Todd A. Eisenstadt, Michael S. Danielson, Moises Jaime Bailon Corres, and Carlos Sorroza Polo (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199936267
- eISBN:
- 9780199333066
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199936267.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Throughout the Americas indigenous people have been arguing that they should be entitled, as “first peoples,” to representation in local, national, and international fora in a capacity different from ...
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Throughout the Americas indigenous people have been arguing that they should be entitled, as “first peoples,” to representation in local, national, and international fora in a capacity different from that of other civil society groups. This book began as an inquiry into subnational multicultural rights recognition in Oaxaca, Mexico, where constitutional reforms recognized the rights to Indigenous municipalities to self-determination with respect local election procedures, known as “usos y costumbres.” Taking the Oaxaca case as its core empirical referent, the book brings together perhaps the most comprehensive set of studies to date on indigenous and multicultural rights autonomy regimes in Latin America. The book moves beyond abstract debates common in the literature on multiculturalism to examine indigenous rights recognition in different real-world settings, comparing cases in unitary states (Bolivia, Ecuador) with subnational autonomy regimes in Mexico’s federal states (Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Yucatán). The book compares cases not normally considered together, examining the true range of such policies. This coverage of multiculturalist movements across cases, with reference to the tensions between human rights and communitarian autonomy movements, coupled with multi-faceted coverage of “on the ground” mechanisms of indigenous customary law recognition in Oaxaca, allows the volume to conclude that terms of the debate need to be reoriented. It is important to distinguish between multicultural group rights as recognized “from above” by the state and multicultural autonomy rights demanded “from-below”, while allowing for the fact that some cases combine top-down and bottom-up dynamics.Less
Throughout the Americas indigenous people have been arguing that they should be entitled, as “first peoples,” to representation in local, national, and international fora in a capacity different from that of other civil society groups. This book began as an inquiry into subnational multicultural rights recognition in Oaxaca, Mexico, where constitutional reforms recognized the rights to Indigenous municipalities to self-determination with respect local election procedures, known as “usos y costumbres.” Taking the Oaxaca case as its core empirical referent, the book brings together perhaps the most comprehensive set of studies to date on indigenous and multicultural rights autonomy regimes in Latin America. The book moves beyond abstract debates common in the literature on multiculturalism to examine indigenous rights recognition in different real-world settings, comparing cases in unitary states (Bolivia, Ecuador) with subnational autonomy regimes in Mexico’s federal states (Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Yucatán). The book compares cases not normally considered together, examining the true range of such policies. This coverage of multiculturalist movements across cases, with reference to the tensions between human rights and communitarian autonomy movements, coupled with multi-faceted coverage of “on the ground” mechanisms of indigenous customary law recognition in Oaxaca, allows the volume to conclude that terms of the debate need to be reoriented. It is important to distinguish between multicultural group rights as recognized “from above” by the state and multicultural autonomy rights demanded “from-below”, while allowing for the fact that some cases combine top-down and bottom-up dynamics.
Todd A. Eisenstadt
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199936267
- eISBN:
- 9780199333066
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199936267.003.0010
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
“Autonomy” as a concept contains a slew of meanings, connotations, and frames. This chapter considers the degree to which minority groups can operate independently from the state and its dominant ...
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“Autonomy” as a concept contains a slew of meanings, connotations, and frames. This chapter considers the degree to which minority groups can operate independently from the state and its dominant culture as well as the degree to which individuals are free to make conscious decisions about the institutions, parties, and practices they support. Using examples given throughout the book of indigenous rights movements in Bolivia, Ecuador and Mexico (Oaxaca, Chiapas, Yucatán) to analyze the proper unit (individual, interest group, community, region) for states’ granting and indigenous movements’ seizure of autonomy, the chapter offers preliminary explorations of multicultural indigenous rights regimes, and their challenges to liberal pluralism, in Mexico, Bolivia, and Ecuador. It concludes that only a frank consideration of the trade-offs between human rights and communitarian rights can yield the kind of self-aware multiculturalism that simultaneously respects the rights of groups and their individual members.Less
“Autonomy” as a concept contains a slew of meanings, connotations, and frames. This chapter considers the degree to which minority groups can operate independently from the state and its dominant culture as well as the degree to which individuals are free to make conscious decisions about the institutions, parties, and practices they support. Using examples given throughout the book of indigenous rights movements in Bolivia, Ecuador and Mexico (Oaxaca, Chiapas, Yucatán) to analyze the proper unit (individual, interest group, community, region) for states’ granting and indigenous movements’ seizure of autonomy, the chapter offers preliminary explorations of multicultural indigenous rights regimes, and their challenges to liberal pluralism, in Mexico, Bolivia, and Ecuador. It concludes that only a frank consideration of the trade-offs between human rights and communitarian rights can yield the kind of self-aware multiculturalism that simultaneously respects the rights of groups and their individual members.
Shannan Mattiace
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199936267
- eISBN:
- 9780199333066
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199936267.003.0062
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Yucatán was one of the last Mexican states to enact Indian rights legislation in the wake of the 2001 national constitutional changes, and is worthy of examination, as it has one of the largest ...
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Yucatán was one of the last Mexican states to enact Indian rights legislation in the wake of the 2001 national constitutional changes, and is worthy of examination, as it has one of the largest number of indigenous language speakers in Mexico. Indian rights legislation in Yucatán, titled “The Law for the Protection of the Rights of the Maya Community”, was passed by the state congress in April 2011 and an implementing decree was approved in December 2011. This chapter argues that the multicultural reforms enacted in Yucatán to date are the result of top-down, national-level factors that have pushed state legislators to move forward in the area of Indian rights. Multicultural reforms in Yucatán are not the result of grassroots pressure: there has been no Indian identity-based social movement to speak of in Yucatán, unlike other regions of Mexico with strong movements, such as Chiapas, Oaxaca, Guerrero, and Michoacán.Less
Yucatán was one of the last Mexican states to enact Indian rights legislation in the wake of the 2001 national constitutional changes, and is worthy of examination, as it has one of the largest number of indigenous language speakers in Mexico. Indian rights legislation in Yucatán, titled “The Law for the Protection of the Rights of the Maya Community”, was passed by the state congress in April 2011 and an implementing decree was approved in December 2011. This chapter argues that the multicultural reforms enacted in Yucatán to date are the result of top-down, national-level factors that have pushed state legislators to move forward in the area of Indian rights. Multicultural reforms in Yucatán are not the result of grassroots pressure: there has been no Indian identity-based social movement to speak of in Yucatán, unlike other regions of Mexico with strong movements, such as Chiapas, Oaxaca, Guerrero, and Michoacán.
M. Kathryn Brown and George J. III Bey (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780813054841
- eISBN:
- 9780813053332
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813054841.001.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
Pathways to Complexity synthesizes a wealth of new archaeological data to illuminate the origins of Maya civilization and the rise of Classic Maya culture. In this volume, prominent Maya scholars ...
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Pathways to Complexity synthesizes a wealth of new archaeological data to illuminate the origins of Maya civilization and the rise of Classic Maya culture. In this volume, prominent Maya scholars argue that the development of social, religious, and economic complexity began during the Middle Preclassic period (1000–300 B.C.), hundreds of years earlier than previously thought. Contributors reveal that villages were present in parts of the lowlands by 1000 B.C., challenging the prevailing models estimating when civilization took root in the area. Combining recent discoveries from the northern lowlands—an area often neglected in other volumes—and the southern lowlands, the collection then traces the emergence of sociopolitical inequality and complexity in all parts of the Yucatan peninsula over the course of the Middle Preclassic period. They show that communities evolved in different ways due to influences such as geographical location, ceramic exchange, shell ornament production, agricultural strategy, religious ritual, ideology, and social rankings. These varied pathways to complexity developed over half a millennium and culminated in the institution of kingship by the Late Preclassic period. Presenting exciting work on a dynamic and poorly understood time period, Pathways to Complexity demonstrates the importance of a broad, comparative approach to understanding Preclassic Maya civilization and will serve as a foundation for future research and interpretation.Less
Pathways to Complexity synthesizes a wealth of new archaeological data to illuminate the origins of Maya civilization and the rise of Classic Maya culture. In this volume, prominent Maya scholars argue that the development of social, religious, and economic complexity began during the Middle Preclassic period (1000–300 B.C.), hundreds of years earlier than previously thought. Contributors reveal that villages were present in parts of the lowlands by 1000 B.C., challenging the prevailing models estimating when civilization took root in the area. Combining recent discoveries from the northern lowlands—an area often neglected in other volumes—and the southern lowlands, the collection then traces the emergence of sociopolitical inequality and complexity in all parts of the Yucatan peninsula over the course of the Middle Preclassic period. They show that communities evolved in different ways due to influences such as geographical location, ceramic exchange, shell ornament production, agricultural strategy, religious ritual, ideology, and social rankings. These varied pathways to complexity developed over half a millennium and culminated in the institution of kingship by the Late Preclassic period. Presenting exciting work on a dynamic and poorly understood time period, Pathways to Complexity demonstrates the importance of a broad, comparative approach to understanding Preclassic Maya civilization and will serve as a foundation for future research and interpretation.
Linnea Wren, Cynthia Kristan-Graham, Travis Nygard, and Kaylee Spencer (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780813054964
- eISBN:
- 9780813053417
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813054964.001.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
Designated a World Heritage site in 1998 by UNESCO, Chichen Itza in Yucatan, Mexico, has fascinated explorers, scholars, and visitors for nearly 500 years. Yet, despite Chichen Itza’s extensive ...
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Designated a World Heritage site in 1998 by UNESCO, Chichen Itza in Yucatan, Mexico, has fascinated explorers, scholars, and visitors for nearly 500 years. Yet, despite Chichen Itza’s extensive written corpus, fundamental questions remain regarding the occupants, rulers, ritual and religious nature, political economy, and even chronology of this late Maya capital. This volume presents new archaeological, epigraphic, ceramic, and art historical data and contemporary interpretations regarding Chichen Itza both in terms of its internal dynamics and in terms of its relationships with smaller sites in the surrounding area. Utilizing concepts of landscape as both geographic and ideological milieus, some chapters explore the ways that the presence of Chichen Itza was felt in regional sites, including Popola, Ichmul de Morley, and Ek Balam, and how boundaries operated between such sites. Other chapters analyze visual culture through the lenses of iconography, political geography, ritual, and gender to examine the hieroglyphic texts, sculpture, painting and buildings at Chichen Itza, including the Castillo, the Osario, and the Mercado. The volume presents new avenues to understand Chichen Itza and its environs.Less
Designated a World Heritage site in 1998 by UNESCO, Chichen Itza in Yucatan, Mexico, has fascinated explorers, scholars, and visitors for nearly 500 years. Yet, despite Chichen Itza’s extensive written corpus, fundamental questions remain regarding the occupants, rulers, ritual and religious nature, political economy, and even chronology of this late Maya capital. This volume presents new archaeological, epigraphic, ceramic, and art historical data and contemporary interpretations regarding Chichen Itza both in terms of its internal dynamics and in terms of its relationships with smaller sites in the surrounding area. Utilizing concepts of landscape as both geographic and ideological milieus, some chapters explore the ways that the presence of Chichen Itza was felt in regional sites, including Popola, Ichmul de Morley, and Ek Balam, and how boundaries operated between such sites. Other chapters analyze visual culture through the lenses of iconography, political geography, ritual, and gender to examine the hieroglyphic texts, sculpture, painting and buildings at Chichen Itza, including the Castillo, the Osario, and the Mercado. The volume presents new avenues to understand Chichen Itza and its environs.
Karen D. Caplan
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804757645
- eISBN:
- 9780804772914
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804757645.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
This book challenges the commonly held assumption that early nineteenth-century Mexican state-building was a failure of liberalism. By comparing the experiences of two Mexican states, Oaxaca and ...
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This book challenges the commonly held assumption that early nineteenth-century Mexican state-building was a failure of liberalism. By comparing the experiences of two Mexican states, Oaxaca and Yucatán, it shows how the institutions and ideas associated with liberalism became deeply entrenched in Mexico's regions, but only on locally acceptable terms. Faced with the common challenge of incorporating new institutions into political life, Mexicans—be they indigenous villagers, government officials, or local elites—negotiated ways to make those institutions compatible with a range of local interests. Although Oaxaca and Yucatán both had large indigenous majorities, the local liberalisms they constructed incorporated indigenous people differently as citizens. As a result, Oaxaca experienced relative social peace throughout this era, while Yucatán exploded with indigenous rebellion beginning in 1847. The book puts the interaction between local and national liberalisms at the center of the narrative of Mexico's nineteenth century. It suggests that “liberalism” must be understood not as an overarching system imposed on the Mexican nation but rather as a set of guiding assumptions and institutions which Mexicans put to use in locally specific ways.Less
This book challenges the commonly held assumption that early nineteenth-century Mexican state-building was a failure of liberalism. By comparing the experiences of two Mexican states, Oaxaca and Yucatán, it shows how the institutions and ideas associated with liberalism became deeply entrenched in Mexico's regions, but only on locally acceptable terms. Faced with the common challenge of incorporating new institutions into political life, Mexicans—be they indigenous villagers, government officials, or local elites—negotiated ways to make those institutions compatible with a range of local interests. Although Oaxaca and Yucatán both had large indigenous majorities, the local liberalisms they constructed incorporated indigenous people differently as citizens. As a result, Oaxaca experienced relative social peace throughout this era, while Yucatán exploded with indigenous rebellion beginning in 1847. The book puts the interaction between local and national liberalisms at the center of the narrative of Mexico's nineteenth century. It suggests that “liberalism” must be understood not as an overarching system imposed on the Mexican nation but rather as a set of guiding assumptions and institutions which Mexicans put to use in locally specific ways.
Terry Rugeley
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804760485
- eISBN:
- 9780804771306
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804760485.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
This book explores the origins, process, and consequences of forty years of nearly continual political violence in southeastern Mexico. Rather than recounting the well-worn narrative of the Caste ...
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This book explores the origins, process, and consequences of forty years of nearly continual political violence in southeastern Mexico. Rather than recounting the well-worn narrative of the Caste War, it focuses instead on how four decades of violence helped shape social and political institutions of the Mexican southeast. The book looks at Yucatán's famous Caste War from the perspective of the vast majority of Hispanics and Maya peasants who did not join in the great ethnic rebellion of 1847. It shows how the history of nonrebel territory was as dramatic and as violent as the front lines of the Caste War, and of greater significance for the larger evolution of Mexican society. The work explores political violence not merely as a method and process, but also as a molder of subsequent institutions and practices.Less
This book explores the origins, process, and consequences of forty years of nearly continual political violence in southeastern Mexico. Rather than recounting the well-worn narrative of the Caste War, it focuses instead on how four decades of violence helped shape social and political institutions of the Mexican southeast. The book looks at Yucatán's famous Caste War from the perspective of the vast majority of Hispanics and Maya peasants who did not join in the great ethnic rebellion of 1847. It shows how the history of nonrebel territory was as dramatic and as violent as the front lines of the Caste War, and of greater significance for the larger evolution of Mexican society. The work explores political violence not merely as a method and process, but also as a molder of subsequent institutions and practices.
Andrea Cucina, Allan Ortega Muñoz, Sandra Verónica, and Elizalde Rodarte
Cathy Willermet, Andrea Cucina, Cathy Willermet, and Andrea Cucina (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780813056005
- eISBN:
- 9780813053783
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813056005.003.0005
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
The authors of this chapter focus their attention on the distribution of mortuary practices and their relationship to population affinities among several Postclassic (AD 1000–1520) Maya sites located ...
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The authors of this chapter focus their attention on the distribution of mortuary practices and their relationship to population affinities among several Postclassic (AD 1000–1520) Maya sites located long the eastern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula. The archaeological evidence suggests a lack of clear and culturally well-established patterns of mortuary practices in the region. Coastal sites represented important commercial and ceremonial centers along maritime trade routes around the peninsula, and were therefore potentially subject to population movement. The joint analysis of mortuary patterns and site biological distances, based on the evidence of dental morphology, indicates that biological relationships between sites does not correspond to similarities in mortuary practices, suggesting a series of diverse relationships between sites long the peninsula’s east coast.Less
The authors of this chapter focus their attention on the distribution of mortuary practices and their relationship to population affinities among several Postclassic (AD 1000–1520) Maya sites located long the eastern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula. The archaeological evidence suggests a lack of clear and culturally well-established patterns of mortuary practices in the region. Coastal sites represented important commercial and ceremonial centers along maritime trade routes around the peninsula, and were therefore potentially subject to population movement. The joint analysis of mortuary patterns and site biological distances, based on the evidence of dental morphology, indicates that biological relationships between sites does not correspond to similarities in mortuary practices, suggesting a series of diverse relationships between sites long the peninsula’s east coast.
Elizabeth Graham
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813036663
- eISBN:
- 9780813041834
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813036663.001.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
Most of the research concerned with early Spanish colonialism in Middle America focuses on Mexico, Yucatan, and the Spanish-speaking nations of Central America. The land that became Belize was ...
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Most of the research concerned with early Spanish colonialism in Middle America focuses on Mexico, Yucatan, and the Spanish-speaking nations of Central America. The land that became Belize was nameless to the invaders and gradually became “frontier” with respect to the colonial core. By 1700, Spanish involvement had all but ceased and British logwood cutters had begun to penetrate the lands bordering the major rivers. This book examines the sixteenth- to seventeenth-century period of contact through the lens of archaeology and history. Its focus is the coming of Christianity and the effects of evangelization and conversion on the Belize Maya communities of Tipu and Lamanai, both of which were the sites of Spanish visita missions. Christian churches were built and maintained in both communities, and the excavation of these churches and the material cultural information that resulted are both drawn on to contribute to an analysis of religious change. The book assesses the concept of religion, the significance of doctrine, the empowerment of the individual, and the process of conversion by examining the meanings attributed to ideas, objects, and images by the Maya, by Iberian Christians, and by archaeologists.Less
Most of the research concerned with early Spanish colonialism in Middle America focuses on Mexico, Yucatan, and the Spanish-speaking nations of Central America. The land that became Belize was nameless to the invaders and gradually became “frontier” with respect to the colonial core. By 1700, Spanish involvement had all but ceased and British logwood cutters had begun to penetrate the lands bordering the major rivers. This book examines the sixteenth- to seventeenth-century period of contact through the lens of archaeology and history. Its focus is the coming of Christianity and the effects of evangelization and conversion on the Belize Maya communities of Tipu and Lamanai, both of which were the sites of Spanish visita missions. Christian churches were built and maintained in both communities, and the excavation of these churches and the material cultural information that resulted are both drawn on to contribute to an analysis of religious change. The book assesses the concept of religion, the significance of doctrine, the empowerment of the individual, and the process of conversion by examining the meanings attributed to ideas, objects, and images by the Maya, by Iberian Christians, and by archaeologists.
Joel Robbins
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520257702
- eISBN:
- 9780520944916
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520257702.003.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Latin American Cultural Anthropology
The Spanish conquest of Yucatán rested on two major columns, military subjugation and the so-called conquista pacífica “peaceful conquest.” The military conquest was carried out by a relatively small ...
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The Spanish conquest of Yucatán rested on two major columns, military subjugation and the so-called conquista pacífica “peaceful conquest.” The military conquest was carried out by a relatively small number of soldiers, armed with swords, armor, muskets, horses, and dogs, and assisted by their indigenous allies. The objective of the conquista pacífica was to convert the natives from heathens into Christians living in accordance with policía cristiana, which we might gloss roughly as “Christian civility.” In order to be placed in policía cristiana, the Indios had to be reorganized. This was to be achieved through a process called reducción. The reducción represents the systematic attempt to design and inculcate a new habitus in the Indian communities. To this habitus corresponds a new Indian subject: individuated, classified, governed, and fundamentally religious.Less
The Spanish conquest of Yucatán rested on two major columns, military subjugation and the so-called conquista pacífica “peaceful conquest.” The military conquest was carried out by a relatively small number of soldiers, armed with swords, armor, muskets, horses, and dogs, and assisted by their indigenous allies. The objective of the conquista pacífica was to convert the natives from heathens into Christians living in accordance with policía cristiana, which we might gloss roughly as “Christian civility.” In order to be placed in policía cristiana, the Indios had to be reorganized. This was to be achieved through a process called reducción. The reducción represents the systematic attempt to design and inculcate a new habitus in the Indian communities. To this habitus corresponds a new Indian subject: individuated, classified, governed, and fundamentally religious.
Joel Robbins
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520257702
- eISBN:
- 9780520944916
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520257702.003.0002
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Latin American Cultural Anthropology
The Maya were highly organized before the arrival of the Spanish—especially prior to but also after the demise of the Mayapán confederacy in the mid-thirteenth century. Given the accumulated ...
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The Maya were highly organized before the arrival of the Spanish—especially prior to but also after the demise of the Mayapán confederacy in the mid-thirteenth century. Given the accumulated experience of the Spanish and the missionaries in New Spain and elsewhere, and given what they found in Yucatán, there is no question that they recognized that the Maya were already living in a complex society. But the kind of order that interested the Spaniards was different, and it required both a simplification and recasting of the indigenous political geography. This chapter spells out the main lines of spatial transformation entailed by the reducción. To be reducido was above all to live in a stable place, in which things were done in their proper settings and people behaved in ways appropriate to those settings. The concept of propriety here derives from policía, itself derived linguistically from polis “town.” Thus, it is unsurprising that the order imposed by reducción revolved around the pueblo “town”.Less
The Maya were highly organized before the arrival of the Spanish—especially prior to but also after the demise of the Mayapán confederacy in the mid-thirteenth century. Given the accumulated experience of the Spanish and the missionaries in New Spain and elsewhere, and given what they found in Yucatán, there is no question that they recognized that the Maya were already living in a complex society. But the kind of order that interested the Spaniards was different, and it required both a simplification and recasting of the indigenous political geography. This chapter spells out the main lines of spatial transformation entailed by the reducción. To be reducido was above all to live in a stable place, in which things were done in their proper settings and people behaved in ways appropriate to those settings. The concept of propriety here derives from policía, itself derived linguistically from polis “town.” Thus, it is unsurprising that the order imposed by reducción revolved around the pueblo “town”.
Scott A. J. Johnson
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780813054964
- eISBN:
- 9780813053417
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813054964.003.0004
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
This chapter explores the nature of polity borders in Early Postclassic Yucatan. It outlines definitions for borders and related terms and argues that the Itza maintained hegemonic rather than ...
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This chapter explores the nature of polity borders in Early Postclassic Yucatan. It outlines definitions for borders and related terms and argues that the Itza maintained hegemonic rather than territorial control of the Yucatan Peninsula. In this model of dominance, the Itza subjugated the local leadership and demanded tribute but did not interfere in the day-to-day interactions of commoners. The Itza were more concerned with protecting the centers of power rather than defending finite, linear borders. If such territorial demarcations existed, they were open to the passage of commerce and commoners but not hostile forces.Less
This chapter explores the nature of polity borders in Early Postclassic Yucatan. It outlines definitions for borders and related terms and argues that the Itza maintained hegemonic rather than territorial control of the Yucatan Peninsula. In this model of dominance, the Itza subjugated the local leadership and demanded tribute but did not interfere in the day-to-day interactions of commoners. The Itza were more concerned with protecting the centers of power rather than defending finite, linear borders. If such territorial demarcations existed, they were open to the passage of commerce and commoners but not hostile forces.
Elizabeth Graham
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813036663
- eISBN:
- 9780813041834
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813036663.003.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
The people (Maya and Spaniards), the region (Belize and Yucatan), and the time periods (sixteenth and seventeenth centuries) on which the book focuses are described in this introduction. A chronology ...
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The people (Maya and Spaniards), the region (Belize and Yucatan), and the time periods (sixteenth and seventeenth centuries) on which the book focuses are described in this introduction. A chronology is provided by way of a table, the origins of the research are explained, and the chapters are outlined.Less
The people (Maya and Spaniards), the region (Belize and Yucatan), and the time periods (sixteenth and seventeenth centuries) on which the book focuses are described in this introduction. A chronology is provided by way of a table, the origins of the research are explained, and the chapters are outlined.
Elizabeth Graham
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813036663
- eISBN:
- 9780813041834
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813036663.003.0003
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
This chapter addresses Maya political and economic organization just prior to the Spanish Conquest in Yucatan, Belize, and to some extent, Peten. The nature of native Maya states and geopolitical ...
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This chapter addresses Maya political and economic organization just prior to the Spanish Conquest in Yucatan, Belize, and to some extent, Peten. The nature of native Maya states and geopolitical units is explored, as is the Precolumbian Maya economy. A summary is provided of what we know from archaeology about Belize communities in the sixteenth century, with a focus on Tipu and Lamanai.Less
This chapter addresses Maya political and economic organization just prior to the Spanish Conquest in Yucatan, Belize, and to some extent, Peten. The nature of native Maya states and geopolitical units is explored, as is the Precolumbian Maya economy. A summary is provided of what we know from archaeology about Belize communities in the sixteenth century, with a focus on Tipu and Lamanai.
Elizabeth Graham
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813036663
- eISBN:
- 9780813041834
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813036663.003.0006
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
Why did Spanish Europeans decide not to settle the mainland, coast, and cayes that are now Belize? How did Spaniards or other seafaring Europeans view Belize's coast, and did this information find ...
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Why did Spanish Europeans decide not to settle the mainland, coast, and cayes that are now Belize? How did Spaniards or other seafaring Europeans view Belize's coast, and did this information find its way to early maps? How was the land that became Belize known to the early conquerors? In this chapter, possible Franciscan travel through Belize is discussed, as is the important role of trade and coastal travel in the Maya world just prior to the Conquest, with much of the information based on archaeological data. An attempt is made to contextualize Belize in terms of the conquests of Yucatan and Central America.Less
Why did Spanish Europeans decide not to settle the mainland, coast, and cayes that are now Belize? How did Spaniards or other seafaring Europeans view Belize's coast, and did this information find its way to early maps? How was the land that became Belize known to the early conquerors? In this chapter, possible Franciscan travel through Belize is discussed, as is the important role of trade and coastal travel in the Maya world just prior to the Conquest, with much of the information based on archaeological data. An attempt is made to contextualize Belize in terms of the conquests of Yucatan and Central America.
Pilar Zabala
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813034928
- eISBN:
- 9780813039626
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813034928.003.0008
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
This chapter focuses on the African roots of the Yucatan and provides fresh insights into the origins, arrival, and integration of Afro Caribs during the colonial period and into the evolving roles ...
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This chapter focuses on the African roots of the Yucatan and provides fresh insights into the origins, arrival, and integration of Afro Caribs during the colonial period and into the evolving roles of Afro-Yucatecans in the socioeconomic network of New Spain. It presents documentary evidence indicating that Mexico's “third root” (Africans and their descendants) can be traced to the early colonial period. They probably came to Mexico during that time and, more specifically, the Yucatan came together with the Spanish conquistadors. The trans-Atlantic slave trade, which began in the Antilles, predates the demographic collapse of the indigenous native populations of the Caribbean.Less
This chapter focuses on the African roots of the Yucatan and provides fresh insights into the origins, arrival, and integration of Afro Caribs during the colonial period and into the evolving roles of Afro-Yucatecans in the socioeconomic network of New Spain. It presents documentary evidence indicating that Mexico's “third root” (Africans and their descendants) can be traced to the early colonial period. They probably came to Mexico during that time and, more specifically, the Yucatan came together with the Spanish conquistadors. The trans-Atlantic slave trade, which began in the Antilles, predates the demographic collapse of the indigenous native populations of the Caribbean.
Mark Christensen
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804785280
- eISBN:
- 9780804787314
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804785280.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
This book examines ecclesiastical texts written in Nahuatl and Yucatec Maya to illustrate their role in conveying and reflecting various Catholic messages—and thus Catholicisms—throughout colonial ...
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This book examines ecclesiastical texts written in Nahuatl and Yucatec Maya to illustrate their role in conveying and reflecting various Catholic messages—and thus Catholicisms—throughout colonial Central Mexico and Yucatan. It demonstrates how published and unpublished sermons, confessional manuals, catechisms, and other religious texts betray “official” and “unofficial” versions of Catholicism, and how these versions changed throughout the colonial period according to indigenous culture, local situations, and broader early modern events. The book’s study of these texts also allows for a better appreciation of the negotiations that occurred during the evangelization process between native and Spanish cultures, the center and periphery, and between official expectations and everyday realities. In many cases, these negotiations ensured that the religious instruction prescribed for and experienced by one differed from that of the other. Whereas many studies on colonial religion have focused solely on the Nahuas and their texts, this book employs both Nahuatl and Maya religious texts. This allows for a unique comparative study that expands beyond Central Mexico to include Yucatan. Such a comparison allows this book to illustrate important subregional and regional similarities and differences between the evangelization efforts made among the Nahua and Maya, and to expand beyond a monolithic understanding of colonial Catholicism to better visualize the diversity that religious texts both created and reflected.Less
This book examines ecclesiastical texts written in Nahuatl and Yucatec Maya to illustrate their role in conveying and reflecting various Catholic messages—and thus Catholicisms—throughout colonial Central Mexico and Yucatan. It demonstrates how published and unpublished sermons, confessional manuals, catechisms, and other religious texts betray “official” and “unofficial” versions of Catholicism, and how these versions changed throughout the colonial period according to indigenous culture, local situations, and broader early modern events. The book’s study of these texts also allows for a better appreciation of the negotiations that occurred during the evangelization process between native and Spanish cultures, the center and periphery, and between official expectations and everyday realities. In many cases, these negotiations ensured that the religious instruction prescribed for and experienced by one differed from that of the other. Whereas many studies on colonial religion have focused solely on the Nahuas and their texts, this book employs both Nahuatl and Maya religious texts. This allows for a unique comparative study that expands beyond Central Mexico to include Yucatan. Such a comparison allows this book to illustrate important subregional and regional similarities and differences between the evangelization efforts made among the Nahua and Maya, and to expand beyond a monolithic understanding of colonial Catholicism to better visualize the diversity that religious texts both created and reflected.
Stephanie Jo Smith
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- July 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780807832844
- eISBN:
- 9781469605753
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/9780807888650_smith
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
The state of Yucatán is commonly considered to have been a hotbed of radical feminism during the Mexican Revolution. Challenging this romanticized view, this book examines the revolutionary reforms ...
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The state of Yucatán is commonly considered to have been a hotbed of radical feminism during the Mexican Revolution. Challenging this romanticized view, this book examines the revolutionary reforms designed to break women's ties to tradition and religion, as well as the ways in which women shaped these developments. It analyzes the various regulations introduced by Yucatán's two revolution-era governors, Salvador Alvarado and Felipe Carrillo Puerto. Like many revolutionary leaders throughout Mexico, the Yucatán policy makers professed allegiance to women's rights and socialist principles. Yet they, too, passed laws and condoned legal practices that excluded women from equal participation and reinforced their inferior status. Using court cases brought by ordinary women, including those of Mayan descent, the book demonstrates the importance of women's agency during the Mexican Revolution. But, it says, despite the intervention of women at many levels of Yucatecan society, the rigid definition of women's social roles as strictly that of wives and mothers within the Mexican nation guaranteed that long-term, substantial gains remained out of reach for most women for years to come.Less
The state of Yucatán is commonly considered to have been a hotbed of radical feminism during the Mexican Revolution. Challenging this romanticized view, this book examines the revolutionary reforms designed to break women's ties to tradition and religion, as well as the ways in which women shaped these developments. It analyzes the various regulations introduced by Yucatán's two revolution-era governors, Salvador Alvarado and Felipe Carrillo Puerto. Like many revolutionary leaders throughout Mexico, the Yucatán policy makers professed allegiance to women's rights and socialist principles. Yet they, too, passed laws and condoned legal practices that excluded women from equal participation and reinforced their inferior status. Using court cases brought by ordinary women, including those of Mayan descent, the book demonstrates the importance of women's agency during the Mexican Revolution. But, it says, despite the intervention of women at many levels of Yucatecan society, the rigid definition of women's social roles as strictly that of wives and mothers within the Mexican nation guaranteed that long-term, substantial gains remained out of reach for most women for years to come.
Barbara Pfeiler
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780226126173
- eISBN:
- 9780226125671
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226125671.003.0008
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
This chapter addresses the question of language coexistence and change in the Mexican state of Yucatan, where the highest proportion of bilingualism of an indigenous language and Spanish has been ...
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This chapter addresses the question of language coexistence and change in the Mexican state of Yucatan, where the highest proportion of bilingualism of an indigenous language and Spanish has been registered. The efforts to spread Spanish in Yucatan started only after the 19th century, allowing a continuous use of the Maya language but also mutual borrowings into the structures of both languages. While Maya has contributed to making the local/regional variety of Spanish singular in comparison to other Mexican Spanish varieties, the extent of the influence of Spanish onto the Mayan language can be correlated with the duration and intensity of contact with Spanish. Although Maya has survived the competition of Spanish to date, new socioeconomic ecologies, migration, and linguistic centralism account for the spread of Spanish as a vernacular language across the peninsula of Yucatan, which encourages Mayan parents to transmit Spanish as a mother tongue, instead of Maya.Less
This chapter addresses the question of language coexistence and change in the Mexican state of Yucatan, where the highest proportion of bilingualism of an indigenous language and Spanish has been registered. The efforts to spread Spanish in Yucatan started only after the 19th century, allowing a continuous use of the Maya language but also mutual borrowings into the structures of both languages. While Maya has contributed to making the local/regional variety of Spanish singular in comparison to other Mexican Spanish varieties, the extent of the influence of Spanish onto the Mayan language can be correlated with the duration and intensity of contact with Spanish. Although Maya has survived the competition of Spanish to date, new socioeconomic ecologies, migration, and linguistic centralism account for the spread of Spanish as a vernacular language across the peninsula of Yucatan, which encourages Mayan parents to transmit Spanish as a mother tongue, instead of Maya.
Stephanie J. Smith
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- July 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780807832844
- eISBN:
- 9781469605753
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/9780807888650_smith.5
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
This introductory chapter provides an overview of the main themes covered in the book. It sets out the book's purpose, which is to consider issues of women and gender during the Mexican Revolution in ...
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This introductory chapter provides an overview of the main themes covered in the book. It sets out the book's purpose, which is to consider issues of women and gender during the Mexican Revolution in order to analyze revolutionary patriarchy and its liberal precedents that thwarted women from becoming full Mexican citizens. The book explores the complicated process of women's involvement in nation-state formation by following two paths. First, in an effort to explore the social and legal traditions that structured the revolution's foundational principles, both on the federal and Yucatecan state levels, the various regulations introduced by Governors Alvarado and Carrillo Puerto are analyzed. The second direction utilizes court documents to explicate the changing roles of women and how they negotiated their places within society. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.Less
This introductory chapter provides an overview of the main themes covered in the book. It sets out the book's purpose, which is to consider issues of women and gender during the Mexican Revolution in order to analyze revolutionary patriarchy and its liberal precedents that thwarted women from becoming full Mexican citizens. The book explores the complicated process of women's involvement in nation-state formation by following two paths. First, in an effort to explore the social and legal traditions that structured the revolution's foundational principles, both on the federal and Yucatecan state levels, the various regulations introduced by Governors Alvarado and Carrillo Puerto are analyzed. The second direction utilizes court documents to explicate the changing roles of women and how they negotiated their places within society. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.
