Mesoamerican ritual economy
Subtitle: archaeological and ethnological perspectives
By: edited by E. Christian Wells and Karla L. Davis-Salazar.
Contributors: Wells, E. Christian.; Davis-Salazar, Karla L.
Series: Mesoamerican worlds from the Olmecs to the Danzantes
Publisher: University Press of Colorado
Published: 2007
Place of publication: Boulder, Colo
Language: eng
Number of pages: 336
ISBN-13: 9780870818714
Subjects: Indians of Mexico -- Rites and ceremonies; Indians of Central America -- Rites and ceremonies; Indians of Mexico -- Religion; Indians of Central America -- Religion; Indians of Mexico -- Wars; Indians of Central America -- Wars; Human sacrifice -- Mexico; Funeral rites and ceremonies -- Mexico; Mexico -- Social life and customs; Central America -- Social life and customs
Description: "In Mesoamerican Ritual Economy, scholars examine the extent to which economic processes were driven by and integrated with religious ritual in ancient Mesoamerica. The contributors explore how vibrant and compelling rituals - human blood sacrifice and self-mutilation, "flowery wars" and battling butterfly warriors, sumptuous feasting with chocolate and tamales, and fantastic funerary rites - intertwined with all sectors of the economy. Examining the interplay between well-established religious rites and economic forces of raw material acquisition, production, circulation, and consumption, this volume effectively questions the idea that materialism alone motivates the production, exchange, and use of objects."

"Exploring the intersection of spirituality and materiality, Mesoamerican Ritual Economy will be of interest to all scholars studying how worldview and belief motivate economic behavior."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Mesoamerican ritual economy : materialization as ritual and economic process / E. Christian Wells and Karla L. Davis-Salazar; title: Faenas, ferias, and fiestas : ritual finance in ancient and modern Honduras / E. Christian Wells; title: Ritual, crafting, and agency at the classic Maya kingdom of Cancuen / Brigitte Kovacevich; title: Addicted to rituals of contested meanings in colonial Mexico / Enrique Rodríguez-Alegría; title: Ritual pilgrimage and material transfers in prehispanic northwest Mexico / E. Christian Wells and Ben A. Nelson; title: Ritual, politics, and pottery economies in the classic Maya southern lowlands / Antonia E. Foias; title: Ritual consumption and the origins of social inequality in early formative Copán, Honduras / Karla L. Davis-Salazar; title: Polity produced and community consumed : negotiating political centralization through ritual in the lower Río Verde Valley, Oaxaca / Sarah B. Barber and Arthur A. Joyce; title: Material dimensions of Aztec religion and ritual / Frances F. Berdan; title: The roles of the ballgames in Mesoamerican ritual economy / Barbara W. Fash and William L. Fash; title: Ritual and political economies / Katherine A. Spielmann; title: Ritual economy and the negotiation of autarky and interdependence in a ritual mode of production / John M. Watanabe.