Title
POLITICAL TRANSFORMATIONS AND THE EVERYDAY IN POSTCLASSIC OAXACA
Abbreviated Journal Title
Anc. Mesoam.
Keywords
OBSIDIAN EXCHANGE; STATE FORMATION; MEXICO; COLLAPSE; HISTORY; PERSPECTIVES; ARCHAEOLOGY; AGENCY; VALLEY; COAST; Archaeology
Abstract
We use excavations of low-status houses to explore Postclassic political and economic transformations in the lower Rio Verde Valley, Oaxaca. Following the collapse of Classic period political institutions, commoners experienced greater economic and political autonomy. Residential excavations at Rio Viejo indicate that commoners took advantage of the absence of regional authority to gain greater control over surplus craft products, especially cotton thread, as well as access to social valuables and long distance trade. By the Late Postclassic period, the region was once again dominated by powerful rulers. Yet household excavations at Tututepec show that Late Postclassic commoners continued to control some surplus craft production and had access to social valuables like copper and polychrome pottery via market exchange. We argue that Late Postclassic political relations were a product of negotiations among elites and commoners that in part reflect the greater economic autonomy and political power that Early Postclassic people had acquired.
Journal Title
Ancient Mesoamerica
Volume
25
Issue/Number
2
Publication Date
1-1-2014
Document Type
Article
Language
English
First Page
389
Last Page
410
WOS Identifier
ISSN
0956-5361
Recommended Citation
"POLITICAL TRANSFORMATIONS AND THE EVERYDAY IN POSTCLASSIC OAXACA" (2014). Faculty Bibliography 2010s. 5536.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/facultybib2010/5536
Comments
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