Rural Craft Production and Market Participation in Late Classic Oaxaca: A Case Study from Yaasuchi

Summary

Many models of the Zapotec economy during the Classic Period (AD 200 – 850) have relied on an assumption of mutual dependence between rural farmers and urban craft specialists, yet little research has focused explicitly on the economic behavior of rural households. To address this assumption, over 300 archaeological ceramics from the rural site of Yaasuchi - including samples from two domestic structures and a ceramic firing feature - were characterized via INAA to establish provenance. Results of these analyses show that 90% of Yaasuchi ceramics were produced on site and exchanged between households, while 10% were imported from nearby centers. The lower status household relied primarily on domestic production, but also engaged in ceramic production for intra-site and regional exchange. In contrast, the higher status household acquired the majority of ceramics from other households within the community and imported ceramics from fewer sources. Yaasuchi households were thus neither dependent on exchange in urban centers for access to ceramics, nor isolated from the regional economy. Rather, households employed a range of economic strategies to fulfill domestic needs, including craft production for exchange, both within the community and in regional markets.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Mapping out Pottery Production and Exchange in the Late Classic Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico

Keywords

Spatial Coverage