Mesoamerican Archaeology Theory and Practice

by Hendon, Julia A.; Joyce, Rosemary A.

• ISBN13: 9780631230519
• ISBN10: 0631230513
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-11-07
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

Offering an alternative to traditional textbooks, Mesoamerican Archaeology: Theory and Practice places the reader in the middle of contemporary debates by top archaeologists actively exploring the major prehispanic societies of Central America. Offers a comprehensive introduction to the archaeology of Mesoamerica by focusing on key time periods, sites, and the issues these times and places require us to confront. Examines key moments in the Mesoamerican historical tradition, from the earliest villages where Olmec art flourished, to the Aztec and Maya City-states that Spanish invaders described in the 16th century. Engages the chronological benchmarks of precolumbian social development in Mesoamerica, such as the transition to village life, emergence of political stratification, and formation of Mesoamerican urban centers. Includes an extensive introduction by the editors that situates contemporary Mesoamerican archaeology in the broader terms of the social politics of archaeology.For further resources to use with this book - including study questions, maps and photographs - visit the website at www.blackwellpublishing.com/BSGA/mesoam

Author Biography

Julia A. Hendon is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Gettysburg College. She is a Maya archaeologist with field experience since 1980 in Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras, and is the former editor of Anthropological Literature: An Index to Periodical Articles and Essays (1988–1996).

Rosemary A. Joyce is Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. She has been engaged in archaeological fieldwork in Honduras since 1977. Her most recent publications include: Gender and Power in Prehispanic Mesoamerica (2001), The Languages of Archaeology (2002), and Embodied Lives: Egypt and the Ancient Maya (editor, with Lynn Meskell, 2003).

Table of Contents

Series Editors' Preface	vii
Preface	viii
Acknowledgments	xi
List of Figures	xii
List of Contributors	xv
1 Mesoamerica: A Working Model for Archaeology	1	(42)
Rosemary A. Joyce
2 Mesoamerica Goes Public: Early Ceremonial Centers, Leaders, and Communities	43	(30)
John E. Clark
3 Shared Art Styles and Long-Distance Contact in Early Mesoamerica	73	(24)
Richard G. Lesure
4 Governance and Polity at Classic Teotihuacan	97	(27)
Saburo Sugiyama
5 Social Identity and Daily Life at Classic Teotihuacan	124	(24)
Linda Manzanilla
6 Social Diversity and Everyday Life within Classic Maya Settlements	148	(21)
Cynthia Robin
7 Classic Maya Landscapes and Settlement	169	(23)
Wendy Ashmore
8 Sacred Space and Social Relations in the Valley of Oaxaca	192	(25)
Arthur A. Joyce
9 The Archaeology of History in Postclassic Oaxaca	217	(22)
John M.D. Pohl
10 Meaning by Design: Ceramics, Feasting, and Figured Worlds in Postclassic Mexico	239	(26)
Elizabeth M. Brumfiel
11 The Rural and Urban Landscapes of the Aztec State	265	(31)
Deborah L. Nichols
12 Postclassic and Colonial Period Sources on Maya Society and History	296	(27)
Julia A. Hendon
Glossary	323	(9)
Index	332