Population Continuity and Replacement in the Pre-contact Valley of Mexico

2018 ◽  
pp. 37-69
Author(s):  
Corey S. Ragsdale ◽  
Heather J. H. Edgar
Keyword(s):  
Settlement Patterns ◽  
Contact Period ◽  
Postclassic Period ◽  
Population Replacement ◽  
Migration Patterns ◽  
Replacement Model ◽  
Population Structures ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
Population Continuity ◽  
Over Time

Settlement patterns in the pre-contact period in the Valley of Mexico are often characterized by the collapse and regeneration of civilizations, creating a series of power vacuums over time. How did these abrupt political changes affect population structures throughout the region? Can population structure in the Valley of Mexico be best characterized as population replacement, population continuity, or both? In this chapter, biological distances are compared with distances representing population continuity and replacement models. Biological distances based on dental morphological observations represent samples from Valley of Mexico populations from the Preclassic (1200 BC to AD 200) to the Late Postclassic (AD 1200–1520) periods. The results in this chapter support a population replacement model in the Valley of Mexico, confirming archaeological and ethnohistoric accounts of migration patterns. Population replacement is most evident during the transition from the Classic to Postclassic periods and throughout the Postclassic period.

Imperial and Social Relations in Postclassic South-Central Veracruz, Mexico

2002 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher P. Garraty ◽  
Barbara L. Stark
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Settlement Patterns ◽  
Social Differentiation ◽  
Postclassic Period ◽  
South Central ◽  
Status Differentiation ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Aztec Empire

We explore social and imperial relations in the western lower Papaloapan Basin, especially along the lower Blanco River, using statistical analyses of ceramic rims from recent surveys. This region is sandwiched between two known tributary provincial centers of the Aztec empire, but its relationship to the empire is uncertain in colonial documentary materials. Our analyses illuminate changes in social relations from the Middle (A. D. 1150–1350) to Late Postclassic (A. D. 1350–1520) periods and shed light on the impact of Aztec imperialism. We use a ceramic unmixing procedure to assign collections to the Middle and Late Postclassic periods for assessment of settlement patterns. Next we use cluster analyses to examine vertical wealth and status differentiation. In the Middle Postclassic period, we observe a concentric gradation of wealth and status away from the small center of El Sauce. Late Postclassic changes include the decline of El Sauce and the founding of a new center at Callejón del Horno. The concentric model does not apply to the Late Postclassic period, however, and wealth and status became more highly concentrated at Callejón del Horno compared to its hinterland. We also investigate sparse collections-those with few Postclassic rims-to evaluate whether these collections represent poor residences or, rather, sherd scatter from possible field manuring. The lower Blanco region was likely integrated into the Aztec empire on the basis of changes in vertical social differentiation from Middle to Late Postclassic times and percentages of Aztec-style ceramics compared to known Aztec provincial centers, especially Cotaxtla.

THE ETHNOHISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY OF CUAUHQUECHOLLAN, VALLEY OF ATLIXCO, MEXICO

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 329-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Avis Mysyk ◽  
Lucero Morales Cano
Keyword(s):  
Settlement Patterns ◽  
Ceramic Materials ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Postclassic Period ◽  
Preclassic Period ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
History Of

AbstractDespite the commercial, economic, and military importance of the Valley of Atlixco to the history of Mesoamerica, it has not received as much attention from ethnohistorians and archaeologists as it warrants. This paper illustrates that importance by attempting to correlate different types of evidence from the sites of Atlixco and Cuauhquechollan. Atlixco—the settlement referred to in the ethnohistoric sources as Cuauhquechollan—was occupied continuously from the Early Preclassic period to the middle of the Late Postclassic period (a.d.1443), when it was relocated 20 km to the southwest (present-day Huaquechula). The new settlement retained the name, Cuauhquechollan, while Atlixco became referred to as Huehuecuauhquechollan (Old Cuauhquechollan). The evidence consists of a variety of ethnohistoric sources, the archaeological record (settlement patterns and ceramic materials), and the iconography of Late Postclassic sculptures and carvings located in and around Huaquechula, and in the immediate vicinity of the Valley of Atlixco. In spite of the limitations of the different types of evidence, the findings suggest that there are sufficient points of overlap to allow for a better understanding of the importance of the Valley of Atlixco and to provide the impetus for further research.

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.

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.

The Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in western Scotland: a review and new evidence from Tiree

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Mithen ◽  
Anne Pirie ◽  
Sam Smith ◽  
Karen Wicks
Keyword(s):  
Settlement Patterns ◽  
Skeletal Remains ◽  
Early 20Th Century ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Population Replacement ◽  
Dietary Analysis ◽  
Neolithic Transition ◽  
Contradictory Evidence ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Existing Data

Although both the Mesolithic and Neolithic of western Scotland have been studied since the early 20th century, our knowledge of both periods remains limited, as does our understanding of the transition between them – whether this is entirely cultural in nature or involves the arrival of new Neolithic populations and the demise of the indigenous Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. The existing data provide seemingly contradictory evidence, with that from dietary analysis of skeletal remains suggesting population replacement and that from settlement and technology indicating continuity. After reviewing this evidence, this chapter briefly describes ongoing fieldwork in the Inner Hebrides that aims to gain a more complete understanding of Mesolithic settlement patterns, without which there can only be limited progress on understanding the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition.

Regional Expressions of the Postclassic Effigy Censer System in the Chetumal Bay Area

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Milbrath ◽  
Debra S. Walker
Keyword(s):  
Trace Element ◽  
Annual Cycle ◽  
Political Capital ◽  
Contact Period ◽  
Documentary Evidence ◽  
Deer Hunting ◽  
Public Events ◽  
Bay Area ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
Dresden Codex

This chapter describes the remains of Late Postclassic to Contact period pottery censers from Cerro Maya, Belize. Trace element studies reveal that these vessels were made nearby at the Late Postclassic political capital of Santa Rita Corozal and deposited at the site during pilgrimage ritual. The Cerro Maya material is compared to the Chen Mul Modeled effigy censers from Mayapán in northern Yucatan and elsewhere. Various deities were depicted on these censers, and these are compared to documentary evidence, such as in the Madrid Codex and the Dresden Codex, for their use in calendared public events linked to specific celebrations in the annual cycle. Iconographic detail on the Cerro Maya materials documents a distinct set of deities not present at Mayapán, especially the bee deity and the god of deer hunting.

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.

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.

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.

Tiçiyotl and Titiçih: Late Postclassic and Early Colonial Nahua Healing, Diagnosis, and Prognosis

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Polanco
Keyword(s):  
Colonial Period ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Postclassic Period ◽  
Specialized Knowledge ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Diagnosis And Prognosis ◽  
Early Colonial ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
Corn Kernels

Nahua peoples in central Mexico in the late postclassic period (1200–1521) and the early colonial period (1521–1650) had a sophisticated and complex system of healing known as tiçiyotl. Titiçih, the practitioners of tiçiyotl, were men and women that had specialized knowledge of rocks, plants, minerals, and animals. They used these materials to treat diseases and injuries. Furthermore, titiçih used tlapohualiztli (the interpretation of objects to obtain information from nonhuman forces) to ascertain the source of a person’s ailment. For this purpose, male and female titiçih interpreted cords, water, tossed corn kernels, and they measured body parts. Titiçih could also ingest entheogenic substances (materials that released the divinity within itself) to communicate with nonhuman forces and thus diagnose and prognosticate a patient’s condition. Once a tiçitl obtained the necessary information to understand his or her patient’s affliction, he or she created and provided the necessary pahtli (a concoction used to treat an injury, illness, or condition) for the infirm person. Finally, titiçih performed important ritual offerings before, during, and after healing that insured the compliance of nonhuman forces to restore and maintain their patients’ health.

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