Crossing Boundaries: Interregional Interactions in Pre-Columbian Times
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 "Crossing Boundaries: Interregional Interactions in Pre-Columbian Times," at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.
International borders have influenced the way archaeology is being practiced and presented. The political boundaries of modern countries do not correspond with Pre-Columbian social or political boundaries. In Pre-Columbian times, landscape features were used to delimit cultural regions and were often used as places of communication and markets. Aside from material goods, ideas and words were frequently exchanged or borrowed. During the culture-historical period, archaeologists tried to make artifacts fit into categories and sometimes erroneously mislabeled artifacts to another culture region. Similarly, ideas and practices were ascribed to a larger category such as Teotihuacan, Olmec, Aztec, or Maya, making other lesser-known cultures invisible. This session aims to acknowledge the effects Western thought has had on Mesoamerican archaeology in an attempt to break down these barriers by discussing diverse culture regions. Considering Mesoamerica as a culture region would allow for the identification of similarities and differences in material culture, art, and iconography, cosmology and settlement patterns perhaps revealing cultural contacts and interactions. This session aims to open cross-cultural and international discussion about Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures and their interactions.
Other Keywords
Highland Mesoamerica: Postclassic •
Iconography and epigraphy •
Highland Mesoamerica: Classic •
Mortuary Analysis •
Trade and exchange •
Ceramic Analysis •
Sculpture •
Hohokam •
Epiclassic •
Trincheras
Geographic Keywords
North America (Continent) •
United Mexican States (Country) •
Colima (State / Territory) •
Michoacan (State / Territory) •
Jalisco (State / Territory) •
Nayarit (State / Territory) •
Aguascalientes (State / Territory) •
Guanajuato (State / Territory) •
Hidalgo (State / Territory) •
Queretaro (State / Territory)
Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-6 of 6)
- Documents (6)
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Considerations Regarding the Sculptures Commonly Called "Standard-Bearers" (2019)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Crossing Boundaries: Interregional Interactions in Pre-Columbian Times" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Many images in the iconographic corpus from Pre-Hispanic Basin of Mexico belong to forms which were created and reproduced either in codices, mural painting, ceramics, and sculpture. Some examples are the attires of deities, specific icons used to represent natural elements, like rain, comets, even the Sun, and...
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Creolization and the Zapotec Diaspora: A Classic Period Zapo-Teotihuacano Settlement in Southern Hidalgo, Mexico (2019)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Crossing Boundaries: Interregional Interactions in Pre-Columbian Times" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper will present the results of a multi-faceted research endeavor at the site of El Tesoro, Hidalgo, Mexico. Previous and recent research have shown that the Classic-period settlement at El Tesoro exhibited affiliations to both Teotihuacan and the Zapotec homeland in the Valley of Oaxaca and was likely related...
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An Iconographic Analysis on the Offering H Polychrome Knives of Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan (2019)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Crossing Boundaries: Interregional Interactions in Pre-Columbian Times" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Mexicas were one of the civilizations that achieved a striking power of acquisition during Postclassic Mesoamerica. Through trade routes reaching down to Central America, they were able to procure exotic materials and artifacts not accessible in the basin of Mexico. One of these exotic materials was flint, a...
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Mesoamerica en la frontera: Understanding Large-Scale Connectivity Using Hohokam and Trincheras Pottery Designs (2019)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Crossing Boundaries: Interregional Interactions in Pre-Columbian Times" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. More than merely a physical barrier, the international border between the United States and Mexico has become an ideological boundary that shapes modern perceptions of prehistoric cultures and limits the transfer of academic knowledge. Such is the case in the study of the prehistoric Hohokam and Trincheras...
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Obsidian Distribution in Michoacán during the Epiclassic Period (2019)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Crossing Boundaries: Interregional Interactions in Pre-Columbian Times" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. During the Epiclassic, well known as a transitionary period, some emerging chiefdoms sought control of exchange networks and natural resources like obsidian. Specifically, in Western Mesoamerica, in Michoacán are two obsidian sources that had a local distribution across the Lake Chapala basin, the central mountain...
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Shell Jewelry Exchange and Social Status in Central Sonora (2019)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Crossing Boundaries: Interregional Interactions in Pre-Columbian Times" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The archaeological site of El Cementerio, dated between the Middle and Late Sonoran Ceramic Period (circa AD 1000-1521) and located in central Sonora along the Yaqui River, displays several characteristics suggestive of closer links to West Mexican coastal settlements including the presence of shell jewelry and...