David M. Carballo
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780190251062
- eISBN:
- 9780190251086
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190251062.003.0003
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Non-Classical
The chapter provides a broad synthesis of over one millennia of central Mexican prehistory spanning the Formative and Classic periods, with particular focus on the later Formative (ca. 600 BC—AD 100) ...
More
The chapter provides a broad synthesis of over one millennia of central Mexican prehistory spanning the Formative and Classic periods, with particular focus on the later Formative (ca. 600 BC—AD 100) and the transition to the Classic period (AD 100–600). The chapter deals with issues of comparative chronology, aggregating multiple settlement studies, and provides descriptions for better known sites that could be classified as cities, towns, and villages—all part of an urban landscape. It provides a framework for explaining variability in urbanism and in the political uses of religion. Better known cases discussed include Teotihuacan, Cholula, and Cuicuilco. The site of La Laguna, which provides many of the case examples for the rest of the study, is also introduced.Less
The chapter provides a broad synthesis of over one millennia of central Mexican prehistory spanning the Formative and Classic periods, with particular focus on the later Formative (ca. 600 BC—AD 100) and the transition to the Classic period (AD 100–600). The chapter deals with issues of comparative chronology, aggregating multiple settlement studies, and provides descriptions for better known sites that could be classified as cities, towns, and villages—all part of an urban landscape. It provides a framework for explaining variability in urbanism and in the political uses of religion. Better known cases discussed include Teotihuacan, Cholula, and Cuicuilco. The site of La Laguna, which provides many of the case examples for the rest of the study, is also introduced.
David M. Carballo
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780190251062
- eISBN:
- 9780190251086
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190251062.003.0006
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Non-Classical
The concluding chapter draws together the various lines of evidence presented in the book to demonstrate how urbanization and religion intersected in ancient central Mexico. It begins by showing how ...
More
The concluding chapter draws together the various lines of evidence presented in the book to demonstrate how urbanization and religion intersected in ancient central Mexico. It begins by showing how ritual space and action came together at La Laguna, using the author’s own excavations as the case study and focusing particularly on ritual practices and offerings made to consecrate and sacralize space. It then moves to a broader discussion of what elements of the prevailing cultural logic of central Mexico’s later Formative endured and what ones changed over time. It concludes by reiterating the major themes of the introductory chapter in light of the contents of the book.Less
The concluding chapter draws together the various lines of evidence presented in the book to demonstrate how urbanization and religion intersected in ancient central Mexico. It begins by showing how ritual space and action came together at La Laguna, using the author’s own excavations as the case study and focusing particularly on ritual practices and offerings made to consecrate and sacralize space. It then moves to a broader discussion of what elements of the prevailing cultural logic of central Mexico’s later Formative endured and what ones changed over time. It concludes by reiterating the major themes of the introductory chapter in light of the contents of the book.
David M. Carballo
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780190251062
- eISBN:
- 9780190251086
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190251062.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Non-Classical
This book examines the ways in which urbanization and religion intersected in pre-Columbian central Mexico, with a primary focus on the later Formative period and the transition to the Classic ...
More
This book examines the ways in which urbanization and religion intersected in pre-Columbian central Mexico, with a primary focus on the later Formative period and the transition to the Classic period. The major societal transformations of this interval occurred approximately 2,000 years ago and over a millennium before Mexico’s best known early civilization, the Aztecs. The book presents a synthesis of data from regional archaeological projects and key sites such as Teotihuacan and Cuicuilco, while relying on the author’s own excavations at the site of La Laguna as the central case study. A principal argument is that cities and states developed hand in hand with elements of a religious tradition of remarkable endurance and that these processes were fundamentally entangled. Prevalent religious beliefs and ritual practices created a cultural logic for urbanism, and as populations urbanized, they became socially integrated and differentiated following this logic. Nevertheless, religion was used differently over time and by groups and individuals across the spectra of urbanity and social status. The book calls for a materially informed history of religion, with the temporal depth that archaeology can provide, and an archaeology of cities that considers religion seriously as a generative force in societal change.Less
This book examines the ways in which urbanization and religion intersected in pre-Columbian central Mexico, with a primary focus on the later Formative period and the transition to the Classic period. The major societal transformations of this interval occurred approximately 2,000 years ago and over a millennium before Mexico’s best known early civilization, the Aztecs. The book presents a synthesis of data from regional archaeological projects and key sites such as Teotihuacan and Cuicuilco, while relying on the author’s own excavations at the site of La Laguna as the central case study. A principal argument is that cities and states developed hand in hand with elements of a religious tradition of remarkable endurance and that these processes were fundamentally entangled. Prevalent religious beliefs and ritual practices created a cultural logic for urbanism, and as populations urbanized, they became socially integrated and differentiated following this logic. Nevertheless, religion was used differently over time and by groups and individuals across the spectra of urbanity and social status. The book calls for a materially informed history of religion, with the temporal depth that archaeology can provide, and an archaeology of cities that considers religion seriously as a generative force in societal change.
