Matching Items (3)
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- All Subjects: Indians of Mexico
- Creators: Smith, Michael E.
Description
This study analyzed archaeological residential inventories from the center of Sauce and its hinterlands to address the possible appearance of markets and the structure of exchange during the Middle Postclassic period (A.D. 1200-1350) in south-central Veracruz, Mexico. Economic development is rarely the result of a coherent strategy either on the part of managing or consuming elites or on the part of the average consumer. Instead, a combination of strategies and overlapping exchange systems provided the context, rather than any one explanation, for how commercial market exchange develops. Identifying the context is challenging because economies have multiple exchange mechanisms, which require clearly defined expectations that separate spatial and network (distributional) data. This separation is vital because different exchange mechanisms such as centralized redistribution versus central-place marketing produce similar spatial patterns. Recent innovations in identifying exchange mechanisms use network (distributional) instead of spatial expectations. Based on this new body of knowledge, new quantitative methods were developed to distinguish between exchange through social networks versus market exchange for individual items based on comparisons of household inventories, later combining this information with spatial and contextual analyses. First, a Bayesian-inspired Monte Carlo computer simulation was designed to identify exchange mechanisms, using all household items including cooking utensils, serving dishes, chipped stone tools, etc., from 65 residential units from Sauce and its hinterland. Next, the socioeconomic rank of households, GIS spatial analyses, and quality assessments of pottery and other items were used to evaluate social and political aspects of exchange and consumption. The results of this study indicated that most products were unrestricted in access, and spatial analyses showed they were acquired in a market near Sauce. Few restrictions on most of the polychromes, chipped stone, and assorted household items (e.g., spindle whorls) lend strong support to commoner household prominence in developing markets. However, there were exceptions. Dull Buff Polychrome was associated with the Sauce center; analyses showed that its access was restricted through social networks. "Cookie-cutter" style figurines and incense burners also showed restriction. Restricted items found in Sauce and wealthier residences indicate enduring political and social inequalities within market development. For Sauce, a combination of elite and commoner household interests was crucial in supporting the growth of commercial exchange rather than a top-down directive.
ContributorsOssa, Alanna (Author) / Stark, Barbara L. (Thesis advisor) / Cowgill, George L. (Committee member) / Smith, Michael E. (Committee member) / Simon, Arleyn W. (Committee member) / Umberger, Emily (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
This archaeological study applies a world-systems-based approach in evaluating regional economic interaction among independent polities. It focuses specifically on interaction between local polities and Teotihuacan-affiliated populations in the Western Tuxtlas Region of the Gulf Coast of Veracruz, Mexico during the Early Classic and Middle Classic periods (A.D. 300-650). Changes in regional economics followed the founding of the Teotihuacan-linked center of Matacapan in the Catemaco River Valley. To assess these changes, this research characterizes the consumption of Matacapan-produced imports in two independent neighboring polities to reconstruct regional distribution networks and assess Matacapan’s impact on the region.
The Central Highland capital of Teotihuacan had variable influence throughout Mesoamerica. One pronounced occurrence of this influence has been identified at Matacapan, which displays strong material culture and architectural connections to Teotihuacan. This research therefore employs a modified world-systems framework which removes the assumption of hierarchy and instead focuses on regional interaction within the periphery. It views the establishment of regional distribution networks centered at Matacapan that articulate with the two neighboring polities as a form of incorporation, the process wherein external groups are brought into a system.
To assess incorporation, four potential Matacapan-centered networks are analyzed. These networks consist of the distribution of two ceramic types and obsidian blades produced from two sources. Artifacts from survey, surface collection, and excavation were subjected to ceramic analysis, lithic analysis, petrography, neutron activation analysis, and X-ray fluorescence analysis to identify source, form, and production technology. These data aid in determining network participation in each polity. By assessing importation in these local polities, the form and degree of their incorporation will be identified.
Incorporation of indigenous polities into regional networks was not uniform within the Western Tuxtlas Region. Two Matacapan-centered networks were identified, and they differ in form and extent. One indigenous polity, Teotepec, participated in both networks while the other, Totocapan, participated in one. I argue that Teotepec’s incorporation into a second network was strategic in that it was mutually beneficial to both involved parties. Additionally, indigenous Tuxtlas’ polities were able to negotiate interaction with their Teotihuacan-affiliated neighbor for desired goods without forfeiting political or cultural autonomy.
The Central Highland capital of Teotihuacan had variable influence throughout Mesoamerica. One pronounced occurrence of this influence has been identified at Matacapan, which displays strong material culture and architectural connections to Teotihuacan. This research therefore employs a modified world-systems framework which removes the assumption of hierarchy and instead focuses on regional interaction within the periphery. It views the establishment of regional distribution networks centered at Matacapan that articulate with the two neighboring polities as a form of incorporation, the process wherein external groups are brought into a system.
To assess incorporation, four potential Matacapan-centered networks are analyzed. These networks consist of the distribution of two ceramic types and obsidian blades produced from two sources. Artifacts from survey, surface collection, and excavation were subjected to ceramic analysis, lithic analysis, petrography, neutron activation analysis, and X-ray fluorescence analysis to identify source, form, and production technology. These data aid in determining network participation in each polity. By assessing importation in these local polities, the form and degree of their incorporation will be identified.
Incorporation of indigenous polities into regional networks was not uniform within the Western Tuxtlas Region. Two Matacapan-centered networks were identified, and they differ in form and extent. One indigenous polity, Teotepec, participated in both networks while the other, Totocapan, participated in one. I argue that Teotepec’s incorporation into a second network was strategic in that it was mutually beneficial to both involved parties. Additionally, indigenous Tuxtlas’ polities were able to negotiate interaction with their Teotihuacan-affiliated neighbor for desired goods without forfeiting political or cultural autonomy.
ContributorsWilson, Nathan Daniel (Author) / Smith, Michael E. (Thesis advisor) / Stark, Barbara L. (Thesis advisor) / Arnold III, Philip J (Committee member) / Kintigh, Keith W. (Committee member) / Simon, Arleyn W (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
This project investigates social mobility in premodern states through a contextualized program of isotopic research at the archaeological site of Teotihuacan, Mexico. Due to the lack of a concrete methodology that can be used to recover information concerning rates of social mobility from archaeological remains, many traditional archaeological models either ignore social mobility or assume that boundaries between socioeconomic strata within archaic states were largely impermeable. In this research, I develop a new methodological approach to the identification of socially mobile individuals in the archaeological record based on changes in the diet across the lifecourse that can be detected through isotopic paleodietary indicators. Drawing upon cross-cultural research surrounding the relationship between diet and socioeconomic status and established methodologies in the biogeochemical analysis of human remains, this methodological approach provides a basis for broader comparative studies evaluating the nature of social mobility within archaic states.
I then test the practical application of this methodology by applying it to a mortuary sample including individuals from distinctive socioeconomic groups from the pre-Hispanic city of Teotihuacan, Mexico. The study recovers and uses the dietary isotope ratios within bone and tooth samples from 81 individuals buried throughout the city 1) to define the dietary correlates of wealth and status at Teotihuacan and 2) to identify individuals displaying lifetime dietary changes consistent with changes in socioeconomic status. In addition to supplementing our current understanding of Teotihuacan foodways and processes of geographic migration into the city, I identify an adult male individual from the La Ventilla B apartment compound who displays dietary changes throughout his life that are consistent with downward socioeconomic mobility from a high status socioeconomic group in early adolescence to an intermediate status group later in adulthood. I conclude by identifying ways to move forward with the comparative archaeology of socioeconomic mobility in premodern contexts and highlight the applicability of archaeological information to our understanding of present-day processes of social mobility.
I then test the practical application of this methodology by applying it to a mortuary sample including individuals from distinctive socioeconomic groups from the pre-Hispanic city of Teotihuacan, Mexico. The study recovers and uses the dietary isotope ratios within bone and tooth samples from 81 individuals buried throughout the city 1) to define the dietary correlates of wealth and status at Teotihuacan and 2) to identify individuals displaying lifetime dietary changes consistent with changes in socioeconomic status. In addition to supplementing our current understanding of Teotihuacan foodways and processes of geographic migration into the city, I identify an adult male individual from the La Ventilla B apartment compound who displays dietary changes throughout his life that are consistent with downward socioeconomic mobility from a high status socioeconomic group in early adolescence to an intermediate status group later in adulthood. I conclude by identifying ways to move forward with the comparative archaeology of socioeconomic mobility in premodern contexts and highlight the applicability of archaeological information to our understanding of present-day processes of social mobility.
ContributorsNado, Kristin Lynn (Author) / Buikstra, Jane E. (Thesis advisor) / Knudson, Kelly J. (Committee member) / Smith, Michael E. (Committee member) / Robertson, Ian G (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017