Deep Histories of Conquest: Mesoamerica, Iberia, and New Spain

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Archaeology and Material Culture of the Spanish Invasion of Mesoamerica and Forging of New Spain" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

As the discipline best suited for studying changes in human societies over long periods of time and the materiality of our existence, archaeology offers a valuable perspective on historic cross-cultural encounters viewed as deep history with tangible ramifications. At the quincentennial of Spain's invasion of Mesoamerica, the Aztec-Spanish war, and the transition to the new colonial regime of New Spain it is worthwhile to apply an archaeological lens to these events framed in a comparative, trans-Atlantic perspective with temporal depth. In this paper I work towards a deep history of the "conquista" by considering parallels and divergence in the long-term development of Mesoamerican and Iberian societies, their traumatic collision of five centuries ago, and their physical entanglements and legacies in landscape, symbolism, technology, and other dimensions of society. I focus especially on the deep roots of key factors often cited in older and contemporary historical accounts, including the diffusion of maritime and military technologies and plantation crops and economies; Mesoamerican micro-patriotism and indirect imperialism versus early modern Spanish ethno-nationalism and direct territorial control; and the clash and syncretic accommodations of absolutist and incorporative religious systems.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Archaeology and Material Culture of the Spanish Invasion of Mesoamerica and Forging of New Spain   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22860