Anthony James DeLuca

ANTHONY DeLUCA, then a graduate student at University of Texas, San Antonio, Texas, was approved funding in September 2023 to aid research on “Architectural Energetics, Collective Governance, and Exclusionary and Corporate Strategies at Los Guachimontones, Jalisco, Mexico,” supervised by Dr. Jason Yaeger. This dissertation project examines the political organization, labor mobilization strategies, and nature of power in the Late Formative to Classic period (300 B.C. – A.D. 450) Teuchitlán Culture of West Mexico through a detailed formal analysis and architectural energetics analysis of monumental circular platforms, called guachimontones. Previous research at the sites of Navajas, Llano Grande, and Los Guachimontones noted construction differences among guachimontones, but this research constitutes the first longitudinal examination of construction techniques at a single site to determine if monumental construction techniques change, and if they correspond to shifts between corporate and exclusionary political strategies. The site of Los Guachimontones presents an ideal case study, as previous research at the site by the Proyecto Arqueológico Teuchitlán (PAT, directed by Dr. Phil Weigand) excavated several guachimontones. The fieldwork was focused on collecting data that were essential for the energetics analysis: new drone-based photogrammetry models of the guachimontones allow for precise calculation of their volume; an analysis of the bajareque (daub) permits the calculation of how much was used in each platform; and sourcing of the primary construction materials allows for a more accurate calculation of the labor needed to transport materials to the building site.