Download or read book Archaeological Research at Xochicalco The Xochicalco mapping project written by Kenn Hirth and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The ancient site of Xochicalco is located in the state of Morelos in the southern reaches of the central Mexican mountain range. Two hundred years ago it was the first archaeological site in Mexico to be "scientifically" described, but archaeologists have since disagreed on practically every aspect of its history and function. It has been characterized as a Maya colony, a commercial entrept controlling interregional trade routes, a religious shrine and pilgrimage center for the cult of Quetzalcoatal, and even the location of Tamoanchan, the paradise of Nahuatl mythology. Seeking answers, the Xochicalco Mapping Project was initiated in 1978. Specific goals were to locate the site's physical boundaries and identify itsresidential area; map and establish the size of Xochicalco during its major developmental periods; analyze the site's residential and public architecture to provide clues for sociopolitical organization; and obtain data for insight into Xochicalco's role in the regional evolution of social, economic, and political systems.. The two volumes in this series present data and analysis from twenty years of research. Volume 1 offers a specific analysis of Xochicalco urban development plus a synthetic treatment of culture process in central Mexico. Volume 2 includes descriptive and synthetic contributions. It contains much of the data referred to in volume 1, though primarily in summary form. Together the volumes are an important step in documenting central Mexican prehistory.
Download or read book Archaeological Research at Xochicalco written by Kenn Hirth and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The ancient site of Xochicalco is located in the state of Mor\elos in the southern reaches of the central Mexican mountain range. Two hundred years ago it was the first archaeological site in Mexico to be "scintifically" described, but archaeologists have since disagreed on prac lly every aspect of its history and function. It has been characterized as a Maya colony, a commercial entreptt controlling interregional trade rou\es, a religious shrine and pilgrimage center for the cult of Quetzalcoata\ , and even the location of Tamoanchan, the paradise of Nahuatl mythology.Seeking answers, the Xochicalco Mapping Project was initiated in 1978. Spe\ cific goals were to locate the site's physical boundaries and identify it\ residential area; map and establish the size of Xochicalco during its major developmental periods; analyze the site's residential and public architecture to provide clues for sociopolitical organization; and obtain data for insight into Xochicalco's role in the regional evolution of social, economic, and political systems.. The two volumes in this series present data and analysis from twenty years of research. Volume 1 offers a specific analysis of Xochicalco urban development plus a synthetic treatment of culture process in central Mexico. Volume 2 includes descriptive and synthetic contributions. It contains much of the data referred to in volume 1, though primarily in summary form. Together the volumes are an important step in documenting central Mexican prehistory.
Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology written by Deborah L. Nichols and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012-10-18 with total page 996 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology provides a current and comprehensive guide to the recent and on-going archaeology of Mesoamerica. Though the emphasis is on prehispanic societies, this Handbook also includes coverage of important new work by archaeologists on the Colonial and Republican periods. Unique among recent works, the text brings together in a single volume article-length regional syntheses and topical overviews written by active scholars in the field of Mesoamerican archaeology. The first section of the Handbook provides an overview of recent history and trends of Mesoamerica and articles on national archaeology programs and practice in Central America and Mexico written by archaeologists from these countries. These are followed regional syntheses organized by time period, beginning with early hunter-gatherer societies and the first farmers of Mesoamerica and concluding with a discussion of the Spanish Conquest and frontiers and peripheries of Mesoamerica. Topical and comparative articles comprise the remainder of Handbook. They cover important dimensions of prehispanic societies—from ecology, economy, and environment to social and political relations—and discuss significant methodological contributions, such as geo-chemical source studies, as well as new theories and diverse theoretical perspectives. The Handbook concludes with a section on the archaeology of the Spanish conquest and the Colonial and Republican periods to connect the prehispanic, proto-historic, and historic periods. This volume will be a must-read for students and professional archaeologists, as well as other scholars including historians, art historians, geographers, and ethnographers with an interest in Mesoamerica.
Download or read book Pathways to Prismatic Blades written by Bradford Andrews and published by Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press. This book was released on 2002-12-01 with total page 151 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume explores the social and economic processes involved in the manufacture of obsidian prismatic blades, one of the sharpest cutting instruments ever produced in the prehistoric world. Focusing on ancient Mesoamerica, contributors examine the variation in the way the blades were manufactured and the causes behind their variation.
Download or read book Domestic Life in Prehispanic Capitals written by Linda R. Manzanilla and published by U OF M MUSEUM ANTHRO ARCHAEOLOGY. This book was released on 2009-01-01 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Encyclopedia of Prehistory written by Peter N. Peregrine and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 486 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Encyclopedia of Prehistory represents temporal dimension. Major traditions are an attempt to provide basic information also defined by a somewhat different set of on all archaeologically known cultures, sociocultural characteristics than are eth covering the entire globe and the entire nological cultures. Major traditions are prehistory of humankind. It is designed as defined based on common subsistence a tool to assist in doing comparative practices, sociopolitical organization, and research on the peoples of the past. Most material industries, but language, ideology, of the entries are written by the world's and kinship ties play little or no part in foremost experts on the particular areas their definition because they are virtually and time periods. unrecoverable from archaeological con The Encyclopedia is organized accord texts. In contrast, language, ideology, and ing to major traditions. A major tradition kinship ties are central to defining ethno is defined as a group of populations sharing logical cultures. similar subsistence practices, technology, There are three types of entries in the and forms of sociopolitical organization, Encyclopedia: the major tradition entry, which are spatially contiguous over a rela the regional subtradition entry, and the tively large area and which endure tempo site entry. Each contains different types of rally for a relatively long period. Minimal information, and each is intended to be areal coverage for a major tradition can used in a different way.
Download or read book Mesoamerican Plazas written by Kenichiro Tsukamoto and published by University of Arizona Press. This book was released on 2014-04-10 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This is the first book to examine the roles of plazas in ancient Mesoamerica. It argues persuasively that physical interactions among people in communal events were not the outcomes of political machinations held behind the scenes, but were the actual political processes through which people created, negotiated, and subverted social realities"--
Download or read book Ancient Teotihuacan written by George L. Cowgill and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2015-04-02 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First comprehensive English-language book on the largest city in the Americas before the 1400s. Teotihuacan is a UNESCO world heritage site, located in highland central Mexico, about twenty-five miles from Mexico City, visited by millions of tourists every year. The book begins with Cuicuilco, a predecessor that arose around 400 BCE, then traces Teotihuacan from its founding in approximately 150 BCE to its collapse around 600 CE. It describes the city's immense pyramids and other elite structures. It also discusses the dwellings and daily lives of commoners, including men, women, and children, and the craft activities of artisans. George L. Cowgill discusses politics, economics, technology, art, religion, and possible reasons for Teotihuacan's rise and fall. Long before the Aztecs and 800 miles from Classic Maya centers, Teotihuacan was part of a broad Mesoamerican tradition but had a distinctive personality that invites comparison with other states and empires of the ancient world.
Download or read book Prehispanic Domestic Units in Western Mesoamerica written by Robert S. Santley and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 1992-11-23 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Prehispanic Domestic Units in Western Mesoamerica presents different analytical approaches for interpreting household composition and cultural site formation processes in prehispanic western Mesoamerica. Archaelogical data collected using both stratigraphic and reconnaisance methods are combined with and interpreted using a combination of ethnohistoric, ethnographic, and ethnoarchaeological information. The result is a richer and more complete picture of prehispanic household structure than any single analytic approach could produce on its own. The book is organized into several sections based on common theme and geographic area. The first three chapters provide a broad discussion of conceptual and methodological difficulties that archaeologists must resolve in the study of prehispanic households. Subsequent chapters present case studies which examine households from two areas of western Mesoamerica: the Central Mexican highlands and the Gulf Coast of Mexico. Eight case studies from the Central Mexican highlands provide a longitudinal perspective on changing household composition. Four of these examine households during the late Formative, Classic, Epiclassic, and Early Postclassic periods (650 B.C.-A.D. 1200), while four others focus specifically on household structure during the century immediately preceding the Spanish Conquest. Two additional case studies provide comparative information on household organization in the South Gulf Coast region during the Classic period. Prehispanic Domestic Units in Western Mesoamerica: Studies of the Household, Compound, and Residence will be an excellent reference for all anthropologists and archaeologists interested in prehispanic western Mesoamerica.
Download or read book Beyond Collapse written by Ronald K. Faulseit and published by SIU Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 553 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book interprets how ancient civilizations responded to various stresses, including environmental change, warfare, and the fragmentation of political institutions. It focuses on what happened during and after the decline of once powerful regimes, and posits that they experienced social resilience and transformation instead of collapse.
Download or read book Migration and Disruptions written by Brenda J. Baker and published by University Press of Florida. This book was released on 2018-03-19 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Artfully integrates scholarship on both past and present migration. With its thematic focus on disruption, this volume develops unprecedented nuance in the treatment of migration.”—Graciela S. Cabana, coeditor of Rethinking Anthropological Perspectives on Migration “A significant contribution to the social sciences in general and a future staple for archaeologists and anthropologists. Migration and Disruptions demonstrates the importance of collaboration and constructive dialogues between the traditional subfields composing the umbrella title of anthropology.”—Stephen A. Brighton, author of Historical Archaeology of the Irish Diaspora: A Transnational Approach Migration has always been a fundamental human activity, yet little collaboration exists between scientists and social scientists examining how it has shaped past and contemporary societies. This innovative volume brings together sociocultural anthropologists, archaeologists, bioarchaeologists, ethnographers, paleopathologists, and others to develop a unifying theory of migration. The contributors relate past movements, including the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain and the Islamic conquest of Andalucía, to present-day events, such as those in northern Ethiopia or at the U.S.-Mexico border. They examine the extent to which environmental and social disruptions have been a cause of migration over time and how these migratory flows have in turn led to disruptive consequences for the receiving societies. The observed cycles of social disruption, resettlement, and its consequences offer a new perspective on how human migration has shaped the social, economic, political, and environmental landscapes of societies from prehistory to today. Contributors:Brenda J. Baker | Christopher S. Beekman | George L. Cowgill | Jason De Leon | James F. Eder | Anna Forringer-Beal | Cameron Gokee | Catherine Hills | Kelly J. Knudson | Patrick Manning | Jonathan Maupin | Lisa Meierotto | James Morrissey | Rachel E. Scott | Christina Torres-Rouff | Takeyuki (Gaku) Tsuda | Sonia Zakrzewski
Download or read book Kukulkan s Realm written by Marilyn Masson and published by University Press of Colorado. This book was released on 2014-04-15 with total page 756 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kukulkan's Realm chronicles the fabric of socioeconomic relationships and religious practice that bound the Postclassic Maya city of Mayapán's urban residents together for nearly three centuries. Presenting results of ten years of household archaeology at the city, including field research and laboratory analysis, the book discusses the social, political, economic, and ideological makeup of this complex urban center. Masson and Peraza Lope's detailed overview provides evidence of a vibrant market economy that played a critical role in the city's political and economic success. They offer new perspectives from the homes of governing elites, secondary administrators, affluent artisans, and poorer members of the service industries. Household occupational specialists depended on regional trade for basic provisions that were essential to crafting industries, sustenance, and quality of life. Settlement patterns reveal intricate relationships of households with neighbors, garden plots, cultivable fields, thoroughfares, and resources. Urban planning endeavored to unite the cityscape and to integrate a pluralistic populace that derived from hometowns across the Yucatán peninsula. New data from Mayapán, the pinnacle of Postclassic Maya society, contribute to a paradigm change regarding the evolution and organization of Maya society in general and make Kukulkan's Realm a must-read for students and scholars of the ancient Maya and Mesoamerica.
Download or read book Stone Trees Transplanted Central Mexican Stelae of the Epiclassic and Early Postclassic and the Question of Maya Influence written by Keith Jordan and published by Archaeopress Publishing Ltd. This book was released on 2014-10-10 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stelae dating to the Epiclassic and Early Postclassic from Tula, Xochicalco, and other sites in Central Mexico have been cited as evidence of Classic Maya `influence' on Central Mexican art during these periods. This book re-evaluates these claims via detailed comparative analysis of the Central Mexican stelae and their claimed Maya counterparts.
Download or read book The Legacies of The Basin of Mexico written by Carlos E. Cordova and published by University Press of Colorado. This book was released on 2023-08-14 with total page 397 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume celebrates the continuing impact of the most notable contributions from The Basin of Mexico: The Ecological Processes in the Evolution of a Civilization by William T. Sanders, Jeffrey R. Parsons, and Robert S. Santley. In 1979, this influential work synthesized the results of the Basin of Mexico survey projects and follow-up excavations at several sites, while providing theoretical and methodological lines of research in central Mexico and generally in Mesoamerica. More than four decades after that book’s publication, the fourteen contributions in this volume review and analyze its theoretical and methodological influence in light of recent research across disciplines. Among a spectrum of authors representing several generations are those who participated directly in the Basin of Mexico surveys—including the late Jeffrey R. Parsons—as well as those who have been actively working on recent projects in the basin and neighboring regions. Providing a broad and multidisciplinary perspective of the present and future state of research in the area, The Legacies of The Basin of Mexico will be of interest to Mesoamerican and Latin American archaeologists as well as geographers, geologists, historians, and specialists in the study of past environments. Contributors: Guillermo Acosta Ochoa, Aleksander Borejsza, Destiny Crider, Charles Frederick, Raúl García-Chávez, Larry Gorenflo, Angela Huster, Georgina Ibarra Arzave, Charles Kolb, Frank Lehmkuhl, Abigail Meza Peñaloza, Emily McClung de Tapia, John K. Millhauser, Deborah Nichols, Jeffrey R. Parsons, Serafin Sánchez Pérez, Philipp Schulte, Sergey Sedov, Elizabeth Solleiro Rebolledo, Daisy Valera Fenández, Federico Zertuche
Download or read book Sacred Darkness written by Holley Moyes and published by University Press of Colorado. This book was released on 2012-09-01 with total page 607 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Caves have been used in various ways across human society but despite the persistence within popular culture of the iconic caveman, deep caves were never used primarily as habitation sites for early humans. Rather, in both ancient and contemporary contexts, caves have served primarily as ritual spaces. In Sacred Darkness, contributors use archaeological evidence as well as ethnographic studies of modern ritual practices to envision the cave as place of spiritual and ideological power and a potent venue for ritual practice. Covering the ritual use of caves in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, Mesoamerica, and the US Southwest and Eastern woodlands, this book brings together case studies by prominent scholars whose research spans from the Paleolithic period to the present day. These contributions demonstrate that cave sites are as fruitful as surface contexts in promoting the understanding of both ancient and modern religious beliefs and practices. This state-of-the-art survey of ritual cave use will be one of the most valuable resources for understanding the role of caves in studies of religion, sacred landscape, or cosmology and a must-read for any archaeologist interested in caves.
Download or read book Kukulcan s Realm written by Marilyn Masson and published by University Press of Colorado. This book was released on 2014-11-15 with total page 688 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kukulcan's Realm chronicles the fabric of socioeconomic relationships and religious practice that bound the Postclassic Maya city of Mayapán's urban residents together for nearly three centuries. Presenting results of ten years of household archaeology at the city, including field research and laboratory analysis, the book discusses the social, political, economic, and ideological makeup of this complex urban center. Masson and Peraza Lope's detailed overview provides evidence of a vibrant market economy that played a critical role in the city's political and economic success. They offer new perspectives from the homes of governing elites, secondary administrators, affluent artisans, and poorer members of the service industries. Household occupational specialists depended on regional trade for basic provisions that were essential to crafting industries, sustenance, and quality of life. Settlement patterns reveal intricate relationships of households with neighbors, garden plots, cultivable fields, thoroughfares, and resources. Urban planning endeavored to unite the cityscape and to integrate a pluralistic populace that derived from hometowns across the Yucatán peninsula. New data from Mayapán, the pinnacle of Postclassic Maya society, contribute to a paradigm change regarding the evolution and organization of Maya society in general and make Kukulcan's Realm a must-read for students and scholars of the ancient Maya and Mesoamerica.
Download or read book Twin Tollans written by Cynthia Kristan-Graham and published by Dumbarton Oaks. This book was released on 2007 with total page 658 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume had its beginnings in the two-day colloquium, "Rethinking Chichén Itzá, Tula and Tollan," that was held at Dumbarton Oaks. The selected essays revisit long-standing questions regarding the nature of the relationship between Chichen Itza and Tula. Rather than approaching these questions through the notions of migrations and conquests, these essays place the cities in the context of the emerging social, political, and economic relationships that took shape during the transition from the Epiclassic period in Central Mexico, the Terminal Classic period in the Maya region, and the succeeding Early Postclassic period.
