Full Description
This book presents a collection of papers from the Symposium on Cultural Dynamics and Production Activities in Ancient Western Mexico, held at the Center for Archaeological Research of the Colegio de Michoacán on September 18-19, 2014. While these thought-provoking essays on key topics in Western Mexican archaeology will spark debate among scholars interested in this cultural area, they will also be of interest to students of ancient Mesoamerica as a whole. The time is ripe for insightful discussions and new syntheses of archaeological research in Western Mesoamerica, and this volume represents, undoubtedly, a valuable contribution to this urgent task. These papers are grouped into three thematic areas. The first, Cultural dynamics in Western Mexico, includes essays on: The challenges of archaeology in flood-prone areas; Exploitation of local resources and imported products; Settlement systems of the Tarascan state; and Stone tools as indicators of task specialization. The second section, Production of strategic resources, analyzes the following topics: The obsidian jewelry of the Teuchitlán Tradition; Differing obsidian economies in Teuchitlán culture; Source areas and obsidian exploitation in Michoacán; The history of pottery production in Capula, Michoacán; Ethnoarchaeology of Tarascan pottery: domestic production and decoration styles; Ceramics, social status, and the Tarascan state economy; and Copper as a strategic resource in pre-Hispanic Western Mexico; while part three focuses on Trade and exchange: Circulation of goods and communication routes between Western and Central Mexico; Contrasting models of ceramic production in the Tarascan state; and Ceramic evidence of contact between Teotihuacan, the Bajío, and southern Hidalgo.
Contents
INTRODUCTION (Eduardo Williams); THE CHALLENGES OF ARCHAEOLOGY IN FLOOD-PRONE AREAS: UNDERSTANDING OCCUPATION DYNAMICS ON THE LERMA RIVER (Véronique Darras, Vincent Bichet, Christophe Petit, Laure Deodat); THE CERRO BARAJAS SITES DURING THE EPICLASSIC PERIOD: LOCAL RESOURCES AND IMPORTED PRODUCTS (Gérald Migeon); NEGOTIATING SPACE AND LANDSCAPE IN PRE-HISPANIC LAKE PÁTZCUARO: SETTLEMENT SYSTEMS OF THE TARASCAN STATE (Christopher Stawski); SPATIAL DIFFERENCES IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF DISTINCT TYPES OF SCRAPERS IN THE TEQUILA REGION AS INDICAT ORS OF TASK SPECIALIZATION (Verenice Heredia, Camilo Mireles); THE OBSIDIAN JEWELRY OF THE TEUCHITLÁN TRADITION: STUDY AND ANALYSIS OF AN UNKNOWN LITHIC TECHNOLOGY (Rodrigo Esparza); CHANGING PLACES, CHANGING LIFESTYLES: DIFFERING OBSIDIAN ECONOMIES IN TEUCHITLÁN CULTURE (John P. Wagner); WHAT IS A 'SOURCE AREA'? SYSTEMATIC ANALYSIS OF OBSIDIAN EXPLOITATION IN UCAREO AND ZINAPÉCUARO, MICHOACÁN (Dan M. Healan); RECONSTRUCTING THE POTS: ADVANCES IN THE STUDY OF THE HISTORY OF POTTERY PRODUCTION IN CAPULA, MICHOACÁN (José Abraham García Madrigal); DOMESTIC PRODUCTION AND DECORATION STYLES IN POTTERY FROM HUÁNCITO, MICHOACÁN: AN ETHNOARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY (Eduardo Williams); CERAMICS, SOCIAL STATUS, AND THE TARASCAN STATE ECONOMY (Helen Perlstein Pollard); COPPER AS A STRATEGIC RESOURCE IN PRE-HISPANIC WESTERN MEXICO (Blanca Maldonado); CIRCULATION OF GOODS AND COMMUNICATION ROUTES BETWEEN THE ACÁMBARO VALLEY AND CENTRAL MEXICO: FROM CHUPÍCUARO TO TEOTIHUACAN (Brigitte Faugère , Karine Lefèbvre, Jean-François Cuenot); EVALUATING CONTRASTING MODELS OF CERAMIC PRODUCTION IN THE TARASCAN STATE: NEGOTIATIONS IN CLAY (Amy J. Hirshman, David L. Haskell); CERAMIC EVIDENCE OF TEOTIHUACAN CONTACT LINKING THE BASIN OF MEXICO, THE BAJÍO, AND SOUTHERN HIDALGO (Christine Hernández)
