Research Catalog

Title

The archaeology of political organization : urbanism in classic period Veracruz, Mexico / Barbara L. Stark.

Author

Stark, Barbara L.

Publication

• [Los Angeles] : UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press, [2020]
• ©2021

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

xxiii, 408 pages : illustrations, maps; 29 cm

Summary

• "'The Archaeology of Political Organization' is an examination of settlement in the rich coastal plain of lowland Mesoamerica, which was wealthy by Mesoamerican values with fertile soil and tropical commodities such as jaguars, cacao, avian species with bright plumage, and cotton. The book provides basic archaeological data about regional settlement from three decades of survey research in south-central Veracruz in the western lower Papaloapan basin, a region with low density urbanism. The data reveals political and social change, with consolidation of wealth by elite families during the Late Classic period. The political analysis considers archaeological evidence related to several organizational principles : collective versus autocratic, corporate versus exclusionary / network, and segmentary (unspecialized versus specialized). Many variables related to these principles used by other scholars are either suited to historically documented states, not archaeological ones, or ambiguous. Many published studies either focus on a particular city or use documents or other evidence drawn from the top of the settlement hierarchy, characterizing the whole society politically from a biased sample. This political analysis is regional in scope and attentive to variation in the settlement hierarchy, providing a guidepost to analysis of political principles with archaeological data"--
• "The Archaeology of Political Organization is an examination of settlement in the rich coastal plain of lowland Mesoamerica, which was wealthy by Mesoamerican values with fertile soil and tropical commodities such as jaguars, cacao, avian species with bright plumage, and cotton. The book provides basic archaeological data about regional settlement from three decades of survey research in south-central Veracruz in the western lower Papaloapan basin, a region with low density urbanism. The data reveals political and social change, with consolidation of wealth by elite families during the Late Classic period. The political analysis considers archaeological evidence related to several organizational principles: collective versus autocratic, corporate versus exclusionary/network, and segmentary (unspecialized versus specialized). Many variables related to these principles used by other scholars are either suited to historically documented states, not archaeological ones, or ambiguous. Many published studies either focus on a particular city or use documents or other evidence drawn from the top of the settlement hierarchy, characterizing the whole society politically from a biased sample. This political analysis is regional in scope and attentive to variation in the settlement hierarchy, providing a guidepost to analysis of political principles with archaeological data"--

Series Statement

Monograph / UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology ; 72

Uniform Title

Monograph (Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA) ; 72.

Alternative Title

Urbanism in classic period Veracruz, Mexico

Subject

• Human settlements > Veracruz-Llave (State)
• Social archaeology > Veracruz-Llave (State)
• Urban Indians > Veracruz-Llave (State)
• Indians of Mexico > Veracruz-Llave (State) > Antiquities
• Urban Indians
• Antiquities
• Human settlements
• Indians of Mexico > Antiquities
• Social archaeology
• Veracruz-Llave (Mexico : State) > Antiquities
• Mexico
• Mexico > Veracruz-Llave (State)

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 385-402) and index.

Contents

List of figures -- List of tables -- Preface -- Chapter 1. Setting the scene -- Chapter 2. The Proyecto Arqueológico La Mixtequilla in context -- Chapter 3. Survey methods and feature categories in the Proyecto Arqueológico La Mixtequilla -- Chapter 4. Occupational history of the Western Lower Papaloapan Basin -- Chapter 5. Concepts and procedures for analysis of monumental complexes -- Chapter 6. Trial settlement boundaries, extents and a provisional settlement hierarchy -- Chapter 7. Monumental complexes in the Western Central Block of the Blanco Delta -- Chapter 8. Monumental complexes in the Eastern Central Block of the Blanco Delta -- Chapter 9. Blanco River delta blocks from Speaker's (2001b) survey -- Chapter 10. Monumental complexes upriver along the Blanco River, in the Guerengo drainage, and in the interfluve -- Chapter 11. Monumental complexes in the Tlalixcoyan drainage, paleodunes, and mangrove swamp -- Chapter 12. Settlement hierarchy over time -- Chapter 13. Political interpretation of settlement patterns -- List of acronyms for monumental complexes in tables -- Appendix 1. Pottery categories, chronological diagnostics, and monumental complexes -- Appendix 2. Distances Between monumental complexes -- Appendix 3. Data and analysis of monumental platforms and mound-terraces -- References cited -- Index.

ISBN

• 9781950446148
• 195044614X
• 9781950446193 (canceled/invalid)

LCCN

• 2020023412
• 40031252508

OCLC

• on1157487125
• 1157487125
• SCSB-14278852

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries