The Metallurgists from Jicalán in the Colonial Period: An Ethnohistorical Approach

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Technological Transitions in Prehispanic and Colonial Metallurgy: Recent and Ongoing Research at the Archaeological Site of Jicalán Viejo, in Central Michoacán, West Mexico" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

A thorough exploration of the available historical documents from the colonial period demonstrates that Jicalán was one of many prehispanic settlements inhabited by copper mining, smelting, and smithing specialists that managed to preserve their knowledge and skills until at least the beginning of the eighteenth century. This paper does not address the technological aspects of metalworking, nor its continuities and changes, dealt with by colleagues. Instead, it focuses on the broader identity of these copper workers and the settlement in general, especially in relation to the neighboring villages and the colonial authorities (both Indigenous and Spanish), to show their place in the regional political, religious, economic, and sociocultural systems.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Technological Transitions in Prehispanic and Colonial Metallurgy: Recent and Ongoing Research at the Archaeological Site of Jicalán Viejo, in Central Michoacán, West Mexico   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36166.0