Overview

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.

Full Product Details

Author:   Eduardo Williams (Full Professor, Centro de Estudios arqueológicos, El Colegio de Michoacán, Zamora, Mich. Mexico) ,  Blanca Maldonado
Publisher:   Archaeopress
Imprint:   Archaeopress Archaeology
Dimensions:   Width: 20.50cm , Height: 1.20cm , Length: 29.00cm
Weight:   1.410kg
ISBN:  

9781784913557

ISBN 10:   1784913553
Pages:   254
Publication Date:   30 April 2016
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  College/higher education ,  Professional & Vocational ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION (Eduardo Williams); THE CHALLENGES OF ARCHAEOLOGY IN FLOOD-PRONE AREAS: UNDERSTANDING OCCUPATION DYNAMICS ON THE LERMA RIVER (Veronique Darras, Vincent Bichet, Christophe Petit, Laure Deodat); THE CERRO BARAJAS SITES DURING THE EPICLASSIC PERIOD: LOCAL RESOURCES AND IMPORTED PRODUCTS (Gerald Migeon); NEGOTIATING SPACE AND LANDSCAPE IN PRE-HISPANIC LAKE PATZCUARO: 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 TEUCHITLAN TRADITION: STUDY AND ANALYSIS OF AN UNKNOWN LITHIC TECHNOLOGY (Rodrigo Esparza); CHANGING PLACES, CHANGING LIFESTYLES: DIFFERING OBSIDIAN ECONOMIES IN TEUCHITLAN CULTURE (John P. Wagner); WHAT IS A 'SOURCE AREA'? SYSTEMATIC ANALYSIS OF OBSIDIAN EXPLOITATION IN UCAREO AND ZINAPECUARO, MICHOACAN (Dan M. Healan); RECONSTRUCTING THE POTS: ADVANCES IN THE STUDY OF THE HISTORY OF POTTERY PRODUCTION IN CAPULA, MICHOACAN (Jose Abraham Garcia Madrigal); DOMESTIC PRODUCTION AND DECORATION STYLES IN POTTERY FROM HUANCITO, MICHOACAN: 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 ACAMBARO VALLEY AND CENTRAL MEXICO: FROM CHUPICUARO TO TEOTIHUACAN (Brigitte Faugere , Karine Lefebvre, Jean-Francois 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 BAJIO, AND SOUTHERN HIDALGO (Christine Hernandez)

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Author Information

Eduardo Williams is a Full Professor in the Center for Archeological Research of the Colegio de Michoacán (Zamora, Mexico). He has conducted ethnoarchaeological and ethnohistorical research in Michoacán for over 30 years. His books include Tarascan Pottery Production in Michoacán, Mexico (2017), Ancient West Mexico in the Mesoamerican Ecumene (2020), and Aquatic Adaptations in Mesoamerica (2022), all published by Archaeopress. Dr. Williams has been a member of the prestigious Mexican Academy of Sciences since 2002.

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