University of Central Florida
Humans haven't learned much in more than 2,000 years when it
comes to religion and politics.
Religion
has led to social tension and conflict, not just in today's society, but dating
back to 700 B.C. according to a new study published in Current Anthropology .
University
of Colorado anthropology Professor Arthur A. Joyce and University of Central
Florida Associate Professor Sarah Barber found evidence in several Mexican
archeological sites that contradict the long-held belief that religion acted to
unite early state societies. It often had the opposite effect, the study says.
"It
doesn't matter if we today don't share particular religious beliefs, but when
people in the past acted on their beliefs, those actions could have real,
material consequences," Barber said about the team's findings. "It
really behooves us to acknowledge religion when considering political
processes."
Sounds
like sage advice in today's world that has multiple examples of politics and
religion intersecting and resulting in conflict.
The team published its findings "Ensoulment, Entrapment, and Political Centralization: A Comparative Study of Religion and Politics in Later Formative Oaxaca," after spending several years conducting field research in the lower Río Verde valley of Oaxaca, Mexico's Pacific coastal lowlands. They compared their results with data from the highland Valley of Oaxaca.
Their
study viewed archaeological evidence from 700 B.C. to A.D. 250, a period
identified as a time of the emergence of states in the region. In the lower
Verde, religious rituals involving offerings and the burial of people in
cemeteries at smaller communities created strong ties to the local community
that impeded the creation of state institutions.
And
in the Valley of Oaxaca, elites became central to mediating between their
communities and the gods, which eventually triggered conflict with traditional
community leaders. It culminated in the emergence of a regional state with its
capital at the hilltop city of Monte Albán.
"In
both the Valley of Oaxaca and the Lower Río Verde Valley, religion was
important in the formation and history of early cities and states, but in
vastly different ways," said Joyce, lead author on the study. "Given
the role of religion in social life and politics today, that shouldn't be too
surprising."
The
conflict in the lower Río Verde valley is evident in rapid rise and fall of its
state institutions. At Río Viejo, the capital of the lower Verde state, people
had built massive temples by AD 100. Yet these impressive, labor-intensive
buildings, along with many towns throughout the valley, were abandoned a little
over a century later.
"An
innovative aspect of our research is to view the burials of ancestors and
ceremonial offerings in the lower Verde as essential to these ancient
communities," said Joyce, whose research focuses on both political life
and ecology in ancient Mesoamerica. "Such a perspective is also more
consistent with the worldviews of the Native Americans that lived there."