Having successfully identified a number of processes characterizing the political fragmentation of large centralized states, and having subsequently suggested several potential clues to identify their presence from the archaeological record (Chapter 2), in this chapter I will test these expectations against the available archaeological evidence from Oaxaca. An important element in this analysis will be the recently acquired data from the ongoing Jalieza archaeological project (presented in Chapter 3). Together with the results of the latter, the following analysis will make extensive use of a significant corpus of data generated in the course of over a hundred years of archaeological research in the state of Oaxaca. Some of the most important published information relevant to this study are those related to the extensive archaeological excavations at the capital Monte Albán (e.g. Caso 1932a, 1932b, 1935, 1938, 1942; Acosta 1958-59, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978; Caso and Bernal 1952; Caso et al. 1967), to the mapping and survey projects that in recent decades have focused on the capital, the Oaxaca valley, as well as several outlying regions (e.g. Balkansky
2002; Feinman and Nicholas 1990, 2004; Blanton 1978; Blanton et al. 1982; Kowalewski et al. 1989; Redmond 1983; Spencer 1982; Spencer and Redmond 1997), and particularly to several important archaeological projects which over the years have focused on a number of regionally important sites in every branch of the valley (e.g. Bernal 1958;
Bernal and Gamio 1974; Bernal and Oliveros 1988; Elson 2003a, 2003b; Paddock 1966; Paddock 1983b; Paddock et al. 1968).
The Oaxaca Data
As the case studies reviewed in Chapter 2 make clear, the political fragmentation of a large political system into smaller, autonomous units is often a complex and relatively deep-rooted process, better understood in a long-term and broad perspective. The processes identified and described in that same chapter (Table 2.1) are usually characterized by an increase in frequency or intensity over time, and therefore, to be able to individuate comparable increases and changes in the archaeological record, we necessarily have to take a similar broad diachronic approach in our analysis of the Oaxaca data.
Although the focus of the present work is primarily the Early Classic period, to be able to reach a better understanding of possible changes and transformations the valley was undergoing in that particular period it will be necessary to take into consideration the preceding and the following archaeological phases as well. For each point under discussion, I will therefore broaden the analysis to include both the preceding Terminal Formative period (Monte Albán II, c.150/100BC to AD200) as well as the following Late Classic/Early Postclassic period (Monte Albán IIIb-IV, c.AD500-950/1000). Monte Albán II is significant insofar as it represents the period for which we have indisputable evidence for the existence of a state-level polity in the valley of Oaxaca. Given the clear evidence for direct Monte Albán control over near and distant areas (Spencer 1982; Redmond 1983; Balkansky 1998; Elson 2003a), the existence at the time of a number of markers of state-level institutions (Flannery 1998; Marcus and Flannery 1996), and a settlement hierarchy indicating an integrated valley-wide system (Kowalewski et al .1989), we can probably assume that during this period the level of integration and degree of direct state control over its provinces were high. This being the case, period II could thus represent, within the framework of the following analysis, an ideal “control” situation against which to compare the periods that followed.
The later Monte Albán IIIb and IV phases are of obvious significance, as they are traditionally taken as marking the all-important transition from the Classic period “Golden Age” into the ethnohistorically-known Postclassic reality. The Late Classic is also characterized by the capital reaching its maximum size and population estimate, as well as its present monumental aspect, before its partial abandonment and decline. As discussed in Chapter 1, the original criterion used to divide the IIIb and the IV ceramic complexes was the cessation of most construction at Monte Albán’s civic-ceremonial center, and not any clear-cut changes in ceramic assemblages. However, when faced with eventually distinguishing the two phases during analysis, the excavators themselves found the matter so problematic that they decided to treat both IIIb and IV together (Caso et al. 1967). Elsewhere in the valley, particularly in the context of surface surveys, distinguishing between the two has often represented a challenge in the absence of extensive excavation data (Kowalewski et al. 1989:251-254). More importantly, there are several unresolved questions regarding the exact temporal and geographical relationship between the two complexes (Paddock 1983a, 1983b; Marcus and Flannery 1990:195-196: Kowalewski et al 1989:251-256; Elson 2003a:142). Given these problems, for the purpose
of the following analysis Monte Albán IIIb-IV will be treated as a single archaeological period, covering Monte Albán’s population peak and its subsequent decline.
Processes of Political Fragmentation in the Oaxaca Archaeological Record
I - Increasing level of factional competition
As suggested in Chapter 2, the increasing size and wealth of non-royal elite households could be taken as a potential indication of the growing ability of factional leaders to control resources and attract followers. Of particular interest here is the shifting balance of power between the central ruling elite lineage and other emerging elite factions at the capital. As in the Heian case (Hall 1974), growth in the size and elaboration of secondary elites’ households vis-à-vis the official royal palace and residence could reflect their increasing access to resources, labour, and wealth, and as a consequence indicate the growth of the factional leaders’ power and authority. Excavation and surface data from the capital Monte Albán will be the focus of this analysis, while possible additional lines of evidence will be briefly presented in the discussion.
Monte Albán II
The later Classic period (Monte Albán III), when the city reached its population peak was a time of major monumental construction and rebuilding. As a consequence, our understanding of the layout and character of the city in earlier periods is severely hindered by the presence of often substantial period III construction (Flannery 1983b; Blanton 1978:41-46). Our knowledge of period II architecture is therefore often restricted to evidence collected in exploratory pits under later buildings and construction.
We know however that by period II the Main Plaza had acquired its present size, as the 300 meter long north-south expanse had been levelled, plastered over, and surrounded by civic-ceremonial construction (Flannery 1983b:103). Located at its northern edge, the massive North Platform (Figure 4.1) was the likely site of Monte Albán’s royal palace and residence for much of the site’s occupational history (Flannery 1983c:133-134; Blanton 1978:58-61).
Due to the large amount of later Classic period construction, we do not possess any floor plans or even substantial structural remains dating to Monte Albán II on the North Platform. However, we know that the platform itself had by this time already been built to about half to three quarters of it total present estimated volume of around 448’802 m3(Blanton 1978:46), and such an investment from early on in its construction strongly suggests that the area had already acquired its important role as site for the city’s paramount elite residential and administrative structures. We can probably assume that in period II the platform had a somewhat similar monumental character and function as during the following Classic period. For the latter we have a better knowledge of the platform’s layout, which was characterized by heavily restricted access and large-scale monumental residential, administrative, and civic-ceremonial structures (Flannery 1983c:133-134; Blanton 1978:58-63).
Our evidence regarding period II elite residential architecture is similarly limited. As a recent useful summary (Elson 2003:87-98) of the period II excavation reveals, the evidence is rather fragmentary and mostly restricted to several burials and tombs with only limited information on the associated architectural data. A precise assessment is therefore difficult, although the evidence appears to suggest an increasing diversity and stratification within the capital’s
elite class (Elson 2003:88). It interesting to notice, however, that with the exception of the Pitahayo area (see Figure 4.2) burials, the majority of period II elite burials (and their associated residences) appear to be heavily clustered in a relatively restricted area directly to the northeast of the North Platform. While it is impossible to evaluate the size and degree of elaboration of the residences these burials were associated with, due to lack of evidence, it seems however unlikely that either one of these two main elite residential clusters were even remotely comparable the North Platform palace area. While hard to quantify given the limited evidence, compared to the massive size and volume of the North Platform, the labour invested in mound construction in these elite areas appears to be minimal, thus strongly suggesting a relatively limited access by secondary elites to resources and labour.
Monte Albán IIIa
The evidence available for the Early Classic is only marginally clearer. Once again the large amount of later IIIb-IV construction tends to make an evaluation of the degree of Monte Albán IIIa mound and elite residential construction difficult. Construction at the North Platform continued (Blanton 1978:47), minimally reaching an estimated three quarters of its eventual total volume, thus gradually nearing its present size and layout. Monumental construction in the Main Plaza area continued, most significantly with the dedication of the South Platform (Marcus and Flannery 1996:216-221). While surely several of the elite mound clusters present in IIIb-IV (see below) were at least partially present in this period, the available evidence is fragmentary at best.
Monte Albán IIIb-IV
The most dramatic and visible changes in the layout and organization of the site appeared in this period, during which the site largely attained its present appearance (Blanton 1978:66). During the Late Classic, the most interesting characteristic of Monte Albán’s urban layout is the presence of discrete clusters of mounded and terraced construction, which have been interpreted as indicating the subdivision of the city into barrios, or residential wards (Blanton 1978:66-69). In addition to the Main Plaza, fourteen distinct mound clusters have been identified, each characterized by a more or less impressive amount of monumental construction, including at least one civic-ceremonial mound group (Figure 4.3). As areas outside of the Main Plaza have rarely been the focus of archaeological investigations, we lack detailed excavation data and floor plans for the majority of these mound clusters. It is however quite likely that these mound clusters defined discrete elite residential areas, probably with administrative and control functions over specific sectors of the city. As such, these mound clusters represent a significant qualitative change from the few relatively restricted elite clusters present in period II we saw earlier.
While we generally lack excavation data for elite residences in these mound clusters, we can turn to total mound volume estimates as a rough measure, however imprecise, of the amount of labour invested in the construction of each cluster and how they compare to the North Platform, the likely royal palace precinct. As indicated in Table 4.1, the relative volume of some of these elite wards compares rather favourably with the investment in monumental construction on the North Platform during this period, particularly considering that over three quarters of the latter’s construction was likely carried out prior to the Late Classic, while several of the secondary elite mound clusters appear to date almost exclusively to Monte Albán IIIb-IV (Blanton 1978:75-93). The most noticeable among them is the one characterizing site subdivision 11, located on the northern Atzompa hill (Blanton 1978:88-91), whose construction nearly required the same amount of estimated labour investment as the North Platform during this period. Characterized
by elaborate civic-ceremonial architecture and ballcourts, Atzompa clearly housed elites who had considerable and unprecedented access to resources and labour.
total volume (m3)
Site subdivision 1 (Siete Venado) 16 ’148
Site subdivision 2 (Main P laza, including North P latform) 759 ’498
North P latform (total, Late I through IIIb-IV construction) 448 ’802
Site subdivision 3 7 ’682
Site subdivision 4 6 ’879
Site subdivision 5 6 ’276
Site subdivision 6 12 ’350
Site subdivision 7 7 ’218
Site subdivision 8 (Pitahayo) 9 ’088
Site subdivision 9 348
Site subdivision 10 632
Site subdivision 11 (Atzompa) 66 ’828
Site subdivision 12 2 ’860
Site subdivision 13 3 ’688
Site subdivision 14 5 ’125
Site subdivision 15 (El Gallo) 7 ’460
Table 4.1 – Volume estimates for the mound clusters characterizing each of Monte Albán’s 15 site subdivisions and the North Platform during period IIIb-IV
(Based on Blanton 1978:Table 4.1 and Kowalewski et al.1989: Appendix VIII).
Discussion
Our understanding of Monte Albán’s urban layout and elite residences is unfortunately extremely fragmentary, largely because of the large-scale construction which occurred during the later Classic periods. Furthermore, excavations in the past have been largely carried out almost exclusively in the Main Plaza area and its environs (Blanton 1978:41-46), and our knowledge of the elite architecture characterizing Monte Albán’s site subdivisions is minimal.
Nonetheless, it appears that during period II the site was characterized by a large royal administrative and residential compound located on a massive artificial platform (the North Platform), while secondary elites resided in a few close-by areas characterized by a much smaller amount of labour investment.
By period IIIb-IV, however, distinct sectors of Monte Albán’s secondary elite population resided in elaborate and spatially discrete clusters, often characterized by impressive mounded architecture. The labour invested in a few of these during the Late Classic, as roughly measured by mound volume estimates, compares favourably with the amount invested at the North Platform during the same time, indicating a significantly increase in the ability of secondary elites
at the capital to access resources and labour, which in turn likely reflects their growth in power and authority vis-à-vis other elite factions, including the ruling one.
As mentioned, our evidence for period IIIa is rather fragmentary. One line of potentially additional evidence, albeit one open to potentially conflicting interpretations, is the one provided by the capital’s rich corpus of carved stones (Caso 1928; Marcus 1992). While the subject matter of known period II monuments, particularly those characterizing the Main Plaza’s Building J (Marcus 1976; Marcus 1992) is of rather impersonal, state-wide propagandistic type in its depiction of claimed territorial conquests and control, monuments of the subsequent Monte Albán period IIIa are instead subtly different in their subject matter (Figure 4.4). The series of monuments surrounding the South Platform are a particularly telling example, as they seem to commemorate the dedication of the structure with direct references to a specific elite individual (“12 Jaguar”) and a list of his military accomplishments (Marcus 1976;
Marcus 1992: 325-329; Marcus and Flannery 1996: 216-221). In addition, a number among these carved stones are characterized by “hidden scenes” depicting high-level, ambassadorial-type contacts with Teotihuacan-related individuals. These different depictions have been interpreted as examples of both vertical and horizontal propaganda, with the Teotihuacan-related scenes meant to indicate support or official recognition by the powerful Central Mexican city (Marcus and Flannery 1996:219-221). The need for any elite individual, even Monte Albán’s ruler, to resort to such a degree of propaganda is likely indicative of a concern with asserting his legitimacy vis-à-vis other elite factions.
In the preceding period II, characterized by the more impersonal conquest slabs, the fact that no royal individual had to resort to similar horizontal propaganda might be indicative of a lack of serious internal challenges to the ruling elite’s rule.
For Monte Albán IIIb-IV, the evidence is somewhat clearer. In addition to the architectural evidence discussed above, another possible indication of internal factional conflict at the capital during this period is provided by evidence in site subdivision 1. This probable barrio (which includes the Siete Venado complex) has the particularity of having a double set of defensive walls which appear to have been constructed during the Late Classic (Monte Albán IIIb-IV) (Blanton 1978:75-76). The distinctiveness of these walls is that they were apparently meant to defend the complex not only from possible threats from the outside, but also from threats from within the site itself. These walls effectively isolate this southernmost site subdivision from the Main Plaza and the rest of the site, and might represent a clear indication of an increase in the level of internal strife within the capital during the Late Classic. This observation is even more pertinent to an additional set of fortifications constructed in this period, one which effectively encircled the South Platform and the surrounding precinct with up to 3 meter high walls (Blanton 1978:99). Interestingly, a further set of defensive walls encircled site subdivision 12 as well, although at present it is unclear in which period these were constructed (Blanton 1978:91).
II - Growing provincial control over local resources
Growing provincial control over local resources should be visible in ways quite similar to the rise to prominence of the capital’s factional leaders discussed above. When operative, the system of checks and balances preventing provincial officials and administrators from retaining an improper amount of local resources will result in a relatively modest investment in their residences. Administrative architecture at secondary sites will likely take a relatively simple, standardized form. An increasing ability by provincial leaders to retain a growing share of revenues
will likely be reflected in the increasing size and elaboration of their official residences and associated administrative structures, eventually developing outright into large-scale palaces with closely associated public/ceremonial areas.
Similarly, an increase in revenue and power at the local level might be reflected by a growing ability by provincial leaders to independently acquire status-related items previously restricted to central elites. The focus of the following discussion will therefore be evidence of changes in provincial elite architecture between periods II and IIIb-IV.
Monte Albán II
Excavation data is at present available for three major period II provincial sites in the Valley of Oaxaca, that is San José Mogote (Marcus and Flannery 1996), Dainzu (Bernal and Oliveros 1988), and Cerro Tilcajete (Elson 2003a, 2003b). San José Mogote, the likely main provincial settlement in the Etla branch of the Valley, is characterized by a large-scale investment in public architecture during this period, resulting in a close replica of Monte Albán’s Main Plaza and the North and South Platforms (Marcus and Flannery 1996: 178-180). While we do not know what San José Mogote’s period II paramount elite residence looked like, it is likely that this degree of labour investment and the close resemblance to Monte Albán denotes significant central involvement in its construction, and might be indicative of special ties between the site and the Monte Albán ruling lineage. This is perhaps not surprising given that this portion of the Etla branch was the likely ancestral home of Monte Albán’s royal lineage (Marcus and Flannery 1996:139-140).
Similarly, the evidence from the main provincial site in the Tlacolula branch of the valley, Dainzú, is also largely restricted to the site’s civic-ceremonial area with only fragmentary data regarding the associated elite residences (Bernal and Oliveros 1988). Fortunately, we do possess detailed information regarding another major provincial administrative site in the valley during this period, Cerro Tilcajete in the eastern Valle Grande (Elson 2003a). This data is of particular interest, given the fact that Cerro Tilcajete was the direct predecessor of Early Classic Jalieza, having likely served as paramount regional site for the Valle Grande during period II. Together with the Jalieza data (see below), the Cerro Tilcajete data should allow us to follow changes in provincial administrative architecture over half a millennium.
The period II civic-ceremonial center of Cerro Tilcajete is characterized by a small 30 by 40 meters plaza flanked by three mounds (Elson 2003a:112-117). The highest of these, Mound A, was located on the north side of the plaza and excavations there uncovered the remains of an elite residence characterized by the usual Zapotec pattern of several rooms around a patio (Elson 2003a:116-118). Given its location, on the site’s major mound, overlooking and dominating the site’s main plaza, it highly probable that the residence housed Cerro Tilcajete’s paramount elite family.
The period II civic-ceremonial center of Cerro Tilcajete is characterized by a small 30 by 40 meters plaza flanked by three mounds (Elson 2003a:112-117). The highest of these, Mound A, was located on the north side of the plaza and excavations there uncovered the remains of an elite residence characterized by the usual Zapotec pattern of several rooms around a patio (Elson 2003a:116-118). Given its location, on the site’s major mound, overlooking and dominating the site’s main plaza, it highly probable that the residence housed Cerro Tilcajete’s paramount elite family.