bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Interregional Interaction and Social Development on the Oaxaca Coast
Authors: Joyce Arthur A. 
Published: October 2008

AbstractThis article provides a synthetic examination of the role of external relations in the social, cultural, and political development of the Oaxaca Coast. The article deals primarily with the lower Río Verde valley and the southern Isthmus since these two regions have been the focus of archaeological research on the Oaxaca Coast; other areas of the coast are discussed when data permit. The data from the coast indicate that interregional relations were dominated by elites in pursuit of exotic materials and ideas that served to symbolize and legitimize their special status in society. Evidence for contact with some of the most powerful political centers of pre-Hispanic Mexico are documented, including Monte Albán, Teotihuacan, Tenochtitlan, and possibly El Tajín and Tula among others. Despite contact with these powerful centers the Oaxaca Coast appears to have been politically autonomous for most of its pre-Hispanic history.
Pacific Coastal Laguna Zope
Authors: Zeitlin Robert N. 
Published: October 2008

AbstractRecent excavations at Laguna Zope, on the southern Isthmus of Tehuantepec, provide interesting insights into the nature of a regional center in the hinterlands of Monte Albán. The excavation focused on an elite-status area of the site dating to the Terminal Formative period, a time when the Monte Albán polity in the highland Valley of Oaxaca was thought to have embarked on an imperialist campaign to turn former exchange partners into tribute-paying subjects. In contrast to the evidence from some other regions of Oaxaca, there was little to suggest that Laguna Zope was ever subjugated. On the contrary, exchange between Pacific coastal Laguna Zope and Monte Albán seems to have flourished during the Terminal Formative despite the political unrest that apparently interfered with commerce elsewhere in Oaxaca. In maintaining its political independence and resilience as a center for long-distance exchange during this troubled period, Laguna Zope may have capitalized on its relative distance from the Valley of Oaxaca and on a geographic location that afforded it strategic access to other markets.
Shell-Ornament Production in Ejutla
Authors: Feinman Gary M. , Nicholas Linda M. 
Published: October 2008

AbstractFindings from recent survey and excavation projects in Ejutla, Oaxaca, enable a broader examination of marine shell use and exchange in ancient Mesoamerica. A variety of shell ornaments were manufactured from Pacific Coast species at the Ejutla site during the Terminal Formative/Early Classic periods. Comparisons of the Ejutla mollusc assemblage with shell ornaments found at other highland Oaxaca sites indicate shifts in the nature of shell-ornament manufacture and exchange during the Formative and Early Classic periods. These changes, in conjunction with other findings, signal shifting relationships late in the Formative period among Monte Albán, the Ejutla Valley, and the Pacific Coast. The recognized shifts in highland-lowland Oaxaca relations generally coincide with an expanded importance of Pacific Coast shell at Teotihuacan and in the Lowland Maya region.
The Politics of Classic-Period Ritual Interaction
Authors: Zeitlin Judith Francis 
Published: October 2008

AbstractThe Classic period along the Oaxaca Coast was a time of population growth and increased sociopolitical complexity, as marked by the prominence of hierarchical settlement systems, large regional centers, and the proliferation of monumental artworks. An iconographic examination of standing stone sculpture from six archaeological sites between the Rio Verde and the Río de los Perros indicates that these later Classic societies were concerned with the same religious themes that prevailed at that time throughout the Peripheral Coastal Lowlands: the Underworld death and rebirth of the celestial deities in mythical events reenacted in the ritual ballgame. With no single dominant power dictating cult orthodoxy, independent political leaders interpreted these rituals freely. As permanent public expressions of the polity's stature, the sculptures and the religious message they encoded appear to have both enhanced a leader's prestige in intergroup social competition and helped foster internal social differentiation.
The Pacific Coast of Oaxaca and Guerrero
Authors: Urcid Javier 
Published: October 2008

AbstractEpigraphic and functional comparisons of carved monuments in highland and coastal Oaxaca are used to address questions concerning (1) the origin and development of writing in southwestern Mesoamerica, (2) macroregional interactions, and (3) past linguistic affiliations of coastal groups. Given the scarcity of known inscriptions, particularly along the littoral of Guerrero and Oaxaca, it is concluded that the writing system in the coast is derived from central (Zapotec) Oaxaca and that the littoral did not play a role in the origins of writing in Mesoamerica. Since most of the inscribed material presently available from the coast dates betweena.d.600 and 900, relatively few traces of interregional contacts can be detected by means of epigraphy. Discernible interactions include contact with post-Teotihuacan sites in the central highlands via Guerrero; central Oaxaca through intermediate regions like Sola de Vega and Miahuatlan; and Tabasco, the latter apparently the result of migrations. The close epigraphic similarities between the coast and central Oaxaca suggest that groups speaking Chatino and other languages of the Zapotecan family had a wider distribution along the littoral in former times.
Tututepec
Authors: Spores Ronald 
Published: October 2008

AbstractArounda.d.1000 a political empire centered at Tututepec on Oaxaca's Pacific Coast formed and rose to prominence under the leadership of the great Mixtec lord 8 Deer. The extensive (25,000 km2) and ethnically diverse Tututepec empire was integrated by a system of conquest and alliance, tribute and service, military conscription, trade, a three- to four-level political hierarchy, and a simple administrative network. It was further linked by a system of royal marital alliance and trade to the Mixtec states in the Mixteca Aha and Mixteca Baja in the mountains to the north. The empire, smaller but more tightly integrated than the Chulhua-Mexica empire and smaller but more loosely integrated than the Purepecha (Tarascan) empire, dominated the Oaxaca Coast until the arrival of the Spaniards in the early 1520s.
Chichen Itza and Its Hinterland
Authors: Kepecs Susan , Feinman Gary , Boucher Sylviane 
Published: October 2008

AbstractFor too long, Mayanists working in northern Yucatan have retained a focus on the single site. Although a few recent papers have begun to examine this area in regional terms, the world-systems perspective has yet to be applied. In this paper the world-systems framework is used to examine the post-Teotihuacan core center of Chichen Itza and its hinterland. Various lines of information are combined to achieve the fullest possible picture, including new settlement-pattern data, related ethnohistoric material, and a brief consideration of existing iconographie studies. Comparative examples from contemporary sites in other parts of Mesoamerica are provided to illustrate the systemic interconnections that characterize a “world system.”
The Obsidian Artifacts of Quelepa, El Salvador
Authors: Braswell Geoffrey E. , Andrews V E. Wyllys , Glascock Michael D. 
Published: October 2008

AbstractNearly 600 obsidian artifacts dating from about 200b.c.toa.d.950 at Quelepa, El Salvador, are assigned to geological source areas using visual criteria and an abbreviated neutron activation analysis (NAA) technique. This combined methodology affords highly accurate results, is inexpensive, and allows large collections to be sourced. Results of lithic analyses describe the evolution of procurement and production strategies at the site. Despite the location of the site on the far southeastern periphery of Mesoamerica, the lithic analyses indicate that Quelepa participated in a Mesoamerican rather than Central American transference network.
Jewels of Ceren
Authors: Kievit Karen A. 
Published: October 2008

AbstractThe discovery at Joya de Cerén of the remains of a prehistoric village has presented archaeologists with an unprecedented view of pre-Columbian southern Mesoamerican earthen architecture. Twelve of the 17 known structures at the site have been partially or completely excavated to date. They include domestic dwellings, storehouses, and kitchens, as well as public and ritual buildings. These structures shared many architectural characteristics, yet each was unique. This paper draws upon the Cerén literature and personal field experience in order to present, in words and drawings, a comparison of form and function for these remarkably well-preserved structures, and suggests directions for further inquiry at Cerén.
An Overview of Southern Veracruz Archaeology
Authors: Arnold Philip J. 
Published: October 2008

AbstractDespite an ancient history as rich as any in Mesoamerica, the archaeology of southern Veracruz, Mexico, remains underrepresented in both Spanish and English publications. This paper provides background information on southern Veracruz archaeology. Topical coverage includes the region's natural environment, its pre-Hispanic cultural traditions, and an overview of previous research in the area. In addition, this paper introduces and summarizes the four contributions to this special section. This collection of papers affirms that southern Veracruz archaeology is poised to make a significant contribution to our knowledge of ancient Mesoamerica.
La Isla, Veracruz, 1991
Authors: Grove David C. 
Published: October 2008

AbstractThis article reports on 1991 archaeological investigations at La Isla, a small site near the Olmec center of Laguna de los Cerros, Veracruz. Excavations of Mound D, the mound's possible association with three Olmec monument fragments found in the 1970s, and problems of site stratigraphy are discussed. The article concludes with comments on the western sector of the Olmec area. The overall distribution of major Olmec centers is then considered, and a “zonal complementarity” model associating the location of those centers with distinctive natural resources is introduced.
Llano del Jicaro
Authors: Gillespie Susan D. 
Published: October 2008

AbstractLlano del Jícaro, Veracruz, is a workshop site where Olmec monuments were carved from exposed boulders of Cerro Cintepec basalt. The site, which lies in the hinterland of the major Olmec center of Laguna de los Cerros, was discovered in 1960 by Alfonso Medellín Zenil, who moved one of its unfinished monuments to the Museum of Anthropology in Jalapa. In 1991 more intensive archaeological investigations at Llano del Jícaro located nine additional boulders, including a tabletop altar, with evidence of carving. Excavations around four of these monoliths uncovered debitage and hammerstones from the manufacturing process. Survey also located the remains of the probable residences of the stonecarvers.
The Economy of Ancient Matacapan
Authors: Santley Robert S. 
Published: October 2008

AbstractIn 1979 I initiated a program of archaeological fieldwork in the Tuxtlas Mountains in southern Veracruz, Mexico. One of the working hypotheses guiding this research was that Matacapan, the principal archaeological site in the area, headed a political economy dominated by persons from the great central Mexican center of Teotihuacan. In this paper I present evidence characterizing the economy that Matacapan dominated during the Classic period. My conclusion is that there was significant variation in system organization through time. Findings from the Tuxtlas indicate that the Early Classic regional system was small scale and organized most likely as a bounded hierarchical economy. In contrast, a dendritic political economy developed in Middle Classic times, in which the production of ceramics and/or their contents for distribution beyond the local region was emphasized. The Late Classic system was smaller scale, with most production destined for local clienteles, but apparently it was more commercialized, resembling an interlocking central-place system in several respects.
The Development of the Classic-Period Mixtequilla in South-Central Veracruz, Mexico
Authors: Stark Barbara L. , Curet L. Antonio 
Published: October 2008

AbstractWe examine ceramic and settlement-pattern changes in the Mixtequilla, Veracruz, during the Preclassic and Classic periods with special attention to the periods corresponding to the rise and decline of Teotihuacan. Data for the study derive from full-coverage survey of 40 square kilometers accompanied by systematic surface collections. Collections are analyzed using a suite of multivariate techniques to study changes in pottery that, in turn, provide a basis for the study of shifts in settlement patterns. Local developments and extralocal relationships are discussed with regard to political and economic spheres. Strong continuity through time is indicated for the region, without major disruptions. Teotihuacan influence is manifest more in stylistic domains than in imported items. Although an episode of indirect administration cannot be ruled out, social emulative relationships are more likely than administrative ones. Alternatives to commercial relations are noted.
Reinterpreting the Great Pyramid of Cholula, Mexico
Authors: McCafferty Geoffrey G. 
Published: October 2008

AbstractThe Great Pyramid of Cholula is both the largest and oldest continuously occupied building in Mesoamerica. Initial occupation of the ceremonial precinct began in the Late Formative period, and the first building stage of the pyramid dates to the Terminal Formative. The Great Pyramid was built in four major construction stages and at least nine minor modifications. Early stages shared stylistic similarities with Teotihuacan, but toward the end of its construction history external contacts shifted to the Gulf Coast, particularly El Tajin, and probably relate to occupation by ethnic Olmeca-Xicallanca. The fourth and final stage was contemporary with extensive construction on the south side at the Patio of the Altars, and dates to the Early Postclassic period. This period ended, however, with the partial abandonment of the pyramid when ethnic Tolteca-Chichimeca constructed a ceremonial center around their “new” Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl. The Great Pyramid continued as an important shrine dedicated to mountain worship and a rain deity until the Spanish Conquest. It remains one of the most important religious sites in Mexico, where the shrine of the Virgin of the Remedies attracts pilgrims to the church atop the pyramid mound during the annual festival. This paper summarizes the archaeological and ethnohistorical information available to reinterpret the construction history and ideological content of the pyramid throughout its long existence.
Circular Architecture and Symbolic Boundaries in the Mixtec Sierra, Oaxaca
Authors: Finsten Laura , Kowalewski Stephen A. , Smith Charlotte A. , Borland Mark D. , Garvin Richard D. 
Published: October 2008

AbstractSystematic survey of 1,000 km2in a mountainous zone of the Mixteca Alta in Oaxaca, Mexico, has produced detailed architectural data at a large number of pre-Hispanic settlements. One unusual architectural form, circular stone foundations, apparently dates to the Late Postclassic period. Comparisons to similar architectural forms described in the archaeological and ethnographic literature of Mesoamerica and in the Mixtec codices suggest that they may have been sweatbaths. Analysis of their regional distribution and site contexts leads to interesting conclusions about additional contexts for sweatbath ritual. The symbolic link between royal birth, marriage, and sweatbath ritual is clear in the Mixtec codices. An additional use may have been in rituals affirming community identity and marking community boundaries. We suggest a further connection to the use of sweatbaths in Mixtec toponyms and their association with sacred places on the Mixtec landscape, both of which reflected the importance of marriage alliance and female royal inheritance in the territorial strategies of Postclassic Mixtec kingdoms.
Environmental Degradation and the Classic Maya Collapse at Copan, Honduras (a.d. 600–1250): Evidence From Studies of Household Survival
Authors: Paine Richard R. , Freter AnnCorinne 
Published: October 2008

AbstractThe Late Classic Maya abandonment of the Copan Valley, Honduras, began in the ninth centurya.d. and lasted approximately 250–300 years. The relationship between local ecological setting and residential group abandonment is examined by applying event-history analysis to the known occupation spans of 140 residential mound groups, dated by obsidian hydration. Late Classic households in ecologically vulnerable sections of the Copan Valley—as measured by slope, soil type, and natural vegetation—had significantly higher risk of abandonment than households in more ecologically stable settings. Abandonment risk rises sharply in all regions at the end of the seventh centurya.d. Both computerized agricultural simulations and settlement demographic reconstructions indicate that increased levels of agricultural intensification necessary to meet the subsistence needs of Copan's growing population would have led to large-scale erosion in upland areas and a significant reduction of soil fertility in all regions of the valley at that time. Mound-group abandonment patterns tend to support the hypothesis that environmental degradation played a dominant role in the collapse of the Copan polity.
Ancient Maya Trading Ports and the Integration of Long-Distance and Regional Economies: Wild Cane Cay in South-Coastal Belize
Authors: McKillop Heather 
Published: October 2008

AbstractThe importance of Maya sea trade was the sea's integrating role as provider of ritual and subsistence resources and ritual symbolism in the Maya economy. Coastal as opposed to inland transportation of obsidian and other exotics was enhanced because of coastal–inland exchange within the southern Maya lowlands. Results are presented on fieldwork conducted to investigate Maya sea trade by the South Coastal Archaeology in Belize (SCAB) project in the Port Honduras area of south-coastal Belize between Punta Gorda and Punta Negra. The research focused on identifying features characteristic of Maya trading ports that participated in long-distance trade and their impact on regional economies. The first part of the project, with fieldwork in 1982, identified the offshore island site of Wild Cane Cay as a trading port from the Classic through Postclassic periods (a.d. 300–1500). The discovery of some 30 sites during the second phase of the project, dating from the Protoclassic through the Postclassic periods (a.d. 1–1500), indicated that the coastal area had a long period of settlement in contrast to the inland area of southern Belize where settlement was concentrated during the Late Classic period (a.d. 600–900). The patterns of distribution of similar-sourced obsidian, and blades instead of cores within the south-coastal area indicated that some exotics were regionally distributed and that Wild Cane Cay was the nexus of regional distribution. The importance of coastal-inland exchange is underscored by the presence of specialized salt-production sites, coastal resources, and inland goods—notably “unit-stamped” pottery and moldmade figurine whistles.
Eastern Chajoma (Cakchiquel) Political Geography: Ethnohistorical and Archaeological Contributions to the Study of a Late Postclassic Highland Maya Polity
Authors: Hill Robert M. 
Published: October 2008

AbstractThe Chajoma were a major Late Postclassic polity in highland Guatemala. Referred to as the Akajal or Akul in the Annals of the Cakchiquels and Popol Vuh, their territory previously has not been fully defined. Based on a small group of sixteenth-century documents preserved in the records of a later litigation, it is now possible to identify the origins of the Chajoma, approximate the time of their arrival in their new territory, and define the extent of their territory. Combined with information on archaeological sites associated with this occupation, we can provisionally characterize the polity's composition and estimate its population.
The Architecture of the Teuchitlan Tradition of the Occidente of Mesoamerica
Authors: Weigand Phil C. 
Published: October 2008

AbstractThis study examines the geometry of the architecture of the Teuchitlan tradition of western Mexico. An argument will be made that these concentric circular buildings represent formal architectural planning and that they have cultural significance. The pattern dating from the Classic period (ca.a.d. 200–700) will be stressed.
Formal Architecture and Settlement Organization in Ancient West Mexico
Authors: Ohnersorgen Michael A. , Varien Mark D. 
Published: October 2008

AbstractClassic-period settlement in the Teuchitlan region of West Mexico is characterized by the presence of unique, formal circular structures surrounded by residential areas. Previous research in the area has suggested the presence of a four-tiered settlement hierarchy based on the size of these structures, although, to date, this judgment has been made on a largely impressionistic basis. Our research further examines Weigand's Teuchitlan settlement data. We present a theoretical perspective for understanding the role of sites with formal architecture and evaluate the presence of a site-size hierarchy through volumetric estimations. Scenarios for site interaction are suggested by our use of a gravity model. Our primary goal is to propose models of Teuchitlan settlement organization, which can be tested by ongoing fieldwork in the region.
Datos preliminares sobre el descubrimiento de una tumba de tiro en el sitio de Huitzilapa, Jalisco
Authors: de la Vega Jorge Ramos , Camberos M. Lorenza López Mestas 
Published: October 2008

AbstractExcavaciones recientes de rescate en el sitio de Huitzilapa, en la cuenca de Magdalena, centro de Jalisco, resultaron en el descubrimiento y la excavación de una tumba de tiro no saqueada. Se describen la tumba y sus contenidos, y se presenta una serie de fechas de radiocarbono que se concentran en el primer sigio de nuestra era. Las excavaciones proporcionan datos importantes sobre el contexto de las conocidas figuras de las tumbas de tiro, la cronología de este distinctivo complejo mortuorio y la relación de los ambos con la arquitectura de la tradición Teuchitlán.
Political Boundaries and Political Structure: The Limits of the Teuchitlan Tradition
Authors: Beekman Christopher S. 
Published: October 2008

AbstractMany social scientists have proposed a relationship between the structure of a boundary and that of the system it delimits. Substantial anthropological and historical research has found the same tendency in analyses of traditional political structure. A model based on these findings was applied to the Teuchitlan tradition of Classic-period West Mexico, a region where the degree of political complexity and unification has been a subject of debate. A focused study of the eastern boundary of the Teuchitlan Valley was undertaken to examine the nature of its political structure. Fieldwork located a number of defensive features forming a well-structured boundary system in the La Venta corridor that connects the Teuchitlan and Atemajac Valleys. Other fortifications ringing the Teuchitlan Valley strongly suggest that a defensive network had been established to monitor access into the core of the Teuchitlan area. A unitary, territorial form of administration (following the work of Southall and Luttwak) is proposed as a model for political dynamics in the core region, but a review of the evidence for the more-distant Teuchitlan architecture suggests that, at most, only a hegemonic form of control more akin to that of the segmentary state was exercised outside of the core valley. A connection with long-distance resource acquisition is possible, but highly speculative at present.