Mesoamerican Archaeology Theory and Practice

A unique and wide-ranging introduction to the major prehispanic and colonial societies of Mexico and Central America, featuring new and revised material throughout

Mesoamerican Archaeology: Theory and Practice, Second Edition, provides readers with a diverse and well-balanced view of the archaeology of the indigenous societies of Mexico and Central America, helping students better understand key concepts and engage with contemporary debates and issues within the field. The fully updated second edition incorporates contemporary research that reflects new approaches and trends in Mesoamerican archaeology. New and revised chapters from first-time and returning authors cover the archaeology of Mesoamerican cultural history, from the early Gulf Coast Olmec, to the Classic and Postclassic Maya, to the cultures of Oaxaca and Central Mexico before and after colonization. Presenting a wide range of approaches that illustrate political, socio-economic, and symbolic interpretations, this textbook:

• Encourages students to consider diverse ways of thinking about Mesoamerica: as a linguistic area, as a geographic region, and as a network of communities of practice
• Represents a wide spectrum of perspectives and approaches to Mesoamerican archaeology, including coverage of the Postclassic and Colonial periods
• Enables readers to think critically about how explanations of the past are produced, verified, and debated
• Includes accessible introductory material to ensure that students and non-specialists understand the chronological and geographic frameworks of the Mesoamerican tradition
• Discusses recent developments in the contemporary theory and practice of Mesoamerican archaeology
• Presents new and original research by a team of internationally recognized contributors

Mesoamerican Archaeology: Theory and Practice, Second Edition, is ideal for use in undergraduate courses on the archaeology of Mexico and Central America, as well as for broader courses on the archaeology of the Americas.

Julia A. Hendon is Professor of Anthropology at Gettysburg College, Pennsylvania, USA. Her current research focuses on the connections between particular forms of technology, the production of goods, and social identity. She is author of Houses in a Landscape: Memory and Everyday Life in Mesoamerica, which was awarded the Linda S. Cordell Book Award in Archaeology in 2015, and is co-author of Material Relations: The Marriage Figurines of Prehispanic Honduras.

Lisa Overholtzer is Assistant Professor and William Dawson Chair in the Department of Anthropology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada. Her research examines the everyday material practices of ordinary people in Postclassic and colonial central Mexico. She has published widely with work appearing in American Anthropologist and Journal of Anthropological Archaeology.

Rosemary A. Joyce is Professor of Anthropology at University of California, Berkeley, USA. She served as a curator and faculty member at Harvard University and as Director of the Hearst Museum of Anthropology at Berkeley. She is the author of ten books including Painted Pottery of Honduras: Object Lives and Itineraries; Ancient Bodies, Ancient Lives; The Languages of Archaeology; and Gender and Power in Prehispanic Mesoamerica.

Preface vii

List of Figures xi

Notes on Contributors xvii

1 Mesoamerica: From Culture Area to Networks of Communities of Practice 1
Rosemary A. Joyce

2 Polity and Power in the Olmec Landscape 32
Christopher A. Pool

3 Objects with Images: Meaning-Making in Formative Mesoamerica 71
Rosemary A. Joyce

4 Monumental Cityscape and Polity at Teotihuacan 98
Saburo Sugiyama and Nawa Sugiyama

5 Social and Ethnic Identity in the Classic Metropolis of Teotihuacan 129
Linda R. Manzanilla

6 Household Archaeology and the Ancient Maya 156
Julia A. Hendon

7 Inseparable Entities: Classic Maya Landscapes and Settlements 179
Wendy Ashmore and Cynthia Robin

8 Monte Albán and Early Urbanism in the Valley of Oaxaca: Maize, Mountains, and Monuments 203
Arthur A. Joyce

9 Conquests and Colonialisms in Postclassic and Early Colonial Nejapa, Oaxaca 229
Stacie King

10 Writing History in the Postclassic Mixteca 257
Ludo Snijders

11 Resiliency and Cultural Reconstitution of the Postclassic Mayapan Confederacy and Its Aftermath 278
Marilyn A. Masson

12 Home Is Where the Ithuallí Is: Toward a Microarchaeology of Aztec Households, Family Histories, and Social Identities 315
Lisa Overholtzer

13 Mexica Monumental Stone Sculpture: Constellations of Form, Meaning, and Change in Tenochtitlan, the Aztec Capital 350
Ángel González López

14 Bioarchaeological Research on Daily Life in the Emerging Colonial Society of Mexico City 374
Julie K. Wesp

Index 398

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