Early Mesoamerican social transformations : archaic and formative lifeways in the Soconusco region / edited by Richard G. Lesure.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Lesure, Richard G.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Indians of Mexico--Mexico--Soconusco Region--Antiquities.

Indian pottery--Mexico--Soconusco Region--Antiquities.

Indians of Mexico--Implements--Mexico--Soconusco Region.

Excavations (Archaeology)--Mexico--Soconusco Region.

Social archaeology--Mexico--Soconusco Region.

Soconusco Region (Mexico).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (304 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, c2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Between 3500 and 500 bc, the social landscape of ancient Mesoamerica was completely transformed. At the beginning of this period, the mobile lifeways of a sparse population were oriented toward hunting and gathering. Three millennia later, protourban communities teemed with people. These essays by leading Mesoamerican archaeologists examine developments of the era as they unfolded in the Soconusco region along the Pacific coast of Mexico and Guatemala, a region that has emerged as crucial for understanding the rise of ancient civilizations in Mesoamerica. The contributors explore topics including the gendered division of labor, changes in subsistence, the character of ceremonialism, the emergence of social inequality, and large-scale patterns of population distribution and social change. Together, they demonstrate the contribution of Soconusco to cultural evolution in Mesoamerica and challenge what we thought we knew about the path toward social complexity.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Contributors

Acknowledgments

ONE: Early Social Transformations in the Soconusco

TWO. A Gender- Based Model for Changes in Subsistence and Mobility During the Terminal Late Archaic Period on the Coast of Chiapas, Mexico

THREE. Evidence for the Diversity of Late Archaic and Early Formative Plant Use in the Soconusco Region of Mexico and Guatemala

FOUR. Archaic to Formative in Soconusco: The adaptive and organizational transformation

FIVE. Building History in Domestic and Public Space at Paso de la Amada: An examination of mounds 6 and 7

SIX Paso de la Amada as a Ceremonial Center

SEVEN. A History of Disaster and Cultural Change in the Coatán River Drainage of the Soconusco, Chiapas, Mexico

EIGHT. La Blanca and the Soconusco Middle Formative

NINE. Early Formative Transitions in Settlement and Subsistence at Chiquiuitan, Guatemala

TEN. Jocotal Settlement Patterns, Salt Production, and Pacifi c Coast Interactions

ELEVEN. An Early Mesoamerican Archipelago of Complexity

TWELVE. Concluding Thoughts: Macroregional synthesis in the archaeology of early mesoamerica

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786613291905

9781283291903

1283291908

9780520950566

0520950569

OCLC:

756484691