Power before Paquimé? Hypotheses on Political Economies in Casas Grandes.

Summary

In this paper, I outline alternative hypotheses on the nature of the late-Viejo and early-Medio Period political economies in the Casas Grandes Regional System from what is now Chihuahua, Mexico. Recent research has described in impressive detail the productive base and the ideology that may have emerged at Paquimé during its late-Medio Period (AD 1350-1450) florescence. However, little is known about power in the Casas Grandes region either prior to Paquimé’s brief 14th Century expansion into a primate center or outside of its immediate hinterland. Drawing on recent research from the Santa Clara Valley, I offer some alternative hypotheses for the political economies of the late-Viejo and early-Medio Periods. I emphasize the role that ritual performance may have had in local modes of production and consider its implications for the emergence of inequality in the Casas Grandes Regional System.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Moving Forward in Casas Grandes Archaeology   •
• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage