Multilevel Selection and Political Evolution in the Valley of Oaxaca, 500–100 B.C.

Abstract

Although Monte Albàn I in the Valley of Oaxaca (500–100 B.C.) is widely recognized as a period of major political change, researchers have found it difficult to establish whether the key institutions of the Zapotec state emerged during this or the succeeding Monte Albàn II period (100 B.C.–A.D. 200). Also unresolved has been the issue of when the three major subregions of the Oaxaca Valley (Etla, Tlacolula, Ocotlàn/Zimatlàn) all became integrated into a single polity under the rule of Monte Albàn, the state capital. This paper presents recent theoretical and empirical contributions that have not yet been brought to bear on the problem of Monte Albàn I. Concepts drawn from multilevel selection theory and evolutionary trend theory are utilized in an analysis of Oaxaca Valley regional settlement pattern data. The analysis provides a multilevel context for a discussion of recent survey and excavations at San Martı́n Tilcajete, the results of which are clarifying the sequence of institutional development in Oaxaca. Taken together, the regional analysis and the discoveries at Tilcajete indicate that: (1) the Zapotec state emerged during Late Monte Albàn I (300–100 B.C.) in a context of intensifying competition—including violent conflict—among rival polities within the Oaxaca Valley; and (2) even though the early Zapotec state began a campaign of territorial expansion during Late Monte Albàn I, political unification of all three major subregions of the Valley was not achieved until Monte Albàn II.