Collective action, cooperation, and Olmec sociopolitical organization

Abstract

The southern Gulf lowlands of Mesoamerica witnessed significant cultural transformations during the Early and Middle Formative periods (1700–400 cal BC), when the Olmec culture developed and flourished. Monument carving and transportation, along with other large labor projects, have led archaeologists to infer that a powerful Olmec elite class emerged at this time who controlled surpluses and nonlocal resources and used them to fund large work projects. Specifically, judging from long-distance stone monument transport and large-scale public constructions, most scholars have simply assumed that Olmec leaders had strong political authority and they derived their power through controlling resources and coercing people, while using ritual to legitimize their authority. To evaluate this contention, I examine artifact assemblages and subsistence patterns from household assemblages in Olmec hinterland sites in an attempt to document change during the Early Formative period (1800–1000 cal BC). Results show meager evidence for elite control on economic resources. Drawing from research on collective action theory, cooperation theory, and costly signaling theory of ritual and religion, I present an alternative hypothesis that accounts for the completion of large labor projects in the absence of political authority and political power.