PRODUCTION INTENSIFICATION AND REGIONAL SPECIALIZATION

2000 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah L. Nichols ◽  
Mary Jane McLaughlin ◽  
Maura Benton
Keyword(s):  
Economic Trend ◽  
Postclassic Period ◽  
Textile Production ◽  
Rural Villages ◽  
Regional Specialization ◽  
Plant Cultivation ◽  
Spindle Whorls ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
City State ◽  
Fiber Processing

Although textiles were important commodities in the Aztec political economy, it is widely held that textile production did not involve organized workshops. In the late 1960s, Charlton (1971, 1981) found a concentration of large spindle whorls at the Aztec city-state capital of Otumba that he interpreted as remains of a maguey-fiber workshop. A subsequent survey and surface collections made by the Otumba Project discovered additional concentrations of spindle whorls associated with fiber-processing tools and manufacturing debris that provide substantial evidence for organized maguey-fiber workshops at Otumba. An unusually large sample of more than 1,600 spindle whorls was recovered in surface collections from sites in the Aztec city-state of Otumba where both small cotton whorls and large maguey whorls occurred in low densities associated with concentrations of domestic pottery (and in some cases house-mound remnants). In the Aztec capital town of Otumba, maguey spindle whorls were also present in localized dense concentrations within a restricted area of the site. These concentrations also included molds for making spindle whorls, “wasters,” a high density of heavily worn obsidian blades and basalt scrapers used in fiber production, and obsidian scrapers. Based on the quantities and types of associated artifacts we argue that these concentrations represent remains of Late Aztec maguey-fiber workshops that were household based. The workshops processed maguey fibers and made maguey spindle whorls in a range of sizes for spinning thin and thick threads and cordage. Secondary craft activities in one workshop included making cotton spindle whorls and some lapidary and figurine manufacturing. Maguey-fiber processing, spinning, and, presumably, weaving also took place in rural villages, but evidence of organized workshops has only been found at the urban center. The growth of the maguey-fiber industry at Otumba during the Late Postclassic period was part of a broader economic trend of production intensification in the northeastern Basin of Mexico that included xerophytic plant cultivation and craft specialization.

THREAD PRODUCTION IN EARLY POSTCLASSIC COASTAL OAXACA, MEXICO: TECHNOLOGY, INTENSITY, AND GENDER

2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacie M. King
Keyword(s):  
Postclassic Period ◽  
Textile Production ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Early Postclassic ◽  
Spindle Whorls ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
Household Activities ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Local Use

AbstractExcavations at the site of Río Viejo in coastal Oaxaca, Mexico, yielded evidence of intensive cotton thread production during the Early Postclassic (a.d.975–1220). Spindle whorls were recovered in relatively large quantities in and around houses at Río Viejo, indicating that thread production was interspersed with other household activities and residents likely produced enough thread for local use and for export. Measurements of coastal spindle whorls show that the Río Viejo thread was unique compared to other coastal and highland sites in Oaxaca and Mesoamerica beyond. I argue that this uniqueness may in part stem from the particular variety of cotton that they were spinning, but also might reflect an interregional demand for their thread. The whorl data are presented in multiple ways to compare to other sites where intensive thread production has been proposed. Here, I discuss the problems inherent in whorl calculations and make a call for more standardized recording, ideally with volumetric density measures. In the final section of the paper, I use mortuary data and other lines of evidence to re-evaluate the ethnohistorically-documented relationship between women and textile production. In coastal Oaxaca, the evidence suggests that thread production was not linked to specific gender identities in a way that is marked archaeologically. Instead, adult members of households in coastal Oaxaca materially emphasized a shared group identity over any specific gender-based identities. The production of thread was a broadly shared household-level practice that involved multiple producers, which both created and reinforced social bonds between residents and provided Early Postclassic residents with secure and comfortable access to highland goods, paving the way for the more developed thread production industry in the Late Postclassic period.

Teotihuacan Valley, Mexico, Postclassic Chronology

1996 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Toby Evans ◽  
AnnCorinne Freter
Keyword(s):  
Population Growth ◽  
Thirteenth Century ◽  
Colonial Period ◽  
Central Mexico ◽  
Postclassic Period ◽  
Rural Villages ◽  
Early Colonial ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
Absolute Dating

AbstractThe Postclassic period in central Mexico was characterized by enormous population growth and expansion of settlement, but the timing of the onset of these processes has been poorly understood. Obsidian tools from residential contexts at the Late Postclassic village of Cihuatecpan in the Teotihuacan Valley have been analyzed to determine the extent of hydration, and thus the amount of time elapsed since the tools were manufactured. Estimated dates of manufacture range betweena.d.1221 and 1568, consistent with ethnohistoric accounts of the timing of establishment of Cihuatecpan and other rural villages, and their abandonment in the Early Colonial period. Ceramics found in the same contexts as the obsidian tools include Black-on-orange types, such as III, which may have come into use in the thirteenth century. This experiment in relative and absolute dating accords with other current research, indicating a needed revision of traditional chronologies toward an earlier onset of major processes.

Looming Deficits: Textile Production Specialization in Postclassic Mesoamerica

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 780-797 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela C. Huster
Keyword(s):  
Strong Dependence ◽  
Craft Production ◽  
Textile Production ◽  
Low Frequencies ◽  
Regional Specialization ◽  
Self Sufficiency ◽  
Early Postclassic ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
Low Levels

Using textile production in Postclassic Western Mesoamerica as a case study, this article explores how to differentiate low levels of craft production caused by household provisioning from low levels of craft production due to market reliance and regional specialization. I use a sample of 52 excavated site/phase components to establish baselines for the intensity of production and to evaluate whether participation in the market allowed craftspeople in some regions to underproduce textiles relative to local needs. Highland and lowland sites have comparable low frequencies of spindle whorls during the Early Postclassic, which I interpret as characteristic of household self-sufficiency. Whorl frequencies increase above this baseline earlier and to a higher degree in lowland sites than in highland sites. During the Late Postclassic, some regions may have formed pairs of over- and underproduction zones linked by the market. Because of changes in spinning technology, it is not possible to extrapolate the results of this study to earlier time periods. I then present data from Calixtlahuaca as an example of how macroregional data can be used to interpret craft production at a particular site. Textile production at Calixtlahuaca was generally low, but this was more likely a function of a strong dependence on maguey fiber, rather than underproduction caused by a reliance on the market.

SPINNING AND WEAVING TOOLS FROM SANTA ISABEL, NICARAGUA

2008 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharisse D. McCafferty ◽  
Geoffrey G. McCafferty
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Postclassic Period ◽  
Bone Tools ◽  
Plant Fibers ◽  
Textile Production ◽  
Early Postclassic ◽  
Spindle Whorls ◽  
Cloth Production ◽  
Large Corpus

AbstractCostume is one of the most significant forms of material culture in ethnographic contexts, yet remains of cloth are extremely rare at most archaeological sites. Artifacts that typically relate to textile production include spindle whorls and bone tools. This paper summarizes results of analyses of a large corpus of whorls and a remarkably extensive assemblage of bone tools from the Early Postclassic site of Santa Isabel in Pacific Nicaragua. Ethnohistoric sources identify several Mesoamerican groups as living in the region during the Postclassic period, with the Oto-Manguean-speaking Chorotega likely candidates for the cultural group at Santa Isabel. Textiles were probably made from cotton, among other plant fibers. In addition to cloth production, we consider the importance of spinning thread for fishnets and hammocks.

scholarly journals Aztec and Tlaxcalan Economic Interaction: Blockade or Interregional Exchange?

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Bianca L. Gentil ◽  
A. Gabriel Vicencio Castellanos ◽  
Kenneth G. Hirth
Keyword(s):  
Regional Distribution ◽  
Distribution Networks ◽  
Postclassic Period ◽  
Regional Trade ◽  
Trade Patterns ◽  
Lithic Tools ◽  
Economic Interaction ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
Large Center ◽  
The Impact

This study investigates the impact of the Aztec Triple Alliance on trade and economic activity in the region of Puebla-Tlaxcala during the Late Postclassic period (AD 1200–1519). Ethnohistorical sources describe the Aztec Triple Alliance as constantly at war with settlements in the Tlaxcala region. To weaken their Tlaxcalteca rivals, the Aztecs imposed a trade blockade to reduce the flow of resources into Puebla-Tlaxcala. This article uses archaeological evidence to evaluate the effectiveness of this blockade. It compares the types of obsidian used to manufacture lithic tools from Aztec-controlled sources with those used within Puebla-Tlaxcala. Information from the large center of Tepeticpac and the small obsidian workshop site of Cinco Santos II, both in the Tlaxcala domain, are compared to other sites in Central Mexico prior to and during the height of Aztec influence. The results show little difference in regional trade patterns: obsidian from Sierra de las Navajas and Otumba was used in proportions in the Tlaxcala region in the Late Postclassic similar to those used during earlier periods. If an embargo was attempted, it was largely unsuccessful in isolating Tlaxcala from broader regional distribution networks.

From tools to production: recent research on textile economies in Greece

2021 ◽  
Vol 67 ◽  
pp. 109-128
Author(s):  
Bela Dimova ◽  
Margarita Gleba
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Roman Period ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Wool Fibre ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Textile Production ◽  
Spindle Whorls ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Of Greece

The aim of this report is to provide a summary of the latest developments in the textile archaeology of Greece and the broader Aegean from the Neolithic through to the Roman period, focusing in particular on recent research on textile tools. Spindle-whorls and loomweights appeared in the Aegean during the Neolithic and by the Early Bronze Age weaving on the warp-weighted loom was well established across the region. Recent methodological advances allow the use of the physical characteristics of tools to estimate the quality of the yarns and textiles produced, even in the absence of extant fabrics. The shapes of spindle-whorls evolved with the introduction of wool fibre, which by the Middle Bronze Age had become the dominant textile raw material in the region. The spread of discoid loomweights from Crete to the wider Aegean has been linked to the wider Minoanization of the area during the Middle Bronze Age, as well as the mobility of weavers. Broader issues discussed in connection with textile production include urbanization, the spread of different textile cultures and the identification of specific practices (sealing) and previously unrecognized technologies (splicing), as well as the value of textiles enhanced by a variety of decorative techniques and purple dyeing.

FILTH AND HEALING IN YUCATAN: INTERPRETING IX HUN AHAU, A MAYA GODDESS

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy W. Knowlton
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Postclassic Period ◽  
Late Eighteenth Century ◽  
Late Eighteenth ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
Interethnic Interaction

AbstractThis paper analyzes the roles and attributes of the Maya goddess Ix Hun Ahau, the female manifestation of Hun Ahau that appears in the Ritual of the Bacabs. This Colonial Yucatec text is our earliest surviving source for how Maya cosmology provided a framework for healing practices. Although the extant manuscript dates to the late eighteenth century, it is the culmination of centuries of interethnic interaction, including innovations emerging from the intellectual exchange that characterized Mesoamerica during the Late Postclassic period (ca. A.D. 1200–1500). The accoutrements and activities ascribed to this goddess in the incantations identify her as a Maya parallel to Tlazolteotl-Ixcuina, the Nahua goddess of weaving, sexuality, pollution, and its purification. Pollution concepts and purification practices that are otherwise peripheral in the Ritual of the Bacabs are specifically related to Ix Hun Ahau, suggesting that early intellectual exchange between Mesoamerican peoples extended to medical cosmologies as well.

Migration of the Zoques to the Mountain Region of Tabasco, Mexico

2021 ◽  
pp. 223-232
Author(s):  
Eladio Terreros-Espinosa
Keyword(s):  
Mountain Region ◽  
16Th Century ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Postclassic Period ◽  
Trade Routes ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Linguistic Evidence ◽  
Significant Area ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
Exchange Network

The mountain region of Tabasco was a significant area in the interregional exchange network in pre-Hispanic times and during the colonial period. Additionally, the exchange of various regional products followed the intricate network of trade routes within the coastal plain and Chiapas. Therefore, the role played by the settlements of the Sierra Tabasqueña within the commercial chain that existed between pre-Hispanic times and the first half of the last century was undoubtedly reflected among these territories. Trade was an important part of the economy of the Zoque settlements established in the Tabasqueña mountain range. Linguistic evidence suggests that the Proto-Mixe-Zoque speakers from several centuries BC were among the first foreign groups to migrate to Tabasco, merging with the local inhabitants. The documents written by Spaniards in the first half of the 16th century state that the Province of the Sierra de Tabasqueña was occupied by Zoque-speaking inhabitants. Based on the analysis of pre-Hispanic pottery recovered in this region, a chronology can be proposed from the Early Preclassic to the Protoclassic period, continuing into the Late-Terminal-Classic through the Late-Postclassic period.

State Collapse and Household Resilience in the Oaxaca Valley of Mexico

2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 401-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald K. Faulseit
Keyword(s):  
Local Level ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Sociopolitical Organization ◽  
State Collapse ◽  
Political Fragmentation ◽  
Early Postclassic ◽  
Valley Of Oaxaca ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
City State ◽  
The Hill

AbstractA two-year project of survey, surface collection, and excavation on the hill of Cerro Danush within the site of Dainzú-Macuilxóchitl in Oaxaca, Mexico, was focused on identifying and characterizing the Late Classic (A.D. 600–850/900) and Early Postclassic (A.D. 850/900–1300) components of the site, which coincide with the political fragmentation and reorganization of complex society within the Valley of Oaxaca. The transition in sociopolitical organization from the Classic to Postclassic has been the subject of several research projects, but few, if any, have clearly identified an Early Postclassic settlement. A radiocarbon analysis of charcoal samples collected during the excavation of a residential complex on Cerro Danush reveals its most recent period of occupation to be between A.D. 1000 and 1300, placing it firmly within the Early Postclassic. The excavation data are contextualized with data from the surface collection, illuminating patterns of Late Classic political fragmentation and Early Postclassic household resilience. Since Dainzú-Macuilxóchitl emerged in the Late Postclassic (A.D. 1300–1521) as a powerful city-state, exploring its Early Postclassic component contributes to the study of how societies reorganize on a local level after the collapse of centralized authority, such as the Classic period Monte Albán state.

Lord 8 Deer “Jaguar Claw” and the Land of the Sky: The Archaeology and History of Tututepec

2004 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur A. Joyce ◽  
Andrew G. Workinger ◽  
Byron Hamann ◽  
Peter Kroefges ◽  
Maxine Oland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Alliance ◽  
Historical Data ◽  
The Political ◽  
Postclassic Period ◽  
Regional Survey ◽  
Political Landscape ◽  
External Relations ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
History Of ◽  
Conjunctive Analysis

AbstractThis article balances current understandings of the political landscape of Postclassic Mesoamerica through a conjunctive analysis of the archaeology and ethnohistory of the Mixtec Empire of Tututepec in the lower Río Verde region of Oaxaca. Tututepec has long been known from ethnohistoric sources as a powerful Late Postclassic imperial center. Until recently, however, little has been known of the archaeology of the site. We discuss the founding, extent, chronology, and aspects of the internal organization and external relations of Tututepec based on the results of a regional survey, excavations, and a reanalysis of ethnohistoric documents. Tututepec was founded early in the Late Postclassic period when the region was vulnerable to conquest due to political fragmentation and unrest. Indigenous historical data from three Mixtec codices narrate the founding of Tututepec as part of the heroic history of Lord 8 Deer “Jaguar Claw.” According to these texts, Lord 8 Deer founded Tututepec through a creative combination of traditional Mixtec foundation rites and a strategic alliance with a highland group linked to the Tolteca-Chichimeca. Archaeological and ethnohistoric evidence indicate that Tututepec continued to expand through the Late Postclassic, growing to 21.85 km2, and at its peak was the capital of an empire extending over 25,000 km2.

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