Population pressure as a deterrent to hierarchical development in early complex societies: examples from central Panama

Anthropologists have long seen population pressure as a major catalyst for long-term sociopolitical change, and for the development of sociopolitical inequalities, or hierarchy, specifically. Although population pressure has now been stripped of its “prime-mover” status, research continues to focus on its role in spurring hierarchical development. But studies of population pressure in other realms of social science, coupled with the variability now known to characterize ancient complex societies, urge anthropologists to explore other ways population pressure could have shaped early forms of social complexity (at least in regions where population pressure can be argued to have taken hold). This paper engages in such exploration, building off previous assessments of population pressure in three regions of central Panama: the lower Parita, lower La Villa, and upper Tonosí valleys. Contrary to popular models, population pressure was most severe in those regions where sociopolitical inequalities were weakest, and seemingly non-existent where inequalities were stronger. This paper explores the reasons underlying this pattern, which stem from the ways households in these regions responded to population pressure. These responses may have actively discouraged strong sociopolitical hierarchy from forming, raising new questions and urging more research into population pressure's variable role in shaping complex society development. • Analysis suggests population pressure in the upper Tonosí and lower La Villa valleys. • Responses to population pressure were different in each region. • These responses discouraged strong sociopolitical inequalities from forming. • Population pressure is not a prime mover but a source of variation.