Richard Gardner Lesure
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Ph.D. University of Michigan, 1995
Office: Fowler A343
Phone: (310) 825-4614
Fax:
310-206-4723
E-mail:
lesure@ucla.edu
Mailing Address:
341 Haines Hall - Box 951553
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1553
UCLA Appointments
Department of Anthropology
Research Interests
Archaeology of early village societies; sociopolitical dynamics and the origin of social inequality; Mesoamerica
Research Summary
The Origins of Social Inequality in Early Formative Mesoamerica is an investigation of sociopolitical dynamics in Mesoamerica's earliest settled villages, dated from 1600 to 1000 BC. Professor Lesure's field work has focused on the large village site of Paso de la Amada, on the coast of Chiapas, Mexico. Excavations revealed significant architectural elaboration, including the construction of earthen platforms, dating to 1450 BC. Analysis of household middens, as well as those associated with platforms, indicates that the high status activities and access to valued goods were not restricted during the time period of greatest architectural elaboration. Only after abandonment of the site's main platform and ceremonial precinct did economic differences between households emerge. The next stage will place the trajectory of development in a regional context in an attempt to resolve this puzzle.
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