Advances in Puebla/Tlaxcala Archaeology

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Advances in Puebla/Tlaxcala Archaeology" at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Puebla/Tlaxcala valley has often been characterized as a crossroads connecting the Gulf Coast, the Basin of Mexico, and the southern highlands of Oaxaca. As such, it has been a cultural palimpsest over its long history with influences from many areas and a hub for long-distance trade. Nevertheless, research in Puebla/Tlaxcala has lagged behind neighboring regions. Thankfully, however, archaeological (and other) investigations have increased in recent years, such that important new discoveries and interpretations are being made. Papers in this session will sample some of the diverse research programs currently underway, including investigations in the Cholula ceremonial center, Postclassic and colonial period excavations in Puebla city and Tlaxcala, art historical interpretations of relevant pictorial manuscripts, and carved human skulls from southern Puebla and Oaxaca. The goal of this session is to introduce recent advances as well as promote dialogue among active researchers and the audience.

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  • Documents (7)

Documents
  • Exploring the Roots of Cerro Acozac: New Investigations in Cholula’s Ceremonial Center (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Geoffrey McCafferty.

    This is an abstract from the "Advances in Puebla/Tlaxcala Archaeology" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Despite being one of ancient Mexico’s largest and most enigmatic ceremonial centers, Cholula has often been overlooked in regional interpretations. Research has been conducted intermittently for over 200 years, yet much of it has never been reported. Furthermore, the 2,500-year history of the ceremonial center has created a jigsaw puzzle of...

  • Los señores de la Casa del Mendrugo, Puebla: Tras los pasos de su vida a partir de los dientes (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Alondra Trejo Ordoz. Oswaldo Camarillo Sánchez.

    This is an abstract from the "Advances in Puebla/Tlaxcala Archaeology" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Los cráneos decorados de nueve hombres y una mujer del México Antiguo atestiguan una compleja red social y cultural que trasciende hasta nuestros días. Al no contar con un registro arqueológico de su hallazgo, los análisis óseos, dentales, gráficos, de manufactura, tafonómicos y arqueométricos, son valiosos puentes de conocimiento que permiten...

  • Music and Sound Practices in the Puebla-Tlaxcala Valley (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Katrina Kosyk.

    This is an abstract from the "Advances in Puebla/Tlaxcala Archaeology" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. More than a means for communication, sound, and music contributed to the formation of identities in the Puebla-Tlaxcala valley during the Late Postclassic to early colonial period. In particular, sonic assemblages contain multisensorial data that can be used to identify how knowledge and musical practices are shared among communities. These...

  • On Urban Development and Cultural Heritage: A Perspective from Cholula, Puebla (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Gabriela Montero.

    This is an abstract from the "Advances in Puebla/Tlaxcala Archaeology" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The city of Cholula has been occupied for thousands of years. However, the Spanish conquest signified one of the most significant moments of social, political, and cultural change—in part due to the development of the colonial city of Puebla, which was created for Spaniards. Cholula, however, specifically San Andrés, was perceived as an indigenous...

  • Reducing Collective Action Problems among Larger-Scale Societies: Building Trust, Assurance, and Cooperation at Late Postclassic Tlaxcallan, Mexico (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Marc Marino. Wesley Stoner. Lane Fargher.

    This is an abstract from the "Advances in Puebla/Tlaxcala Archaeology" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Collective action problems arise when individuals expend energy or resources to obtain a common goal or outcome. However, conflicting interests hinder cooperation and preclude joint action. Visibility and trust are two factors that reduce collective action problems among small and mid-sized groups, but research is limited on how these variables...

  • Saints as Warriors: Tlaxcalteca and Cholulteca “Smack Talk” during the Siege of Cholula (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Jeanne Gillespie.

    This is an abstract from the "Advances in Puebla/Tlaxcala Archaeology" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In the “Historia de Tlaxcala,” mestizo chronicler Diego Muñoz de Camargo commemorates the first significant military endeavor between Tlaxcalan forces and the European soldiers under the command of Hernán Cortés. This study analyzes how Muñoz Camargo constructed the narrative of the siege and battle, and how he framed the Tlaxcalan victory as a...

  • Toward an Archaeology of Indigenous Conquerors: Household Ritual Life at Tepeticpac, Tlaxcala (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Lisa Overholtzer.

    This is an abstract from the "Advances in Puebla/Tlaxcala Archaeology" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Over the course of its two excavation field seasons in 2017 and 2022, the community-collaborative Proyecto de Arqueología Cotidiana de Tepeticpac has shifted its focus from the Postclassic period, when the Tlaxcallans formed a state that maintained its independence from the Aztec empire, to the early colonial period, when residents allied with...