Epiclassic Palaces: Exploring Social Behavior from Spatial Design

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Interactions during the Epiclassic and Early Postclassic (AD 650–1100) in the Central Highlands: New Insights from Material and Visual Culture" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The built environment expresses the social values applied during architectural design, although these criteria are not always used consciously. Thus, the buildings constructed for the elite of a community show how this group conceives its relationship with the environment and with the other inhabitants, that is, its social behavior. I will compare the residential structures of Cacaxtla, Xochicalco and Teotenango (AD 650–1100). These elite living spaces were used for private, ritual, and governmental activities. The variations in shape, size, quantity, density, boundaries, visuality, and accessibility of the buildings, interior spaces, patios, and plazas testify to a subtle use of architectural language and the search for solutions to different spatial needs. Here, the characteristics of spatial language serve as a basis for the study of relationships between elites and other groups in the community. These, in turn, can also be extrapolated to present hypotheses about political organization of societies.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Interactions during the Epiclassic and Early Postclassic (AD 650–1100) in the Central Highlands: New Insights from Material and Visual Culture   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38821.0