Innovations and Transformations in Mesoamerican Research: Recent and Revised Insights of Ancestral Lifeways

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Innovations and Transformations in Mesoamerican Research: Recent and Revised Insights of Ancestral Lifeways" at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Broad and diverse recent research projects yield new perspectives on Mesoamerica’s fundamental evolutionary trends, social stratification, craft production, ideologies, subsistence, and, in general, ancient lifeways. New findings and legacy data contribute to our ongoing knowledge of ancestral Mesoamericans who lived in varied environments and managed landscapes ranging from neotropical forests to mountain habitats. Updated interpretations, novel insights, revised methodologies, and new technologies are presented by contributors. Participants expand our knowledge of materials studies (metallurgy, pigments, pottery analysis), bioarchaeology (dietary isotopes and skeletal analyses), rural and urban comparisons, social organization (through lidar and traditional methods), ritual, ideology, sports, cultural ecological perspectives, and royal palace scandals. Contributions highlight central Mexico, Michoacán, the Maya Lowlands, the Guatemalan highlands, and eastern and western Honduras through various time periods.