In the Land of the Sky: Recent Interdisciplinary Archaeological Research in the Lower Río Verde Valley, Oaxaca

This session presents results of the last decade of interdisciplinary archaeological research in the lower Río Verde Valley on the Pacific coast of Oaxaca, Mexico. Archaeological research during this period has focused on the Formative period, although ongoing settlement pattern studies, paleoecological research, and human dietary studies have implications for the entire prehispanic sequence. Major research problems that are discussed include the origins of agriculture and sedentism during the initial Early Formative period; the relationship between religion and politics at the end of the Formative; urbanization and political centralization; the aftermath of political collapse; and the impact of Formative Period environmental change on settlement, land use, and diet. Data presented in the session are the result of large-scale excavations at the Early Formative period site of La Consentida, the Terminal Formative urban center of Río Viejo, the Terminal Formative outlying sites of Cerro de la Virgen and Loma Don Genaro, and the Early Classic period site of Charco Redondo. Papers also present paleoecological research based on sediment cores extracted from ponds and estuaries, isotopic studies of human and animal bone, geoarchaeological research on soil fertility, regional full-coverage survey, archaeozoology, and studies of artifacts from the region.