

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Fig. 2. Map of the Valley of Oaxaca, showing archaeological sites and regions mentioned in the text.

Fig. 1. Map of the state of Oaxaca, showing archaeological sites and survey areas (shaded) mentioned in the text. Sites in the Valley of Oaxaca and the Sola Valley are shown inFigs. 2 and 6.

R.J. Sherman et al. / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 29 (2010) 278–301 279

Many scholars note an association between state formation andterritorial expansion in other areas of the world (e.g., Algaze,1993b; Carneiro, 1970; Flannery, 1999; Marcus, 1998; Stanish,2001). One of the major contributions of the Oaxaca case is an

appreciation for the transformative effects of long-distance expan-sion itself—that is, viewing expansion as a primary (though not thesole) factor in the development of primary states, rather than a re-sult of state formation (Spencer, 1998, 2003). We suggest that the

Fig. 3. Chronological sequences for highland Mesoamerica, the Valley of Oaxaca, the Mixteca Alta, the Cañada de Cuicatlán, and the lower Río Verde region.

1 In contrast, Blanton et al. (1999) maintain that the state emerged earlier, duringthe Early Monte Albán I (Early MA I) phase (500–300 BC). In their view, stateformation was synchronous with the establishment of Monte Albán as the capital of avalley-wide confederation (Blanton et al., 1999, p. 48).

280 R.J. Sherman et al. / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 29 (2010) 278–301

expansion of the Monte Albán polity was linked to the develop-ment of state society in the Valley of Oaxaca in three respects. First,the logistical and administrative challenges associated with con-trolling the flow of goods and people, establishing and maintainingtrade routes, and mounting military expeditions over long dis-tances favored the development of increasingly complex forms ofadministrative control (e.g., Spencer, 1982; Wright, 1977). Second,the acquisition of goods from afar contributed to the developmentof social stratification by increasing the status of elites who couldconspicuously display and consume such goods, and use them toattract and reward supporters (e.g., Clark and Blake, 1994; Renfrewand Cherry, 1986). The exotic nature of these goods, as well as con-tacts with distant regions and peoples from which the goods wereacquired, would have further enhanced the status of local elites(Algaze, 2001, p. 59; Helms, 1988, 1993). We hasten to add, how-ever, that the emergence of social stratification was a complexand long-term process involving profound ideological transforma-tions in Zapotec society, a point that we elaborate upon below.Third, regional population shifts (not population growth alone) re-sulted in urbanism and locally acute social and environmentalstresses at Monte Albán and elsewhere in highland Oaxaca (e.g.,Carneiro, 1970; Marcus and Flannery, 1996). To address the chal-lenges associated with urbanization, rulers at Monte Albán mayhave adopted various strategies, including territorial expansion,the importation of resources, and/or experimentation with newforms of political control. At the same time, while some neighbor-ing societies were incorporated into the expanding Monte Albánpolity, populations in other regions resisted by aggregating atdefensible locations and developing more hierarchical state-likeinstitutions. Together, these processes constituted a perfect stormof structural conditions in which ambitious leaders at Monte Albánand other large sites might successfully promote themselves tokingship (e.g., Flannery, 1999).

Rather than focusing on a single prime mover, the model ofstate formation we propose links multiple factors—status rivalry,inter-polity conflict, militarism, trade, population shifts,demographic pressure, and ideology—in a systemic framework(Flannery, 1972). We do not believe that the rise of the MonteAlbán state was necessary or inevitable, but rather that a set ofoptimal conditions favoring state formation appeared in Oaxacain the last few centuries BC. Our model explains curious or seem-ingly dissimilar regional trajectories, the dendritic or asymmetricpattern of Monte Albán’s expansion, and the synergistic increasein complexity among multiple interacting regions. We argue thatthe Monte Albán polity is best understood as one of several statesocieties that co-evolved in Oaxaca during the Late Formativeperiod.

In the following sections we briefly review current archaeolog-ical evidence of long-term inter-polity conflict, urbanization, andstate formation in the Valley of Oaxaca. We also summarize the

results of research in regions of the southern Mexican highlandswhere evidence of Monte Albán’s expansion has been documented.This paper affords us the opportunity to compare for the first timethe results of our independent investigations at sites and in regionsalong a possible southern extension of Monte Albán’s sphere ofinfluence. The research we discuss includes Spencer and Red-mond’s excavations in the Tilcajete area (1993-present), Balkan-sky’s regional survey of the Sola Valley (1995–1996), andSherman’s excavations at the site of Yaasuchi (2000–2001) (Figs.1 and 2). We also present the results of a GIS analysis conductedby Nicholls in order to test some of our assumptions about thispurported southern route of expansion. Finally, we compare the re-sults of our field investigations and GIS study with archaeologicalevidence from the Pacific coast of Oaxaca—a possible target ofMonte Albán’s expansion in Late MA I. The article concludes withcross-cultural comparisons between the Oaxacan case and otherexamples of expansionist primary states. Monte Albán’s expansion,although unique in its particular features, nonetheless exhibited ageneral pattern seen in other areas of the world.

Inter-polity conflict, urbanization, and state formation

After decades of archaeological research, it seems increasinglylikely that the Monte Albán state emerged sometime during theLate MA I phase (e.g., Balkansky, 1998a, p. 462; Marcus andFlannery, 1996, pp. 155–171; Spencer and Redmond, 2004b, pp.175–184).1 While there is no evidence of state-level society duringthe preceding Rosario phase (700–500 BC), it does appear that mul-tiple autonomous and competing polities were present in the Val-ley of Oaxaca at that time. Three separate settlement clusters, onein each of the three branches of the valley, were separated by an80-km2 uninhabited buffer zone in the valley’s center (Kowalewskiet al., 1989, p. 75). Evidence of large-scale burning, presumablyassociated with raiding, has been found at both San José Mogoteand El Mogote, the largest settlements in the northern (Etla) andsouthern (Valle Grande-Ocotlán) branches of the valley, respec-tively (Marcus and Flannery, 1996, pp. 128–129; Spencer andRedmond, 2001b). The prevalence of violent conflict in Rosariotimes is further attested by Monument 3 at San José Mogote, whichincludes the earliest depiction of a sacrificed captive yet found inOaxaca (Marcus and Flannery, 1996, pp. 129–130).

Such inter-polity conflict apparently served as the catalyst forurbanization. At the beginning of the Early MA I phase, around500 BC, the site of Monte Albán was founded atop a 400-m moun-tain in the previously uninhabited central zone of the valley (Fig. 2;

Fig. 4. The archaeological sites of El Mogote, El Palenque, and Cerro Tilcajete, located near the modern town of San Martín Tilcajete (redrawn from Spencer et al. (2008),Fig. 2).

2 El Mogote and El Palenque were first identified in 1978 by archaeologists on theOaxaca Settlement Pattern Project, who designated the sites SMT-11a and SMT-11b(Blanton et al., 1982). The results of intensive surveys and extensive excavationsconducted by Spencer and Redmond at El Mogote and El Palenque complement theregional survey data, providing a more complete picture of the settlement histories ofthese sites.


Blanton, 1978). Monte Albán’s initial population of about 5000people increased dramatically—to more than 17,000 people—inthe Late MA I phase (Kowalewski et al., 1989, Tables 5.9, 6.4). If in-ter-polity competition spurred the foundation and early growth ofMonte Albán, there are also indications that conflict continued tobe a concern for the inhabitants of Monte Albán. The site’s moun-taintop location was rendered even more defensible by the con-struction of a wall on the most vulnerable north and west slopesof the site during Late MA I or Monte Albán II (MA II; 100 BC–AD200) (Blanton, 1978, pp. 52–54). Furthermore, more than 300 mon-umental carvings (known as danzantes) depicting slain and muti-lated captives similar to that shown on the earlier Monument 3at San José Mogote were displayed on the walls of an Early MA Ipublic building at Monte Albán (Coe, 1962, pp. 95–96; Marcusand Flannery, 1996, pp. 151–153).

There has been some disagreement among Oaxaca scholars con-cerning with whom Monte Albán may have been in conflict. Blan-ton and his colleagues (e.g., Blanton et al., 1999, pp. 62–66)maintain that Monte Albán was settled by a valley-wide confeder-acy of communities intended to counter threats from groups out-side the valley. This argument is based primarily on the regionalsurveys of Monte Albán and the Valley of Oaxaca (1971–1980)(see Blanton, 1976a,b, 1978). Marcus and Flannery (1996, p. 154)counter that migrants from San José Mogote and other villages inthe Etla branch of the valley—which were abandoned at the endof the Rosario phase—founded Monte Albán in hopes of gaining astrategic advantage over competing polities, at least some of whichwere located within the Valley of Oaxaca. The results of recentinvestigations at the sites of El Mogote and El Palenque (Figs. 2and 4) are consistent with this scenario (Redmond and Spencer,2008; Spencer, 2003, 2006; Spencer and Redmond, 2001b, 2003,

2004a,b, 2005, 2006; Spencer et al., 2008).2 This research indicatesthat the inhabitants of El Mogote, a Rosario to Early MA I site, did notparticipate in the founding of Monte Albán. Rather, El Mogote main-tained its status as the primary center in the southern branch of thevalley until Late MA I, when the settlement was burned and itsinhabitants moved to the adjacent and more easily defended siteof El Palenque (Fig. 4; Spencer and Redmond, 2001b). Thus, it seemslikely that El Mogote and El Palenque were the consecutive capitalsof an autonomous polity (hereafter the ‘‘Tilcajete polity”) rivalingMonte Albán throughout the Rosario, Early MA I, and Late MA Iphases (Spencer and Redmond, 2001b). The violent competition be-tween the Monte Albán and Tilcajete polities apparently climaxed inthe early years of MA II, when El Palenque was destroyed and com-pletely abandoned (Spencer and Redmond, 2003, pp. 41–42). Subse-quently, a secondary center affiliated with Monte Albán wasestablished at a nearby hilltop location known as Cerro Tilcajete(Figs. 2 and 4; Elson, 2007). The data from the Tilcajete locality thusare consistent with the proposition that by MA II the entire Valley ofOaxaca had been incorporated into the Monte Albán polity (Spencerand Redmond, 2001b).

Several lines of evidence indicate the presence of a state societyin the Valley of Oaxaca by MA II. Regional survey data indicate thata settlement hierarchy with at least four tiers—generallyconsidered to be an archaeological indicator of state-level


organization (Wright and Johnson, 1975)—had developed by thisperiod (Kowalewski et al., 1989). Moreover, palaces, two-roomtemples, I-shaped ballcourts, and other public buildings likelyreflecting the presence of specialized state institutions (Flannery,1998; Flannery and Marcus, 1976, pp. 217–221; Marcus and Flan-nery, 1996, pp. 172–194; Spencer and Redmond, 2004a,b) wereconstructed at Monte Albán; the three secondary centers in thevalley, Cerro Tilcajete (Elson, 2007), Dainzú (Bernal and Oliveros,1988), and the newly resettled San José Mogote (Marcus and Flan-nery, 1996); and even smaller settlements like Cuilapan (Bernal,1958) and Yaasuchi (Sherman, 2005) (Fig. 2). Given the clear evi-dence of state institutions in MA II, and the lack of similar evidencefor the Rosario phase, the Monte Albán state must have emergedsometime during Monte Albán I. We argue that the state formedin Late MA I, as populations both inside and outside of the Valleyof Oaxaca were incorporated by the expansionist Monte Albánpolity.

Unfortunately, the remains of Early and Late MA I buildings atMonte Albán are for the most part sealed beneath later construc-tions.3 Thus, we have to look to other sites in the valley for architec-tural evidence of the earliest state institutions (Marcus and Flannery,1996, p. 165). There is no clear architectural evidence of state insti-tutions at El Mogote during Early MA I (Spencer and Redmond,2001b, p. 223). However, three structures—a palatial residence andtwo multi-room temples—excavated at El Palenque indicate thatstate institutions such as kingship and state-sponsored religionhad emerged at that site by Late MA I (Redmond and Spencer,2008; Spencer and Redmond, 2001b, pp. 222–223, 2004a). We sus-pect that similar institutions and architectural features were presentat Monte Albán by this time. Unfortunately this hypothesis cannotbe tested given the lack of MA I architectural evidence from MonteAlbán. As Spencer and Redmond have suggested elsewhere(Redmond and Spencer, 2008; Spencer and Redmond, 2001b,p. 221, 2004a, p. 453), the development of state institutions at ElPalenque may be the result of strategies adopted by the Tilcajeteelite, who sought to bolster their local authority and resistincorporation into the Monte Albán polity by experimenting withnew forms of institutional control.4 Thus, multiple state societies—one centered at Monte Albán, the other at El Palenque—may haveco-evolved in the Valley of Oaxaca during Late MA I. We return tothis issue below.

Monte Albán’s influence outside of Oaxaca Valley in Late MA I

Considered together, archaeological data from the Valley ofOaxaca and neighboring regions indicate that the Monte Albán pol-ity began expanding its influence and control outside of the valleyin Late MA I, before subjugating all peoples and territories in itsmore immediate vicinity. Finding it difficult to subdue powerfuland more populous local rivals, such as the Tilcajete polity, theleaders of Monte Albán apparently adopted a strategy of long-dis-tance expansion. In doing so, the Zapotecs from Monte Albán mayhave deliberately spread into sparsely populated regions, or tar-geted smaller and/or less complexly organized populations thatcould be conquered with relative ease, while bypassing areas andgroups that were more difficult to subdue (Spencer and Redmond,2001b). This would explain why Monte Albán’s expansion appearsto have been dendritic or asymmetric, rather than concentric, in

3 While small portions of several Early and Late MA I buildings have beenexcavated at Monte Albán (Acosta, 1965, pp. 814–817; Flannery and Marcus, 1983;Winter, 1994), it was impossible to uncover these structures completely.

4 The multiroom temples at El Palenque are not identical to MA II temples found atMonte Albán and other sites in the valley. Redmond and Spencer (2008, p. 257) arguethat this variation may be a material reflection of El Palenque’s autonomy from, andresistance to, the expansionist Monte Albán polity in Late MA I.

nature (Spencer, 2006, 2007; Spencer and Redmond, 2001b).Adopting a long-distance expansionist strategy would have al-lowed the ruling elites of the Monte Albán polity to obtain re-sources—via tribute, direct exploitation, and/or trade—that theycould use to bolster their positions in the competitive, increasinglystratified sociopolitical environment of the Valley of Oaxaca, and tocounter the challenges represented by powerful rivals such asTilcajete.

The archaeological manifestations of Monte Albán’s influenceoutside of the Valley of Oaxaca in Late MA I vary considerably fromregion to region. This variability undoubtedly reflects the fact thatthe nature and effects of Monte Albán’s expansion differed depend-ing upon geography-related logistical constraints (e.g., distance,difficult terrain); the distribution of valuable or exotic resources;the presence (or absence), scale, and sociopolitical complexity ofneighboring societies; and the particular strategies (e.g., successfulor unsuccessful resistance, tacit cooperation, political experimen-tation) adopted by self-interested local rulers in response to MonteAlbán’s actions. The expansionist tactics adopted by the rulers ofMonte Albán apparently took many forms—including not just con-quest, but also colonization, episodic raiding, the establishment ofmarriage alliances and/or trading relationships (perhaps backed bythreats or occasional military force), and co-option of existingpolitical structures. The effects of such strategies on the develop-mental histories of neighboring societies were equally varied.

Despite the variable nature of Monte Albán’s strategies andtheir impact on local populations, the overall pattern that hasemerged after decades of archaeological research indicates thatthe expansion of the Monte Albán polity was a significant (thoughnot uniform) catalyst for change in societies throughout the south-ern Mexican highlands in Late MA I and MA II. Most interestingly,in some cases (e.g., Tilcajete, and sites in the Mixteca Alta likeHuamelulpan and Monte Negro, which we discuss below) thethreat posed by Monte Albán contributed to the growth of defensi-ble urban centers and the co-evolution of state societies. In turn,the Monte Albán polity was itself transformed by its expansionistprogram and its interactions with neighboring societies, as rulersat Monte Albán experimented with new forms of social, political,economic, and ritual control (e.g., Redmond and Spencer, 2008;Spencer, 1982, 1998).

Monte Albán’s expansionist strategy is best documented in theCañada de Cuicatlán, a narrow canyon located north of the Valleyof Oaxaca (Fig. 1). Regional survey and excavations undertaken inthe Cañada by Redmond and Spencer (Redmond, 1983; Spencer,1982; Spencer and Redmond, 1997, 2001a) were designed in partto test a hypothesis proposed by Marcus (1976, p. 130), who sug-gested that one of the conquest slabs set in the walls of BuildingJ at Monte Albán—which may depict regions in the southern high-lands conquered (or claimed) by the Monte Albán polity (Caso,1947; Marcus, 1976)—refers to Cuicatlán. Redmond and Spencer’sresearch did indeed yield evidence of a violent takeover by militaryforces from the Valley of Oaxaca at the beginning of the Lomasphase (ca. 300 BC), roughly concurrent with the onset of Late MAI in the Monte Albán chronology (Fig. 3).5 The evidence of conquestincluded major shifts in settlement location; the destruction andabandonment of villages and the establishment of new sites;changes in residential patterns; intensification of agriculture withan emphasis on canal irrigation; and the establishment of a militaryoutpost at Quiotepec, apparently the northernmost point of MonteAlbán’s expansion (Fig. 1). As Spencer and Redmond (2001b, p.225) have argued elsewhere, the rulers at Monte Albán may have

5 Microtypological analysis of gray ware ceramics from El Mogote and sites in theCañada de Cuicatlán indicates that Llano Perdido, a village in the Cãnada that predatesthe Zapotec conquest, may have been attacked even earlier, in the final decades ofEarly MA I (Spencer et al., 2008, pp. 336–337).

Fig. 5. Conquest slab (Lápida 57) on Building J at Monte Albán (redrawn fromMarcus (1983a), Fig. 4.15).


targeted the Cañada for territorial expansion—despite the fact that itlay some 80 km away—because it was more sparsely populated, andthus less capable of mounting resistance, than the Tilcajete polity.

There likewise is evidence that in Late MA I Monte Albán ex-panded into the Peñoles region of the Mixtec Sierra immediatelyto the west of the Valley of Oaxaca (Fig. 1). The results of regionalsurvey indicate that the number, and perhaps also the size, of set-tlements in the Peñoles region increased during the Late Formative(ca. 300 BC–AD 200) (Finsten, 2002, p. 327). The pottery collectedat these Late Formative sites included types identical to thosefound in the Valley of Oaxaca (Finsten, 1996, p. 84). While the set-tlements in the southern portion of the survey zone may have re-mained at least partially autonomous from Monte Albán (Finsten,1996, p. 84), ‘‘a string or corridor of sites” established in the northpart of the survey zone, near the Nochixtlán Valley and the conti-nental divide, may indicate ‘‘Monte Albán’s concern with control-ling routes of access to and from the Valley of Oaxaca” (Finsten,2002, p. 327).

Some scholars have suggested that Monte Albán’s direct controlmay have extended even further into the Mixteca Alta (Fig. 1) (e.g.,Byland and Pohl, 1994, pp. 52–56; Flannery, 1983, p. 99; Marcusand Flannery, 1996, pp. 165–169, 203; Plunket, 1983). However,this possibility now seems unlikely, as growth of the regional sur-vey program during the 1990s has demonstrated a consistent pat-tern of local populations agglomerating in response to MonteAlbán’s expansion (Balkansky, 1998a, pp. 466–469; Balkanskyet al., 2004, pp. 55–56). The threat posed by Monte Albán waslikely the catalyst for urbanization, and perhaps even state forma-tion, in the Mixteca Alta. During the Early Ramos phase (300–100BC)—contemporaneous with Late MA I in the Valley of Oaxaca se-quence—a number of terraced hilltop centers were founded,including Yucuita, Cerro Jazmín, Huamelulpan, and Monte Negro(Balkansky et al., 2000, pp. 373–376). Sites such as Huamelulpanand Monte Negro apparently grew through the process of ‘‘synoik-ism,” whereby local populations relocated at defensible locations inresponse to external threats from Monte Albán as well as other urbancenters in the Mixteca (Balkansky, 1998b; Balkansky et al., 2004).The complex settlement hierarchy in the Huamelulpan Valley mayindicate the emergence of a state society during the Early Ramosphase (Balkansky, 1998b, pp. 54–55, 63). Architectural evidencefrom Monte Negro likewise suggests the emergence of state institu-tions, but this was coincident with the site’s abandonment—beforethe development of a regional settlement hierarchy in the surround-ing Tilantongo Valley (Balkansky et al., 2004, pp. 55–57). MonteNegro, although short-lived compared to other Oaxacan cities ofthe time, was another example of urbanism preceding stateformation.

Late MA I settlement in the Ejutla Valley, located immediatelyto the south of the Valley of Oaxaca (Fig. 1), contrasts with the pat-terns evident in the Cuicatlán Cañada, Peñoles, and the MixtecaAlta. Based on the data they collected during their intensive surveyof the region, Feinman and Nicholas (1990) argue that the EjutlaValley was probably not integrated into the Monte Albán polityprior to MA II. While Ejutla was ‘‘a sparsely settled frontier zone”in Early MA I, the valley witnessed considerable population in-crease in Late MA I (Feinman and Nicholas, 1990, p. 228). Feinmanand Nicholas (1990, p. 228) suggest that immigration may havecontributed to this increase, ‘‘although it is rather unlikely that agreat number of migrants came from the Valley of Oaxaca sincethe pace of Early I–Late I growth was rapid there as well. . .” TheLate MA I sites in Ejutla were relatively small (maximum of 350people) and architecturally modest; there was no single dominantcenter in the valley; and settlements were generally located nearwatercourses or productive farmland (Feinman and Nicholas,1990, pp. 228–230). Moreover, Feinman and Nicholas (1990,pp. 231) found ‘‘few definitive Monte Albán I cremas . . . distributed

rather randomly (at sites of different size and location).” Cremaceramics are particularly significant because they were made withraw materials obtained from sources in the vicinity of Monte Albán(Feinman, 1982, pp. 188–191, 1986, p. 356; Joyce et al., 2006, pp.582, 587; Shepard, 1963, p. 19, 1967, p. 478). Thus, their presenceor absence may be an indicator of a site or region’s relationshipwith Monte Albán (see further discussion below).

It was not until MA II that possible indications of direct influ-ence or control by Monte Albán—including settlement shifts,construction at a major site near the valley’s center, the establish-ment of defensible hilltop settlements, and an ‘‘increased impor-tance of crema pottery, particularly at major centers”—becameevident in Ejutla (Feinman and Nicholas, 1990, pp. 231–232). Bythat period, the Ejutla Valley may have been more tightly inte-grated into the Monte Albán state as a result of conquest and/orthe co-option of local elites (Feinman and Nicholas, 1990, pp.231–234).

In contrast to Ejutla, the results of intensive survey in the SolaValley, which lies immediately to the west of Ejutla and southwestof the Valley of Oaxaca (Fig. 1), indicate that this region was colo-nized by immigrants from the Valley of Oaxaca during Late MA I(Balkansky, 2002). There are also indications that Monte Albán’sinfluence—including exchange of ceramics and other exotic goods,and perhaps episodic raiding—extended farther south, into partic-ular regions along the Pacific coast. In the next section we considerthe evidence of and motivations for Monte Albán’s expansion intoSola, as well as possible effects of that expansion on societies alongthe Pacific coast.

Monte Albán and the Pacific coast

Considering toponymic evidence at Monte Albán, as well as theoverall pattern of Monte Albán’s expansion, there is reason to be-lieve that the Pacific coast of Oaxaca would have been of particularinterest to the leaders of Monte Albán as they sought to extendtheir influence throughout the southern highlands in Late MA I.As we noted previously, Marcus (1976, p. 130) argued that one ofthe conquest slabs on Building J at Monte Albán refers to Cui-catlán—a hypothesis that was subsequently verified by Redmondand Spencer’s investigations in that region, which yielded evidenceof conquest in Late MA I. Marcus (1976, p. 130, 1983a, p. 108) hasalso suggested that another of the Building J conquest glyphs, Slab57 (Fig. 5), may refer to the site of Tututepec, located near themouth of the Río Verde on the Pacific coast approximately

7 Most pottery types in the Valley of Oaxaca sequence are designated byalphanumeric codes first defined by Caso et al. (1967). Each code comprises a letter,which indicates the ware type (G = gris, C = crema, A = amarillo, K = café), followed by a


125 km southwest of Monte Albán (Fig. 1). If her interpretation isaccurate, it implies that Monte Albán at least claimed to have con-quered or exacted tribute from this region of the coast by MA II.However, the rulers at Monte Albán may have had their eyestrained on the coast even earlier. Spencer and Redmond (1997,p. 602; Spencer, 1982, p. 229) have suggested that Monte Albán’sconquest of the Cañada de Cuicatlán may have been motivated,in part, by the fact that tropical fruits and nuts not available inthe Valley of Oaxaca could be grown in the warmer, tierracaliente environment of the Cañada and then imported as tributeto Monte Albán.6 If this proposition is correct, it would demon-strate the desire and ability of Monte Albán’s rulers to establishand maintain—forcibly, when necessary—access to exotic goodsfrom regions far from the Valley of Oaxaca. Feinman and Nicholas(1990, p. 232) have made a similar argument regarding the EjutlaValley in MA II:

As was suggested by Spencer (1982) for Cuicatlan, the inhabit-ants of Ejutla, situated at a lower elevation than the Valley ofOaxaca, may have grown cotton or other more tropical productsdesired by elites at Monte Alban. An alternative, but not mutu-ally exclusive, hypothesis is that Ejutla was important becauseit could open exchange links with coastal and lowland areas(to which it still provides a gateway today; see Beals(1975:44, 128)).

Indeed, the Pacific coast may have represented a potentialsource of exotic marine and tropical goods not generally availablein the highlands, including shell, dried seafood, tropical fruits andnuts, cacao, salt, cotton, cloth, feathers, pelts, púrpura dye, and res-ins (e.g., Feinman and Nicholas, 1990, p. 232; Joyce, 2003, p. 59).

In the following sections we evaluate the hypothesis that MonteAlbán sought to establish a corridor for the importation of goodsfrom the Pacific coast during Late MA I as a response to local in-ter-polity conflict. In so doing, we consider data collected duringfour separate field projects: excavations at the sites of El Palenqueand Yaasuchi in the Valley of Oaxaca, as well as regional surveys inthe Valley of Oaxaca and the Sola Valley. We also present the re-sults of a GIS study that was undertaken to model possible trans-portation routes between Monte Albán and various points alongthe Pacific coast. Finally, we consider evidence of Monte Albán’sinfluence obtained by archaeologists working in the lower RíoVerde region of the Pacific coast itself.

Survey data from the Sola Valley

Regional survey results indicate that only a single hamlet ex-isted in the Sola Valley during Early MA I. In contrast, by LateMA I there were 19 sites, and a total estimated population of1539 people, in the region (Fig. 6; Balkansky, 2002, pp. 35–45,Tables 2.5, 2.7). These Late MA I sites were not always located onthe best available agricultural land, and most were terraced anddefensible. The four largest settlements, three of which were firstoccupied in Late MA I, were located along the margins of the valleynear natural passes leading to adjacent regions. In addition to lo-cally produced ceramics (e.g., utilitarian brownwares, some ofwhich were painted red and resembled the cremas produced nearMonte Albán), the pottery found on the surface of Late MA I sitesin Sola included types and vessel forms similar to Monte Albánceramics (Balkansky, 2002, pp. 37–40). The appearance of diagnos-tic MA I ceramic types such as G.5, G.12, G.17, K.3, C.2, C.4, and C.13

6 Data from the excavation of midden deposits at the site of La Coyotera in theCuicatlán Cañada indicate a dramatic increase in the production of coyol palm(Acrocomia mexicana), black zapote (Diospyros digyna), and ciruela (Spondias mombin)during the Lomas phase, coincident with Monte Albán’s incursion into the region(Spencer, 1982, pp. 227–228).

suggests that the Late MA I population increase in the Sola Valleyresulted from colonization by people from the Valley of Oaxaca(Fig. 7).7 As Balkansky (2002, p. 50) has argued, the Late MA I colo-nization of Sola may have been intended to transform the region intoa strategic province (Hodge, 1998) and thereby establish a transpor-tation route for people and goods between the Valley of Oaxaca—particularly Monte Albán—and the Pacific coast. As was noted previ-ously, Feinman and Nicholas (1990) do not believe that the EjutlaValley, located directly east of Sola, was fully incorporated into theMonte Albán polity until MA II. Taken together, the survey evidencefrom Sola and Ejutla suggests that rather than expanding directlysouthward, Monte Albán instead exerted its influence in a moresouthwesterly direction. In particular, leaders at Monte Albán mayhave been interested in the Tututepec area, around the mouth ofthe Río Verde (Fig. 1).

A possible mountain route

During Late MA I, the Tilcajete polity centered at El Palenquemay have comprised the southern portion of the Valle Grande-Ocotlán region in the Valley of Oaxaca (Fig. 2; see Spencer andRedmond, 2001b, Fig. 5).8 If indeed El Palenque controlled muchof the southern branch of the valley, this would have impeded at-tempts by Monte Albán to expand directly southward (e.g., intothe Ejutla Valley). Feinman and Nicholas’s (1990) conclusion thatEjutla was not significantly affected by Monte Albán until MA II isconsistent with this scenario. At the same time, evidence of MonteAlbán’s expansion into the Sola Valley to the southwest of the Valleyof Oaxaca during Late MA I suggests that leaders at Monte Albán de-vised strategies that allowed them to circumvent the obstacles posedby the rival Tilcajete polity. Rather than traveling directly souththrough the Valle Grande, people (traders, military forces, migrants,diplomats) and goods may have traveled between Monte Albán andthe coast by entering and exiting the Valley of Oaxaca at a morenorthern location (Spencer and Redmond, 2001a, pp. 199–200) andfollowing a mountainous route linking the Mixtepec Valley, thesmall valley of Santa María Lachixío, and the Sola Valley (Figs. 1and 2).

Ethnographic data indicate that in historic times both peopleand goods have moved along just such a mountain route. MarkSicoli, a linguistic anthropologist who has conducted ethnographicresearch in the West Zapotec region (Lachixío, Los Altos), notes:

Elders from Lachixío and Los Altos towns reported to me thattheir parents or grandparents traded salt from the coast of Oaxacato the Valley of Oaxaca in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Thistrade was based on foot travel and ended, for the most part, by themid-20th century when networks of roads for motorized trans-port were carved throughout the region. The roads often followroutes different from the old footpaths (Sicoli, 2007, p. 37).

Excavation data from Yaasuchi and El Palenque

Elsewhere, Sherman (2005) has suggested that a mountain passnear Yaasuchi, a site located on the western margin of the ValleGrande (Figs. 2 and 8), may have been an entry/exit point on the

number.8 Feinman (1998, p. 126, Fig. 4.7) likewise has argued that during Late MA I the

northern Valle Grande-Ocotlán area was more closely linked to Monte Albán than wasthe southernmost portion of the valley or the Tlacolula subregion (i.e., the easternbranch of the valley). However, he qualified his position: ‘‘I am not implying thatthese latter areas were completely independent of Monte Albán, only that the natureof their linkages was less direct than is indicated for the core” (Feinman, 1998, p. 126).

Fig. 6. Late MA I sites in the Sola Valley.

Fig. 7. Examples of incised G.12 bowl bases from the Sola Valley.


mountain route we propose. Moreover, given its proximity to thispass, Yaasuchi might have served as an important node on a trans-portation route linking Monte Albán, Sola, and the Pacific coast.The results of recent investigations at Yaasuchi indicate that thesite was initially settled sometime during the MA I period—cer-tainly by the transition from Early to Late MA I, and perhaps earlier(Sherman, 2005). Given the evidence for endemic raiding and vio-lence in the valley throughout the MA I period (e.g., Flannery andMarcus, 2003; Spencer, 2003), the defensible nature of the site—its piedmont location, steep slopes, and commanding view of thesurrounding terrain—would have rendered it an attractive localefor potential settlers. This would have been particularly true ifthe contested boundary between the Monte Albán and Tilcajetepolities lay nearby (see Spencer and Redmond, 2001b, p. 204, Figs.4 and 5).

By Late MA I, Yaasuchi had an estimated mean population of atleast 175 people (Sherman, 2005, pp. 114–115). At this size, Yaasu-chi would have been a lower-order center in the valley-wide andsubregional settlement hierarchies (see Kowalewski et al., 1989,

Fig. 8. Topographic map of Yaasuchi. The average elevation of Area E is 1595 masl, the base of Structure 4 is 1630 masl, and the top of Area C is 1694 masl.

2 cm

Fig. 9. MA I ceramics from Yaasuchi.


pp. 126–131). Excavations at the site failed to uncover any struc-tures or features dating to MA I. However, large quantities of rede-posited sherds from diagnostic Late MA I (and possibly also EarlyMA I) ceramic types were recovered from excavation contexts aswell as surface collections (Fig. 9; Sherman, 2005, pp. 103–107,

Fig. 3.2). Additionally, excavations at Yaasuchi yielded indirect evi-dence of residential occupation predating the construction of twocivic-ceremonial buildings (Structures 4 and 5A; see Fig. 8) in MAII. Large fragments of utilitarian ground stone artifacts (manosand metates) presumably used during an earlier occupation were


incorporated into the stone foundations of Structure 4, while testpits excavated below Structure 5A yielded a wide variety of arti-facts as well as possible architectural features predating the MAII building.

As we discussed previously, various lines of evidence indicatethat the relationship between the Monte Albán and Tilcajete poli-ties was antagonistic. Specifically, Spencer and Redmond (2001b,2006; Spencer, 2007) have argued that the rivalry between thesepolities was reflected in the artifact assemblages found at El Mo-gote and El Palenque. Excavations at both sites yielded few cremaware ceramics (Spencer and Redmond, 2001b, pp. 219–220).Whereas gray ware ceramics apparently were produced at multi-ple loci in the Valley of Oaxaca using locally available alluvial clays(Fargher, 2007; Feinman, 1986; Feinman et al., 1989; Minc et al.,2007), crema ceramics were manufactured with raw materialsobtainable exclusively from sources in the vicinity of Monte Albán(Feinman, 1982, pp. 188–191, 1986, p. 356; Joyce et al., 2006, pp.582, 587; Shepard, 1963, p. 19, 1967, p. 478). Thus, as we notedabove, the presence or absence of crema ceramics may be one indi-cator of a site’s interaction—or lack of interaction—with MonteAlbán (Spencer and Redmond, 2001b). The scarcity of cremas atEl Mogote and El Palenque was mirrored by a paucity of obsidian(Spencer and Redmond, 2001b, pp. 220–221). This lack of obsidianwould not be surprising if the rulers of Monte Albán were restrict-ing importation from the major obsidian sources in the centralMexican highlands, northwest of the Valley of Oaxaca (Spencerand Redmond, 2001b, p. 221). Thus, the relative scarcity of bothcrema pottery and obsidian at El Mogote and El Palenque seemsto indicate that these sites were politically and economicallyautonomous from Monte Albán.

Research at Tilcajete also yielded evidence of violent episodesaccompanied by dramatic settlement shifts. El Mogote, locatedimmediately southeast of and adjacent to El Palenque, was burnednear the end of Early MA I. At the beginning of Late MA I, much ofthe settlement was shifted westward and uphill (Fig. 4). A new pla-za—the center of El Palenque—was built in a more defensible posi-tion, and portions of the site were protected by defensive walls(Spencer and Redmond, 2001b, p. 219). El Palenque, in turn, wasdestroyed and completely abandoned in the early years of MA II(Spencer and Redmond, 2003, pp. 41–42). The Monte Albán-affili-ated site of Cerro Tilcajete was soon established at a hilltop loca-tion overlooking the former capital of the Tilcajete polity (Fig. 4;Elson, 2007).

If the Late MA I inhabitants of Yaasuchi likewise had an antag-onistic relationship with Monte Albán, we might expect to see evi-dence at the site comparable to that documented at Tilcajete (e.g.,

Table 1Percentages of crema ceramics recovered at El Palenque, La Coyotera, and Yaasuchi.

Sitea Sample C.2 C.4 C.5

Late MA I samplesEl Palenque Excavation (Feature 14) 1 0 1El Palenque Surface collections 31 4 0El Palenque Excavation (Areas B, G, I, P, W1, W2) 205 8 7La Coyotera Excavation (Feature 4, Level 9) 0 0 0

Late MA I – MA II samplesLa Coyotera Excavation (Feature 4) 2 0 1La Coyotera Excavation (Lomas Phase Chronology Sample) 5 0 1Yaasuchi Excavation (Feature 5) 0 0 2Yaasuchi Excavation (Structure 5A) 0 0 0Yaasuchi Excavation (Structure 4) 3 5 0

a The El Palenque data are from Spencer and Redmond’s fieldwork at the site; the La CoSherman (2005).

b Diagnostics include rim sherds, base angles, decorated body sherds, and special formc Percentage of cremas was calculated by dividing the number of crema sherds by the t

from Late MA I–MA II contexts at Yaasuchi, crema types pertaining exclusively to MA II

scarcity of crema pottery and imported obsidian, dramatic settle-ment shifts, and/or indications of large-scale violence). However,such patterns were not evident in the data collected at Yaasuchi.In general, the MA I ceramic assemblage from Yaasuchi was verysimilar to that of Monte Albán (Caso et al., 1967; Sherman, 2005,pp. 100–107, Figs. 3.1 and 3.2). To be sure, minor differences indecoration and vessel forms between the two sites were evident.However, these differences were not significant enough to inferthe presence of a local MA I ceramic tradition at Yaasuchi clearlydistinguishable from the Monte Albán sequence. Furthermore, cre-ma pottery was not scarce at Yaasuchi. As at El Mogote, only a fewexamples of the earliest crema types (e.g., C.2, C.4) were found atYaasuchi. However, whereas the finer crema types that first ap-peared in MA I (e.g., C.6, C.7, C.13, C.20) were extremely rare atEl Palenque (Spencer and Redmond, 2001b, p. 220), they weremore abundant at Yaasuchi. Table 1 lists the frequencies of MA Ito MA II crema pottery in various surface collection and excavationcontexts at El Palenque, Yaasuchi, and La Coyotera, a Lomas-phasesite in the Cañada de Cuicatlán that postdated Monte Albán’sexpansion into that region. It is clear from this comparison thatcremas were more abundant at Yaasuchi—where they constitutedbetween 4.35% and 7.48% of excavated ceramic assemblages—thanthey were at El Palenque—where as little as 0.77%, and no morethan 3.68%, of sherds were cremas. Notably, the frequency of cre-mas at Yaasuchi was more comparable to that from the MonteAlbán-associated site of La Coyotera, where crema types accountedfor 6.13–23.53% of the sherds recovered.

The artifacts found in excavations below the floors of Structures4 and 5A at Yaasuchi included a number of obsidian fragments,including two blades and 17 flakes (Sherman, 2005, Tables 3.3,3.4, B.6, B.7). The sub-floor deposits from which this obsidianwas recovered contained both MA I and MA II ceramics, so it isimpossible to determine precisely when the obsidian arrived atYaasuchi. It is clear, however, that obsidian was reaching the siteprior to the construction of the major MA II civic-ceremonial build-ings and, most likely, the full integration of the site’s inhabitantsinto the Monte Albán state.

In contrast to the pattern documented at Tilcajete, there do notappear to have been disruptions or significant shifts of settlementat Yaasuchi. Rather, there was continued growth and continuity ofsettlement location throughout MA I and into MA II. The site dideventually experience a major population decline, but not untilthe Monte Albán IIIa period (AD 200–500) (Sherman, 2005,pp. 193–195). Neither is there evidence of violence during the early(MA I to MA II) settlement history of Yaasuchi. Excavation ofdeposits below Structures 4 and 5A yielded no indications of major

C.6 C.7 C.13 C.20 Total cremas Total diagnosticsb % cremasc

0 0 0 3 5 649 0.779 0 0 1 45 3633 1.24

144 6 8 128 506 13,766 3.682 0 0 2 4 17 23.53

6 3 0 14 26 424 6.1311 4 10 24 55 812 6.77

4 4 0 0 10 230 4.3552 52 3 8 115 1726 6.66

114 154 0 6 282 3772 7.48

yotera data are from Spencer and Redmond (1997); and the Yaasuchi data are from

s.otal number of diagnostic sherds. In calculating the percentage of cremas recovered(e.g., C.8, C.11, C.12) were not included.


burning or episodes of destruction comparable to those found bySpencer and Redmond at both El Mogote and El Palenque.

In sum, the available Late MA I data appear to indicate that, un-like the people of Tilcajete, the inhabitants of Yaasuchi did not havean antagonistic relationship with Monte Albán. Unfortunately,given that excavations at the site did not uncover any residentialor civic-ceremonial architecture dating to Late MA I, it is difficultto determine whether Yaasuchi was under the direct control ofMonte Albán during this period. At a minimum, the presence of‘‘fancy” gray and crema ware ceramics comparable to those foundat Monte Albán suggests that Yaasuchi’s resident populationincluded elite individuals who maintained at least an economicrelationship with the leaders of Monte Albán.

In several respects, the location and physical character of Yaasu-chi would have rendered it strategically advantageous vis-à-vis theproposed route linking Monte Albán and points to the southwest.The site lies some 15 km (perhaps a half-day walk) from MonteAlbán—roughly the same distance between Yaasuchi and the Mixte-pec area. Thus, in terms of distance as well as travel time, the site liesat the approximate midpoint between Monte Albán and the Mixte-pec drainage (Fig. 2). The terrain comprising Yaasuchi, most of itsteep and rugged, rises upward toward the east (Fig. 8). Conse-quently, most of the site cannot be seen from the floor of the mainvalley. However, the vantage point atop the highest, easternmostportion of the site (Area C) would have provided a commandingview of the entire Valle Grande, from Monte Albán to the southernend of the valley. Thus, people living and/or engaged in activitiesin lower, western portions of the site (Areas A and B, which werethe principal foci of occupation during Late MA I) would have beenhidden from communities in the center of the valley, includingthose allied with El Palenque, while still being able to monitor themountain pass and other points along the western margin of thevalley. Finally, as we noted above, the defensibility of the site wouldhave provided some degree of protection against raids.

In sum, several lines of evidence—Yaasuchi’s proximity to amountain pass, its strategic location and physical characteristics,and indications that its inhabitants had a cooperative (or at leastnon-antagonistic) relationship with Monte Albán—suggest thatthe site may have been an important node on a route linking MonteAlbán and regions to the southwest. Given the available data, it isdifficult to define precisely what Yaasuchi’s role(s) vis-à-vis atransportation route might have been. Nevertheless, we can positthat, at one extreme, Yaasuchi may have been a Monte Albán-con-trolled outpost charged with monitoring and defending the move-ment of people and goods along the route. Alternatively, Yaasuchi’sleaders may have played the role of ‘‘middlemen”—by, for example,providing a secure place for traders or soldiers to stop and provi-sion themselves in exchange for political or economic favors fromthe rulers of Monte Albán.

If indeed Yaasuchi lay on a transportation route between MonteAlbán and (via Sola) the Pacific coast, we might expect shell orother coastal goods to be present at Yaasuchi.9 However, suchmaterials were not recovered in the surface collections and excava-tions conducted at the site. This absence of direct Pacific coast-re-lated evidence may indicate that the hypothesis concerningYaasuchi’s position on a transportation route is incorrect. Alterna-tively, many of the prestige goods imported from the coast may havebeen perishable and thus difficult, if not impossible, to detectarchaeologically. In any case, imported goods—whether perishableor not—might be rare at Yaasuchi and other sites along the traderoute if these settlements were not the intended destinations for

9 Likewise, we might expect to find shell at Late MA I sites in Sola. Although shellwas recovered at seven different localities during the Sola Valley survey (Nicholas andFeinman, 2002), all of these sites were occupied during multiple time periods. Ittherefore is impossible to determine when the shell was imported into Sola.

the goods. Exotic prestige items may have been transported to elitesat Monte Albán as expeditiously as possible.

In contrast to the lack of marine shell at Yaasuchi, modestamounts of shell were recovered in the excavations at both El Mo-gote and El Palenque. A larger quantity (nearly 150 pieces) wasfound at Cerro Tilcajete, the MA II site established after the abandon-ment of El Palenque (Feinman and Nicholas, 2007). The shell from allthree Tilcajete-locality sites has been analyzed by Gary Feinman andLinda Nicholas. While the results of their analyses of the Cerro Tilcaj-ete assemblage may be found in Feinman and Nicholas (2007), thedetailed data from El Mogote and El Palenque have not yet been pub-lished. Overall, there was little difference between the relative fre-quencies of shell in Early MA I deposits at El Mogote and Late MA Icontexts at El Palenque. It thus appears that, like Monte Albán, theTilcajete polity was importing materials from the coast throughoutMA I. We hypothesize that shell may have reached the Tilcajete areavia a trade route (or routes) heading southeast from Ocotlán throughChichicapan to the Río Tehuantepec drainage and the Isthmus, and/or south through Ejutla and Miahuatlán—neither of which appear tohave been under Monte Albán’s control prior to MA II (Brockington,1973; Feinman and Nicholas, 1990; Markman, 1981)—to the PuertoAngel area of the coast.

Survey data from the Valley of Oaxaca

The distribution of Late MA I population centers in the ValleGrande (Kowalewski et al., 1989, Fig. 6.5) is intriguing. The majorityof centers were located near the center of the valley (i.e., near the RíoAtoyac) or along its eastern margin. Only five, including Yaasuchi,were situated in the western portion of the Valle Grande. The twolargest of these, Cuilapan and a site designated 3-6-42 during the re-gional survey of the valley (Kowalewski et al., 1989), lay directly be-tween Yaasuchi and Monte Albán (Fig. 2). The linear arrangementand roughly equidistant spacing of these centers raise the possibil-ity that they, too, may have been important points on the transpor-tation route we propose. Moreover, the relative lack of settlementalong the western margin of the Valle Grande may indicate that thiswas a contested area in Late MA I.

Other than Yaasuchi, the only center located in the piedmont ormountain zones at the west edge of the Valle Grande was situatedatop a hill (Cerro Viejo) at the junction of the Río Mixtepec and themain valley (Fig. 2). This site, designated 3-6-104 during the regio-nal survey, was terraced and had an estimated population of 144people (Elam, 1989, pp. 397, 404; Kowalewski et al., 1989, Table6.4)—roughly the same size as Yaasuchi. It was surrounded by anumber of smaller, lower-elevation hamlets. Elam (1989, p. 397)discusses 3-6-104 in his study of ‘‘defensible” settlements in theValley of Oaxaca, noting: ‘‘The site’s location and the extremesteepness of the slope make it inaccessible and defensible.” He fur-ther suggests that, ‘‘Its purpose was probably to monitor activitiesin the Mixtepec Valley and traffic flowing into or out of the moredensely populated northern Valle Grande” (Elam, 1989, p. 404).The site of 3-6-104 is situated only 3 km or so to the east of thepoint (near Santa Cruz Mixtepec) where one of the mountainpasses from the Yaasuchi area joins the Mixtepec drainage. Giventhis proximity, 3-6-104 may have been a strategically positionedsettlement analogous to Yaasuchi; the inhabitants of this defensi-ble site would have been ideally situated to monitor activity inthe southern Valle Grande (i.e., the Tilcajete polity) near its junc-ture with the Mixtepec drainage and to help maintain the routeleading to and from Sola.

GIS analysis of potential transportation routes

In the course of evaluating the excavation and survey data out-lined above, a number of questions arose:


1. If the leaders of Monte Albán sought to establish and maintaincorridors for the movement of people and goods to and from thePacific coast, where might the most ‘‘efficient” or least ‘‘costly”routes be located?

2. Is Yaasuchi located on or near one of the least costly routes, aswe would expect if it was indeed an important node on a corri-dor linking Monte Albán and the coast?

3. Do the least costly routes pass through the Sola Valley, and if so,are the Late MA I sites in Sola located on or near these routes?

4. What effect, if any, might El Palenque have had on the selectionof routes between Monte Albán and the Pacific coast?

In an attempt to address these issues, a geographic informationsystem (GIS) was developed in order to identify the least costlyroutes—in terms of effort or energy expenditure—between MonteAlbán and several locations along the Pacific coast. Minimizationof effort/cost would not necessarily have been the sole concernof agents from Monte Albán when choosing routes to and fromthe coast; factors such as time, safety, and the location of cooper-ative or allied communities might also have been deemed impor-tant. Nevertheless, knowing where the least costly routes laywould at least provide us with a baseline for understanding possi-ble movement between the Valley of Oaxaca and regions to thesouth. The analysis also evaluated the routes of travel with respectto Yaasuchi and Late MA I sites in the Sola Valley, and assessed howvarious levels of influence on the part of El Palenque may have af-fected those transportation corridors. Although conflict with theTilcajete polity may have been one of the motivations for MonteAlbán’s expansion outside of the Valley of Oaxaca, El Palenque’scontrol of—or at least the ability to conduct raids within—the ValleGrande-Ocotlán region might have prevented direct southwardexpansion by Monte Albán.

GIS methodology

Traditional spatial analyses aimed at identifying potentialtransportation routes across various terrains typically did not eval-uate how topographic features on the landscape might affect theroute selection process. With the development of GIS software,many factors (e.g., slope, water-based obstacles, political bound-aries) could be included in such analyses, resulting in a more accu-rate picture of routes that may have been used in the past. Suchstudies generally attempt to identify the level of ‘‘effort” it wouldtake an individual to travel from one point to another. Over theyears, researchers have evaluated the effects of various factors onthe outcomes of transportation route studies and surface analysis.Tobler’s (1993) seminal research involving calculations of walkingrates across a surface terrain model was particularly significant; ithas been used as a basis for other analyses focused on the level ofeffort/calories an individual might expend in traveling to a partic-ular location, the time necessary to travel a certain distance, or theleast costly path from one location to another. Additionally, therehave been a number of studies involving the application of least-cost-path/cost-surface analysis to specific archaeological cases,while other scholars have focused on evaluating such approaches(e.g., Christopherson et al., 1999; Conolly and Lake, 2006; Howey,2007; Kanter, 2004; Lee and Stucky, 1998; Wheatley and Gillings,2002; Wood and Wood, 2006).

Our analysis incorporated both raster and vector datasets. Weused a seamless 30-m digital elevation model (DEM) raster file ofthe study area downloaded from the web site of Mexico’s InstitutoNacional de Estadística y Geografía (www.inegi.org.mx). The vectordata used in this study included point shape files representing thelocations of Monte Albán, El Palenque, Yaasuchi, and Late MA I sitesin the Sola Valley, as well as destination points along the Pacificcoast (see below). ArcGIS 9.2, developed by ESRI, was used to

conduct the analysis, and several least-cost paths were calculatedusing tools from Arc Toolbox. To complete the analysis, it was firstnecessary to identify the locations between which the least-costpaths would be calculated. Monte Albán was designated as thestarting point for all paths. In addition, four destination locationswere placed along the Pacific coast using a methodology similarto that employed by Carballo and Pluckhahn (2007), who modeledtransportation corridors between major sites in the central Mexi-can highlands and arbitrary points along the Gulf coast. One desti-nation point was positioned at the mouth of the Río Verde in theTututepec region, and then three arbitrary points were placedalong the coast to the east, so that all four destination points werespaced roughly 50 km apart (Figs. 10–13).

ArcGIS’s Spatial Analyst extension was used to convert the ele-vation data from the DEM into slope values, resulting in a new ras-ter surface representing the slope of the terrain throughout thestudy area. The next step was to classify the slope data into 15 cat-egories; natural breaks in the data were used as a basis for definingthese categories. Cells with lower slope values were assigned alower number, while cells with higher slope values were assignedhigher numbers. For example, cells located in flat or lightly slopedareas (e.g., along the coast or in the Valley of Oaxaca) generallywere given a value of 1. Conversely, highly mountainous areasand other steeply sloped zones were assigned a correspondinghigher value, such as 15. A new raster surface was created, display-ing the reclassified slope-based data.

We also wished to quantify El Palenque’s ability to influence orobstruct movement in the Valle Grande-Ocotlán, in order to seehow it might have affected the direction of movement betweenMonte Albán and the coast, and whether the proximity of Yaasuchiand/or the Sola Valley sites to least-cost routes changed as a result.Thus, in our study we defined three influence/obstruction territo-ries (EP Areas 1, 2, and 3). EP Area 1 represented no influence/obstruction outside of the site boundaries of El Palenque. EP Area2 was intended to simulate a small zone of influence. Thus, itwas defined as a circular area with a 5-km radius (measured out-ward from the center of El Palenque); it comprised the immediatevicinity of El Palenque, including the low range of hills just northand west of the site (Fig. 11). EP Area 3 was intended to representa large territory encompassing most of the Valle Grande-Ocotlán.The northern boundary of EP Area 3 mirrored EP Area 2 (i.e., a5-km-radius circle). The southern boundary was defined by thelimits of the Valley of Oaxaca regional survey, a 20-km-radius cir-cle (measured outward from the center of El Palenque), and aneast–west line representing the likely political boundary betweenthe central and southern branches of the valley in Late MA I (seeSpencer and Redmond, 2001b, Fig. 5) (Fig. 12). Each of the influ-ence/obstruction territories was converted from vector format intoa raster grid surface. Data cells in each grid surface were then givenvalues depending on whether they were part of the influence/obstruction territory or not. Cells inside the El Palenque territorywere given a value of 3 (to simulate greater cost), while cells lyingoutside the territory were assigned a value of 0 (no additionalcost). Least-cost paths were then generated using a cost grid rasterof the project area that combined both slope values (1–15) and theEl Palenque influence/obstruction values (0 or 3).

To calculate the least-cost paths for each of the three scenarios,we employed the model building function to help automate severalof the geospatial processes. This included using the Cost Distanceand Cost Path tools to calculate each of the travel paths. The CostDistance tool was used to determine the cost of travel to each cellin the raster, emanating out from a point of origin (Monte Albán),the result being a travel cost surface. Once this was completed, theCost Path tool was used to calculate the paths between the point oforigin and the selected destinations (the four points along thePacific coast). In each case, a raster file was created that

http://www.inegi.org.mx

Fig. 10. Least-cost paths linking Monte Albán with points on the Pacific coast, assuming no influence/obstruction by El Palenque.


represented the cells linking Monte Albán to the coast. Finally, theraster paths were converted into vector files in the form of lines.This process was completed for each of the three El Palenque areasof influence/obstruction. The least-cost paths calculated when ElPalenque was assumed to have no influence in the Valle Grande-Ocotlán (EP Area 1) are shown in Fig. 10; the paths calculated whensmall and large areas of influence/obstruction (EP Areas 2 and 3)were modeled are shown in Figs. 11 and 12; and the results ofall three least-cost-path calculations are superimposed in Fig. 13.

Results of the GIS analysis

When El Palenque is assumed to have no effect (Fig. 10), theleast-cost paths between Monte Albán and all four points on thecoast pass just to the east of Yaasuchi and parallel the westernedge of the Valle Grande. Near the south end of the valley, in thevicinity of the site 3-6-104, the paths diverge: the routes to themouth of the Río Verde (point 1) and coastal point 2 pass throughthe Sola Valley, while the paths to coastal points 3 and 4 passthrough the Ejutla Valley. The locations of all four least-cost pathsremain the same even when the repulsive effects of a small terri-tory for the Tilcajete polity (EP Area 2) are incorporated into theanalysis (Fig. 11). When a larger Tilcajete territory (EP Area 3) is

assumed (Fig. 12), the least-cost paths to the mouth of the RíoVerde (point 1) and coastal points 2 and 3 exit the Valley of Oaxacanear Yaasuchi and cross through the mountains into the Mixtepecdrainage. They then follow the same routes as the paths generatedwhen little or no effect by El Palenque was assumed (i.e., the pathsto coastal points 1 and 2 pass through Sola, and the path to coastalpoint 3 passes through Ejutla). The path from Monte Albán tocoastal point 4, however, no longer extends southward. Rather, itpasses east through the Tlacolula branch of the valley beforeturning south and crossing through the mountains on its way tothe coast.

The results of the GIS analysis are consistent with the proposi-tion that Yaasuchi was an important node on a route (or routes)linking Monte Albán and the Pacific coast. All but one of theleast-cost paths generated by the GIS model pass within a few kilo-meters of Yaasuchi; the only path not to do so is that betweenMonte Albán and coastal point 4 when a large influence/obstruc-tion territory for the Tilcajete polity is assumed. The GIS resultsare also consistent with the hypothesis that colonization of theSola Valley in Late MA I was motivated by a desire to establishand maintain a Monte Albán-coastal corridor. All of the least-costpaths between Monte Albán and the mouth of the Río Verde, aswell as coastal point 2, pass through the Sola survey area

Fig. 11. Least-cost paths linking Monte Albán with points on the Pacific coast, assuming a small influence/obstruction territory for El Palenque.


regardless of the extent of El Palenque’s influence. Moreover, manyof the Late MA I sites in the Sola Valley—including the hilltop siteson the northern margin of the valley, as well as sites near the valleycenter—are located on or near these paths.

Overall, the GIS model indicates that the Tilcajete polity hasonly a minimal effect on the direction of routes between MonteAlbán and the coast, regardless of the size of El Palenque’s regionof influence or control. El Palenque may have some effect on thelocation of routes in or near the Valley of Oaxaca (e.g., causingthem to swing westward or eastward into mountainous areas),but the particular directions followed by the paths to the southof the valley remain largely the same regardless of how the Tilcaj-ete polity is modeled. At the same time, the GIS results indicatethat Monte Albán could have accessed particular points along thecoast, and thus imported exotic resources, without having to di-rectly confront El Palenque. Even if the Tilcajete polity complicatedmovement in the southern portion of the valley, emissaries fromMonte Albán could still reach the Sola Valley and points on thecoast with relatively little additional effort, by making use ofmountain passes into and out of the Valley of Oaxaca rather thanmoving along the valley bottom.

Furthermore, the GIS analysis sheds light on an interesting con-tradiction: the apparent spread of Valley of Oaxaca populationsinto the Sola Valley during Late MA I, but a lack of solid evidence

for Monte Albán influence in the neighboring Ejutla Valley untilMA II times. Such a pattern makes more sense if we consider theparticular trajectories of the least-cost paths. While the paths pass-ing through Ejutla led to the eastern portion of the Oaxaca coast(coastal points 3 and 4), those passing through the Sola Valleylinked Monte Albán with points further to the west along the coast,including the lower Río Verde Valley. We suggest that this area,rather than zones to the east, was of greatest interest to MonteAlbán’s leaders in Late MA I. Indeed, archaeological research inthe lower Río Verde Valley has yielded evidence of contact withMonte Albán during the Late to Terminal Formative.

Archaeological evidence from the lower Río Verde region

During their survey of the Tututepec region (Fig. 1), DeCicco andBrockington (1956, p. 59) found pottery similar to that produced inthe Valley of Oaxaca during MA I and MA II. Moreover, at the site ofSan Francisco de Arriba, they recovered 14 sherds from crema warevessels (DeCicco and Brockington, 1956, p. 56). These crema sherdscomprised 11.97% of the total ceramic sample, and 14.29% of therim sherds, collected by DeCicco and Brockington at the site. Theresearchers’ assertion that ‘‘this crema pottery fits perfectly inthe classification of Monte Albán” (DeCicco and Brockington,1956, p. 55, trans. by C. Spencer) is trustworthy, as John Paddock,

Fig. 12. Least-cost paths linking Monte Albán with points on the Pacific coast, assuming a large influence/obstruction territory for El Palenque.


a prominent Oaxaca archaeologist and ceramics expert, assistedthem in their analysis (DeCicco and Brockington, 1956, p. 59). Incontrast, Workinger (2002, p. 355) reports that he found only a sin-gle crema sherd in the excavations and survey he conducted morerecently at and around San Francisco de Arriba. This lack of cremapottery is surprising, given the considerable number of cremasherds identified by DeCicco and Brockington at the same site.Notably, Workinger (2002, p. 348, Figs. 3.3, 4.6, 5.15b–g) did findexamples of Late Formative gray ware pottery imported from theValley of Oaxaca.

In his excavations at the sites of Cerro de la Cruz and Río Viejo(Fig. 1), Arthur Joyce likewise found examples of fine Late MA I grayware pottery from the Valley of Oaxaca, including the types G.12,G.13, G.16, G.17, and G.25 (see Joyce, 1991b, p. 139, 1993, p. 71;Joyce et al., 1998, pp. 29–31, Fig. 2.12; Zeitlin and Joyce, 1999,pp. 386–387, Fig. 3). A limited number of early cremas (types C.2and C.4) imported from the Valley of Oaxaca have also been recov-ered (Joyce, 1991b, p. 139; Joyce et al., 1998, p. 30). The results of arecent instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) of Late/Ter-minal Formative (i.e., Late MA I to MA II) ceramics from variousregions of Oaxaca demonstrate that two gray ware sherds recov-ered at Cerro de la Cruz, and six gray ware sherds found at SanFrancisco de Arriba, were produced in the Valley of Oaxaca and im-

ported into the lower Río Verde Valley (Joyce et al., 2006, pp. 586,590, Table 1). In contrast, none of the gray or brown ware sherdsdetermined by the INAA to have been produced in the lower RíoVerde Valley were recovered at Valley of Oaxaca sites (Joyceet al., 2006, pp. 586–587).

We believe there may also be evidence of violence in the lowerRío Verde region. Excavations at Cerro de la Cruz uncovered theremains of two burned floors as well as deposits of burned clay/adobe inside Structure 1, which was constructed during the Miniz-undo phase (400–150 BC; Fig. 3) (Joyce et al., 1998, pp. 49, 69). Inaddition, the remains of 58 individuals were discovered in Zone Aat the site—including 48 buried inside or immediately adjacent toStructure 1, as well as another concentration of nine individuals‘‘stacked one on top of another” nearby (Joyce, 1994, pp. 157–158, Fig. 9). Joyce (1994, p. 158) argues that these burials ‘‘reflectspecialized communal mortuary practices” occurring ‘‘over a peri-od of several generations.” Moreover, he posits that ‘‘the denseplacement of burials in the cemetery as well as the frequent distur-bance and movement of the bones of earlier interments by laterones can be interpreted as an assertion of collective identity anda denial of the individual (see Shanks and Tilley, 1982)” (Joyce,2010, p. 183). As an alternative explanation, Balkansky (1998a,p. 470; 2001, p. 560) has hypothesized that the human remains

Fig. 13. Least-cost paths linking Monte Albán and points on the Pacific coast (results of all three analyses superimposed).


found in Zone A at Cerro de la Cruz represent the victims of a mas-sacre (see also Redmond and Spencer, 2006, p. 376; Spencer, 2007,pp. 69–70). This hypothesis has been strongly opposed by Joyceand his colleagues (e.g., Joyce, 2003, 2010, pp. 296–297; Joyceet al., 2000).

We agree with Joyce (2010, p. xiv) that ‘‘debate can produceproductive tensions that drive research. . .” In that spirit, we sug-gest that both interpretations of the burials in Zone A at Cerro dela Cruz are plausible. The evidence currently available is not suffi-cient to reject the hypothesis that the burials constituted a com-munal cemetery representing ‘‘an assertion of collective identity”(Joyce, 2010, p. 183), and that ‘‘repetition of feasting and burial in-scribed meaning and memory onto the Structure 1 complexthrough which collective histories were remembered and recre-ated” (Joyce, 2010, p. 183, 185). At the same time, we maintain thatthe massacre hypothesis—that the individuals interred in Zone Awere the victims of one or more attacks (Balkansky, 1998a, 2001;Redmond and Spencer, 2006; Spencer, 2007)—continues to be acompelling interpretation of the Cerro de la Cruz data. As thishypothesis does not require us to posit a communal form of socialorganization in which collective identity is paramount, we wouldargue that it has a greater ‘‘prior probability” (Smith, 1977) givenwhat is known about the sociopolitical organization of Late to

Terminal Formative Oaxacan societies in general. The attackhypothesis also accords with the evidence of burning at Cerro dela Cruz in the Minizundo phase, as well as indications of conflictin various parts of Oaxaca during Late MA I and MA II (e.g., violencein the Cañada, burning and abandonment at El Palenque, popula-tion nucleation in the Mixteca, defensive walls at Monte Albán,etc.). Moreover, the multiple interments in Zone A seem unusualin a number of respects. As Joyce (1994, pp. 156–158) has pointedout, the large number of individuals buried in or adjacent to Struc-ture 1 is atypical when compared to burials at other Formative-period sites in Oaxaca. Joyce (1994, p. 158) also has noted thatthe high percentage of adults buried in Zone A (50 of the total 58individuals) differs from the expected mortality profile. In contrast,burials elsewhere at Cerro de la Cruz (e.g., 18 individuals associ-ated with Structure 8 in Zone B) exhibited a more predictableage distribution (Joyce et al., 1998, p. 65). None of the 58 individ-uals from Zone A were accompanied by grave goods. We concurwith Joyce (1994, p. 158), who found this pattern to be surprising.It should be noted, however, that of the 26 Minizundo-phase buri-als excavated in other sectors of the site, only four—all associatedwith Structure 8 (in Zone B)—were accompanied by grave offerings(Joyce, 1994, pp. 160, 164). In contrast, three (and possibly four) ofthe five Minizundo burials excavated at Río Viejo contained


offerings (Joyce, 1991a, pp. 779–781). We agree with Joyce (1991a,p. 274) that ‘‘the low proportion of burials with offerings at Cerrode la Cruz is . . . unusual relative to patterns in other regions.”

The burial data from Cerro de la Cruz are not, in themselves, suf-ficient to reject the attack hypothesis. Joyce (1994, p. 158) cites thedisturbance of earlier burials by later ones as evidence that theinterments occurred over several generations. However, Joyceet al. (1998, p. 69) indicate that the 48 individuals associated withStructure 1 appear to have been buried during the last two con-struction phases of the building. Furthermore, while disruption ofearlier burials may indicate that individuals were interred at vari-ous times, it does not indicate the reason those individuals died.10

Acts of violence could have occurred multiple times within theMinizundo phase. Joyce (2010, p. 297) also reports that osteologicalanalyses of the skeletal remains from Cerro de la Cruz conductedthus far ‘‘have failed to yield evidence of traumatic wounds.” Whilevery basic information on the human remains from Cerro de la Cruzis available (Joyce, 1991a, pp. 718–775), to our knowledge a morecomprehensive bioarchaeological report including detailed data thatwould allow other researchers to assess alternative interpretationsof this important skeletal assemblage has yet to be published.

We should note that a later, Chacahua-phase (AD 100–250) de-posit of human bones excavated by Barber (2005, pp. 183–191,389–405) at the nearby site of Yugüe (Fig. 1) contained the remainsof at least 40 individuals ‘‘stacked one on top of the other in an areaof less than 7 m2” (Barber, 2005, p. 183). Like the Zone A inter-ments at Cerro de la Cruz, many of the Yugüe burials were dis-turbed by later burials; only three fully articulated individualswere present (Barber, 2005, p. 183). However, the Yugüe depositdiffered significantly from the Cerro de la Cruz interments in tworespects: it included individuals of all ages (neonate to elderly)and different statuses, and at least three of the individuals wereassociated with grave offerings (Barber, 2005, pp. 183, 186; Joyce,2010, p. 188). One of these—a bone flute that ‘‘is the only object ofits kind in Terminal Formative period Mesoamerica and . . . themost elaborate example of Precolumbian portable art from thelower Verde region” (Barber and Joyce, 2007, p. 228)—was interredwith the remains of a subadult male (Barber, 2005, p. 186). Despitesuch clear evidence of status differentiation, and other significantdifferences between the Cerro de la Cruz and Yugüe burials, Joyceapplies the same kind of communal-identity explanation to both:‘‘The repetitive use of the [Yugüe] cemetery would have repro-duced community identity by referencing community history andreaffirming collective affiliations” (Joyce, 2010, p. 188; see alsoBarber and Joyce, 2007).

Additional laboratory (e.g., bioarchaeological) analysis and/orfieldwork in the lower Río Verde area might help us to choose be-tween the alternative explanations of the Cerro de la Cruz inter-ments, or even to generate new hypotheses. For instance, if theindividuals buried in Zone A at Cerro de la Cruz were indeed vic-tims of violence, we might posit that the violence was local in nat-ure (e.g., sacrifice of retainers or captives taken in raids) ratherthan perpetrated by Monte Albán or another external force. Thisthird hypothesis would be consistent with the growth of settle-ment hierarchies, the construction of monumental platforms atsites like San Francisco de Arriba and Yugüe, and evidence forincreasing social differentiation in the lower Río Verde region dur-ing the Late to Terminal Formative (Barber, 2005; Joyce, 2010, pp.180–195; Workinger, 2002).

10 The multiple interments at Cerro de la Cruz remind us of the ‘‘vast common burialground . . . filled with the victims of the great epidemics occurring in the Mixtecabetween 1532 and 1546” that was excavated by Spores and Robles García (2007) atthe Postclassic/Colonial site of Yucundaa. These interments each contained from twoto five bodies ‘‘arranged one on top of another” with no apparent grave offerings(Spores and Robles García, 2007, p. 339, 347, Fig. 6).

We agree with researchers working on the coast that the archae-ological evidence currently available does not indicate full-blownconquest of the Lower Río Verde region by the Monte Albán polityanalogous to that documented in the Cañada de Cuicatlán (e.g.,Joyce, 2003, 2010, pp. 154–155; Joyce et al., 2000; Workinger,2002). Lack of conquest does not, however, negate the possibilitythat violence occurred in some form (e.g., episodic raiding). More-over, as we stressed previously, we would not expect evidence ofMonte Albán’s influence to be the same in all regions. Lack of evi-dence of conquest comparable to patterns apparent in Cuicatlándoes not necessarily indicate that Monte Albán’s expansionistprogram had little or no significant impact on societies along theOaxaca coast (Joyce, 2003, p. 63). As Joyce (1991b) suggests, interac-tions between Monte Albán and communities in the lower Río Verderegion during the Late Formative (i.e., Late MA I) likely involved ex-change of highland ceramics (including both gray and crema warevessels) and exotic, non-ceramic coastal goods between elites inthe two regions. Such exchange may have been peaceful most ofthe time. Nevertheless, considering the willingness and ability ofMonte Albán’s rulers to use force—even over long distances—toachieve a desired end (witness the fate of communities in the Cañ-ada), as well as the likely value of coastal goods as prestige items inthe competitive sociopolitical landscape of the Valley of Oaxaca, itseems plausible to suggest that Monte Albán may have used coer-cion, or even conducted periodic raids, to ensure a continual flowof valuable resources (see Joyce, 1991b, p. 143, 2003, p. 63).

While much of the surface reconnaissance conducted thus far inthe lower Río Verde Valley has been non-systematic, full-coveragesurvey has been completed for 152 km2 of the region (Joyce, 2003,pp. 59, 71). Some tantalizing patterns are evident in the limitedsurvey data that have been published. For example, Workinger’s(2002, p. 244) survey of the Río San Francisco Valley discoveredno Charco phase (700–400 BC) sites. However, excavations at SanFrancisco de Arriba indicate that this site was occupied in the Char-co phase but still ‘‘in its infancy” (Workinger, 2002, p. 244). In thesubsequent Minizundo phase—contemporaneous with later EarlyMA I and most of Late MA I, the period when we suggest MonteAlbán began exerting its regional influence—San Francisco de Arr-iba grew to nearly 95 ha in size, with an estimated population of945–2363 people (Workinger, 2002, pp. 248–250). Half of the sitewas ‘‘located high in the piedmont between 100 and 200 m in ele-vation,” as were seven smaller settlements. Only four sites weresituated on the floodplain (Workinger, 2002, p. 248). In the Mini-yua phase (150 BC–AD 100), contemporaneous with early MA II,San Francisco de Arriba shrank in size (to about 34 ha, or 582–1454 people) and occupation of the piedmont declined, suggesting‘‘that the inhabitants of the Río San Francisco Valley were uncon-cerned with defense” (Workinger, 2002, p. 255). These patternsare reminiscent of those documented in the Mixteca Alta: aggrega-tion of people in defensible locations during Early Ramos/Late MAI, and the subsequent decline of some of these hilltop populationcenters (e.g., Monte Negro, Cerro Jazmín) in Late Ramos/MA II(Balkansky et al., 2000, 2004). Unfortunately, final survey reportsfor the lower Río Verde region comparable to those for highlandOaxaca (e.g., Balkansky, 2002; Blanton et al., 1982; Kowalewskiet al., 1989, 2009; Redmond, 1983; Spencer and Redmond, 1997)have not yet been published. Once the full survey data sets fromthe lower Río Verde are available, it will be easier to compare re-gional settlement patterns on the coast with those documentedin the highlands and to assess the nature of Monte Albán’s impacton coastal societies.

Discussion

The adoption of an expansionist strategy by the rulers of MonteAlbán in Late MA I is not surprising. Controlling the flow of


resources—especially exotic luxury goods—was an importantpower-building strategy employed by emergent elites in manycomplex societies, including those of Mesoamerica (e.g., Flannery,1968; Hirth, 1984). As Hirth (1992, p. 19) points out, establishingand controlling interregional exchange networks was essential tothe establishment of permanent elites during the Formative period.Thus, the strategy adopted by Monte Albán’s rulers in Late MA Irepresents an extension of a process that had been under way forcenturies. As Algaze (2001) argues for early Uruk states in Mesopo-tamia (see discussion below), the importation of goods from out-side the Valley of Oaxaca would have been essential to thecreation and maintenance of a sociopolitically stratified state soci-ety. Elites at Monte Albán could acquire luxury goods—many onlyobtainable from distant locales—and then circulate them to otherelites ‘‘as gifts, bride wealth, exchange items, or special payments”(Hirth, 1992, p. 25). The acquisition and distribution of items notavailable in the Valley of Oaxaca, such as tropical foods (e.g., fromthe Cañada) and coastal goods (e.g., from the Pacific coast), wouldhave been a primary means of regulating social, political, and eco-nomic relationships between elites, and of creating and/or rein-forcing social hierarchies (e.g., Blanton and Feinman, 1984; Hirth,1992; Spencer, 1982). The importation of tribute and exotic goodswould enable elites at Monte Albán to attract and reward the sup-porters necessary to carry out successful campaigns against terri-tories and populations outside and, ultimately, inside the valley(Spencer, 1998). Ideological factors may also have been important,as the ability of elites to acquire, display, consume, and distributegoods from distant lands—thus rendering them ritually signifi-cant—may have further legitimized the privileged position of lead-ers at Monte Albán vis-à-vis both commoners and other, rival elites(see Helms, 1988, 1993).

We suggest that it was not a coincidence that state institutionsbegan to appear in the Valley of Oaxaca during Late MA I, concurrentwith Monte Albán’s expansion outside of the valley. While long-dis-tance expansion would have conferred a number of sociopolitical,economic, and ideological advantages on the ruling elite at MonteAlbán, such a strategy would also have created challenges thathad to be managed if the expansionist strategy was to be main-tained over the long-term. The logistical and administrative chal-lenges associated with colonization, military expeditions, andcontrolling the flow of goods and people over long distances andrugged highland terrain would have favored experimentation withincreasingly complex forms of administrative control. Spencer(1982, 1998) has argued that the administrative specialization char-acteristic of state societies becomes an effective means of control inexpansionist polities, because partial authority can be delegated tostate functionaries dispatched to areas far from the capital. Suchadministrators can implement policies of the state at the local leveland manage the flow of goods back to the state capital.

Specialized state administration may also have been a moreeffective means of dealing with the issues that undoubtedlyaccompanied the growth of a new urban center at Monte Albán.As Blanton et al. (1999, p. 57) note, not only would 5000 peopleconcentrated atop a mountain have to be fed, but the rulers ofMonte Albán presumably also had to deal with ‘‘the inevitable dis-putes arising from crowding, limited access to land, public healthproblems, fresh water, and the removal of waste.” Although stategovernment could prove effective in dealing with such challenges,and in administering distant regions and managing the flow of trib-ute and exotic goods, states are expensive to operate; transporta-tion of goods and information over long distances, as well asmaintenance of state personnel, can be costly. Such costs couldbe offset, at least in part, by the resources acquired via further ter-ritorial expansion.

The ability of elites at Monte Albán to sponsor long-distanceexpeditions (military or otherwise), and to import, use, and

distribute exotic luxury goods, would have bolstered their positionin society vis-à-vis lower-status individuals. Thus, an expansioniststrategy also would have contributed to—though it would not havebeen the sole cause of—the emergence of true social stratification.The development of stratification was a complex, long-term pro-cess involving profound ideological changes in Valley of Oaxacasociety that continued into MA II (Joyce and Winter, 1996). By thatperiod, Zapotec elites began distancing themselves from common-ers in part by claiming a special relationship with Cociyo (Light-ning), the most powerful force in the Zapotec cosmos. Nobleswere believed to be descended from Cociyo, and their ancestors be-came ben zaa, ‘‘Cloud People,” who were able to act as intermedi-aries between living elites and powerful cosmic forces (Marcus,1983b, p. 144, 1989, p. 196; Marcus and Flannery, 1996, p. 188,242). Over time, luxury goods produced in the Valley of Oaxacamay have begun to play an ideological role similar to that of exoticimports that were critical to the emergence of social inequality inearlier times. Elson and Sherman (2007) suggest that in MA II, cre-ma ware vessels—some bearing Cociyo-associated motifs—becamean important marker of elite status, serving to distinguish not onlyelites from commoners, but also elites of differing status (e.g., elitesat Monte Albán versus those residing at smaller centers in thevalley).

We have noted throughout this article that the nature of MonteAlbán’s expansion varied from region to region—that it includednot just conquest, but also periodic raiding, colonization, co-optionof existing political structures, and mutually beneficial exchangerelationships. The specific effects that contact with Monte Albánhad on the developmental trajectories of neighboring societieswere likewise variable. Nevertheless, decades of research have re-vealed a pattern of ‘‘concordant change” in the southern highlands(Balkansky, 2006; Balkansky et al., 2004). Various societies in andaround the Valley of Oaxaca experienced major sociopoliticalchange during the Late Formative. While the particular develop-mental history of each society was unique, the expansion of theMonte Albán polity appears to have acted as a common catalystfor change in a number of different regions. In reaction to MonteAlbán’s expansion (in its various forms), populations were nucle-ated in defensible locations and rulers experimented with newforms of administrative control. As a result, urbanization and stateformation occurred not just at Monte Albán, but also in the Mixteca(e.g., Huamelulpan and possibly Monte Negro) and even elsewherein the Valley of Oaxaca (i.e., Tilcajete). As was true of the co-evolu-tion of ranked societies throughout Mesoamerica earlier in the For-mative (see Flannery and Marcus, 2000), the synchronousemergence of urban centers and states in the Oaxacan highlandsduring the Late Formative was driven, at least in part, by intersoci-etal interactions. Architectural evidence of state institutions ap-peared at El Palenque, and perhaps also at Monte Negro, in LateMA I (Balkansky et al., 2004, p. 56; Redmond and Spencer, 2008;Spencer and Redmond, 2001b, pp. 222–223, 2004a). However,the particular architectural forms and site configurations foundat Tilcajete and the Early Ramos-phase centers in the Mixteca varyconsiderably (Balkansky et al., 2004, p. 49). In the context of rivalpolities, such architectural diversity may reflect strategies adoptedby local leaders attempting to resist incorporation into the expand-ing Monte Albán polity (Redmond and Spencer, 2008; Spencer andRedmond, 2006), or it may be the result of experimentation withnew (state) forms of administrative control (Balkansky et al.,2004, p. 49), or both.

Such political experiments ultimately proved fruitful for theleaders of Monte Albán, as there is clear evidence that the entireValley of Oaxaca was unified by the Monte Albán state by MA II(Marcus and Flannery, 1996, pp. 172–194). Resistance mountedby El Palenque was quelled and the site violently subjugated(Spencer and Redmond, 2003, pp. 41–42); new secondary centers


associated with Monte Albán were established at Cerro Tilcajete(Elson, 2007), Dainzú (Bernal and Oliveros, 1988), and San José Mo-gote (Marcus and Flannery, 1996); and various sites, includingYaasuchi (Sherman, 2005), became important tertiary centers. Atthe same time, like many ancient states, the Monte Albán state ap-pears to have reached its greatest territorial extent early in its his-tory (Marcus, 1992, 1998; Marcus and Flannery, 1996, p. 195). Inaddition to the Valley of Oaxaca, which constituted the core ofthe state, Monte Albán also controlled or influenced a large terri-tory—perhaps as much as 20,000 km2 (Marcus and Flannery,1996, p. 206)—outside of the valley by MA II (see Spencer, 2007,Fig. 3.3). Monte Albán controlled the Cañada de Cuicatlán to thenorth, while to the south, the Sola Valley was transformed froma strategic to a tributary province (Balkansky, 2002, p. 50; seeHodge, 1998) and Ejutla was drawn into Monte Albán’s sphere ofinfluence (Feinman and Nicholas, 1990). Other neighboring regionsto the south and southeast, such as Miahuatlán (Brockington,1973; Markman, 1981), Nejapa, and Ocelotepec (Fig. 1) may like-wise have been controlled or influenced by the Monte Albán stateby MA II, although more research is needed in these regions to testthis hypothesis (Marcus and Flannery, 1996, pp. 200–202; Spencer,2007, p. 72).

Conclusion: the Monte Albán state in global perspective

As Marcus (1992, 1998) points out, territorial expansion was akey factor in the developmental histories of many Mesoamericanstates, including Teotihuacan, Tikal, and Calakmul in the Early Clas-sic (AD 250–600), Xochicalco and other Late Classic (AD 600–1000)central Mexican polities, and the Postclassic (AD 1000–1521) Tol-tec and Aztec states. However, the general expansionist patternevident throughout Mesoamerican history was first establishedby the Monte Albán polity much earlier, in the Late to TerminalFormative. Moreoever, some specific features apparent in latersocieties—for instance, non-contiguous territorial expansion andvariability in expansionist strategies, evident in both the Teotihu-cano and Aztec cases (see Marcus, 1992, pp. 394–398)—clearlywere foreshadowed by developments in Oaxaca.

In this final section we adopt a comparative global perspective(e.g., Marcus, 2008; Spencer, 1990). Long-term, macroregional,and methodologically comprehensive investigations conductedin Oaxaca have illuminated the roles that militarism, territorialexpansion, trade, and other key variables played in the emergenceof the Monte Albán state. Although much research remains to bedone, our current understanding of the timing and causes of stateformation is more complete in Oaxaca than in most other worldareas. Thus, the case of Monte Albán demonstrates what mighthave occurred, and therefore what ought to be tested for, else-where. Certainly the particular features of the Monte Albán pol-ity’s expansion and transformation into a state society wereunique. Nonetheless, as the following cross-cultural comparisonsreveal, general processes and patterns apparent in Oaxaca are like-wise evident in the formation of other primary states, includingthose that emerged in the central Andes and, even earlier, inMesopotamia.

The Moche

As in Oaxaca, the formation of state societies in the central An-des was associated with warfare and territorial expansion (Stanish,2001). By the latter half of the Early Intermediate period (200BC–AD 600), two or more polities sharing Moche (or Mochica) cul-tural traits occupied the valleys along the northern Peruvian coast(Bawden, 1996, Fig. 7.1; Castillo and Donnan, 1994; Shimada, 1994,p. 74, Fig. 4.11). The nature of Moche sociopolitical organization

has been debated for decades (see Shimada, 1994, pp. 3–7, 105–112). Schaedel (1985), for one, suggests that Moche society is bestconceived of as a ‘‘paramount chiefdom.” Shimada (1994, p. 114)likewise favors a model of the Moche as ‘‘a paramount chiefdomor a confederacy of regional chiefdoms” during the earlier phasesof the Moche sequence. At the same time, he cautions that ‘‘thisview underplays important organizational developments that indi-cate that the southern Mochica polity was at least approachingstate status” by ca. AD 450 (Shimada, 1994, p.114). Indeed, manyscholars characterize the Moche as a state society, likely the firstto emerge in the Andes (e.g., Castillo and Donnan, 1994; Marcus,1998, p. 75; Moseley, 1992, p. 162; Stanish, 2001, pp. 54–55; Wil-son, 1988, pp. 332–342).

Various data—including defensive architecture, iconography onceramics and textiles, and osteological evidence (the remains ofsacrificial victims)—indicate that warfare and sacrifice of prisonerswere important facets of Moche society (e.g., Bourget, 2001; Don-nan and McClelland, 1999; Marcus, 1998, p. 75; Quilter, 2008;Stanish, 2001, p. 58; Topic and Topic, 2009, pp. 36–43; Verano,2001). While this much seems clear, the nature of Moche warfarehas been, and continues to be, a subject of debate. Many research-ers interpret the battles scenes and sacrificial rites depicted onceramic vessels as evidence of ritual combat between Moche elites,the main purpose of which was to take prisoners for sacrifice (e.g.,Alva and Donnan, 1993, p. 132; Bawden, 1996, p. 160; Donnan,2004, pp. 116–117; Shimada, 1994, p. 110; Topic and Topic,2009, pp. 36–43). Others argue persuasively that in addition to rit-ual combat, the Moche may also have engaged in secular warfare(e.g., Moseley, 1992, p. 183; Quilter, 2008; Verano, 2001; Wilson,1988, pp. 338–339). This proposition accords with archaeologicalevidence that during the Moche III phase (AD 300–450) the politycentered at the site of Moche in the Moche Valley began expandingsouthward (Bawden, 1996, pp. 237–251; Shimada, 1994, pp. 78–80). Gordon Willey’s (1953) pioneering survey of the Virú Valleyfound that the local Gallinazo tradition was replaced by Moche-style ceramics during the Huancaco period. Willey (1953, p. 397)interpreted this as evidence of ‘‘political expansion of the Mochica,southward, into Virú. In the Huancaco Period Virú becomes aprovince in a multi-Valley state.” The Virú Valley Project alsodocumented regional settlement shifts and the construction ofmonumental adobe platforms and defensive walls at Castillo deHuancaco (the primary Moche center) and other sites in the valley(Bawden, 1996, pp. 240–244).

Clear evidence of the Moche expansion and its effects on localpopulations has also been found in the Santa Valley, which Wilson(1988, pp. 332–342) argues was incorporated into the Moche stateduring the Guadalupito Period (AD 400–600). In addition to theintroduction of Moche-style ceramics, a major administrative cen-ter was established at Huaca Tembladera, and populations in theSanta Valley were relocated from defensible higher-elevation sitesto lower-elevation and valley-floor locations, particularly in thesouthern end of the valley (Wilson, 1988, pp. 332–342, 1999,pp. 393–395). Wilson (1999, p. 393) argues that this widespreadresettlement was instigated by the Moche state, and that the localSanta population was forced to engage in intensive agriculture andproduce surpluses that could be exported to Moche. As Wilson(1988, p. 336) suggests, ‘‘one of the primary material reasons—ifnot the reason—for incorporation of Santa into the Moche Statewas to gain access to the agricultural production of this uniquelywatered valley. . .” Other scholars (e.g., Bawden, 1996, p. 246; Shi-mada, 1994, p. 91) concur that the expansion of the southernMoche polity likely was motivated, at least in part, by economicconcerns. Shimada (1994, p. 91) suggests that the Moche expan-sion ‘‘may be seen as a concerted effort to break away from thelimitations of a homogeneous and repetitive coastal environment,”and that by ‘‘expanding sufficiently far north and south along the

11 Resources obtained in the ‘‘periphery” and shipped to the Mesopotamianalluvium may have included metals, timber for roofing, bitumen, ‘‘various exotic,semiprecious, and utilitarian stones,” slaves, wool, and goat hair (Algaze, 2001, p. 51;but cf. Wright (2001, pp. 133–134) concerning the supposed lack of resources insouthern Mesopotamia). Goods exported back to the north may have included woolentextiles and ‘‘valuable liquids” such as wine, resins, oils, unguents, and animal fats(Algaze, 2001, p. 53).


coast, the Mochica could approximate the resource diversity thatmight have been gained from vertically oriented expansion.”

Further to the south, the Moche also expanded into the Nepeñaand Casma Valleys (Proulx, 1968; Wilson, 1999, pp. 390, 393),although the scale of Moche occupation in these regions was moremodest than it was in Virú and Santa (Bawden, 1996, p. 246; Wil-son, 1999, p. 390). The Moche expansion ultimately reached as farsouth as the Huarmey Valley (approximately 230 km from theMoche Valley), where a colony was established (Shimada, 1994,pp. 86, 91). Lacking the agricultural potential of the Santa Valley,Huarmey may instead have been colonized by the Moche in orderto transform it, like the Sola Valley in Oaxaca, into a ‘‘gateway” forthe importation of exotic resources (Bawden, 1996, p. 251; alsoShimada, 1994, p. 91). Via Huarmey, the Moche state may have ob-tained ‘‘resources and products from the Central and South Coastsand Highlands (e.g., alpaca wool, obsidian, and salt from Junín) inexchange for North Coast products such as dried and salted fish,cotton, maize, copper objects, and even Ecuadorian shells”(Shimada, 1994, p. 91).

Traditionally it has been assumed that by the Moche IV period(AD 450–550) the polity centered at Moche also expanded north-ward, thus bringing the entire northern Peruvian coast under itscontrol (Bawden, 1996, p. 207; Castillo and Donnan, 1994). Whilesome researchers still entertain this scenario (e.g., Shimada,1994, pp. 87–90, Fig. 4.11), there is mounting evidence that the val-leys north of Moche were not incorporated into the expansionistpolity. Based on their research in the Jequetepeque Valley, Castilloand Donnan (1994) posit that there were two distinct Mochespheres (northern and southern) separated by a desert zone, thePampa de Paiján. While they do not question that valleys in thesouthern zone were unified by an expansionistic Moche-centeredstate, Castillo and Donnan (1994) argue that until recently a rela-tive lack of research in the north has prevented archaeologists fromrecognizing significant differences between this region and thesouth. The Moche III–IV ceramics ‘‘directly associated with theexpansion and consolidation of the southern Mochica state” andfound in abundance in the southern valleys are ‘‘almost non-exis-tent” in the north (Castillo and Donnan, 1994, p. 13, trans. by J.Sherman). Likewise, the settlement pattern associated with theMoche-centered state, ‘‘characterized by a large ceremonial/administrative center between the middle and lower valleys,” isnot evident in the northern zone (Castillo and Donnan, 1994,p. 13, trans. by J. Sherman). Castillo and Donnan (1994, p. 13, trans.by J. Sherman) suggest that these differences between north andsouth are due either to ‘‘a problem in the sample” or to ‘‘structuraldifferences, that is, they are the result of the action of distinctstates or political entities.” If the latter hypothesis is correct, itwould mean that—like the Monte Albán polity—the Moche-cen-tered state expanded in an asymmetrical fashion, targeting valleysto its south while not encroaching upon territories north of thePampa de Paiján.

Uruk Mesopotamia

There are also many parallels between the Oaxacan case and thedevelopment of Uruk-period states in southern Mesopotamia,which may have begun as early as 3800 BC (Algaze, 2001, p. 30;Wright, 2001, p. 145, 2006, p. 307). These state societies—the firstto emerge in world history—were centered on Uruk-Warka andother major cities that grew in size as rural populations migratedinto urban centers during the Uruk period (Algaze, 2001, p. 34).The presence of multiple polities with urban capitals created a‘‘balkanized” and competitive political landscape in southern Mes-opotamia (Algaze, 2001, pp. 55–56; also Stein, 2001, p. 302;Wright, 2001, p. 146) not unlike that of the Valley of Oaxaca fromthe Rosario phase to Late MA I. That the southern Mesopotamian

alluvium was riddled with conflict is attested by archaeologicalevidence, including buffer zones between major urban centers evi-dent from survey data and depictions of conflict that appear inUruk iconography (Algaze, 2001, p. 55; Wright, 2001, p. 144). Intra-regional conflict became particularly pronounced in the Late Urukperiod (3350–3100 BC), when many small settlements and periph-eral areas were abandoned and Uruk-Warka became the dominanturban center in southern Mesopotamia (Wright, 2001, p. 146).

Algaze (e.g., 1993a,b, 2001) has argued that against this back-drop of local inter-polity competition, leaders of the Uruk statessponsored the establishment of outposts in the northern peripheryof Mesopotamia (in some cases, as much as 800–900 km away).Some outposts were established in areas with no prior local settle-ment, while others, generally smaller in size, were embedded with-in existing indigenous settlement systems (Algaze, 2001, p. 39).They were usually situated near trade routes and other strategicpoints on the landscape (Algaze, 2001, p. 39). According to Algaze(2001, p. 51), the Uruk outposts were primarily economic in func-tion—obtaining and shipping southward key resources not avail-able in the Mesopotamian alluvium. In return, the Uruk statesmay have exported particular goods back to societies in the north-ern periphery (Algaze, 2001, p. 53).11 Indeed, by the Late Uruk per-iod, ‘‘There is evidence for the appropriation of both valuable goodsand materials used in domestic contexts from distant source regions,and Uruk-Warka itself receives a wide diversity of tributary goods”(Wright, 2001, p. 146).

While the Uruk outposts were primarily economic in function,Algaze (2001, pp. 58–59) believes that the leaders of the Uruk pol-ities who sponsored their establishment were driven by a varietyof sociopolitical and ideological, in addition to economic, motives.According to his argument, exotic goods imported from the north-ern periphery would have bolstered the position of elites in theincreasingly hierarchical state societies of the southern alluvium.Elites could use such goods to reinforce ties with allies, as wellas to attract supporters whose productive capacities could bemobilized against political rivals. Moreover, there may have beenan ideological dimension to the importation of resources from afar.Citing Helms (e.g., 1988, 1993), Algaze argues that the ability ofUruk elites to acquire exotic goods from distant regions and aliensocieties may have legitimized those leaders’ power and privilegedaccess to resources. Thus, imports from the Mesopotamian periph-ery would have been ‘‘central to the very reproduction of the socialorder” in the southern alluvium, and ‘‘the flow of status-validatingimports had to be maintained at all costs since an interruptionwould have led to a loss—no doubt unacceptable—of legitimacyfor Uruk urban elites” (Algaze, 2001, p. 59). We have made a sim-ilar argument concerning the importance of tribute and other exo-tic imports as a source of power for emergent state rulers at MonteAlbán.

Algaze’s model of the Uruk expansion has had a major impacton research in Mesopotamia (Rothman, 2001a, p. 4; Wright,2001, p. 124), and there appears to be relative agreement amongMesopotamian scholars that long-distance, long-term interactionswere an important factor in the development of the Uruk statesand other Late Chalcolithic societies throughout Greater Mesopota-mia in the fourth millennium BC (Rothman, 2001c). Despite theirpoints of agreement, there is a lack of consensus among Mesopota-mian scholars concerning particular facets of Algaze’s model


(Rothman, 2001a, p. 24). A number of scholars (e.g., Frangipane,2001; Nissen, 2001; Rothman, 2001b; Schwartz, 2001) argue thatthe Uruk expansion was not a singular, short-term event, butrather that trade and migration occurred between populationsthroughout Greater Mesopotamia long before, and even after, theexpansion of Uruk polities in the fourth millennium. Rothman(2001b, p. 368) suggests: ‘‘What seems to have happened in thelast 600 years of the fourth millennium is not a sudden contact,but an intensification of already existing interaction or, perhaps,a new kind of interaction.” Likewise, as we suggested above, theexpansion of the Monte Albán polity and the acquisition of exoticgoods by its rulers in Late MA I may be seen as an extension ofthe long-distance interactions that had linked Formative Meso-american societies for centuries.

Throughout this paper we have stressed the variable nature ofMonte Albán’s expansion and its effects on the developmental tra-jectories of neighboring societies. This model seems equally appli-cable to fourth-millennium Mesopotamia, where scholars likewiseare coming to appreciate the complex, dynamic nature of the inter-actions between Uruk polities and surrounding populations. Roth-man (2001a, p. 24) notes: ‘‘Different patterns of interaction shouldbe in evidence in different areas, depending on such elements asease of transport, distance, nature of preexisting societies, basisof the interaction and formation of new networks, and of course lo-cal conditions.” While some northern sites may have been coloniesestablished by migrants from Uruk polities, other ‘‘Uruk-relatedsites” where both southern Mesopotamian and local material cul-ture has been found may reflect small groups of Uruk immigrantsembedded within larger local populations, cultural diffusion, oremulation of southern Mesopotamian ‘‘high culture” by local elites(Schwartz, 2001, p. 255; also Rothman, 2001b; Stein, 2001). ActualUruk migrants may have been fleeing from the southern alluviumrather than being sponsored by state rulers who sought to estab-lish trade outposts in the north (Pollock, 2001, p. 220; Schwartz,2001, pp. 256–261). Indeed, some researchers have questionedwhether Uruk polities would have been capable of establishingtrade outposts or exerting economic or political control over localpopulations far from the southern alluvium (Frangipane, 2001;Rothman, 2001b; Stein, 2001). Particularly given the fact that re-search at sites such as Arslantepe (Frangipane, 2001), Tepe Gawra(Rothman, 2001b), Hacınebi (Stein, 2001), and Brak (Schwartz,2001, pp. 246–247) has yielded evidence of local sociopoliticalcomplexity prior to contact with Uruk polities, the presence ofUruk foreigners far from the southern alluvium must, in somecases, have been permitted by local rulers (Stein, 2001, p. 299; alsoAlgaze, 2001, pp. 59–60). Stein (2001, pp. 266, 299) suggests thatmarriage alliances and/or mutually beneficial exchange relation-ships served to integrate Uruk individuals into local societies.Algaze (2001, p. 60) argues that the privileged status of local eliteswould have been bolstered by their ability to import exotic prod-ucts from, and mediate trade relationships with, the powerful Urukpolities to the south. Similar relationships may have linked the rul-ers of Monte Albán with local elites in areas not directly controlledby the Monte Albán polity.

Clearly, further research is needed to elucidate the relationshipbetween territorial expansion, long-distance interactions, and theevolution of state societies in Mesopotamia during the fourthmillennium BC. Nevertheless, we find the Mesopotamian caseintriguing because—as in Late Formative Oaxaca—Uruk states ap-pear to have emerged against a backdrop of urbanization, conflict,intraelite competition, and long-distance expansion/interaction. InMesopotamia, as well as coastal Peru and Oaxaca, the expansion ofnascent state societies and long-distance intersocietal interactionundoubtedly was motivated by a variety of sociopolitical, eco-nomic, and ideological factors. We have argued that at least inthe case of Monte Albán, such long-distance expansion was trans-

formative, encouraging experimentation with new forms of admin-istrative control while at the same time contributing to theemergence of a stratified social order. Perhaps the most salient pat-tern evident in the cases we have reviewed, however, is variabil-ity—not only in the forms of expansion undertaken by emergentstate societies, but also in the effects that such expansion had onthe developmental trajectories of neighboring societies. To recog-nize and document such variability, research on early state forma-tion needs to be (1) long-term in perspective, involving multiplegenerations of investigators; (2) methodologically comprehensive,combining full-coverage regional surveys with intensive excava-tions at key sites; and (3) macroregional in scale, examining notonly the physiographic cores of states, but also their surroundingregions (see Marcus, 1992, p. 394). Such research may show—asit has in Oaxaca—that varied but synchronous changes in multipleinteracting regions were in fact catalyzed by the expansion of anascent state society.

Acknowledgments

We thank the Consejo de Arqueología, Instituto Nacional deAntropología e Historia (Mexico), for permission to conduct re-search at Tilcajete, Yaasuchi, and in the Sola Valley. The TilcajeteProject was funded by the National Science Foundation (SBR-9303129), the Foundation for the Advancement of MesoamericanStudies, Inc., the Heinz Family Foundation (Latin American Archae-ology Program), the National Geographic Society (Committee forResearch and Exploration), the University of Michigan, and theAmerican Museum of Natural History. The Yaasuchi ArchaeologicalProject was supported by a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral DissertationResearch Abroad Fellowship and the University of Michigan. Tin-ker-Nave and the National Science Foundation funded the Sola Val-ley Settlement Pattern Project. We also sincerely thank theanonymous reviewers who provided insightful comments on anearlier version of this paper.

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sherman et al._expansionary dynamics of the nascent monte albán state

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