By virtue of scale differences alone (at least 5 times the population of the next most populous settlement, San José Mogote) it would appear that activities would be undertaken at Monte Albán, not undertaken at towns and villages. Other features of the occupation point to the same conclusion. The hilltop area of the Main Plaza at Monte Albán apparently served only public purposes even at this early stage. Residential /agricultural terraces on the hillsides could not have produced enough to feed the population. Even drinking water would have to have been transported from the Valley floor 400 m below during most, if not all, the year. There is no evidence of ceramic manufacture at Monte Albán, though an unusual variety of unusually costly ceramics were apparently consumed there. All this suggests that food, water, ceramics, and, quite possibly, other things as well, like salt and lime (for preparation of maize), were transported from other locations to Monte Albán, supporting substantial population that did not engage in agriculture at all. What did they do? It’s location suggests , as well, that Monte Albán, was a rather unlikely location for a market. The absence of any features that might be identified as storehouses suggests that it did not serve as a major redistribution center. It is commonly (and plausibly) suggested that they directed (coordinated, determined), by some means, the activities of other people in the Valley. Indeed, the danzantes figures appearing in Main Plaza perhaps as early as Early I suggest that these means may have involved a substantial element of coercion. Similar figures do not occur at other settlements during this phase or later, though one ( Monument 3) appears during the immediately preceding Rosario phase at San José Mogote.
Other aspects of vertical complexity include the evidence that people in higher living occupations in higher levels of the hierarchy enjoyed a higher standard of living in terms of access to greater variety and more costly ceramic, lithic and exotic commodities.
Additional vertical complexity, apart from the settlement hierarchy, is apparent in the appearance of social units larger than households engaged in manufacturing activities. Evidence of mass produced ceramics they could not have been produced at the household level appears during this phase. The institutional nature of these social units is not evident. Some suggest, because of their location near settlements that are “administrative centers”, that they aere “state enterprises”. However, location near larger populations centers can be as well explaind by proximity to consumers (See below.).
Though a four tier settlement hieratchy was in place by the end of Late I, the absence of third and second tier occuaptions within 20 km of Monte Albán suggests that this heavily populated area was administered direct from the regional capital without lower level intermediaries.
The argument for (a) appears plausible; but that for (b) somewhat questionable. For most food preparations based on dried maize seeds, including tortillias, tamales and gruel, the most time-consuming part of the preparation is grinding the dried maize seeds. Thus, changing to tortillias as opposed to some other preparation based on dried maize seeds would not significantly change the labor required. To defend (b), it appears one would have to maintain that there was a shift to tortillias from some food preparation (based on maize) but not based on dried maize seed. But, this is implausible because of the earlier presence of manos and metates (presumably used to grind dried maize seed) in the archaeological record and the need to dry maize for storage.
Wether or not there is a change in the basic pattern of household activity from preceeding period, there is evidence of growing horizontal complexity in the form craft specialization in the manufacture of ceramics and lithics at both the household level and the hamlet level and possibly higher levels.
There is also some evidence of horizontal complexity at the household level revealed by differences in the size and configuration of household units and mortuary practice as well. While most household units are similar to those of the preceding period, some are now large enough to house more than a nuclear family...possibly relatives or even servants. With two structures, they begin to assume a formal appearance partially enclosing a patio. Burials continue to be in areas adjacent to residential structures, but some now are in stone lined tombs with more elaborate grave goods such as jade earspools and stone bead necklaces. These differences manifest themselves in occupations at all levels of the settlement hierarchy.
The pervasiveness of these feature interpreted as manifistations of emerging differences in social status have lead some to conclude that, even at the hamlet level, there may have been one elite household -- linked by kinship to elites in other locations -- whose members dominated hamlet life in the sense of organizing production ant the collection of “tribute” to be passed up the settlement hierarchy -- possibly after “skimming a bit off the top”.
Horizontal complexity at the hamlet level is suggested by difference in the quantity, variety and coastlines of ceramic types recovered from different hamlet occupations. Indeed, there appears to be a correlation between artifact poor occupations and occupations located in the agriculturally less desirable piedmont.
