Archaeology and Material Culture of the Spanish Invasion of Mesoamerica and Forging of New Spain

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Archaeology and Material Culture of the Spanish Invasion of Mesoamerica and Forging of New Spain," at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This year marks the 500th anniversary of the start of the Spanish invasion or Conquista of Mesoamerica, including the pivotal Mexica-Spanish War (1519-1521), protracted conflicts in other regions, and the hybrid or syncretic processes that forged the new colonial order of New Spain. These events were foundational to the Mexico of today and served Spaniards as a template for similar conquests and colonial enterprises elsewhere in Central and South America and the southern United States. Contemporary historical scholarship foregrounds the heterogeneity of colonial encounters, strategic action on the part of native Mesoamericans, and the role of negotiation and compromise within hierarchical power structures. Papers in this session emphasize the archaeological lens into the period by considering deep-time historical processes and the material manifestations of colonial conflicts and societal transformations. Presentations in Spanish and English consider the roles of cumulative cultural-historical developments such as technology, disease, cultural identity, alliances and micro-patriotism, religion, violence, resistance, and other themes.

Other Keywords
contact period • Colonialism • Ethnohistory/History • Highland Mesoamerica: Postclassic • Tlaxcallan • Historical Archaeology • Labor • Collective Action • Social and Political Organization • Material Culture and Technology

Geographic Keywords
United Mexican States (Country) • North America (Continent) • Hidalgo (State / Territory) • Colima (State / Territory) • Queretaro (State / Territory) • Michoacan (State / Territory) • Mexico (State / Territory) • Morelos (State / Territory) • Jalisco (State / Territory) • Nayarit (State / Territory)

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-8 of 8)

  • Documents (8)
Documents
  • Conquista y artefactos arqueológicos: Una lectura desde el Derecho Indiano (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Ramón Santacruz. Aurelio López Corral.

    This is an abstract from the "Archaeology and Material Culture of the Spanish Invasion of Mesoamerica and Forging of New Spain" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. El periodo que corresponde a la conquista, establecimiento e imposición del orden español en México, de 1519 a 1821, se caracterizó por la colisión cultural entre poblaciones nativas y colonizadores europeos. En ese contexto, este trabajo analiza a los artefactos de manufactura...

  • Copper Buckles and Comal Battens: Clothing Indigenous Conquerors at 16th Century Coyotepetl, Tepeticpac, Tlaxcala (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Lisa Overholtzer.

    This is an abstract from the "Archaeology and Material Culture of the Spanish Invasion of Mesoamerica and Forging of New Spain" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In October of 1519, the fiercely independent Tlaxcallan state first sent Indigenous warriors to aid Hernán Cortés in his conquest efforts. Such military aid, common for more than a decade, established a community of people who identified as Indigenous conquerors and Spanish allies. Documents...

  • De Tepeticpac, a Tlaxcallan, a Tlaxcala: el forje del estado tlaxcalteca del Posclásico tardío (1250-1519 d.C.) a la Colonia temprana (1519-1600 d.C.) (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Aurelio López Corral. Ramón Santacruz.

    This is an abstract from the "Archaeology and Material Culture of the Spanish Invasion of Mesoamerica and Forging of New Spain" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. El contacto entre tlaxcaltecas y españoles en 1519 inicio un periodo de cambios fundamentales en las relaciones de poder entre los altepemeh del altiplano central mesoamericano. Para Tlaxcallan, la alianza representó una oportunidad para sortear los problemas políticos, bélicos y económicos...

  • Deep Histories of Conquest: Mesoamerica, Iberia, and New Spain (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only David Carballo.

    This is an abstract from the "Archaeology and Material Culture of the Spanish Invasion of Mesoamerica and Forging of New Spain" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. As the discipline best suited for studying changes in human societies over long periods of time and the materiality of our existence, archaeology offers a valuable perspective on historic cross-cultural encounters viewed as deep history with tangible ramifications. At the quincentennial of...

  • El Malinche and Tlaxcallan: A Field Guide to Taking Down Democracy (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Lane Fargher.

    This is an abstract from the "Archaeology and Material Culture of the Spanish Invasion of Mesoamerica and Forging of New Spain" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Contact between the Conquistadores and the native peoples of Mexico 500 years ago was a watershed moment in human history. At its heart was the relationship between El Malinche (Hernán Cortés) and the Tlaxcalteca. Although much has been made of the role the resulting alliance played in the...

  • The Intersections of Race, Class, and Labor in New Spain: Archaeological, Bioarchaeological, and Ethnohistoric Perspectives from the Basin of Mexico (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Julie Wesp. John K. Millhauser.

    This is an abstract from the "Archaeology and Material Culture of the Spanish Invasion of Mesoamerica and Forging of New Spain" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper brings together archaeological, bioarchaeological, and ethnohistoric data to highlight how daily life was transformed in New Spain. In particular, we focus on labor as an avenue for understanding the complex relationships and negotiations between working individuals and the...

  • Paper Matters: Cultural Change in Post-Conquest Mexico (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Barbara Mundy.

    This is an abstract from the "Archaeology and Material Culture of the Spanish Invasion of Mesoamerica and Forging of New Spain" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Paper-making was an indigenous technology of great historical depth; on the eve of Conquest, thousands of reams of paper were brought into the imperial capital of Tenochtitlan, where it was used for a host of bureaucratic and ritual purposes. Yet a generation or two after the conquest,...

  • Wealth and Ownership of Indigenous Goods among Spanish Colonizers (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Enrique Rodríguez-Alegría.

    This is an abstract from the "Archaeology and Material Culture of the Spanish Invasion of Mesoamerica and Forging of New Spain" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Scholars have debated the relationship between ownership of indigenous goods among Spanish colonizers and different economic, cultural, and social variables. Some argue that wealth had a strong impact on consumption patterns, and wealthy colonizers used more European imports and less...