David M. Carballo

Formative and Classic Period Obsidian Procurement in Central Mexico: a compositional study using laser ablation-inductive couple plasma-mass spectometry

This report presents the results of a compositional study using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrom etry (LA-ICP-MS) to examine central Mexican obsidian procurement at four sites dating to the Formative and Classic peri ods. The study demonstrates LA-ICP-MS to be a highly accurate obsidian sourcing technique, with results that are directly comparable to instrumental neutron activation analysis. It documents a shift circa 600 B. C. in which Middle Formative vil lages in Tlaxcala began to obtain obsidian almost exclusively from sources located in the Mesa Central, when they had pre viously obtained approximately 50 percent from Mesa Central sources and 50 percent from sources located in the Sierra Madre Oriental. This shift broadly coincided with the development of large regional centers in Tlaxcala-Puebla and sug gests a linkage between the local political evolution occurring at this time and increased interactions with the Mesa Cen tral economic sphere, including the Basin of Mexico. Obsidian workshop dump deposits next to Teotihuacan s Moon Pyramid, dating to a millennium later, demonstrate the continued reliance on predominantly Mesa Central sources but also diversi fied procurement that drew on several sources. The Teotihuacan deposits exhibit the preferential utilization of particular sources depending on the types of implements being produced.

Household and Status in Formative Central Mexico: domestic structures, assemblages, and practices at La Laguna, Tlaxcala

household represents a major organizational framework underlying the diverse beliefs and practices that constitute human societies. Archaeologists reconstruct past household composition and activities through a fragmentary yet unique record of diachronic transformations in the physical spaces and accouterments of domestic life. Understanding the complex social arrangements of any particular society requires an appreciation of the heterogeneity in the economic pursuits and biocultural reproduction that characterize its households (Hirth 1993a). Principal concerns in household archaeology include evaluating how status differences were materially articulated by families living in early complex societies lacking forms of institutionalized inequality or coercive authority, and the impacts that urbanization and state formation had on the domestic practices of such societies. These issues are effectively addressed by recognizing that the physical house often serves as an important setting for political action and the strategic negotiation of social hierarchy (e.g., Bowser and Patton 2004; Lyons 2007), rather than existing wholly outside the public domain. Houses are the most authentic representation of household status in traditional societies— including those studied by archaeologists— because they possess indexical qualities that express and reproduce all dimensions of human social relations, making them a particularly valuable unit of analysis (Blanton 1994). HOUSEHOLD AND STATUS IN FORMATIVE CENTRAL MEXICO: DOMESTIC STRUCTURES, ASSEMBLAGES, AND PRACTICES AT LA LAGUNA, TLAXCALA

EXPLORING FORMATIVE PERIOD OBSIDIAN BLADE TRADE: THREE DISTRIBUTION MODELS

Abstract Obsidian prismatic blades were widely traded across Mesoamerica during the Early and Middle Formative periods. However, it was not until the Late Formative period (400 b.c.—a.d. 100) that prismatic blade cores began to be exchanged extensively. Although it is generally accepted that the trading of blades preceded the trading of cores by almost 1,000 years, little is know about the structure of blade trading during the Early and Middle Formative periods. We describe three distributional models for the trade of obsidian prismatic blades: whole-blade trade, processed-blade trade, and local-blade production. These models were evaluated using obsidian consumption data from Oaxaca, the Basin of Mexico, and Tlaxcala. The results indicate that Formative period blade trade involved different forms over time and space.

EFFIGY VESSELS, RELIGIOUS INTEGRATION, AND THE ORIGINS OF THE CENTRAL MEXICAN PANTHEON

Abstract Investigations into the evolution of early religious institutions should emphasize how the ritual manipulation of symbolically charged objects generated shared understandings regarding divine entities among religious communities of practice. This study demonstrates that the origins of two distinctively central Mexican deities—the Old God of Fire and the Storm God—can best be understood through contextual analysis of effigy vessels depicting them during later Formative periods (ca. 600 b.c.–a.d. 100). By presenting new examples of such effigy vessels and assembling contemporary counterparts from other central Mexican sites, we can better appreciate the Formative religious integration of the region and its legacy for the religious systems of later societies. Specifically, the primacy of the Old God of Fire and the Storm God to Aztec dedicatory offerings, and the private/domestic associations of the former and public/monumental associations of the latter at Teotihuacan were elaborations on patterns apparent in Formative ritual practices. RESUMEN Los orígenes del Dios Viejo y del Dios de la Tormenta del centro de México (el Huehuetéotl y el Tláloc de los aztecas) tienen sus raíces en prácticas rituales de los periodos formativo medio a formativo terminal (ca. 600 a.C–100 d.C.). Este artículo reporta el descubrimiento de dos clases de vasijas efigie en contextos domésticos de La Laguna, Tlaxcala, centro ceremonial de tamaño medio, cuya ocupación data precisamente de estos periodos. Se consignan varios ejemplos de vasijas-efigie contemporáneas para demostrar que las prácticas rituales relacionadas con estos dioses jugaron un papel integrador en las comunidades del Altiplano Central siglos antes de la integración política teotihuacana. Ambos dioses fueron venerados en comunidades de diversa jerarquía por familias de distintas condiciones socioeconómicas. Mientras que el papel del Dios Viejo estaba limitado a la esfera doméstica, las imágenes del Dios de la Tormenta fueron manipuladas en contextos públicos y privados. Esta diferencia importante continúa en Teotihuacan, donde el Dios de la Tormenta fue prominente en los rituales políticos realizados por los líderes del estado, mientras que los braseros del Dios Viejo continuaron su asociación con el hogar y la vivienda. Aunque es probable que algunos conceptos panmesoamericanos acerca de dioses del fuego y de la tormenta precedieron estas vasijas-efigie del formativo, este estudio propone que se puede entender mejor los orígenes de tradiciones religiosas particulares considerando los sistemas religiosos como comunidades de práctica, con particulares rituales asociados que crean significados compartidos entre sus creyentes.

IMPLEMENTS OF STATE POWER

Abstract The expansionary strategies of Teotihuacano political leaders involved the large-scale manufacture of weaponry and the production of ceremonial items representative of a coherent suite of symbols expressing themes of warfare and sacrifice. Recent excavations at the Moon Pyramid demonstrate that such production activities were undertaken next to the monument, where obsidian was reduced into dart points and eccentrics linked to militarism and sacrificial practices in the art and archaeology of the city. These craft production activities were likely directly administered by state functionaries and formed part of the physical and ideational bases of state political authority. The finished products served as means of direct military coercion and symbolic reification of state authority, materialized through the militaristic offering complexes within the major temples of the city. This study presents a detailed technological analysis of the production activities and contextualizes their social significance by examining their symbolic manipulation in the art and sacrificial offerings of Teotihuacán. RESUMEN Recientes excavaciones alrededor de la Pirámide de la Luna en Teotihuacán, México, han descubierto basureros de talleres de obsidiana, los cuales resultaron de la producción especializada de puntas de dardo en muy altas cantidades, excéntricos miniaturas (incluyendo puntas, cuchillos, figuras humanas, serpientes, coyotes, y otros), y cuchillos/excéntricos de gran tamaño. Las actividades de talla sucedieron durante la fase Xolalpan (350–550 d.C.) y todos sus productos estuvieron asociados con temas asociados con la guerra y el sacrificio humano; tanto en sus aspectos físicos como armas e implementos de sacrificio, como en sus aspectos simbólicos observados en las ofrendas sacrifícales adentro de las pirámides de la ciudad, y en su arte. La ubicación de estas actividades al lado de la pirámide, la presencia de micro-lascas en dos depósitos, y el acceso a amplias materias primas evidente en el desgasto de lascas usables en otro, implica la supervisión directa del Estado teotihuacano, apoyando el hipótesis hecho originalmente por miembros del Teotihuacan Mapping Project para el área. El presente trabajo incluye un estudio detallado del material lítico obtenido de las excavaciones, que toma en cuenta las secuencias de reducción cuales resultaron en su acumulación y sugiere métodos clasificatorios para estudios de lítica tallada, particularmente con respeto a implementos bifaciales. Tiene la meta principal de romper un estancamiento en la investigación relacionado a la identificación de talleres de obsidiana y la importancia social de estos dentro de Teotihuacán, lo cual ha afectado la arqueología de la ciudad desde la década de las ochenta. Sugiere que combinando datos arqueológicos e iconográficos logramos una comprensión mejorada del significado social de las actividades económicas especializadas tales como éstos. En este caso, nos presentan con un aspecto importante de la estrategia política de los líderes teotihuacanos, implicando los medios físicos y simbólicos de la expansión política. Varios métodos son utilizados para estimar la cantidad de puntas que resultaría en tan altas concentraciones de desecho, con un promedio en exceso de 4300 para un solo depósito, posiblemente igualado por un segundo depósito excavado por un proyecto de salvamento de la INAH. Ambos depósitos también estuvieron asociados con la producción de excéntricos pequeños, cuales simbólicamente muestran implementos de la guerra, el sacrificio, y animales predatorios. Un tercer depósito estuvo asociado con la producción de cuchillos y excéntricos de mayor tamaño, semejante a los cuales han sido descubiertos adentro de las ofrendas de las pirámides de la ciudad pero hechos de la obsidiana proveniente del yacimiento de Tulancingo. Aunque estos basureros corresponden a una fase tardía de la ciudad, amplias concentraciones de desechos incorporadas en el relleno de las estructuras al oeste de la Pirámide de la Luna sugieren una larga trayectoria de actividades similares durante la historia del monumento, probablemente localizados en la gran plaza abierta al noroeste del monumento. Estas investigaciones iluminan ciertas actividades patroneadas por el Estado teotihuacano, pero todavía faltan exploraciones de más zonas de talleres dentro de la ciudad para mejor entender como se organizo la producción de herramientas domésticas, la cual probablemente fue organizado de una manera más independiente.

Cooperation, collective action, and the archeology of large-scale societies

Archeologists investigating the emergence of large‐scale societies in the past have renewed interest in examining the dynamics of cooperation as a means of understanding societal change and organizational variability within human groups over time. Unlike earlier approaches to these issues, which used models designated voluntaristic or managerial, contemporary research articulates more explicitly with frameworks for cooperation and collective action used in other fields, thereby facilitating empirical testing through better definition of the costs, benefits, and social mechanisms associated with success or failure in coordinated group action. Current scholarship is nevertheless bifurcated along lines of epistemology and scale, which is understandable but problematic for forging a broader, more transdisciplinary field of cooperation studies. Here, we point to some areas of potential overlap by reviewing archeological research that places the dynamics of social cooperation and competition in the foreground of the emergence of large‐scale societies, which we define as those having larger populations, greater concentrations of political power, and higher degrees of social inequality. We focus on key issues involving the communal‐resource management of subsistence and other economic goods, as well as the revenue flows that undergird political institutions. Drawing on archeological cases from across the globe, with greater detail from our area of expertise in Mesoamerica, we offer suggestions for strengthening analytical methods and generating more transdisciplinary research programs that address human societies across scalar and temporal spectra.

Suprahousehold Consumption and Community Ritual at la Laguna, Mexico

Recent work at La Laguna in Central Mexico provides an excellent illustration of the way in which information from architecture, food remains, ceramic vessels and chemical signatures can be brought together to demonstrate communal feasting associated with specific structures and public spaces. Structure 12M-3 contained a range of evidence indicative of food preparation and consumption. Ritual effigy vessels depicted deities connected with food and fertility, and fire and the hearth. Taken together, the several lines of evidence indicate that Structure 12M-3 was a special building, located directly behind the main temple and devoted to the preparation and production of communal feasts that were held in the adjacent plaza. This provides new insights into community life in the urban centres of early Mesoamerica.

Lithic economies and community organization at La Laguna, Tlaxcala

Abstract Site-wide, assemblage-based lithic analyses help to elucidate community dynamics including variability in domestic economies, technological skill and decision making, exchange networks, and ritual practices. In this study we present the results of an analysis of over 36,000 lithic artifacts from the site of La Laguna, Tlaxcala. We compare Middle to Late Formative period (ca. 600–400 b.c.) and Terminal Formative period (ca. 100 b.c.–a.d. 150) deposits to examine transformations associated with urbanization and state formation during this interval. The residents of La Laguna had relatively equal and ample access to obsidian, and most production was organized independently by households. We identify blade production zones and variability in consumption patterns suggestive of different domestic, communal, and ceremonial activities. The introduction of bloodletters, elaborate large bifacial knives, and zoomorphic eccentrics to the Terminal Formative assemblage may indicate the emergence of higher statuses, new social roles, and militaristic symbolism during this period.

Bridging prehistory and history in the archaeology of cities

Abstract Archaeology is ideally suited for examining the deep roots of urbanism, its materialization and physicality, and the commonalities and variability in urban experiences cross-culturally and temporally. We propose that the significant advances archaeologists have made in situating the discipline within broader urban studies could be furthered through increased dialog between scholars working on urbanism during prehistoric and historical periods, as a means of bridging concerns in the study of the past and present. We review some major themes in urban studies by presenting archaeological cases from two areas of the Americas: central Mexico and Atlantic North America. Our cases span premodern and early modern periods, and three of the four covered in greatest depth live on as cities of today. Comparison of the cases highlights the complementarity of their primary datasets: the long developmental trajectories and relatively intact urban plans offered by many prehistoric cities, and the rich documentary sources offered by historic cities.

HOUSES OF STYLE: CONSUMPTION, ADORNMENT, AND IDENTITY IN FORMATIVE TLAXCALAN HOUSEHOLDS

Abstract The households of Formative period central Mexico represent critical loci for understanding major social transformations during a millennium (900 b.c.– a.d. 100) that witnessed the expansion and contraction of several macro-regional stylistic and economic networks, formalization of enduring political and religious institutions, and initial urbanization and state formation. Households and their constituent members used style to articulate important elements of their identity through practices of group consumption and personal adornment. In this study we consider style within the context of ceramic serving vessels and portable adornments primarily from sites in the state of Tlaxcala. We evaluate the manner in which dimensions of stylistic expression in these material goods contributed to shifting conceptualizations of household and individual identity and their articulation with community and supra-community social networks, noting the generally collective or affinitive manipulation of styles with means of socially differentiating age, status, and other dimensions of identity.