Mountains, Rain, and Techniques of Governance in Mesoamerica
Part of: Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)
This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Mountains, Rain, and Techniques of Governance in Mesoamerica" at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.
Mountain shrine sites have a deep history in Mesoamerica going back to the Preclassic and likely earlier. Along with the widespread proliferation of intensive agriculture, mountain sites such as Chalcatzingo appear to be related to rain rituals, human sacrifice, and perhaps even the kinds of warfare that might produce sacrificial victims. These mountain sites often feature excellent vistas from which trade routes can be monitored visually, game-identified, and enemies checked. According to research over the last two decades, it is clear that Teotihuacan built up these sites as a technique of governance during its expansion into Oaxaca, the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the Yucatán Peninsula, and perhaps points west. The mountain or hill sites tend to relate to Tlaloc and rain rituals, warfare, obsidian, and prime lookouts, a trend also common for the Early Classic Maya. The Postclassic peoples of Central Mexico, such as the Aztecs, may have carried on these traditions. Our session explores the proposed patterns as culture-specific or pan-Mesoamerican in nature via comparisons of site and artifact data from throughout Mesoamerica but with a special focus on Teotihuacan Expansion during the Classic period.
Other Keywords
Maya: Classic •
Ritual and Symbolism •
Digital Archaeology: GIS •
Highland Mesoamerica: Classic •
Political economy •
Geoarchaeology •
Landscape Archaeology •
Settlement patterns •
Materiality •
Monumentality
Geographic Keywords
North America (Continent) •
United Mexican States (Country) •
Peten (State / Territory) •
Belize (Country) •
Cayo (State / Territory) •
Stann Creek (State / Territory) •
Toledo (State / Territory) •
Tabasco (State / Territory) •
Yucatan (State / Territory) •
Orange Walk (State / Territory)
Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-7 of 7)
- Documents (7)
-
In the Realm of Three Hills: Civic-Religious Architecture at Llano Grande, Copan, during the Late Classic Period (ca. AD 650–850) (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Mountains, Rain, and Techniques of Governance in Mesoamerica" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Copan Valley, located in western Honduras, has been inhabited by permanent communities since the Early Formative period (ca. 1400 BC). These early communities developed a lifestyle based on milpa agriculture, which continues today with the Ch'ortí Maya, the linguistic group that is the descendants of the ancient Copanecos....
-
The Maya Mountain Altars of Northwestern Guatemala (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Mountains, Rain, and Techniques of Governance in Mesoamerica" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Among the Maya of northwestern Guatemala, modern populations continue to use the mountains found in their territories as places of worship. Often altars are located directly on the peaks of hills and mountains, while in other cases they are found on pilgrimage routes in or around these high sacred points, such as on the...
-
Mountains, Obsidian, and Power in Classic Mesoamerica (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Mountains, Rain, and Techniques of Governance in Mesoamerica" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Lithic analysis at various sites in the Maya area, such as Plan de las Mesas, Kaminaljuyu, Copan, and Piedras Negras reveal regional differences between obsidian tool production, distribution, and consumption. Some patterns in obsidian economies were shared between these sites, as well as others more distantly located such as...
-
Plan de las Mesas, Copan, Honduras: Teotihuacan Is in the House (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Mountains, Rain, and Techniques of Governance in Mesoamerica" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Plan de las Mesas archaeological site rests high above the Copan Valley, 2.5 km northwest of the Acropolis. Inhabited by at least the Preclassic, evidence suggests that it functioned as a defensive fortress, or citadel, by the Early Classic period. This paper focuses on Group 1, Plaza B, and Group 12. Group 12 rests on a...
-
Plaza A, Plan de las Mesas, Copan, Honduras: The Sacred Center of an Early Classic Hilltop Fortress (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Mountains, Rain, and Techniques of Governance in Mesoamerica" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Plan de las Mesas archaeological site is a fortress built on top of a high hill, which dominates the Copan Pocket at its northern end. Plaza A, Group 1, is the second highest area of the site and the most complex, containing the tallest pyramidal platform and a central altar to the south, an atypical pattern in the Copan...
-
Rain Born of the Mountains: Hydrology, Vistas, and Political Control (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Mountains, Rain, and Techniques of Governance in Mesoamerica" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Mesoamerican archaeological sites often take advantage of the surrounding natural landscape to enhance both the political machinations of the ruling elite and the sacred ideals of the community at large. In Guatemala, Belize, Mexico, and other highland or steep regions, archaeologists have repeatedly demonstrated the dynamic...
-
Tlaloc, Ritual Economy, and Interaction: A View from Los Horcones, Chiapas (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Mountains, Rain, and Techniques of Governance in Mesoamerica" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Located on the Pacific Coast of Chiapas, the Early Classic site of Los Horcones is known for being an important gateway community where goods and ideas are distributed. Teotihuacano merchants established a strong presence that included exchanges of commodities and ideas. In this presentation, I would like to look more closely...