In prehispanic Mesoamerica, basic utilitarian artifacts, such as non-obsidian chipped stone tools, have rarely been considered outside the realms of technology or the economics of manufacture and circulation. Yet in recent excavations of residential terraces at the Classic period hilltop settlement of El Palmillo, Oaxaca, we have noted spatial patterning in the distribution of chipped stone tools that parallels variation previously observed in a range of nonlocal goods including obsidian, marine shell, and greenstone. Compared to the inhabitants of terraces situated near the base of the site, the apparently higher-status residents of households residing closer to the hill’s apex not only were associated with a somewhat different assemblage of stone tools and debris, but their chipped stone implements tended to be made on better-quality raw materials. As a consequence, chipped stone assemblages can serve as an additional axis of variation for examining status distinctions in the Classic period Valley of Oaxaca, and potentially elsewhere in Mesoamerica.

The archaeological site of Galindo, located in the Moche Valley, is one of the most important Late Moche (ca. A. D. 600—800) centers on the North Coast of Peru. The site was once thought to have been occupied only after the nearby Huacas de Moche, the paramount Middle Moche (ca. A. D. 300–600) center in the valley, was abandoned. Recent radiocarbon dates from the Huacas de Moche, however, indicate that it continued to be occupied well into the eighth century A. D. This paper presents data on the occupational history of Galindo recently obtained during the Galindo Archaeological Project (GAP). These data, along with similar data from the Huacas de Moche, present a new understanding of the occupational history of the Moche Valley during the first half of the Middle Horizon (A.D. 600–1000).

A masonry and adobe construction called the “Area I Palace” was excavated by the authors at the site of El Palenque (SMT-llb), located near San Martín Tilcajete in the Ocotlán district of the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. The Area I Palace covered 850 m2 and consisted of nine interconnected structures, one of which was an elaborate residence that measured 16 m by 16 m and had eight rooms arranged around an interior patio. Several additional platforms and two paved courtyards were probably more ceremonial in nature. There is evidence that multiple work groups were involved in the construction of the palace. The associated ceramics and four radiocarbon samples indicate that the palace was built at the beginning of the Late Monte Albán I phase (300–100 B.C.) and abandoned in the first century B.C. It is argued that the Area I Palace is one of earliest known examples of a Zapotec quihuitào or royal palace.

Recent theoretical work has underscored the importance of multiple strategies in the dynamic political and economic landscapes in which archaic states developed. This research emphasizes how the interaction among various non-state polities drives the growth of political centers within a region. It is in this context that numerous intermediate peer-polities emerged, and, on rare occasions in a few places around the world, it is the context of state development. War and trade have emerged as particularly important forms of strategic interaction in the theoretical literature, representing strategies of both cooperation and competition between and within complex, non-state polities. In this paper we present a detailed case study that tests and illustrates one of these theoretical propositions. We examine the role of trade in this process of social evolution as evidenced in the northern Titicaca Basin ca. 500 B.C.—A.D. 300. Based on intensive analyses of a large excavated data set, we suggest that the emergence of one regional center, called Taraco, is strongly linked to strategic participation in local and long-distance exchange networks.

In this paper, we examine wood charcoal assemblages that were recovered from ash layers in Terminal Classic (A.D. 800–950) burials at the Maya site of Rio Bee to understand the use of fuel wood in funerary rites. Compared to charcoal deposits from domestic and non-funerary contexts, the spectrum of wood taxa used in the burial deposits is unique, which suggests specific fire-related practices. Members of the Sapotaceae family and Cordiasp. dominated all contexts and were clearly primary fuels. In contrast, the use of pine (Pinus sp.), which does not grow locally today, was limited to ritual practices. In addition, it seems that a deliberate effort was made to maximize the taxonomic richness of the fuel wood used in burials. Funerary charcoal deposits appear to have been carefully and intentionally “composed” for burning during funerary rites. We propose that this practice materialized the relationship between fire, ash, and the cycles of life and death, which are often symbolized by plant life cycles in the worldview of ancient Maya societies. This study also emphasizes the contribution of anthracological (wood charcoal) analysis to the reconstruction of human behavior and the importance of systematic paleoethnobotanical sampling in funerary contexts.

This study builds on the premise that local knowledge of limestone—and its workable characteristics—was foundational to landscape inhabitation in the Puuc region of Yucatán, México. Classic Maya architecture of the northern Yucatán generally is considered to represent the apogee of Maya construction prowess with extensive use of core-veneer masonry and the creation of tall, wide corbelled vaults. Less commonly discussed is the variable distribution of high-quality limestone across the Yucatán, the social matrix that undergirds the quarrying, transporting, and working of limestone, and the pronounced social differences materialized in stone architecture. This study explores these three topics by bringing to bear Yucatec Mayan linguistic evidence and excavation data from the archaeological site of Sayil, in the hilly Puuc region of Yucatán. That information provides a basis for understanding the development of a sprawling residential complex, the role that variable limestone quality played in its expansion, and serves as an index of intra-compound social difference. Late additions to the dwellings indicate that recognition of the cultural value of carved stone persisted long after masonry skills became attenuated. The durability of stone renders it a particularly effective—if underutilized—medium for interpreting social landscapes of the past.

In this article we discuss the Prehispanic earthen causeways (calzadas) that traverse the llanos (humid savannas) of Barinas state, Venezuela. A salient question is why the calzadas in this area connect some archaeological sites but not others. Some scholars have proposed that the calzadas were constructed primarily as an adaptive response to seasonal flooding. We assess this proposition by examining Late Gaván phase (A. D. 550-1000) data from along the Río Canaguá and find a lack of positive association between sites that experience seasonal inundations and linkage to the calzada network. Instead, we conclude that the configuration of Late Gaván calzadas is better explained by a series of economic, military, and religious factors, all related to the political dynamics of chiefdom organization on the regional level.

El Salado is a prehispanic salt production site located in the Tuxtla Mountains of southern Veracruz, Mexico. Fieldwork at the site was conducted to determine the methods of salt production, the character of the archaeological residues produced, the scale of the industry, and the history of production. El Salado contains two major occupations, the first dating to the Early Formative period and the second to the Late Classic period. During the Early Formative, solar evaporation in pottery trays was the primary method of salt production. This method was supplemented by some salt-making that involved boiling brine in tecomates. During the Late Classic, in contrast, boiling salt water became the preferred method of production. Late Classic brine reduction involved a two-step process. The salt level in the brine was first increased by boiling in collared jars. This brine was later reduced to loaves by boiling in shallow pottery vessels called cazuelas.

Some prominent Mesoamericanists long considered lowland central Veracruz to have been agriculturally unproductive prior to the Totonacs' construction of a canal-irrigation system at Zempoala during the Middle Postclassic period (A. D. 1200-1400). This evaluation reflects a long-standing negative predisposition toward tropical lowlands and a preoccupation with the significance of canal irrigation in the emergence of urban societies. However, an appreciation of mesoenvironments and their ecological interrelations has led to a reevaluation of agriculture in central Veracruz. In wetlands to the south of Zempoala, evidence of canals and planting platforms supporting maize cultivation by A. D. 500 demonstrates that people were intensively cultivating that mesoenvironment by the Classic period (A. D. 1-850). Moreover, vestiges of sloping-field terraces occur throughout some 1,000 km2 of piedmont west of those wetlands. Direct evidence for crops and a chronology are still lacking for these latter fields, but ethnohistorical data and plant ecology suggest cotton, maize, agave, and a Prehispanic origin.

This article proposes a new 14C chronology for the three-phase ceramic chronology from the settlement of Chavín de Huántar based on the AMS dating of collagen extracted from faunal remains recovered during my 1975 excavations. The chronometric estimates for the Chavín de Huántar ceramic chronology are as follows: Urabarriu Phase (950–800 cal BC), Chakinani Phase (800–700 cal BC), and Janabarriu Phase (700–400 cal BC). The new measurements confirm the sequence of the ceramic phases and indicate that the site was established around 950 cal BC and was abandoned by 400 cal BC. The results are consistent with the earlier hypothesis that the major developments at Chavín de Huántar largely postdate the Initial Period fluorescence of early coastal civilization during the second millennium BC, but they cast doubt on some current interpretations of the site's founding and cultural apogee.

The results of George Vaillant's 1935 excavation at the Postclassic site of Chiconautla are presented. Vaillant suggested that the structure he excavated. Casas Reales, was the palace of an elite family. My analysis of the architecture and associated artifacts supports his proposition. The Postclassic (A. D. 1150-1520) artifacts from the palace provide evidence that the elites at Casas Reales engaged in household rituals, obsidian working, and cotton-cloth production. This analysis contributes to a better understanding of elite behavior in the Basin of Mexico and enables us to evaluate the degree of fit between archaeological and ethnohistoric data.

Since the 1950s, a decline in stature has been offered as evidence of increasing nutritional stress in prehistoric Maya populations, particularly during the Late Classic collapse. A review of the extant skeletal data, however, reveals very inconsistent support for such a decline. The primary explanation for the variation may reside in the small number of skeletal series that have representatives of more than one time period. Other possible explanations include methodological problems associated with stature reconstruction, reliability in sex determination, and variation in health response according to site size and location.

This paper addresses the diversification of plant resource management practices in the lowlands of southeastern Uruguay starting in the fourth millennium B.P. Our approach includes (a) a reexamination of ethnohistorical sources; (b) a review of lithic and ceramic materials; (c) the presentation of new ethnoarchaeological information; and (d) the analysis of starch grains from grinding stones. The results highlight the importance of the palm Butia odorata as a source of food and useful materials for much of the year. Furthermore, the analysis of both macro- and micro-residues has enabled us to identify the presence of Datura ferox seeds and starch grains from edible plants. While many of these identifications confirm the use of a number of previously reported species, others are new, as is the case with Phaseolus sp., Arachis sp., and Typha domingensis. Continuity in the management of certain plant species and in environmental conditioning is interpreted as an important investment in the long-term cycles of human-environment interactions.

Indicators of oral health were recorded in a sample of 200 Formative period (1500 B.C.–A.D. 500) skeletons from archaeological sites located in the Lower Azapa Valley of northwest Chile. This period represents a major shift in subsistence strategies in the Atacama Desert, as coastal groups adopted agriculture and moved deeper into the valley. Frequencies of caries and antemortem tooth loss were compared between site locations (coast vs. valley) and by archaeological phase (early vs. late) to interpret the degree to which these incipient agriculturalists were reliant on domesticated resources. Overall, frequencies of caries (11.9 percent) and tooth loss (11.6 percent) are somewhat higher than for other prehistoric groups practicing a mixed subsistence strategy. However, residents of the interior valley exhibited significantly more dental decay and tooth loss than those along the coast. Our results identify that although the Formative period residents of the Lower Azapa Valley practiced a mixed subsistence strategy, the degree of reliance on agricultural production differed between the coast and the valley. We propose that these differential patterns in oral health are tied to local investment, adaptive cycles, and niche construction.

Chronology building is an integral part of the archaeological research process, and changing research questions often require the refinement of existing chronologies. This view is illustrated with a description of the derivation, refinement, and confirmation of a ceramic sequence for the Postclassic period in Morelos, Mexico. The joint application of stratigraphy and quantitative ceramic seriation produced a five-phase Postclassic chronology. To deal with problems in distinguishing the stylistically similar ceramics of the final three phases, discriminant-function analysis was employed, resulting in the confident phasing of nearly all excavated contexts at the sites of Capilco and Cuexcomate. Calendar years are assigned to the phases by radiocarbon dating, and the implications of the dated sequence are explored briefly.

This work reports the presence of Zea mays microremains in three feasting episodes performed during the Middle and Late Formative Period in the North Coast of Peru. The remains of the Cerro Blanco de Nepeña feasts may represent a step toward the intensification of Zea mays consumption in ritual contexts, related to changes in the ceramic assemblages, and parallel to the transformation of ritual spaces during the second half of the Formative Period.

This paper presents the results of a recent petrographic study of Monte Albán grayware pottery. Using INEGI bedrock maps, optical mineralogy, and sedimentary petrology techniques, I demonstrate that the organization of gray-ware production changed greatly through time at Monte Albán. During the Late-Terminal Formative period (Monte Albán I-II), the majority of the gray wares consumed at Monte Albán were probably imported to this hilltop center from some distance. Furthermore, I found the paste composition of this pottery was highly variable, suggesting that many small-scale part-time specialists were engaged in gray-ware production at this time. With the transition to the Classic period (Monte Albán III-IV), the organization of gray-ware production may have changed dramatically and nearly all of the gray wares recovered from Monte Albán were probably produced at this hilltop center. At the same time, we see extensive evidence of specialized gray-ware production at Monte Albán from both survey and excavation data.

This article presents new settlement survey data from the Izapa center of southern Mesoamerica, a site long known for its corpus of low-relief stelae. These data, which track the changing distribution of population from 1000 BC–AD 100, indicate that the city's population peaked at 5,725 inhabitants. Izapa was the capital of a regional kingdom with more than 40 lower-order monumental centers and a territory that covered at least 450 sq. km. Recent AMS dates confirm the apogee of the kingdom at 300–100 BC, and volcanological reconstruction suggests that a Tacaná volcano eruption corresponds with archaeological evidence of political and demographic disruptions to the kingdom. Patterns at Izapa are contextualized in terms of Inomata and colleagues’ (2014) call for redating Kaminaljuyu, placing the erection of stelae there to after 100 BC, as well as Love's (2018) and Mendelsohn's (2018) responses in this journal. Izapa was an integrated kingdom from 700–100 BC, and “Izapa-style” sculptures were a novel medium of political communication introduced after the polity had been functioning without them for centuries. If Inomata and colleagues' (2014) proposal is correct that low-relief stelae were erected only after 100 BC at other centers in southern Mesoamerica, this was centuries after the practice was established at Izapa.

Standards for diaphyseal lengths of the femur, humerus, and tibia that can be used in juvenile age estimation for the ancient Maya are presented. It is argued that these new standards are necessary given differences in stature and limb proportion in Mesoamerican groups compared to the prehistoric North American groups upon whom the current available standards have been developed. Using data from 96 juveniles in the protohistoric Maya series from Tipu, Belize, regression equations were developed to predict age of dental development using diaphyseal lengths; all had excellent fit and statistical significance. When the equations were tested with diaphyseal lengths from other Mesoamerican populations, the results were supportive of such application.

A spatial analysis of rock art located within the lower Pecos region of southwest Texas and northern Mexico reveals the presence of a recurring motif that depicts anthropomorphic figures passing through an opening in a serpentine arch. An extensive review of the ethnographic literature and archaeological record of cultures within Mesoamerica and the Gran Chichimeca indicates that this motif is widespread and generally associated with specific beliefs about the shamanic journey into the spirit world. Based on analogies drawn from the ethnographic literature, the lower Pecos region motif can be interpreted as a pictographic representation of the shamanic journey made by Archaic Chichimecans into the spirit world. The evidence also indicates that the cosmologies of the cultures within Mesoamerica and the Gran Chichimeca were well established in the Chihuahuan Desert at least 4,000 years ago.