Interactions during the Epiclassic and Early Postclassic (AD 650–1100) in the Central Highlands: New Insights from Material and Visual Culture

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Interactions during the Epiclassic and Early Postclassic (AD 650–1100) in the Central Highlands: New Insights from Material and Visual Culture" at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Interactions were an integral part of cultural dynamics since early times in Mesoamerica. Migration, exchange, conflict, trade, alliances, and marriages are just some of the mechanisms through which these relationships have been interpreted. Their manifestations in a diversity of material culture allow us to infer the nature and geographic scope of the contacts maintained by the societies under study. One of the characteristics of the Epiclassic/Early Postclassic, recognized since the 1950s, is the identification of similarities among materials, artifacts, forms, and styles over wide spatial and cultural distances. The objective of this session is to deepen in the meaning, implications, and mechanisms of interactions established between AD 650 and 1100 in and between the political entities of Central Mexico, and beyond, based on material culture as well as the different modalities of approach (typological, technical, iconographic, spatial).